United States of America -- Massachusetts -- Middlesex County -- Cambridge
Scope and Contents:
1 folder and 25 digital images. The folder includes worksheets, photocopies of reference prints and other images.
General:
The Morse School is a Cambridge Modern style single-story modular structure with large windows and doors that open to the outdoors from individual classrooms, built in 1955. One-quarter acre of the schoolyard has gardens that are a major learning facility for the elementary school's students, and a resource for the neighborhood. The entry garden has a gravel path bordered on one side with raspberry bushes, with annual tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and cucumbers on the other side, and an open bed for digging dirt. A painted arbor opens to the main garden which features an alphabet garden along a chain link fence. Each year students plants annual flowers and vegetables for each letter, such as asters for "A" and zinnias for "Z". A pollinator garden attracts butterflies, other pollinating insects and birds with milkweed, Shasta daisies, geraniums, catmint, phlox, and grapevines growing on two trellises against the wall of the building. About ten beds of various sizes and shapes in the center of the main garden grow seasonal vegetables, beginning with leafy green vegetables, moving on to root crops such as carrots, potatoes and beets, followed by corn and peas and beans on a string trellis. There are two herb beds, more beds with strawberries, onions, sunflowers, cabbage, zucchini, chard, watermelon, and a companion planting of marigolds. Annual flowers are grown in two small whiskey barrels.
Other facilities include compost bins for food scraps and garden thinnings and a vibrantly painted shed for storing tools and supplies. A grassy gathering area has two fruit trees including an apple tree planted in the 1950's, and a large sycamore tree with six tree stumps nearby, seating for teaching, discussion, reading, singing and playing music. The community holds a Garden Expo in August and a cider pressing in October in the grassy gathering area. Age-appropriate curricula uses the gardens to teach urban children where food comes from, the life-cycle of growing plants, introductory botany and genetics. Other subject areas including art, math, food preparation and healthy eating derive from the students' gardening experiences.
CitySprouts, a local non-profit organization, partners with Morse School and provides workers, tools and garden supplies. CitySprouts has a plant list it recommends for garden-based learning along with suggestions for environmental subjects. Morse School had an empty front yard that was dug up and planted with red, white and blue spring bulbs in the shape of an American flag following September 11, 2001. The learning garden was developed afterwards.
Persons associated with the garden include Metropolitan District Commission (playground, Victory Garden, 1953- ); City of Cambridge (Morse School, 1953- ); Carl Koch (1912-1998) (architect, 1955); Design Partnership of Cambridge (renovation architects, 1999); Jane Hirschi, Director of City Sprouts (non-profit assisting in creating and maintaining school garden, 2001- ); Patricia Beggy (Morse school principal, 2004- ); Juliet and György Kepes (enamel panels artists, 1957); Tomie Arai (silk-screened mural artist, 1999).
Related Materials:
Additional materials also located in CitySprouts, 678 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
Series includes images of Vegetables and Vegetable gardens growing in fields, containers, raised beds, and cold frames in agricultural, domestic, and urban settings, as well as still life arrangements, food preparation, harvesting, and examples of specimens.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ken Druse garden photography collection
Sponsor:
Cataloging of this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
MS 3941 Materials assembled by Hewitt for preparation of articles in Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30 and for replies to inquires from the public
Collector:
Hewitt, J. N. B. (John Napoleon Brinton), 1859-1937 Search this
Indians of North America -- Southern States Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Calendars
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Contents: Adirondack tribe (St Lawrence River) Old Manuscript Number 3553. Adoption Old Manuscript Number 4007. Refers to Algonquian method of counting -only; see Haas note 2/18/72; Old Manuscript Number 3864. "Alligewi"; Animism Old Manuscript Number 3867 and 2842-c, box 6. Blood Indians, origin of name; Brant, Joseph Old Manuscript Number 3874. Chippewa, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Chiefs, function and significance of Old Manuscript Number 2842-c, box 6. Delaware tribe, New Jersey area claimed by Old Manuscript Number 3866. Detroit River, tribes near; Ekaentoton Island-- see Ste. Marie Island Environment (Bulletin 30 draft by O. T. Mason) Old Manuscript Number 4007. Erie, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3646. Erie and Black Mincqua tribes Old Manuscript Number 3586. [Eskimo] Arctic tribes, leaving elderly and sick people to die Old Manuscript Number 3668. Family, Bulletin 30 draft and notes Old Manuscript Number 4011 and 2842-c, box 6. Grand River (Tinaatoua), name of; Hebrew calendar; Hewitt, list of Bulletin 30 articles by Old Manuscript Number 4066. Hoboken, origin of name; Iroquois, "On the Northern and Eastern Territorial Limits of the Iroquoian people, in the 16th Century," and Algonquian tribes, at Chaleur Bay. Iroquois at Gulf of St Lawrence and Bay of Gaspe Old Manuscript Number 3625.
Iroquois, location of Six Nations tribes reservations Old Manuscript Number 3763. Iroquois false face; Iroquois preparation of corn ("as food") Old Manuscript Number 4009. Iroquoian early dress Old Manuscript Number 3660. Iroquoian "Gachoi" tribe, identity of (Correspondence with F. Bogaskie.) Old Manuscript Number 3816. Iroquoian moon names and concept of time; Iroquoian social organization, and place name-name origins; "Man," Iroquoian term for Old Manuscript Number 3781. Iroquoian towns Old Manuscript Number 4006. Kentucky, meaning of the word; Kentucky, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3840. Lenni Lenape, meaning of the word; Logstown-- see Shenango Old Manuscript Number 3773. Lost Ten Tribes as American Indians Old Manuscript Number 3670. Mayan linguistic family and other Mayan linguistic notes including Quiche and Tepehuanan notes Old Manuscript Number 3473. Mexico: idols, sacrifices, etc. Old Manuscript Number 3807. Mexico: Indian languages. Letter from Captain W.E.W. MacKinley Old Manuscript Number 3778. Missouri, Indian village, location of Old Manuscript Number 3944. Mohawk land near Lake Champlain; Mohawk grammar; Montour family, notes for Bulletin 30 Old Manuscript Number 3812. Muskhogean social organization. Letter from J. J. Harrison. Old Manuscript Number 3891. New England tribes Old Manuscript Number 3513.
Niagara, origin of name; "Old Smoke"-- see Sayenqueraghta Old Manuscript Number 3949. Onondaga tribe, text of memorial inscription to, and correspondence Old Manuscript 4391 and 4271- box 1 (part.) Ontwaganha or Toaganha, origin and meaning of name Old Manuscript Number 3864. Owego, meaning of town's name; Pekwanoket tribe (Cape Cod); Pemaquid, Abnaki word and its origin Old Manuscript Number 89. Piasa bird- pictograph formerly near present Alton, Illinois. Article is similar to that by Cyrus Thomas, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. Old Manuscript Number 3981. Potawatomi, notes on the name Old Manuscript Number 4034. Potawatomi Green Corn Dance; Roanoke, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3998. Sacagawea, spelling of; St Ignace, 3 settlements (Michigan); St Marie Island or Ekaentoton Island; Sauk, Bulletin 30 article and galley proof, notes Old Manuscript Number 3764. Sayenqueraghta or "Old Smoke" (correspondence with Alanson Skinner) Old Manuscript Number 3949. Scalping Old Manuscript Number 4025. Shenango and Logstown Old Manuscript Number 3773. Sioux, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3624. Society of American Indians, resolutions by thanking General Hugh L. Scott, Fr. Anselm Webber and others Old Manuscript Number 3868. Susquehanna, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3707. Tacoma, origin of name Old Manuscript Number 3470.
Thunderbird, notes on Old Manuscript Number 3552. Tinaatoa-- see Grand River; Toronto, origin of name; Tuscarora villages Old Manuscript Number 3998. Wampum Old Manuscript Number 3998. War club with inscription; West Virginia panhandle tribes Old Manuscript Number 3945. Williams, Eleazer Old Manuscript Number 3998. Women, status of Old Manuscript Number 3566. Wyandots (Huron) List of tribes of which Wyandots of today are constituted. Old Manuscript Number 3774.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
This program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, focused on food preservation as an essential component of community activities. Throughout rural America, community events such as Homecomings were seen to act as centripetal forces pulling members back into the center of values, of behaviors, of world view all tied together in activities that reinforced the past and tailored the future - and food was often a major focus of such events.
Community events in America were seen by the Festival as reinforcing and restating the expected style of behavior in attempting to reintegrate distant members to the community's values. No event, no matter how tedious, was all work - nor was any festivity all frolic. The community and its institutions were tied to the common needs of its members for food, shelter, solace, and fellowship. Whether cooking for Homecoming or feeding the firemen, public participation in community events validated membership in a cultural system and provided a common sense of purpose, of contribution, of what needs to be done and how to do it.
Peering into the basement or root cellar of many rural homes, one would find summer's bounty stored for the winter. Potatoes covered with lime might fill a bin in one corner of the room. Colorful jars filled with fruit, vegetables, and meat might line the walls, while crocks full of fermenting pickle beans sat in another corner. Dried apples, beans, peaches, and corn would be stored in brown paper bags, with home-cured hams hanging from beams overhead. While food preservation techniques may have adapted to changing times, home canning, pickling, curing, and drying remained vital traditions in many communities nearing the end of the 20th century. They were economical in many ways, and the final product was easily adjusted to community preferences. Homemade biscuits, cookies, and pies, home-processed hams, dilly beans, sauerkraut, and leather britches simply tasted better to people who were accustomed to them.
1980 Festival presentations included wine making, meat smoking, butter churning, canning, cane syrup making, and "found food" preparation, as well as a daily candy pull and workshops discussing the knowledge and lore of community-based food preservation activities.
Participants:
Maria Agner, 1910-2002, wine making, Fitzgerald, Georgia
Etta Mae Anderson, 1907-2005, found foods, Ocilla, Georgia
Martha Barrs, 1924-, canning, Ocilla, Georgia
Mr. & Mrs. Fred Lee Bentley (1923-1997), meat smoking, Pelham, Georgia
Minnie Pearl Brown, 1914-1991, canning, Tifton, Georgia
W. Guy Bruce, musician, Trion, Georgia
Mr. & Mrs. Grady T. Bryan (1920-), cane syrup making, Lenox, Georgia
Annie Mae Calloway, 1903-1991, canning, Tifton, Georgia
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1980 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
"Regional America" cut across all the other sections of the Festival by looking at the assemblages of different peoples scattered across our land. In this area, therefore, visitors could see working people and children, ethnics and blacks and Native Americans brought together to celebrate not so much their individual identities but the space in which they all live together, their homeplace within the wide American land.
A region was acknowledged to be a hard thing to create on the Mall; it is an abstract made up of a thousand concrete details: the lay of the land, the slant of the sunlight, the way a person says "Good morning," the particular records on the jukeboxes in the diner, the depth of the topsoil, the smell of Sunday dinner. So in Regional America the Festival brought together the people who lived in a particular place and asked them to demonstrate the arts and the skills that make it possible to live in that place and that most powerfully characterize it. It is the sense of home that the Smithsonian sought to capture here.
June 16-20, the Northeast. The Northeast Region combines the peoples and the traditions of the Atlantic Northeast (Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware) and those of New England. There were demonstrations of lobster trap making, whittling, quilting, and snowshoe making, traditional food preparation, and presentations of Anglo, French, and German American traditional music.
June 23-27, the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes region is a large area consisting of diverse peoples and traditions. Scandinavian, Eastern European, Mediterranean, and Native American music, crafts, and food demonstrations included birch bark canoe building, bread baking, and pysanky decorating. From the farming and dairy areas, skills such as shingle making and wood carving were presented, along with dairy cattle demonstrations of milking, calf feeding, and caring for livestock. Demonstrations of maritime activities included fish net making, waterfowl decoy carving, dock building, and storytelling. Blues and other transplanted styles of Southern music were also performed.
July 1-5, the South. Presentations included Alabama folk painting, traditional boat building, stitchery by Ethel Mohamed (who did the tapestry on the cover of the 1976 program book), decoy carving and painting, a Freedom Quilting Bee, pottery, and splint basket making. Regional America's presentation of Southern foodways traditions included the preparation of pecan pralines, various gumbos, crawfish, and sorghum.
July 7-11, the Upland South. Crafts presented this week included quilting, blacksmithing, stone carving, barrel making, and whittling. Vinegar pie, hominy, biscuits and gravy were made for sampling, with barbequed chicken, corn on the cob, cobbler, and barbequed beans for sale.
July 14-18, the Heartland. Craft presentations included the making of apple head dolls, corn husk dolls, tree branch dolls and spurs, wood carving, and pysanky (egg decorating.) Foodways demonstrations includes the preparation of such regional specialties as kolaches (a Bohemian fruit-filled bun), sweet braided bread, New Year cookies, cheese, and sauerkraut.
July 14-18, the Great West. Featured crafts included quilting by seven different participants, wagon wheel making, horse hair rope making, wood carving, braided and woven rug making, and the demonstration of traditional fence building styles. Preparation of foods from the Great West was demonstrated including bratzells (cookies baked over an open fire), whole wheat bread, and the canning of sauerkraut, pickles, relish, and jelly.
July 28-August 1, the Pacific Northwest. Craft presentations included fly tying and casting, snow sled making, fiddle making, a logging demonstration, weaving, whittling, net making, boat building, and paper cutting. Foodways demonstrations featured a camp cook making pancakes and sourdough bread, traditional to the logging life of the Pacific Northwest.
August 4-8, the Southwest. Visitors could see cowboy boot making, adobe making, mural painting, calf roping, saddle making, rawhide work, and soap making demonstrated as part of the presentation of the culture of the Southwest. Traditional ranch cooking was demonstrated, with chili, beans, and sourdough biscuits among the featured specialties.
Barbara LaPan Rahm was Program Coordinator; William K. McNeil was Folklorist; and Diana Parker was Assistant Program Coordinator.
Clarence E. Smith, 1940-, Oakland, California, ex-Texas
Lorence L. Smith, Colorado
Elaine Sylvia, California
Ron Sylvia, California, ex-Massachusetts
Elizabeth Rose Tea, 1920-, Clifton, Arizona
Pablo Trujillo, 1916-, New Mexico
Florentino Urias, Presidio, Texas
Jose Urias, Texas, Presidio, Texas
Maria Velasquez, California
Ossie White, California
Roscoe White, California
Jesse Wright, California
Jimmy Wright, singer, Fresno, California
Walter Wright, singer, Fresno, California
William Wright, 1914-1982, singer, Selma, California
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1976 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The focus for the 1975 Native Americans program was the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy: the Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora, tribal groups whose government had been in effect for hundreds of years and served as a model for our federal system. The Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy directly influenced the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the U.S. Never before had the Native American Festival presentation been so closely interrelated to American history.
The Grand Council was discussed in workshops in the Learning Center where a history in photographs was on display. Members of the Iroquois are a major force in the lacrosse industry - from creating sticks to providing the athletes. Lacrosse was played in competition in the Native Americans area daily, and lacrosse stick making was part of the craft demonstrations along with silversmithing, wood and bone carving, basketry, and beadwork. Iroquois singing and dancing took place daily. Friday evenings, visitors were invited to participate in social dancing. The friendship dance, round dance, rabbit dance and stomp dance were demonstrated.
Native American food that was demonstrated and sampled included fry bread, corn and sassafras tea. Festival presentations traced the role of maize from crop through harvest; from food preparation in soups and breads, to the use of husks by craftspeople in toys, dolls and ceremonial masks.
In the Learning Center participants from various other Eastern Indian tribes recounted their influence on European settlers, beginning in 1620 when the Wampanoag tribe welcomed the Pilgrims (greeting them in English), provided food for them during the first difficult winter on the New England coast, and then shared the first Thanksgiving. Narragansett representatives spoke about the architectural contributions and history of their people. The Passamaquoddy from Maine, known for their intricate quill work and importance to the early settlers as trappers and fishers, also discussed their role in American history.
Other Native Americans who participated in discussions were from the Shinnecock tribe of Long Island, New York; Indian Mountain Lookout Intertribal Native Americans, New York; the Lumbee, Haliwa and Coharie from North Carolina; Catawba from South Carolina; Tunica-Biloxi of Louisiana; Chippewa of Wisconsin; and Potowatomi of Michigan. These participants were all members of the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans (CENA), an organization whose purpose is to identify and assist in the socio-economic and organizational development of Eastern Native Americans. CENA includes non-reservation, urban and federally recognized tribes and groups.
Lucille Dawson served as program coordinator, assisted by Thomas Kavanagh. The multi-year program was shaped by the Native Americans Advisory Group, including Alfonso Ortiz, Louis Bruce, Dell Hymes, Rayna Green, Clydia Nahwooksy, William Sturtevant, and Barre Toelken.
Participants:
Six Nations, Iroquois participants
Cayuga
Sam Crogan, lacrosse player
Alisa Mike, dancer
Nancy Poodry, bead worker
Bill Printup, lacrosse player
Dean Printup, lacrosse player
Elwood Printup, lacrosse player
Gene Printup, lacrosse player
Elizabeth Silversmith, cook
Mohawk
Mary Adams, basket maker
Mike Adams, basket maker
Elwood Greene, silversmith
David Hill, lacrosse player
Stanley Hill, bone carver
Woody Hill, dancer
Allan Jock, dancer
Marshall Joseph, wood carver
Isabelle Skye, cornhusk worker
Beatrice Thomas, dancer
Russell Thomas, dancer
Margaret Terrence, basket maker
Cam Wilson, bone carver
Marge Wilson, cook
Wanda Wilson, dancer
Oneida
Irving Chrisjohn, cornhusk worker
Mrs. Chrisjohn, cornhusk worker
Onondaga
Paula Babcock, dancer
Kevin Hill, lacrosse player
Martin Jimmerson, dancer
Angie Miller, dancer
Huron Miller, singer, discussant, Buffalo, New York
Barry Powless, dancer
Irving Powless, Sr., 1906-1985, discussant
Irving Powless, Jr., discussant
Nancy Powless, dancer
Jacob Skye, dancer
Perry Williams, dancer
Debbie Williams, dancer
Ruby Williams, dancer
Guy Williams, dancer
Tim Williams, dancer
Seneca
Herbert Buck, singer
Lydia Buck, dancer
Sadie Buck, dancer
Herb Dowdy, 1919-1990, singer
Fidelia George, dancer
Helen Harris, dancer
Linda Harris, dancer
Steve Harris, dancer
Elijah Harris, dancer
Diosa Hill, dancer
Marty Jamerson, dancer
Darwin John, dancer
Edith John, cook
Coleen Johnny John, dancer
Kevin Johnny John, dancer
Mike Johnny John, dancer
Richard Johnny John, singer
Vera Miller, cook, bead worker
Ken Poodry, cradleboard maker
Eddie Scott, dancer
Elmer Shongo, 1929-1985, dancer, cook
Corbett Sundown, 1909-1992, discussant
Lloyd Thomas, 1946-, dancer
Marlene Thomas, dancer
Hazel Thompson, dancer
Phillip Thompson, dancer
Tuscarora
Joe Chrysler, lacrosse player
Orzey Cusick, lacrosse stick maker
Emma Greene, cook
Alvis Hewitt, 1931-1999, cook manager
Rick Hill, discussant
Nina Jacobs, dancer
Phillip Jacobs, lacrosse player
Bob Patterson, lacrosse player
Kevin Patterson, lacrosse stick maker
John Patterson, lacrosse stick maker
Helen Printup, cook
Mary Rickard, lacrosse stick maker
Ellene Rickard, lacrosse stick maker
Noreen Shongo, cook
Ron Smith, lacrosse player
Wilmer Wilson, 1925-2002, discussant
Coalition of Eastern Native Americans Participants
Aroostook Association
Terry Polchies, discussant
Catawba
Roger Trimnal, discussant
Chippewa
Dalores Baimbridge, discussant
Elizabeth Cadotte, discussant
Haliwa
Linda Lynch, discussant
Archibald Lynch, discussant
Hassanamisco
Louise Wilcox, discussant
Indian Mountain Lookout Inter-Tribal Native Americans
Asenith D. Vogt, discussant
Lumbee
Arlene Locklear, 1952-1979, discussant
June Sampson, discussant
W.J. Strickland, discussant
Micmac
Tom Battiste
Mohegan
Virginia Daamon, discussant
Narragansett
Alberta Wilcox, discussant
Mary Brown, discussant
Potawatomi
Joe Winchester, discussant
Leroy Wesaw, 1925-1994, discussant
Shinnecock
Eva Smith, discussant
Alice Franklin, discussant
Tunica Biloxi
Rose Marie Pierite, 1900-1987
Wampanoag
Komi Oweant Haynes, 1958-, discussant
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1975 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
10 Film reels (5 hours, color sound; 10,800 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1986
Scope and Contents:
Full film record documents the cultural ecology of a Sherpa village at the head of the Helembu Valley, Nepal.
Footage begins with shots of Rhesus monkeys at the Buddhist shrine of Swayambanath in Kathmandu valley as part of research project observing the behavior of temple monkeys. Footage in the Melemchi village focuses on both subsistence and religious aspects of Helembu Sherpa culture. Documentation of subsistence includes herding and domestic activities of the Sherpa patrilineal households; harvesting changa, the high altitude barley from which the staple food, thombu is made; women threshing wheat in fields; women dairying in family pastures; spinnig lambs wool; weaving jackets; grindng grain and flour on the grindstone; women making yoghurt, butter and cheese; weaving bamboo mats. Documentation of religious and ritual depicts the coexistence of Buddhist and local Bon animist practices; a Nyin Lo ceremony conducted by a bombo (shaman) to exorcise bad spirits; the the torma (a ritual object representing a temporary house for the gods); man in trance drumming and calling spirits; chicken sacrifice; beating a woman with steamed branches to expunge the evil spirits from her; a Mikha Kyurgen puja done to reverse the negative effects of gossiping; the TupuTsezchu Festival, one of four festivals held annually in Melemchi to commemorate the work of Guru Rempeche, the Bodhisattva who brought Buddhism to Tibet; the Nara festival which honors the founding of the gomba(local Buddhist temple); the decapitation ofa yak as an offering. Also documented is the funerary practice composed of the procession where the deceased is carried in a chair to the funeral ground for cremation. Sequences also depict men carving decorations for the woodwork adorning houses; an arranged marriage; Sherpa man teaching a class to young students; playing the "adorje," a trumpet made out of a human thigh bone; lama reading Tibetan texts.
Legacy Keywords: Language and culture ; Temples prayer wheels Nepal ; Harvests barley Nepal ; Barley method of harvest Nepal ; Animal husbandry milking cows Nepal ; Seances spirit mediums ritual Nepal ; Mediums ritual spirit communication Nepal ; Spirits mediums communication with Nepal ; Ritual spirit mediums seances Nepal ; Chanting as part of ritual Nepal ; Musical instruments drums cymbals horns bells Nepal ; Agriculture corn barley grains Nepal ; Food preparation churning butter cheese Nepal ; Altars seances Nepal ; Animal sacrifice as part of ritual Nepal ; Purification ritual Nepal ; Mills grinding flour water driven Nepal ; Weaving wool looms Nepal ; Pastoral activities herding miling grazing Nepal ; Bells for keeping birds from crops Nepal ; Quarrying boulders for building stones Nepal ; Mortuary practices pallequin procession cremation Nepal ; Funerals cremation Nepal ; Priest lama chanting Nepal ; Temple gompa ceremony Nepal ; Bread ceremonial Nara bread gompa Nepal ; Dancing ritual social Nepal ; Woodworking carving Nepal ; Altars gompa Nepal ; Flags prayer flags raising of Nepal ; Potatoes cultivation of Nepal ; Shrines gompa Nepal
Local Numbers:
HSFA 1987.7.1
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
John and Naomi Bishop collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Cataloging supported by Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.
Film reels (6 hours 5 minutes, color silent sound; 13,000 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1989
Scope and Contents:
Full film record depicting life in the Sherpa village of Melemchi at the head of the Helembu Valley, Nepal. Footage complements Melemchi Village, 1986.
Filmed in the winter of 1989, the project was conceived to document the cultural ecology of Melemchi with the focus on the interactions between herd management, Sherpa cyclical wage labor and migration to India. Footage featuring holidays and religious ceremonies include: preparations made for Losar, Tibetan New Year which include pounding rice for rice flour (samba), baking "gipattis," (fried bread), the mounting of a new prayer flag, burning incense, villagers receiving blessings from their elders, gambling and cardplaying activities traditionally played on Losar; Yung,Buddhist ceremony where lamas read sacred texts in honor of Buddha's birthday; prostrations at Buddhist shrine. Footage of subsistance activities include: digging compost; the "Lari" system of farming where family and friends exchange help in reaping the crops; various kinds of work associated with transhumant zomo herds including the collection of fodder, milking and cheese making; building a new roof on a cow shed; women using sheeps wool to weave material for Sherpa jackets; men plowing fields using two bulls; cutting firewood and stockpiling for upcoming year. Footage relating to the seasons and climate include: snowball fights, children building snowmen, the seasonal migration to to lower winter pastures. ; Landscape and wildlife shots include the Yangrigang mountain where goddess Amachabriagi dwells across from Helembu valley, scenes of Ganesh Himal on the edge of Kathmandu valley, plateau farming, Rhesus monkeys around village temple, scenes of village fields in snow. Other events featured included: men congretating at a village forum to discuss issues such as the coming of electricity to Melemchi; picnic for the dedication of a new school; the distilling of Sherpa beer (chang) to make liquor (rakshi); rope handmade from nettle fibers; male sheep sold at Dasain festival; men using two-man saw to cut planks for new house. Also featured is a traditional Sherpa marriage "gapte kyungen" involving symbolic bride capture followed by the wedding celebration. Various interviews with Melemchi men and women with different social experiences and generational backgrounds included.
Collection is annotated by John Bishop, documentary filmmaker, Naomi Bishop, anthropologist, John Homiak, Human Studies Film Archives, and Nogabu, cultural informant from Melemchi.
Legacy Keywords: Language and culture ; Temples prayer wheels Nepal ; Harvests barley Nepal ; Barley method of harvest Nepal ; Animal husbandry milking cows Nepal ; Seances spirit mediums ritual Nepal ; Mediums ritual spirit communication Nepal ; Spirits mediums communication with Nepal ; Ritual spirit mediums seances Nepal ; Chanting as part of ritual Nepal ; Musical instruments drums cymbals horns bells Nepal ; Agriculture corn barley grains Nepal ; Food preparation churning butter cheese Nepal ; Altars seances Nepal ; Animal sacrifice as part of ritual Nepal ; Purification ritual Nepal ; Mills grinding flour water driven Nepal ; Weaving wool looms Nepal ; Pastoral activities herding miling grazing Nepal ; Bells for keeping birds from crops Nepal ; Quarrying boulders for building stones Nepal ; Mortuary practices pallequin procession cremation Nepal ; Funerals cremation Nepal ; Priest lama chanting Nepal ; Temple gompa ceremony Nepal ; Bread ceremonial Nara bread gompa Nepal ; Dancing ritual social Nepal ; Woodworking carving Nepal ; Altars gompa Nepal ; Flags prayer flags raising of Nepal ; Potatoes cultivation of Nepal ; Shrines gompa Nepal
Local Numbers:
HSFA 1990.5.1
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
John and Naomi Bishop collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Cataloging supported by Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation Search this
Collection Director:
Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957 Search this
Container:
Box 231, Folder 13
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1926 - 1928
Collection Restrictions:
Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).
Collection Rights:
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.
Collection Citation:
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.
Outtakes from edited film shows women engaged in a number of domestic and subsistence activities including drawing and carrying water, winnowing maize, washing clothes, carrying firewood. Also shots of man having his maize machine ground at a local mill in the village. Woman is shown with the rabbits she raises for sale. Interview with a father about the future he anticipates for his children and those of his brothers.
Credits:
Ssennyonga, Joseph (Social Anthropologist)
Strasburg, Ivan (Cameraman)
McDuffie, Michael (Soundman)
Legacy Keywords: Division of labor by sex carrying water ; Firewood gathering of ; Basketry winnowing ; Food preparation winnowing grinding maize ; Mills corn flour ; Milling machines ; Animal husbandry rabbits ; Children family size ideas about ; Language and culture
General:
Local Numbers: HSFA 1978.2.1 (RF 21)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Sandra Nichols collection, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
