Ethnicity

Electrifying class today: very cool. So, keeping with that, this week's question:

Does your 'ethnicity' constitute a significant part of your self-identity? Why or why not?

As always, you should describe what you mean by 'ethnicity.'

I'm a little slow in adding last week's answers, but they will be up by tomorrow at the latest.

By the way, unless the bookstore is back in stock, I have some photocopies of the next reading outside my office door. There are about seven, which hopefully is enough to fill the gap.

Answers: Folk groups

A little late off the mark, but here we go: answers to the folk group question. Again, you see a broad range of things, from family (including interesting sub-groups within a family, like 'the women' or a pair of brothers), to sports groups, to Cape Breton, to fan cultures. Some of you have noticed groupings (like "Occupational" or "Ethnic") that crop up later in the semester, so, um, good for you. Some even suggested that affilnity for a particular activity - hackysack - makes one part of an international community: the 'common interest' is enough for wholly new groups to emerge (and disband).

1. At an early age I have become very interested in music. Not at first was I making music of my own, but I always loved listening to music or watching people performe. As years went by, I finally got my first guitar at age of 9 and began to take lessons. As years proceeded further, my interests grew. I expanded my musical abilities from guitar, to bass, to drums, to piano, and am still increasing. It was around the age of 13 when i formed my first band. Although we sucked horably, we loved it. We learned old school rock covers and eventually started to play little shows such as birthday partys and house partys. That band didnt last too long though, after many member changes we decided to split up. Going from band to band i began meeting alot of new people who shared the same extreme interest in music as i did. After years of band changes i finally found the one in which i thought was right. We worked really hard and eventually recorded a cd and were getting pretty good exposure. Now we are curently on a major break writing new songs so we can make a new cd and tour in the summer. The 3 years of this band consisted of alot of hard work to get where we have gotten. Each member learned to coop with one another and each take part in there own responsiblitities. We work as a group, all focused on the same goal. We practise alot, play shows alot, and write new material alot. It wouldn't work like this if one of us wasnt as dedicated as we are. Also, it wouldn't work if one of us weren't focused on the same factor. We are indeed a fold group. We may not look upon ourselves as a folk group, but we are in fact one. I believe a band that works good within its limits and is focused on the same common factor is deffinitly conciderd as a cultural folk group.


2. I am, by nature, a very solitary person, and so cannot lay claim to being a part of many groups. Those that I am a part of, however, can be seen as very important to the identification of myself. One such group is that of "Star Wars" fandom, whose members range from the fans of the movies to those people who dress up, go into parks and fight with one another using plastic lightsabers. I am in the middle here, having a venerable library of book and memoribilia, and yet do not go and partake in aforementioned events. Oddly enough, I have been unable to find another who shares the same interests in this franchise. Regardless if I am the only one who participates in the celebration of a ground breaking movie saga, it is a group that I can call friends, and if I stretch it, maybe even Family.


3. Folk groups are surrounding, no matter where you stand your a part of a certain folk group. An important folk group of where I belong would be my hometown. Labrador is my hometown, where I grew up, met friends, went to school, learned everything about life that I needed to know. I consider Labrador my folk group due to the fact that I know so much about the place, it made me proud of my people and most of all our traditions such as mummering during Christmas. Labrador as a whole stands for more then I actually know but from being from the Southern Labrador Coast I sure know of where I stand as a true Labradorian and it will stick with me until the day I die. Yes, I’m now a part of Cape Breton but it doesn’t have the same meaning of folk group as what my hometown does.


4. A folk group that i consider myself being a aprt of would be Scouts Canada , I used to be a Beaver Leader since 1998, and i althought i no longer do it I still help out as often as i can wether it be a sleepovers or bake sales. I beleive this could be a folk group because we all have the same values about being a beaver leader and we all feel that volunteering our time to help younger kids is worth while I could be involved in many other folk groups but this is the only one i thought of.


5. A folk group that I am a part of would probably be my MacDonald family members, that I spend time with during the holidays and other family events. We usually eat a family supper and enjoy each others company. My family is a folk group because we share the same heritage and a certain bond with one another.


6. One folk group in which I am a member of is as a resident of New Waterford. There are many things about the people of New Waterford and the town itself that make us distinct. At 8:30 pm every night our local Volunteer fire department sets off what is known as the Eight-Thirty Whistle which started as a curfew and continues as a tradition to this day. As children we were told that we had to be home or in our yards when the whistle went off. Our community has many celebrations such as Coal Dust Days; a weeklong celebration of our community usually around the third week of July. Every February our town hosts the Annual Coal Bowl Classic which is a weeklong basketball tournament. My town also commemorates the death of a minor who was shot to death On June 11 by the coal company security forces at Waterford Lake during the miners’ strike of 1925; it is known as Davis Day. My community takes pride in our mining history along with our cultures and traditions.


7. A folk group that I am a member of is a religious folk group. My family & I are catholic, and attend church on a regular basis. I believe that being part of this group means a lot to our family and the way we interact with each other and also other people. Religion helps identify who I am and shapes my values, beliefs, and of course my behavior in every day life. I believe being catholic is an example of a folk group because this is an example of a group I belong to where two or more people share common factors and beliefs.


8. Folk group in which i am a member : University student What makes it a folk goup : we all share the common interest of learning. the things we learn in university are communicated from one generation to the next (prof to student).


9. I participate in Tae Kwon Do. It is very traditional. We learn about the culture and heritage of Korea while learning this awsome martial art. Tae Kwon Do was passed down from father to son for many, many generations. It is how Korea trains their military now actually. The only aspect of Tae Kwon Do that has changed is that we don't try to kill each other now a days. It is meant for self-defence, good health, pride and self- confidence.


10. A folk group which I am of member of is one made up of about eight females in my family and extended family.Each year in December my mother, sister, aunts, cousins and myself travel to Halifax for a weekendto go on a Christmas shopping trip. We stay in a hotel and go out to eat at a nice restaurant. We all share an interest in shopping. It is a weekend for us females to bond and have some family fun. We share lots of laughs and memories and plan on continuing this with our kids and grandkids.


11. As a fan of the Harry Potter book series, this connects me to other fans of the Harry Potter books series because we all share this common interest; therefore myself and other fans are all part/members of a folk group. Aside from reading the books, members of this particular folk group may discuss the books’ characters and the plots with other members, watch the film adaptations of the books, or collect paraphernalia related to the series.


12. I took highland dance lessons for 5 years from Forrester Dance, I think it is a folkgroup because we all had the same interest in learning part of our Scottish heritage, highland fling, sword dance etc. because they were dances they had in the old days and still passing on the tradition in this generation.


13. One folk group I am a part of is the Sydney Academy Boys division 1 basketball team. My boyfriend is the head coach of the team and I mark score and help out with tournaments. We also fun raise a lot so any time they need help with that I'm there as well, working in the canteen or even just selling tickets, 50/50 or on baskets. This past weekend I drove a van of kids to Halifax for a tournament, and everyone else who is a part of this group all car pooled together. The folk group consists of the teams members, coachs, and also their mothers and fathers. We all love basketball who is a part of this folk group and we all meet at the games, usually, every tuesday and thursday nite to chear on our team. Sometimes we will get together and wear all blue and white, because thats our teams colors. We even make signs or noise makers to really get loud and chear for our team. The kids that go to Sydney Academy would also be a part of this folk group too but there are a certain few of us that are there consistently there every week being a part of the team.


14. One folklore group that im a part of would be the Macdonald Elementary Girls Basketball Team. One of my friends is the head coach and then me and two other friends help assist her with coaching. We practise on Thursdays and Sundays, and usually have one game a week. The girls range from grade 4 to grade 6. There is 12 girls on the team. The four of us coaches usually get together and talk about games, practises, and how the girls are doing. We also set up fundraisers and we had a Christmas party for them. We are invited to two tournaments this year so we will have to put aside two of our weekends for the girls. These young girls look up to us so we have to be rolemodels for them. I think this is a folklore group because all 16 of us have something in common, basketball. Us four coaches all love every part of the game and want to share our skill with these young athletes. We take time out of our day to teach the girls and to make sure they learn and have a fun year playing basketball. The 12 young girls all come to basketball every week hoping to learn something new and we hope that we can teach them so they can go on to jr. high and play at a higher level.


15. I am a part of a few folk groups. I am of Irish and English ancestry. This constitutes a folk group because it is something I share this with other people. This is a very general folk group. A more specific example of a folk group I am a member of is air cadets. I was in it since I was 12. Air Cadets is a folk group because it is a meaningful organization that brings people together. Cadets has many distinct behaviours, customs and traditions. They include marching, music, dress regulations, orders etc. People act in a certain way and tend to do the same thing. Cadets is something I share with people and because it is done basically the same way everywhere. It is meaningful because people attend routinely and make it part of their lives, they feel they are gaining something by being a member. Being a volunteer for the Salvation Army may also be considered a folk group. Everyone who volunteers with this organization shares the same goal. This goal is to raise money for the needy and people work together to do this. I participate in the annual Christmas kettle drive. People in folk groups share something that is meaningful; this can be anything really from a charitable organization to a musical group. Everyone is a part of a folk group in one form or another; in fact one could argue that folklore, the course, is a folk group. Everyone in the class shares the meaningful factor that we want to pass and we have to participate in the traditions of assignments, homework and an exam and of course folklore itself should just be meaningful to everyone.


16. A folk group I belong to is one in which I live, Cape Breton. I have taken part in the well known, "kitchen party," and I have endured many hours of the Rankins, Rita MacNeil, and Natalie MacMaster.


17. I belong to the folk group of " Forrester School of Celtic Dance " It is a dance company that shares many interests and activities. We all love celtic music uncluding all of the instruments involved. We all share a passion for fiddles, bodhrans, piano, bagpipes vocals and of course our steppin feet! We all travel together and perform both traditional and modern dances, step dances. They mean a lot to us and are proud to carry these traditions on.


18. When asked the question “What folk group are you a member of?” I immediately thought that I was not a member of any folk group. But after further investigation of what an actual folk group is, I found that I was part of one. The folk group I am part of is the group of brothers. Some of the “guidelines” in determining which folk group a person belongs to are as follows: two or more people who share a common interest, identity markers, etc. The folk group to some would not necessarily be an actual group, but based on these guidelines, it is. As I was reading my notes on folk groups I noticed that a folk group didn’t necessarily mean it had to be an actual physical group such as Alcoholics Anonymous etc, but it could be a group in which two people share at least one common factor. The bond between me and my brother is a bond that we cannot break, which is the first common factor that me and my brother share, the relation of brothers. The second common factor that we share is our blood type, we have the same parents, therefore we have the same blood, and his blood is my blood. Thirdly, we have the same parents, you might not know by how the two of us look so different, but we do. Fourthly, we have the same family; cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. Based on these common factors we are a group. These factors are more that factors however, they are identity markers that we consider meaningful, as would any other relationship. Sure my brother and I have our ups and downs, but this comes with the fact that we are bothers and the fact that I am nearly a decade older than him. I live my life, and he lives his, but we find time to bring our lives together and really just be brothers. Whether is it playing video games, watching a movie or just talking, the activities that we do bring us together. Being away from home being own my own, making mistakes and having only myself to rely on, just living out my life on my own has been hard, but the fact that I have family and talk to them has helped. Out of everyone that I have left behind I miss my brother the most, it seems strange because we live out or own lives, and it is just a fact of life that people move on, but the common factors that we share keep us together.


19. At my work two sets of folkgroups exist. I would consider all the associates that work during the day a folkgroup and all the associaters that work weekends and evenings a different folkgroup. I've been apart of both because i didn't attend school last semester so i usually worked during the day. Since i went back to school i've changed shifts and also folkgroups. What makes each of these a folkgroup is the different experiences, the different kinds of work, and relating to that work, for example during the day every time we get a cycle count we talk about how much we hate them, but the evening crew don't have to do them so they can't relate the same way the day shift would. These are the things that give future shop two folkgroups instead of the whole store being one folkgroup.


20. The folk group in which I associate myself with most would be the NSGA (Nova Scotia Golfers Assotiation). This was the first thing that came to mind because golf is so important to me, it takes up a good amount of my time over the summer. I think it is a folk group because it has many of the characteristics of folk. It is very important, the people part of the group share the same feelings and many of the same characteristics of one another. I also feel a folk group should have some tradition to it and the NSGA has many years under its belt (1920's) and golf even more history. For this I feel the NSGA would be considered a folk group.


21. I belong to a very elite folk group; the group is known as the Cape Breton Hackeysackers. Us “Sackheads” are quite close knit and even if we have never met, anyone can walk into one of the random circles that pop up everywhere one goes and be greeted with a smile. At first one may not think of this activity as a folk group, in fact I am inclined to think of it as a sport, but if one were to leave the island they would realize something I have just learned recently and should always have known. This being that the tricks I have grown to love so much are known by completely different names, also depending upon where you are the calling of hackysack varies significantly.


22. I am still unsure about what is consider a folk group and because I do not belong to many groups the only one that I can think of that has traditions, and ceremonies is the church I belong to. We all have a common believe in God and our religion. We have weekly services that keep us together as a group. Besides the weekly services we have other distinct services like getting a baby dedicated to the church, or getting baptized and becoming a member of the church. We also have a day at the first of December where anyone who goes to the church can sing or read, or do something that they want, giving people a way to interact with the church. I think that because of the history and the traditions that my church has that it is a folk group.
23. One of the folkgroups I am a member of is the one that we (me and some of my friends) do every Wednesday that America's Next Top Model is on. This is a folkgroup because it is a significant factor that four or five of us every single week gather together to watch it. We always watch it in Chantel's room, with subtitles on. Every week we always guess at which girl is going to have the top photo, and comment on which girls took the best pictures. We even always have certain places that we sit when we watch Top Model. This is an important folkgroup because even though we all live in different residences, we always come together and do certain things every week that we watch Top Model.
24. I belong to many folk groups but the one that sticks out the most in my mind is the ability to cook. I can not think of many of my friends that can cook or follow a recipe. I'm not being mean they just suck. Well that did sound mean but my friend Karen is trying to get me to teach her how to cook the basics and I have tasted more burnt food and swallowed more uncooked food then should ever be allowed. She has her hart in the right place but she just doesn't get it. My parents taught me how to cook, well mostly my Dad. He was a house husband, who when starting out over cooked everything but in the end was one of the best chefs I have ever had the pleasure meeting. My Mom's family all bake and cook but most do the baking part a lot better then the cooking. Each aunt and uncle has their own dish that they make for all the family gatherings, and now I start to bring my own dishes. Being able to cook is something that sets me apart for most of my friends. They are just starting to lean and I am well on my way. (At least I think I am.)
25. I guess I would be a part of the Hellenic (Greek) folk group although my presence and participation in those folk activities has dwindled. As a Greek we eat.... a lot. Furthermore love to dance listen to loud Mediterranean music and enjoy large family gatherings. We are a culture very much in Diaspora and we relate to the social and cultural norms of our homelands of Cyprus and Greece and eventually wish to return there.
26. I somewhat understand this question I think ..... For as long as I could remember my old bus driver "Ralph" drove our route everyday... he was old.. and drove a couple generations before me.. he eventually retired.. I am part of the folk group that used to go on the "Ralph" bus???? I am on a support group for breast feeding mothers.. is that one? It should be I guess. uhh.. I dont get it.. lol I attend the CBU and have my own little part of the building called the MCI (Mi'kmaq Center Institute) where all of us Mi'kmaq people hang out.. And it's been here since the University was made I guess..

Pretty rich melting pot we got here, n'est-ce pas?