TRADITION

Indri Septyaningrum (145110101111060)

What is tradition ?
Tradition is Both Lore and Process
Something that creates and confirm identity
Something that the group identifies as a tradition
Tradition is Both Lore and Process

It indicates the lore of folk groups and the process of

communicating that lore.

Example : the story, the act of storytelling, and the ways

that stories and storytelling come to be meaningful
within a group.

There is a sense of continuity in tradition which suggest

the importance of time and repetition.
Something that creates and confirm identity

Groups select traditions, choosing events and heroes

from their cultural past that shape that past to match
their present conception of themselves.

Participation in and sharing of a particular groups

traditions allows members of a group to feel they are
part of it.

Sometimes they are unconscious or conscious.

Something that the group identifies as a tradition

Traditions must be identified as meaningful by groups.

Along with that comes the idea that folk groups claim
as tradition and participate in those traditions that
allow them to share values and beliefs that are
important to them.
It must be relevant and meaningful to the group.
But, not in the exact same way or be exactly the same
lore.
How do people learn and share traditions?

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz : Culture as a web.

We learn from past groups, but we also learn from

people and groups that exist now; we form and adapt
tradition in the present to suit groups current interest
and experiences.

We share traditions in many different ways, in many

different context, across whole web of culture.
Do Traditions disappear?

Traditions rarely end completely unless they cease to

have meaning for the group that performs the
traditions or the group reaches a natural or logical
end.

Most of the time, traditions change and evolve naturally

and what appears to be an ending is really an adaption.

Sometimes traditions may change or appear to end

because of convenience or changes in taste.
Dynamic and Conservative Elements of Traditions

Barre Toelken suggests that folklore possesses both

dynamic (changing) and conservative (static) features
that allow it to be adaptable yet still maintain a sense
of continuity.
Conservative side of tradition : all the factors within
such a performance that are defined by the
community, those that are more powerful than the
individuals preferences.
 Dynamic : the creativity of expression in any given
situation, the factors that keep the tradition vital.
Dynamic elements need not create dramatic
differences in order for tradition to be adapted and
varied.
Central feature of folklore is that it is variable and
always responsive to external and internal changes
that influence groups.
Inventing Tradition

Hobsbawm and Ranger

These may be traditions that are entirely invented, created

and put in place for particular reason, or they may be more
subtly emergent traditions that have taken hold quickly.

A new group may invent traditions that it assumes will be

carried out in its future.

Created by an existing group

Inventing tradition works to establish and identify the

parameters of the group itself
The Question of Authenticity

The commodification or marketing of folklore

The political/social uses of texts
The scholarly study of texts
The commodification or marketing of folklore

Commodification is the process by which something

becomes a commodity, something that is bought, sold
or traded.
Example : adoption of fairytale themes in the creation
and selling of new Barbie dolls.
Many raise the concern that folklore manipulated in
this way to make money devalues the expressive and
communicative qualities of folklore texts, turning them
into meaningless object.
The political/social uses of texts

To influence peoples values or behaviors.

Richard Dorson introduced the term fakelore to
describe these kinds of purposefully directed, created
text, first with reference to collection of fabricated
written and sold as popular entertainment.
The intention was to impose particular values and
misinformation upon a population.
Folklorist disagreed over whether fakelore even really
exist.
 The scholarly study of texts

The main interest of folklore scholars is not necessarily

whether traditions are authentic or not, but rather the ways
groups perceive authenticity.

Most important idea is that the determination of authenticity:

Authenticity is best understood in terms of the activity of

communication within a group; if a group is sharing a
particular tradition and communicating through it and it has
meaning for the group, the tradition is authentic.
Conclusion

Traditions are part of who we are and how we define

ourselves.

We engage in an active process of building and

sharing identity every time we take part in traditions.
THANK YOU