University of Arizona Folklore Committee records

Mexican-U.S. borderfolklore is strongly represented in the collection, which includes corridos and other songs, and tales and interviews concerning old customs. Mormon folklore also forms a significant portion of the collection, particularily songs. Much of the material is the product of collections by schools, clubs, and University folklore classes.

The manuscript material dates from 1945 through 1979. There are four user copies cross-filed under subject, county, collector, and informant, with a master file arranged by county of origin. The subject headings include such large divisions as Tales, Songs, Riddles, Rhymes, Proverbs, Recipes, History, Medicine, Games, Festivals, Drama, Dance, and Customs, further subdivided by the culture of origin. The most heavily collected categories are "Songs," "Narrative -Personal Experience (Historical)," and "Narrative -Local Legends (Arizona)."

Also represented are administrative files, including Committee correspondence and annual reports which detail the Committee's accomplishments over the previous year.

Taped and recorded materials which correspond to some of the materials in this collection are located in the following Southwest Folklore Center manuscript collections: L. Marguerite Collier Collection (MS 611); Southwest Folklore Center Pre-1980 Phonodisc Collection (MS 613); and Southwest Folklore Center Field Recording Collection (MS 617).

This collection is part of the Southwest Folklore Center collection. The Southwest Folklore Center was founded in 1979 after the dissolution of the University of Arizona Folklore Committee and collected information about folk communities, arts, music, and other humanities-related materials. This collection was previously SWF 002. The materials were transferred to Special Collections in 2017.