1. Your text says that rituals are "stylized, highly contextualized, deeply symbolic activities that enable groups to acknowledge, exemplify and/or act out certain traditional ideas, values and beliefs" (p. 95). In what ways does the Best Fest fit this definition? Are there ways in which it does not? In other words, is the AZ Best Fest a ritual?
Some parts of the best fest yes was part of a ritual such as the Native American Village, even the Western part had its ritual. Each section had their values and beliefs. Like the Native American Village I saw so many values and beliefs. Like their baskets, or their weaving, and their dance rituals. I didn’t understand how the military section was a ritual and or how they had their values and beliefs, because they can’t really show it.
2. What traditional ideas, values and or beliefs are being expressed in the Best Fest? How are they expressed?
I spent my time at the best fest in the Native American Village because they showed their traditional ideas by telling us stories of why and how each dance symbolizes different meanings. Then they showed their values by what they made like paintings, baskets, and how they cooked their food (what tools they used). Then the best part is how they showed their beliefs! How they did this is by making dream catchers, their singing and lastly their dancing. How this shows their beliefs is with the dream catchers, singing and dancing you realize that they believe in spiritual things. They also believe in purifying the ground they are on. How they do this is by burning herbs and blowing it around them, they also breathe it in too. I found that all in all the Native Americans express themselves through their dancing, singing, and their art. With all these things you can fit them in folklore genres (material, verbal and customary).
3. Does the Best Fest express (or try to express) a single group identity? If so, what identity is that and how is it expressed? If not, what groups are included in the Best Fest and how are they distinguished from each other?
All together the best fest was expressing Arizona’s past we had the Native American Village, we had the Wild West days. So yes I believe it is expressing the history that Arizona the state has been through and see. The Native Americans lived here telling their stories of earth and doing their dances to either the spirits, food, water and or marriage. We still carry many of the traits that they brought to us. Like while I was at the best fest I tried for the first time fry bread (with honey) it was ultimately amazing! Then while I kept eating it I realized that I have sort of already had fry bread already before, but instead of calling it fry bread we now call it funnel cake! I was amazed at this connection. Also when it came to the dancing we now a day still dance to get a boys attention do we not? So I thought we could of also got this trait from the Native Americans that we ran into. Then the wild west even though I didn’t stay around very much on this section of the best fest, but best fest still expressed it, by showing the gun shows and the different costumes the wore back in that time.
4. Identify and document five examples of verbal folklore, material folklore and customary folklore demonstrated or expressed at the festival.
MATERIAL!
VERBAL!
CUSTOMARY!
5. Is there a frame to the festival as a whole or to the event/activity/area that you observed that sets it apart from "ordinary" life? If so, what was it? If not, how was the event/activity/area distinguished from any other part of the festival or from the town of Prescott?
Well the whole thing of the Best Fest is out of the ordinary because we don’t have it come every day. Also the each section didn’t fit apart the everyday/ordinary life either because we don’t where those sorts of costumes, we don’t talk that way. We live completely different than we did then, that’s why these things are so interesting to use now.
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