Ritual
Tamara Chernyakhovsky shares a traditional Ukrainian wedding cry sung by a bride before her marriage in which she protests her move from home.
Verbal Arts
Ritual
Music
The song, Chedoe, performed by Salieu Suso, is like poetry and story that is created by the Jali but it is informed by the community. As a djeli or griot, I am equal part oral historian, poet, storyteller, and musician. My art is found in the music, the story being told, the syncopation between voice, and Kora, and the ability to keep the audience engaged and participate.
Ritual
Music
Pahim Path Mangalya production by the National Dance Troupe of Sri Lanka on Staten Island in August 2014.
Ritual
Dance
The Hudson Crossing Park Cardboard Boat Races are part of Canal Splash! a statewide celebration co-sponsored by the New York State Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
Ritual
Place
Material Culture
David' Zhu discusses Chun Lian, decorative door panels that are used to promote Chinese traditions through the folk art craft of Chun Lian, a special New Year's decoration using Chinese Calligraphy.
Ritual
Material Culture
Migration
Brooklyn-Dominican singer Irka Mateo performs two folkloric Dominican songs that come from the popular religion celebrations.
Ritual
Music
Demonstration of Kwe-Kwe pre-wedding ritual by Winston "Jeggae" Hoppie at Brooklyn Arts Council's The Sweetest Song Festival 2014.
Ritual
Dance
Music
Chief Tom Porter of Akwesasne, Iroquois Mohawk community in northern NY, tells (an abbreviated version of) the traditional longhouse story of "The Three Sisters." The story is about the importance of corn, beans, and squash as staple foods and includes the origin story of these "three sister" foods themselves and how they were determined to be the most prominent of all foods. Porter also talks about traditional preparations of corn and related foods.
Ritual
Foodways
The St. Joseph's Day Table is a primarily Italian American tradition that honors the saint on his feast day, March 19. It recalls the answer to prayers for rain from drought-stricken faithful in Sicily in the Middle Ages, and their subsequent offering of a meal for travelers, strangers, the poor and the entire community in thanksgiving. This video takes you to a Table hosted by Bernice Hotchkiss in 2019, where she describes the foods and recalls how she began learning the recipes from older women in her community. The accompanying notes give more details on the traditional foods, their symbolism and current practice in western New York.