Preservation and Cultural Heritage

1. Preservation and Cultural Heritage

2. Goals of Cultural Conservation and Historic Preservation What is the goal of historic preservation? What is Cultural Conservation? Preservation = To maintain objects created in the past for the future. Cultural Conservation = maintenance of values, knowledge and skills from past generations into the future.

3. Cultural Intangibles Cultural Intangibles = term adopted by UNESCO What is culture? Culture is knowledge and values–as such it is mainly intangible. Community life and values is encapsulated in expressive culture that might include custom, belief, technical skills, language, literature, art, architecture, music, play, dance drama, ritual, pageantry, handicraft and much more.

4. So what value are these cultural intangibles? How old is a cultural artifact? Much knowledge from the past is still used and is much olderthan the structures that surround them.

5. “Oh, Death” sung by Dock Boggs (1963) What is this that I can't see, with icy hands taking hold on me. I am Death and none can excel I’ll open the door to Heaven or Hell. Chorus: (2x) Oh, Oh Death, Oh, Oh Death Can't you spare me over till another year. Oh Death someone would pray, could you call some other day? God's children prayed, the preachers prayed, the time of mercy is out of your reach. I'll fix your feet so you can't walk, I'll lock your jaws so you can't talk, Close your eyes so you can't see, this very hour come go with me. Death, I come, take the soul, leave the body, and leave it cold To drop the flesh off the frame, the earth and worms both have a claim. Chorus Mother come to my bed, place cold towels upon my head, My head is warm, my feet are cold, Death is moving upon my soul. Oh, Death how you treating me, close my eyes so I can't see, You hurt my body, you make me cold, you move my life right out of my soul. Chorus Oh, Death consider my age, please don't take me at this stage, My wealth is all at your command, if you will move your icy hand. The old, the young, the rich, or poor all alike with me you know, No wealth, no land, no silver, no gold, nothing satisfies me but your soul. Chorus

6. Cultural Intangible expressive culture Songs and stories provide the emotive interpretation of past events. Buildings that survive through time are silent about the emotional component of lifeways. It is through stories and other expressive forms that events and the contemporary opinions are captured.

7. The Darby Ram Sung by Cas Wallin, Sodom-Laurel, North Carolina, 1978 As I went down to Darby all on one Market Day, There I spied the biggest sheep that was ever fed on hay.To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. The wool on this ram's back was reaching to the sky, The eagles built her nest, for I heard the young one's cry. To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. This old ram's head was as big as Noah's ark, My dog run up it's nostril and turned around and barked .To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. The horns upon this ram's head was so wide apart, It took a crow a month or two to fly from horn to horn.To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. This old ram he had four feet, When he set them on the ground, each would measure a mile around .To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. Now the man that cut this ram's throat stood knee deep in blood, The man that held the vessel got washed away in the flood .To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. Now the man that owned this ram, must have been independent rich, Or the man that made this song was a lying son of a ____, gun To my fa, to my fa, diddle day. [spoken] That was a big ram.

8. Much of our lore is tied to language Ethnicity doesn’t so much die as it fades away. Selecting and melding of cultures occurs both between language groups and with language groups. How is ethnic culture different from immigrant culture? For example the unofficial state song of Wisconsin, sung by the Goose Island Ramblers. Goose Island is the closest English pronunciation to the Norwegian god(t) land.

9. Im Himmel dar ist kein Bier - Sung by the Goose Island Ramblers ImHimmeldaristkein Bier, Drum trinkenwireshier. Dennsindwirnichtmehrhier, Danntrinken die andernunser Bier. In heaven there is no beer That's why we drink it here And when we're gone from here Our friends will be drinking all the beer. What is contradiction of a cultural context based upon language and family origin?

10. Some cultures do not display their language-based arts outside of the community A remarkable heritage is contained in children’s play from the African traditions retained without reference to architecture. Catharine Shipp of Bahilia, Mississippi sang children’s rhymes“Sea Lion Woman,” and “Old Uncle Rabbit” for the Library of Congress in 1939. Although the children cannot possibly have experienced or know what a sea lion might be, they retain the knowledge within the games and rhymes they learn from one another. Many African images, Aunt Nancy–Anansi the spider, crocodile, and monkey are remembered in this manner.

11. Old Uncle Rabbit and Sea Lion Woman sung by Catharine Shipp, Bahilia, Mississippi, 1939. Old Uncle Rabbit If I live, to see next fall, I ain't gonna raise no cabbage at all. Old Uncle Rabbit, Gotta a habit, In my garden eatin' all my cabbage. And If I live, to see next fall, I ain't gonna raise, no cabbage at all. Sea Lion Woman Sea Lion woman, Sea Lion, She drink coffee, Sea Lion, She drank tea, Sea Lion, and tell no lie, Sea Lion. Way down yonder, Sea Lion, behind a log, Sea Lion, And the rooster crows, Sea Lion, and tell no lie, Sea Lion. Sea Lion woman, Sea Lion, She drink coffee, Sea Lion, She drank tea, Sea Lion, and tell no lie, Sea Lion. Sea Lion woman, Sea Lion, She drink coffee, Sea Lion, She drank tea, Sea Lion, and tell no lie, Sea Lion.

12. What has age got to do with public memory? Consider these three recordings of mandolin music. None of these are classical compositions and each has special meaning for the community where these musicians played. So the lead instrument is ostensibly the same and the basic elaboration (arppegio) playing chords as a series of notes. Dill Pickles Rag ( composed by Charles L. Johnson, 1910) , ca 1976 Bluegrass All Stars (Jesse McReynolds) Costumi (Customs) Siciliani, 1928, Giovanni Giovale trio (two mandolins and guitar) play this mazurka. Russian Rag, (composed by George L. Cobb, 1918), ca 1929, David Appolan. Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor leads off a medley of popular tunes. Appolan grew up in a family of professional musicians in Russia—playing the balalika.Sweet Georgia Brown, ca 1935, Jim and Bob, the Genial Hawaiians.