Date of Award
9-1-1980
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Abstract
Excerpt: "In the late nineteenth century, many Lebanese immigrants, of the Maronite Catholic faith, immigrated to Southeast Kansas, specifically Pittsburg and the surrounding area. The oral folklore and folk customs, both customary and material, they brought with them have endured through the years, but they have not been collected before this study was made. The oral folklore considered in this thesis includes proverbs, religious and secular legends, folktales, and anecdotes. These were all collected orally, through taped interviews, and the exact words of the narrators have been used in the transcriptions. This body of folk literature has been collected, collated, annotated, analyzed, and cross-referenced. It has also been compared to the oral folklore of other cultures. The folk customs were also collected through taped interviews and include folk beliefs, calendric and non-calendric customs and festivals, folk entertainments, and folk remedies. Many of these customs have been preserved by the Lebanese immigrants, although the same customs have died out in modern Lebanon. These customs have also been analyzed and cross-referenced. The material folk traditions covered are folk architecture and the silkworm industry and Lebanese recipes. The recipes are for both foods and for cosmetics. These traditions have been described, and an attempt has been made to understand why some traditions survived and others did not. Biographical sketches of the people interviewed and a brief account of the folk history of the Lebanese immigrants to Southeast Kansas are also included."
Recommended Citation
Kuhel, Patty Joan Farris, "Folklore of Maronite Catholic, Lebanese immigrants of Southeast Kansas" (1980). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 441.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/441