Phew, such a lot of interesting stuff on this thread. I'm learning a lot.

Let's start with Blandiver's "Somethings never change; they are proudly part of the heritage of a community and simply held in trust as comfort in the face of an ever-changing world beset by death, decay, disease and general entropy, which to many is what Tradition is I suppose, i.e. an affirmation of permanance & continuity."

Beautifully put, Mr. B. Not for nothing are those communities transplanted by free will or force, to hostile environments, amongst the most fertile in terms of traditional song and music: the Acadians, expelled from the Canadian maritimes to the steaming swamps of the Deep South; the Appalachian mountaineers, trying to hack out a meagre living on poor soil, in extreme weather, cut off from 'civilization' with potential threats all around them. Perhaps you overstate slightly with the single word 'never'. Things do change even in communities like those, but nonetheless the pride in heritage remains strong. (More later)