Communities are continually renewed through special occasions and events which allow their members to participate in their cultural traditions.
	[PHOTO BY JEFF TINSLEY] Jim Skurdal, mandolin player with Foot-Notes.

Folklorists and anthropologists refer to this as communitas, or community feeling, and contrast it with societas, which is the more rule-bound behaviors of individuals in community through various institutions, social roles, and functions. Events that evoke community feeling generally level out the social status of participants, have a positive, identity-re-enforcing effect, and “bring people together.”

Folklife Background

Iowa has one of the largest populations of Americans who trace their ancestry to the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The area around Decorah in northeastern Iowa is particularly noted for its Norwegian heritage. This ethnic group has had a strong presence in Iowa for at least one hundred years, and its traditions have influenced the cultural landscape of the state. One important tradition is Norwegian folk music, and a group called Foot-Notes is one of the few string bands that currently plays traditional music within any Scandinavian community in the United States.