09 July 2007
Virginia Rooted in Senegalese, Kentish and Native Cultures
Exhibit explores how three cultures lived and learned, side by side
Washington – The American Indian, African and English roots of modern-day Virginia culture were showcased at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington. Exhibit organizers took advantage of the attention focused on the U.S. state, also known as the “Old Dominion, as it commemorates the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Participants at the festival, which ended July 8, included artisans, farmers and craftspeople from Senegal, where many of the first African slaves originated, as well as Kent, England, which supplied Jamestown with its first English colonists. The participants were joined by representatives from Virginia’s eight remaining Indian tribes in an exhibit designed to show how all three groups contributed to the emerging culture of the state.
For example, Virginia’s famous peanuts have their origins in the first plants brought to the area by slaves. Near the French-speaking Senegalese farmers demonstrating how to raise the crops, Virginia farmer Sam Edwards showed visitors how his family has cured and aged Virginia hams for generations with salt and smoke from hardwood trees.
Amy Ritchie, who helped organize the Virginia Roots exhibit, said the state’s long history and varied landscapes made the presentation unique. “We’ve got mountains and we’ve got the maritime culture from the Tidewater area. And so many different cultures came together to form what is now Virginia,” she said. The mixing of cultures brought about musical innovations such as bluegrass, integrating songs from a Scots-Irish background with the banjo, an instrument brought from Africa.
“You see an English blacksmith and an African blacksmith. They all did blacksmithing in different ways, and they all learned from each other,” said festival volunteer Linda Stanier, who also worked on the Jamestown 2007 commemoration. (See related article.)
Karenne Wood, a member of Virginia’s Monacan tribe, demonstrated traditional beadwork. A bead necklace, which can take weeks to make, would often be used as a gift to show honor and the relationship between people.
“Beads have been considered spiritual objects in the culture because they are reflective. Objects that are shiny are considered to have some kind of significance, and the function is very decorative,” she said. But she added that, traditionally, Virginia’s Indians did not have a word for art. “You would make things beautiful because it was your obligation to do well by this material that you were using. You would make it as beautiful as you could, not just for art’s sake.”
Wood also demonstrated Virginia Indian dances, and said onlookers should be aware that cultural differences existed between the Siouan-speaking Monacan and the Algonquian-speaking descendants of the Powhatan tribes.
“Culturally there were many similarities, but in those days the dances would have been different. Nowadays we’ve learned each others’ dances in Virginia and we’ve developed friendships,” she said. Dance traditions also have evolved. For example, the two-step dance that was showcased with men and women dancing together would not have been done in the past.
“Virginia Indians are still here … their cultures are thriving. We’re not just people of the past,” Wood said. “We honor our past and we have adapted and changed, and we’re still here.” (See related article.)
Kentish artisan Keith Hill showcased the traditional English art of making stained-glass windows, similar to those that adorned some of Virginia’s first churches. He said he had seen “a lot of interest” by visitors to the Virginia Roots exhibit “from 4 years old and up. … There’s been something to interest everybody.”
After showing how soft lead rims would be bent to house the cut pieces of glass, he pulled out a photo of a strip of window lead unearthed in an excavation of a 17th-century American settlement. Inside, it was printed the name of the manufacturer, which was the same as on a similar strip of lead found in Kent. “So that’s where the link is,” he said. “It’s like putting their brand on it for advertising.”
Ham farmer Edwards said while it was “an honor” to be asked to participate, he also has made it a point to enjoy the showcases of his neighbors, making sure each of his trips to get water to help bear the summer heat take him through the music performance tents. He remarked that the festival itself might be contributing to new cultural innovations.
“At our hotel, they get together after the event’s over with, and musicians from different parts of the festival jam out on their own instruments,” he said. With the Folklife Festival featuring the Mekong River and Northern Ireland, as well as Virginia, “You get guys from China and Cambodia and Vietnam and the mountains of Virginia. And then you’ve got guys from Ireland singing about whisky,” he said. “I’m anxious to see how that turns out tonight.”
See also "Mekong River, Regional Culture Featured at Festival" and "Northern Ireland Exhibit Encourages Rethinking of Province."
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
