Gratitude

Giving, Goodness, Gathering in Folklife

In these gray desert days of December, another year circles and brings warmth from holiday ritual. The abundant joy around us does not distract from an equally great burden of social and environmental ills. We look for comfort and we find it in simple gratitude - a seasonal, year-end reflection of a most worthy component of folklife.

We indulge in a feast of gratitude, as we herald the birth of the Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA) this past year. We bless the bounty of respect that inspired SFA...and we're mindful of how much SFA plans to give back and extend the value of folklife into new regional nooks and crannies, in the year ahead.

So in connecting with friends via the seasonal practices, we celebrate what folklife gives to our communities. In BorderLore we share with readers the abounding faces, places and activities of folklife deserving of our thanks. This month:

The goblet drum that is Planet Djembe's namesake translates to "everyone gather together in peace." And this West African traditional drumming group is grateful for TMY inter-connectiveness, a defining purpose of festival and performance, as discussed here.
Mar�a Jes�s Robles, a master of Mexico's pierced paper tradition, was taught by her grandmother in Tepic, Mexico. For over 40 years Maria has proudly demonstrated her papel picado art, and we learn more about her gifting of tradition, here.
In researching Tucson's Scandinavian culture, folklorist Nic Hartman discovered the special joys of this community's jamtpolska dance - and for this he is thankful. Read Nic's essay about how dance traditions enrich our community spirit.

Food is the centerpiece of holiday gatherings, and The O'odham Ladies serve up steaming bowls of chili and tradition at various community gatherings. Their popovers and tacos have been part of Old Pascua Easter traditions more than 20 years. New to Tucson Meet Yourself, The O'odham Ladies tell us more about giving thanks for festival food here.

In our News Round-up:
We look ahead to the SFA Ethnographic Field School in Rio Sonora on January 18-24, 2015, and are grateful to the UA's Southwest Center and Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry, without whose support, our Field School would not be possible. Get details and more about our sponsors here.
Last year's tragic mine spills along Rio Sonora had devastating effects on the region's people, wildlife and nature. SFA appreciates the beautiful region which hosts our Field School, and joins others in building awareness about the spill and the need for the river clean-up here.

The desert gives thanks for water, as well as references to it in contemporary American Indian writing. Explore a 2015 series by American Indian writers organized by the UA American Indian Studies and the Department of English.
We're most certainly grateful for the magic of storytelling! Check details about the Tohono O'odham Cultural Center & Museum youth group's telling of "Ha:sa� Ha'icu A:ga" here.

Other resources and news are here.

The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkley references Robert Emmons, who speaks about a key component of gratitude that recognizes sources of goodness outside of ourselves that "...gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives."

This social dimension of gratitude is way of life at SFA, and affirms the new personal investments of stewardship ahead for us. Happily, those who believe in the power of everyday folklife not only share and appreciate this passion, but seek to pay it forward, and we look ahead to 2015 with renewed hope.

� 2014, Southwest Folklife Alliance. All rights reserved. BorderLore is the monthly e-news magazine of Southwest Folklife Alliance, bringing thoughtful documentation about regional folklore, folklife and all manners of artful ways (in language, food, dress, music, decoration, storytelling, history) that residents of these often-conflicted border lands produce and share.

Editor: Dr. Maribel Alvarez
Managing Editor: Monica Surfaro-Spigelman

Thank you for reading this newsletter. We welcome your feedback, commentary and any suggestions or ideas. Write to us at: info@tucsonmeetyourself.org

Previous issues of BorderLore Newsletter are archived here and here.

Thank you for reading Tucson Meet Yourself BorderLore Newsletter

December 2014 Stories:

When Drums Express the Abundance of Heart

A Maestro's Gift: Banderolas Tradition

Heritage and Dance Connect Community

Savor Tasty Treasures

Field School As Hands-On Culture

Aiding the Rio Sonora

Winter Stories

In Brief for December 2014