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.
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Audio transcript for: Amazing Grace Leaning On The Everlasting Arms
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Located in the small, rural town of Hampton, SC (Hampton County), St. Paul Primitive Baptist Church nurtures singing and preaching traditions over hundred years old. Pastors come from within the...
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Audio transcripts for: Hear My Prayer, Lord Master, I Know You Can When That Great Crowd Shall Gather You Can't Hide
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One of the choirs that sang in the Sunday afternoon “Gospel Extravaganza” portion of the Williamsburg County Black Heritage Festival in Kingstree, SC.
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R. Stanley “Stan” Woodward has two passions – documentary film making and the folk cultures he captures with his camera. For more than 40 years, Woodward has advocated for the traditional arts and...
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The songs were recorded live, with no microphones in order to enhance a listener’s transportation by the old-style, traditional slave spirituals praising God even though times were dark.
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Kinard speaks about starting a farm during the depression .
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From the album "Success Street" by Roger Bellow and the Drifting Troubadours, 1988. This is an instrumental number with Bellow on guitar, Spanish Dobro, fiddle, mandolin, and bass.
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A song from "Heritage Corridor: Traditional Music from the South Carolina Heritage Corridor": Steamboat
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A traditional steel guitar or Dobro tune performed by Alda. This was a very familiar number to Alda - his father Ralph performed it often - along with several other steel guitar standards.
