Tradition and Change

Each person carries an archive of memories, knowledge, and skills, and as traditions pass from one generation to another they transform and take on new meaning. Some old ways of life fall out of practice, while others are renewed. In the Upper Suwannee, traditions such as building quail traps and making lye soap continue to pass from person to person. A local quail trap design has roots in Western Africa, where similar traps are still made today. Ella Taylor and her mother, Tommie Smith, make lye soap for their community, but some details have changed, as Smith once strained ashes to make lye and now uses commercial lye sold as a drain cleaner. Change is an important part of keeping traditions alive and relevant.

White Springs, Florida · United States