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Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
This post provides an overview of Hawaiian traditional music collections in the archives of the American Folklife Center.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Cowboys, Cultural Heritage, ethnomusicologists, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Hawai'i, Hawaiian Americans, NEA National Heritage Fellowship, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans, Storytelling
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On April 27, 2023, the American Folklife Center (AFC) joined four other divisions at the Library of Congress to welcome a delegation from Hawai'i. Attendees included members of two Royal Families, as well as representatives of the 'Ionali Palace in Honolulu and the Daughters of Hawai'i, an organization founded to preserve Hawaiian language, culture, and collective memory. The delegation enjoyed presentations about the Library's Hawaiian collections, and four delegates sang a beautiful version of "Lili'uokalani's Prayer," a composition written by the last monarch and Queen of Hawai'i, Lili'uokalani, who ruled from 1891 to 1893. Read about the visit and about AFC's Hawaiian collections in this guest blog post by Douglas D. Peach.
Posted in: Cowboy and Western Music, Pacific Islander History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
At the time that turned the heat of the earth, At the time when the heavens turned and changed, At the time when the light of the sun was subdued To cause light to break forth, At the time of the night of Makalii (winter) Then began the slime which established the earth, The source …
Posted in: Folksong, Hawaiian Americans, Languages and Dialects, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans
Posted by: Megan Harris
This post announces the launch of “Forged By the Sea,” the Veterans History Project’s latest online exhibit, which celebrates the Navy’s 250th birthday. The post discusses Navy history in broad terms and spotlights some of the featured collections, as well as directing readers to additional Navy-related resources.
Posted in: Navy, Oral History, Photographs, Service Branches, Veterans History Project, VHP 25th
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
In celebration of National Barbecue Month, AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas turns to the Center's archival collections for inspiration and insight on what makes for the best barbecue.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
Readers are encouraged to take a virtual road trip through AFC's digital collections in celebration of National Road Trip Day, observed on the Friday before the Memorial Day Weekend.
Posted in: African Americans, Collection Highlight, Community Collections Grants, Tourism
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The latest post in the Homegrown Plus series features Boots Lupenui and the Kohala Mountain Boys performing heritage songs of the Kohala region of the Big Island of Hawai’i. Led by Boots Lupenui, the Kohala Mountain Boys are committed to uncovering and preserving musical treasures that helped to define the moku of Kohala on Hawai'i Island. In Boots's words, "Old-time Kohala music is soulful, playful, poetic and fierce, the manifold voice of a vibrant and extraordinary people. We want to recover and share the heirloom songs currently known only to a few isolated and precious old voices, their words and tunes unsung for years. The ancient musical essence of our beloved and mystical Kohala may be lost in this generation. Reclaiming our heirloom songs strengthens our ancestral ties to our homeland. It is a source of pride that can be shared by all the families and all the people of Kohala, for generations to come." Lupenui and his team were the recipients of a Community Collections Grant to document songs written by Kohala residents which might otherwise be lost; the collection is online at the Library of Congress website. This concert provides another way to experience these songs. Just like other blogs in the series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections, as well as Boots's finished documentary film about documenting the heirloom songs of Kohala.
Posted in: AFC Events, Community Collections Grants, Hawaiian Americans, Homegrown Concert Series, Homegrown Plus, Pacific Islander History
Posted by: Guha Shankar
The American Folklife Center proudly announces the availability of an online collection of documentary field research created through the Community Collections Grants (CCG) program. Unearthing the Lost Songs of Kohala is an initiative of the research team of Mark Boots Keahi aʻamau pio ʻole i ka poli o Pele Lupenui (project director, interviewer, and musician), Adam Palya (videographer), and Cheryl Lupenui (project manager). Their year-long efforts have resulted in this unique collection of video recordings, song sheets, and photographs that document generations-old “heirloom songs” of the Kohala region in the northwest portion of the island of Hawai’i.
Posted in: Community Collections Grants, Cultural Heritage, Folk Music, Hawaiian Americans, Narratives, Native Americans/indigenous communities, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
On the day after National Coffee Day, AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas chases down references to the popular caffeinated drink in the Center’s archival collections.
Posted in: Collection Highlight, Foodways