The region of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado holds a unique place in the world of Spanish folk literature. Isolated from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world for most of its history since its first settlement in 1598, it has retained, even into our own time, much of its Hispanic folkloric heritage from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-ballads, songs, poems, folktales, sayings, anecdotes, proverbs, riddles, and folk drama. In this book, written in the late 1930s and never before published, Aurelio M. Espinosa, New Mexico’s pioneer folklorist, presents the first comprehensive, authoritative account of the relict folklore, bringing together the results of his collecting during the first third of this century, in the Southwest and in Spain, and his many ground-breaking scholarly studies.

The region of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado holds a unique place in the world of Spanish folk literature. Isolated from the rest of the Spanish-speaking world for most of its history since its first settlement in 1598, it has retained, even into our own time, much of its Hispanic folkloric heritage from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries-ballads, songs, poems, folktales, sayings, anecdotes, proverbs, riddles, and folk drama. In this book, written in the late 1930s and never before published, Aurelio M. Espinosa, New Mexico's pioneer folklorist, presents the first comprehensive, authoritative account of the relict folklore, bringing together the results of his collecting during the first third of this century, in the Southwest and in Spain, and his many ground-breaking scholarly studies.

Located in Southwest Collection.

Gathers riddles, rhymes, folk poetry, stories, ballads, superstitions, customs, games, foods, and folk arts of the Mexican-Americans

"American Folklore Scholarship is rich reading, outlining the intellectual genealogy of American folklore and delivering many interesting historical tidbits. Folklore teachers will want to use this book in their introductory theory classes, while doctoral students will want to memorize the book before their qualifying exams." --Folklore Forum "... a welcome overview of the discipline in North America and the practitioners who established it." --American Anthropologist In this classic text, Zumwalt examines the split between literary folklorists and anthropological folklorists. The former looked at literary forms for folklore; the latter looked at the life and unwritten culture of the people. This struggle shaped the study of folklore in the U.S.

Contains over 500 articles Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures; genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. The alphabetically arranged entries vary from concise definitions to detailed surveys, each accompanied by a brief, up-to-date bibliography. Special features *More than 2000 contributors *Over 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, crafts, and more *Alphabetically arranged *Entries accompanied by up-to-date bibliographies *Edited by America's best-known folklore authority