I'm happy that so many of you listened to my radio program, Catskills Folk, about the African American festival of Pinkster on WIOX Tuesday night. Everyone I talked to enjoyed the African drumming and the tradition of "hambone." They wondered where to hear more. Here are all the resources I offered to share, including the link to the African drumming group you heard on Catskills Folk. --Ginny Scheer, Folklorist, Catskills Folk Connection.
The Pinkster Festival:
Pulse of the Planet www.pulseplanet.com
Listen to the series of short podcasts on Pulse of the Planet, a nationally distributed program about the natural and cultural environments. Under "Daily Programs" look for 2021 and choose the free podcasts for May 13 "Pinkster", May 14 "Hambone", and May 17 "The Slave King". These were the transcripts I read with the quotes from the SUNY New Palz professor Albert James Williams Myers, and from Keith Johnston and Ron McBee, musicians with Children of Dahomey.
Jalikunda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHfmgIb4mc
The group is shown playing at the Monserrat African Music Festival 2013. I chose this video to represent African drumming because it sounded the most like the drumming on Pulse of the Planet's podcasts.
"Patting Juba" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BCzIjY-taY&t=307s
A video from the 2009 ACTA Apprenticeship featuring Danny "Slap Jazz" Barber demonstrates Hambone for apprentice Sekani Thomas. His demonstration includes basic rhythmic patterns as well as the song "Juba," which had special meaning among slaves.
Pinkster at Philipsburg Manor www.hudsonvalley.org
The Pinkster festival is re-enacted every spring at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow, NY. The virtual presentation from 2020 includes five short videos which show the festival, its history and its cultural context. You can watch these directly on the website or find them and more on YouTube.
A History of Pinkster
Embracing Tradition
Music, Dance & Celebration
[Food:] Make Your Own Akara Black-eyed Pea Fritters
Recipe: download from video.
[Textiles:] Make Your Own Adinkra Stamps
Instructions: download from video.
Dyckman Farm Pinkster Festival https://dyckmanfarmhouse.org/events/
A re-enactment of Pinkster in New York City at 4881 Broadway at 204th Street, Manhattan. It takes place live in-person on May 27 from 6 to 7 pm. It is free. Bring your own blankets.
Announcements on Catskills Folk:
Canal Street String Band www.canalstreetstringband.com
The Grant Rogers Project and the Ogden Library in Walton, NY, are co-sponsoring a virtual concert on Saturday, June 5, at 7 pm featuring the Canal Street String Band with Dave Ruch, Phil Banaszak, and Jim Whitford. They will present a program of Grant Rogers songs and tunes, plus music from Delaware County NY and American favorites.
Catskill Folk Lyceum: The History of Square Dancing www.catskillsfolkconnection.blogspot.com
The history of square dancing in the northeastern U.S. will be the subject of a virtual talk on June 23, 7 pm, by David Millstone, noted expert on traditional music and dance. For more information about the link to the virtual talk, consult Catskills Folk Connection's blog after June 5.
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