WHO OWNS FOLKLORE? A Discussion Paper by Graham Seal

  • INTRODUCTION
  • THE NEED TO IDENTIFY, COLLATE AND PRESERVE FOLKLORE
  • FOLKLORE AS AN ECONOMIC RESOURCE
  • FROM PUBLIC DOMAIN TO COMMUNITY RIGHT
  • THE NEED TO CONSIDER THESE DIFFICULT ISSUES
  • BIBLIOGRAPHY

    •  

    FOLKLORE AS AN ECONOMIC RESOURCE

    As noted above, folklore has not usually been treated as an economic resource. When and where it has been recognised, preserved, studied or taught it has generally been as an aspect of heritage, cultural and/or artistic expression. However, there are increasingly compelling reasons to begin considering folklore as an economic resource. These include: *
    • Its role as a marker of cultural identity. This is especially relevant in indigenous and ethnic groups, where cultural maintenance (despite the problem of cultural lag in relation to the progress of the originating culture) is of great concern.
    • the increasing interest of the commercial world in utilising folklore and traditional materials. In the Australian context we are perhaps most familiar with the situation regarding the appropriation and exploitation of traditional Aboriginal designs, but this is only the most publicised aspect of a widespread process that includes the use of folk customs and other lore for touristic purposes, the medical application of traditional remedies, recordings, publications and performances of traditional song, music, dance, story, verse and other forms of lore. The popular music phenomenon labelled 'world music', for instance, is essentially commodified traditional music. [3]

    • Closely related to the above are considerations of ownership and control of the knowledge and information contained in folklore. Who owns folklore? If, as folklorists generally assert, folklore is shared cultural property, how can ownership in a commercial sense be determined? Can it be determined? Are copyright and other intellectual or cultural property laws and precedents relevant? If so, how? These difficult questions are only beginning to be addressed [4]

      but are rapidly becoming acute.

    • Some aspects of folklore are the focus of 'folk festivals'. While these were once largely restricted to aficionados and revivalists, such festivals have grown in number and size and regularly attract large numbers of patrons from all walks of life [5]

      . They are examples of folklore in use and being used as a cultural resource.

    • The field usually called 'public folklore' in the United States involves trained folklorists collecting and/or utilising traditional materials in a variety of public ways for the betterment of communities. These include collecting projects, organising folk festivals and other performance and display-oriented activities, the passing on of traditional skills and knowledge, having folklore - usually of the local or regional type - taught in schools, etc. there are many opportunities for developing similar approaches in Australia, especially in conjunction with tourism, heritage and regional development.
    • There are also possibilities for applied folklore in the amelioration or even eradication of community conflicts over customary observations, in relation to workplace conflict, racism, sexism, homophobia, community panics, human services. Collection, preservation and study of relevant folk expressions and practices can provide a basis for such applications.
    Taken together these actualities and potentials suggest that folklore, far from being a subject only of studious or specialist interest, is a large and important cultural resource that has many possibilities for the betterment of peoples' lives and also has considerable economic value. How can these resources be developed for the common good before commercial interests monopolise them?

    One initial avenue of research involves the concepts of 'public domain' and 'community right'.

    backnext

    This webpage © 2003 Simply Australia