Editorial

Welcome to Mississippi Folklife, a publication that takes the place of the Mississippi Folklore Register as the major forum for the discussion and presentation of ideas, research, and images of Mississippi folk culture. The name change to Mississippi Folklife better communicates to readers the content of our publication, and the format change more appropriately accommodates photographs and other illustrations to appeal to a broader audience. We will do much over the next several years to sharpen our focus with adjustments in content and design, and I welcome comments from readers on ways to make this publication vital and relevant to all who are interested in tradition and change in Mississippi folk culture.

The content of this issue is appropriately diverse. Aimee Schmidt, a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, gives us an insightful look at culture and identity in Biloxi's seafood industry in the first of a two-part series. Central to any understanding of folklife and cultural identity is an understanding of the relationship between ethnicity and occupational history. "Down Around Biloxi" offers a historical framework in which to look carefully at the diversity of occupational and cultural life within the maritime traditions of Biloxi.

Mississippi Folklife will examine shifting symbols within tradition. Anthony James's article on Blind Jim Ivy explores the symbolic role Ivy served for an all-white University of Mississippi student body and alumni. Looking at the portrayal of Ivy in University annuals and campus newspapers, James reveals a quintessential symbol of paternalism. With the death and burial of Ivy, argues James, racial propriety at Ole Miss gave way to antagonism and anger.

Perhaps no tradition in this state is more pervasive than hunting. Wiley Charles Prewitt, Jr., an experienced and avid hunter himself, explores the shift in fox hunting, discussing how changes in hunting practices reflect the change in the way people relate to the environment and the land. Looking closely at a community of fox hunters in Copiah County, Mississippi, Prewitt utilizes oral history interviews in an attempt to understand community feelings about this change. Bill Pevey, also a hunter, shares insights on the meaning of the hunt to fox hunters. Additionally, Pevey"s tenacious picture research led to this issue's cover photograph.

In 1939 Abbott Ferriss accompanied folklorist Herbert Halpert on a folksong collecting tour of Mississippi. Ferriss was then working for the Federal Writer's Project. His interest in folksong has continued throughout a distinguished career as a sociologist at Emory University. Returning in recent years to several communities he visited in 1939, Ferriss attempts to measure the persistence of gamesongs among children. His article combines documentary material from 1939 with a look at song traditions among a select group of children today.

Each issue of Mississippi Folklife will feature a variety of reviews. We encourage submission of publications and media programs for review, and also welcome suggestions of potential reviewers. We also will run announcements, notes, and news in a section entitled "Field Notes."

I want to thank Chuck Yarborough, Managing Editor of Mississippi Folklife, for his good work on this issue and Orin Carpenter for layout and design. Thank you for sharing with us your thoughts and ideas on Mississippi Folklife.

--Tom Rankin

This volume of Mississippi Folklife is funded in part by the Mississippi Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Last Modified : November 28, 95