Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
4
Nathaniel Washington explains the steps in making baskets.
Agriculture
Digital Traditions
Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse.
General - Traditional Arts
Home to a wealth of folk traditions, South Carolina is culturally and geographically diverse. From the Appalachian Mountains to the Sea Islands and from rural crossroads to urban centers, the state boasts rich sources of traditional culture and folklore. Rooted in family and community activities, folklife involves expressive forms of many kinds that are communicated verbally and by observation or imitation. Folk artists can learn through apprenticeships, but most often are taught informally by family members or close friends. This sharing of information can occur in many different group settings - familial, occupational, religious, social, and educational. Folklife is dynamic by nature, a part of a community's history that continues to develop every day, with every generation.
Digital Traditions was developed to provide access to the Folklife Resource Center (FRC) at McKissick Museum. For thirty years, deeply rooted traditions like quilting, pottery, basketry, communal foodways, and folk music have been documented through audio, video, and photography. For further information about any of the artists featured on Digital Traditions, send your questions and comments to hallagan@mailbox.sc.edu.
More in this Series
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
5
Basketmaker Nathaniel Washington talks about laying out the ribs of the basket.
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Basketmaker from Mt. Pleasant, SC (Charleston County). Another basketmaker from the legendary basketmaking family of "Manigault Corner." According to Maggie "she has been doing it for so long that she...
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Basketmaker from Mt. Pleasant, SC (Charleston County). Manigault hailed from one South Carolina's most prolific basketmaking families. The Manigault's have been making sweetgrass baskets for...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
Mary Jane Bennett talks about when basketmaking began and subsequent changes.
Audio
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- Higher Education
Episode
2
Mary Jane Bennett talks about ancestry and heritage.
Audio
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- Higher Education
Episode
3
Mary Jane Bennett other family members that weave.
Audio
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- Higher Education
Episode
4
Mary Jane Bennett talks about the appreciation for baskets and basketmaking
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
5
Jessie Bennett describes the places he looks for sweetgrass.
Audio
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- Higher Education
Episode
6
Mary Jane Bennett talks about curing sweetgrass and bulrush.
Audio
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- Higher Education
Episode
7
Mary Jane Bennett talks about her baskets from her youth.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
8
Mary Jane Bennett talks about selling baskets at fairs and shows.
Photo
Grades
- Higher Education
Basketmaker from Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Mary Jane and husband Jessie come from a long line of basketmakers. Mary Jane would make trips to Charleston as a young girl to deliver her mother's...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
1
Leroy Browne talks about the necessity of basketmaking.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
2
Resident of St. Helena Island, SC (Beaufort County). His father, George Brown, taught basketmaking at the Penn School on St. Helena Island in the early 20th Century. The school was founded in the...
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
3
Researcher Dale Rosengarten reads a passage from a Penn School program dating the first year that basketmaking was taught at the school.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
4
Leroy Browne explains where to find materials for the baskets.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
5
Leroy Browne talks about when his father gathered bulrush.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
6
Leroy Browne explains the process of curing bulrush.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
7
Leroy Browne talks about gathering materials for class.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
8
Leroy Browne explains that pine needles in the area are the short needle pine and are not that good for basketmaking.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
9
Leroy Browne explains how the bulrush was dried, but the palmetto was kept green.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
10
Leroy Browne explains the modern restrictions on gathering bulrush. He can no longer freely go in the creek and marsh to gather materials since the lands are protected.
Audio
Grades
- Higher Education
Episode
11
Leroy Browne explains the story of how baby Moses was found in a bulrush basket.
