Race/ethnicity at Faire.

[Anna Iram]

..and I'll "Hear Hear" to that!  People are people.....


BUT....I do think ren folk are more likely to not hold prejudice against someone for their relatives behaviour. Not to continue with the same divisive thinking. Same with Civil War renenactors...or so I imagine. I've not participated in one, but I'd like to think that the very act of participation makes you give a look into the roles we are playing and a better understanding of our natures (and hopefully how not to repeat them!)

Being a southern girl and having a decidedly western european heritage, I can't help but look at the role my own distant, and not so distant relatives played in the current cultural climate. Not to turn this into anything political please!, I just find our histories so interesting and I wonder if culturally we'll all ever find a happy balance..a happy blending without any one culture losing itself. I think perhaps that's why the many communities find it hard to play with each other. I think perhaps it is our nature to want to assimilate rather than blend and based on our combined histories there is a deep seated mistrust. I think it takes alot of guts to remain an individual amidst all the tugging.

Anyway...went off on a serious tangent there...but human nature is endlessly fascinating to me. In the end faire as I know it is just play. I personally wouldn't think twice no matter what role someone chose to play. I think it really is just a matter of cultural play styles.

[Imestra]

Excellent thread.
Blue, you have given voice to what I have long suspected, but dared not believe.
I was raised not to judge, but it does seem that black groups gravitate together, for a vast number of reasons, at schools and jobs.  I still don't get why a population segment would actually seek to self-segregate, but perhaps it is for mutual support, a safety net - if you will.
One of my favorite examples of human behavior is the fact that it has been over 100 years since the invention of the toothbrush, 50 since the discovery of flouride, yet ours is the first generation that does not say "when I get my choppers".  We are simply very slow to change.
Now for my opinion on Faire attendance.
I believe in racial memory.  The lilting sound of bagpipes brings tears to my eyes every time.
I also consider the idea of racial karma - that our current social situation is a matter of the pendulum swing.  The black folk could be working through the repercussion of the enslavement of Israeli tribes in Egypt. 
Here in Cincinnati, there is a festivel involving Riverboats called Tall Stacks.  It celebrates the time when steam powered paddle boats were in regular use.  There are costumed actors (not many) and live music.  Very rarely do I see African-Americans attending.  This makes sense to me, for why should they be nostalgic about this part of American History?  Perhaps RenFaires are similar, they simply do not call to the heart of the race as a whole.
I am drawn to the elements of Faire that speak to my lineage.  That's not the only thing, of course, I love to play dress-up, but what would draw other cultural backgrounds?

[Blue66669]

Well, I wonder about such things at faire. At a lot of the faires, there are gypsies, there are italians, french, germans, english... hell, our faire even has an elvish, peasant, faerie, barbarian, and TRANSYLVANIAN court! The theme of most renaissance festivals is that of a villiage full of things from all over the world, brought to a market to share culture and commerce. In that sense... why would it be too far fetched to have an Egyptian, or even a North African court? Something like that, done tastefully, may look to bridge the gap between cultures. Just a thought...

[Joyce "Delfinia DuSwallow" Howard]

Imestra,I never thought about it like that.(your faire opinion) I'm raising my 15 yr.old neice she is bi-racial and she LOVES faire, she works at MDRF and she has said "why do you think thay there are not many black people at faire"? I will surely have her read your post. Thank you.

And Blue- great idea. We could use that closure on that gap.

[Tipsy Gypsy]

Funny, but I guess I've always just figured that it wasn't their "thing", which is cool; there are plenty of interests out there that aren't my "thing", either. To each, his/her own .

[Imestra]

And speaking of what is 'my thing' and what is not, my sister & I were given mum's old purses & hats and encouraged to play dress up as children.  That memory makes me wonder if playing dress up was part of other peoples childhood.

It is a psychological fact that what gives adults the greatest pleasure in the bedroom always has a direct relationship to a happy childhood memory.  Perhaps my addiction to Faires is similar in origin.

[Imestra]

why would it be too far fetched to have an Egyptian, or even a North African court?

ooooo, think of the wardrobe on those guys!  Wouldn't their guards just be too hot??

[Lady Nicolette]

I have to say that I find this one of the more interesting discussions that's come up in a while...I think that blue's idea is great!

Well, I wonder about such things at faire. At a lot of the faires, there are gypsies, there are italians, french, germans, english... hell, our faire even has an elvish, peasant, faerie, barbarian, and TRANSYLVANIAN court! The theme of most renaissance festivals is that of a villiage full of things from all over the world, brought to a market to share culture and commerce. In that sense... why would it be too far fetched to have an Egyptian, or even a North African court? Something like that, done tastefully, may look to bridge the gap between cultures. Just a thought...

[Anna Iram]

Well, dress up may not have been a part of everyones childhood, but storytelling and some style of theatre are part of every culture that I can think of. That's what faire is anyway, a sort of made up story. Certainly most of the women I know at faire have very made up stories, as most if not all of us would have had quite a different reality, with far less Independence and education.

Egyptian would be interesting of course, but I'd love to see a few more period Kingdoms from Africa. That would be such a great addition to the tapestry.  

[Finnian]

Well, dress up may not have been a part of everyones childhood, but storytelling and some style of theatre are part of every culture that I can think of. That's what faire is anyway, a sort of made up story. Certainly most of the women I know at faire have very made up stories, as most if not all of us would have had quite a different reality, with far less Independence and education.

Egyptian would be interesting of course, but I'd love to see a few more period Kingdoms from Africa. That would be such a great addition to the tapestry.  

I agree!

[Tipsy Gypsy]

Ok, along these lines, I'm going to ask a dumb question, because I honestly don't know- there are festivals recreating medieval and renaissance Europe, Dickens era, and wars from myriad times in history, colonial American parks, etc... are there any events that recreate periods and cultures from Africa...or from the middle east, eastern Asia, or elsewhere, for that matter? And if not, I wonder why not? Speaking for myself, if there were something like that close enough to where I live, I'd find it a treat.

[Bonny Pearl]

The only thing that comes to mind that celebrates several cultures in one 'event' here in Houston is the Houston International Festival.  It is a pretty neat festival, not period driven by any means, but you see some really great wares for sale, have some good food and the music is pretty awesome.

[Tipsy Gypsy]

True, Bonnie, and I thought about that too. And there are a few Viking festivals I've heard about but never been to. But what I really mean is something along the lines of TRF/Scarby but geared towards, say, Egyptian history, as someone mentioned earlier? Or Imperial Japan, or ancient Polynesian cultures... know what I mean?

[Finnian]

Locally we have a bunch of Japanese festivals and faires...because we have a traditional Japanese museum and LARGE gardens that accompany it. Yum, taiko drumming! But they should make something that is more like a ren faire, only for a different area/time period.   Hmmm

[Blue66669]

We do get to see a good Japanese festival here, and no, it's nothing about the history.

To be blunt, I think that our nation's African Americans are too busy whining about the injustices that happened a few hundred years ago to appreciate the rich tapestry that is our history. Just my thoughts...