Cultural Geography – Folk Customs

from Around the World

Except as noted, all photos by Dale Lightfoot

Dale Lightfoot's Cultural Landscapes
From Around The World
Oklahoma State University
Geography Department
Folk Customs
• Folk customs (a.k.a. traditional customs) are
developed and practiced primarily by small,
homogeneous groups living in more isolated
rural areas. Social customs such as the provision
of clothing, shelter, transportation and food have
evolved differently in different areas of the world
because natural resources vary widely from
place to place. Folk customs reflect the benefits
and constraints of each group's environment, and
through cultural evolution, particularly the level
of technology, each generation has left its unique
imprint on the cultural landscape
2
Culture:
• Culture is the learned, generally accepted,
dynamic way of life of a group of people
which reflects the underlying and evolving
foundation of that society: their attitudes,
objectives, technical skills, and world view.

Adaptation, by Joe Naumann, of a definition expressed by

Preston E. James.

3
Surface Culture & Deep Culture
• Surface culture is composed of those
aspects of a way of life which are relatively
easily observed
• Deep culture provides the foundational
elements of a culture which are often
unexamined and held at the subconscious
level by most members of the society – the
attitudes, objectives, and world view.
4
Dress and Adornment
• An element of surface culture which
helps distinguish one culture from
another and even between subcultures
within a culture.
• It may be much more than just an
adaptation to the physical environment.
• It may be also an expression of concepts
held within the deep culture of the
society. 5
Guatemala

• Clothing style of
women and girls in
the Quichè
highlands of
western Guatemala.

6
 Guatemala
• While it is more common
in developing countries to
see women and girls
wearing traditional
clothing (with men more
commonly wearing
western-style clothing),
men in rural regions may
still prefer traditional
styles of dress (Santiago
Atitlàn, Guatemala).

7
Samoa

• Samoan chief in
traditional
clothing. Notice
the tattoo
adornment on leg
and torso also.

8
Spain
• Spanish girls
dancing at a feria (a
fair), Jerez, Spain. In
western, developed
countries some
styles of folk dress
may still be worn.

9
China
• A popular style
of clothing
among young
Chinese males.

10
 China
• The ubiquitous Mao
suit; a garment of
choice in China
since 1949 when
the
communist/Maoist
era began.

11
 Kazakhstan
• Kazakh rider in the
Alatau range
south of Almaty,
Kazakhstan; a
region of the world
traditionally
inhabited by
nomadic
horsemen. 12
Uzbekistan

• Uzbek man in
Samarkand
oblast,
Uzbekistan.

13
 Uzbekistan

• A variety of female traditional clothing in

Samarkand oblast, Uzbekistan. 14
Syria

• Grandmother
and grandson,
rural village of
Fedra, Syria.

15
 Yemen
• Sari-style conservative
female-wear in
Sana'a,Yemen; a
different look than the
more common chadar
or burka worn outside
of the home by most
women in the Arabian
Peninsula.
16
 Jordan
• Kufiyah (headcloth)
and igal (double
ring of black cord);
traditional raiment
of males in the
Middle East (Jordan
Valley, Jordan).

17
 Morocco
• Water seller in
traditional garb; a
common sight in
Morocco at markets,
bus stations, and
other public places
where crowds gather
(Marrakech,
Morocco).
18
 Jordan

• Kufiyah-capped Bedouin shepherds in the desert

of northeast Jordan. 19
 Morocco

• Berber farmer, Tafilalt Oasis, southern Morocco.

20
Morocco

• Modern Berber;
Addi Ouadderrou
of qsar Mezguida,
Tafilalt Oasis,
Morocco.

21
Italy

• Ethnic dress of the

bagpipe player in
Rome, Italy is worn for
commercial
purposes – tourists
pay to have photos
taken of or with him.
• Photo by Joe Naumann

22
Architecture
• Another distinguishing element of
surface culture which may be
influenced by elements of deep
culture.

23
 Canada

• Folk architecture has always utilized materials found in abundance

in the local environment. These reconstructed 11th century sod
buildings are built from blocks of earth cut from the tundra. Few trees
or stones are available for building materials in this part of the 24
world; northern Newfoundland, Canada.
 Syria

• Beehive-style houses constructed of dried earth;

a material found in abundance on the arid plains
of central Syria.
25
 Syria

• Cone-roofed houses constructed of stone; in the

very stony landscape around Fedra, near Daret
Ezza, northwest Syria. 26
 Syria

• In areas where nomadism (moving to follow herd animals) is a way

of life, stones or mud brick are not practical because they are too
heavy to move. These people, who frequently move their home sites,
use animal skins or heavy cloth tents which can be folded or rolled
up and carried to a new location (Syria). 27
 Yemen

• Elaborate ornamentation in the stonework

of a house in Thilla, Yemen . 28
 Yemen
• Traditional "cake
icing" style of
architecture and
decoration on Yemeni
buildings in The Sana'a
region. This folk
architecture, complete
with unique, semi-
circular stained glass
insets above each
window in the house, is
still retained in
modern buildings. 29
 Nebraska

• Old settler's cabin constructed of split logs,

eastern Nebraska. 30
 Dominican Republic

• Houses constructed of palm wood and thatch, the most

abundant construction material available around La 31
Isabella settlement, Dominican Republic.
 Jordan

• Traditional architecture constructed with more modern

building materials of concrete and cinder block. This
neighborhood in central Amman, Jordan is typical of 32
modern, middle class, Middle East architecture.
 Poland

• Traditional European architecture in the Old Town

of Warsaw, Poland. 33
Religion
• On the surface, one observes
architecture, rituals, dress, behavior,
etc. which arise out of deep culture
which is very resistant to change.

34
 Mexico

• Religion is another
facet of culture that is
commonly etched into
the landscape. This
remote shrine in the
southern Baja
peninsula of Mexico
provides evidence that
Christianity is
entrenched in this part
of the world.
35
 Egypt

• A mosque with twin minaret spires at the southern

entrance of the Suez Canal in Egypt reveals the ubiquitous
presence of Islam in this region of the world. 36
 Armenia

• The "Mr. Pig" restaurant in Yerevan, Armenia. Though this country

borders the Islamic countries of Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, it is
obviously not Islamic (it is a Christian nation) as pork, and
references to pigs and pork, are avoided in Muslim regions. 37
 South Korea
• Buddhist pagoda along
a remote highland trail,
Nam San Mountains,
near Kyongju, South
Korea. Buddhist
features, both large
and small, have been
frequently etched into
the landscapes of
eastern and
southeastern Asia.
38
Transportation
• An aspect of surface culture which is
greatly influenced by the technological
level of the society.

39
 Guatemala

• A home-built canoe in Lake Atitlàn, western Guatemala.

Traditional forms of transportation persist throughout the
world, especially in less developed countries, despite the
presence of, and growing dependence on, modern 40
transport.
 China

• People-powered fishing vessels in the Li River, near

Yangshuo, China. 41
Ecuador

• Family transport
with Dad at the
steering pole; on
the Rio Napo, upper
Amazon Basin,
eastern Ecuador.

42
 Colombia

• Heading home from market with a head full

of produce (southern Colombia). 43
Mexico

• Burro
transportation,
Paricutìn area,
Mexico.

44
 Morocco

• "Ships of the desert"; Sahara traffic at Erg

Chebbi, near Merzouga, Morocco. 45
 Morocco

• The family wagon; mom is being chauffeured. A

common form of transportation in the Tafilalt
Oasis, Rissani, Morocco.
46
 Nicaragua

• Ox cart, Grenada, Nicaragua. 47

 Portugal

• Horse cart, Serpa, Portugal. Folk transportation is

still sometimes seen in more developed countries.48
 Georgia (former USSR)

• Hay wagon in northeast Georgia. Though the modern

capital of Tblisi is well developed, folk ways of life are still
visible in the countryside of this former Soviet state. 49
 Syria

• Mazote wagon, Aleppo, Syria (mazote is the local name for

diesel used to fuel home heaters). In spite of the presence
of modern cars and trucks, the horse-drawn wagon
remains the preferred method of transport for delivering 50
mazote in rural and urban areas alike
 Syria

• Homemade three-wheeled vehicles, Palmyra, Syria. Because of the

expense of imported cars (all cars here are imported), people in
many developing countries construct their own vehicles from spare
parts, operations which sometimes evolve into small cottage
industries which design and build similar vehicles for local mass
51
consumption.
 China

• Jerry-built cars in southeast China; a common

vehicle in this region. 52
 Italy

• Cart is used to transport tourists today, more than it is used

for its traditional use – wedding gift of a farmer to his son –
to be used on the farm later. Agrigento, Sicily.
53
• Photo by Joe Naumann
 Syria

• A traditional method of plowing, near Menbij, Syria. Such

methods are still used in countries where mechanized
farming is rare, and in developing countries where
mechanization is common but the animals can still be
used on very small plots or where the ground is too muddy54
to support a tractor.
 Oklahoma

• Longhorn cattle, western Oklahoma. Livestock herding

practices vary widely around the world, and while cattle,
sheep, and goats predominate, other domesticates are still55
raised in folk fashion.
 Jordan

• Bedouin woman tending to her herd of camels and

goats, Wadi Araba, southern Jordan. 56
 Egypt

• Cattle and camel...an unusual mix; middle

Nile Valley, Egypt. 57
Peru

• An Indìgena with her pack llama, near

Cuzco, Peru. 58
 Peru

• Alpaca herd grazing in the high Andes Mountains,

between Nazca and Cuzco, central Peru. 59
Hawaii
• "Pigs...for
graduation...order
now." Were you
presented with a pig
for your graduation?
You might have, had
you lived in rural
Hawaii and wanted
to roast one for a
traditional luau
celebration.
60
 Uzbekistan

• Dung cakes drying in the sun in rural Uzbekistan. Animal

fecal waste, mixed with straw as a binding agent, has
served as a heating and cooking fuel for many world
61
regions throughout human history.
 Uzbekistan

• A gathering at the village water well and

pool, rural central Uzbekistan. 62
 Yemen

• Outside of villages and their centralized public wells,

permanent settlement in dry land regions requires a
smaller private or communal well (Hadramaut region, 63
eastern Yemen).
 Syria

• The interior channel of a qanat, or subterranean canal, in

Syria. Called karez, foggara, or falaj in other countries
these traditional irrigation system have for many
centuries provided water for villages and oases across
north Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia. 64