Appalachian Folkways

Creating the North American Landscape

by John B. Rehder

Winner of the Kniffen Award and an Honorable Mention from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards in Sociology and Anthropology Appalachia may be the most mythologized and misunderstood place in America, its way of life and inhabitants both caricatured and celebrated in the mainstream media. Over generations, though, the families living in the mountainous region stretching from West Virginia to northeastern Alabama have forged one of the country's richest and most distinctive cultures, encompassing music, food, architecture, customs, and language. In Appalachian Folkways , geographer John Rehder offers an engaging and enlightening account of southern Appalachia and its cultural milieu that is at once sweeping and intimate. From architecture and traditional livelihoods to beliefs and art, Rehder, who has spent thirty years studying the region, offers a nuanced depiction of southern Appalachia's social and cultural identity. The book opens with an expert consideration of the southern Appalachian landscape, defined by mountains, rocky soil, thick forests, and plentiful streams. While these features have shaped the inhabitants of the region, Rehder notes, Appalachians have also shaped their environment, and he goes on to explore the human influence on the landscape. From physical geography, the book moves to settlement patterns, describing the Indian tribes that flourished before European settlement and the successive waves of migration that brought Melungeon, Scotch-Irish, English, and German settlers to the region, along with the cultural contributions each made to what became a distinct Appalachian culture. Next focusing on the folk culture of Appalachia, Rehder details such cultural expressions as architecture and landscape design; traditional and more recent ways of making a living, both legal and illegal; foodstuffs and cooking techniques; folk remedies and belief systems; music, art, and the folk festivals that today attract visitors from around the world; and the region's dialect. With its broad scope and deep research, Appalachian Folkways accurately and evocatively chronicles a way of life that is fast disappearing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Folklore

368 pages, Hardcover

First published June 7, 2004

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative intro to the folk aspects of Appalachia. I really enjoyed the speech chart section at the end.

[Crystal Alexander-Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written book. My second time reading this book. The first time I read this book it was used as a text book in my Appalachian Folklore class. This book is a wealth of information providing insight into the Appalachian was of life

[Sarah Haman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of detail about everything from houses to religion to music. Very academic.

[Sean Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

John B. Rehder's survey of the folk material culture of Southern Appalachia. Rehder's exploration of folk architecture (log cabins, I-houses, outbuildings, etc.), food (catshead biscuits and sawmill gravy, ramps, pork, etc.), handcrafts (baskets, quilts), music (shaped-note singing, bluegrass), religious traditions (homecoming, "dinner on the ground") and speech illuminates the traditions of the region, its Old World heritage, and the role that geographical isolation and (later) purposeful cultural isolation play in preserving those traditions.

[Kelly]

DNF

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative read about an underrepresented culture in the United States.

[Barbara Adams]

textbook