Joan Amades i Gelats (;

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, 23 July 1890 - 17 January 1959), was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

and folklorist. An

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

, he worked at the historical archive of the city of Barcelona and at the Museum of Industry and Popular Arts of the same city. From 1956 onwards, he collaborated with

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. He was also an important promoter of

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

and founded the ''Federació Esperantista Catalana'' (Catalan Esperanto association). Perhaps the most important book in his large bibliography is ''Costumari Català'' (a collection of Catalan customs), the main work for the study of Catalan

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

Most important works

* ''Les diades populars catalanes'' (1932–1949) (the Catalan popular feasts) * ''Les cent millor cançons populars'' (1949) (the 100 best folk songs) * ''Refranyer català comentat'' (1951) (commented collection of Catalan sayings) * ''Les cent millors rondalles populars'' (1953) (the 100 best popular fairy tales) * ''Costumari Català'' (1950–1956) (collection of Catalan customs) * ''Guia de les festes tradicionals de Catalunya. Itinerari per tot l´any'' (1958) (guide to traditional feasts in Catalonia. Itinerary for the whole year)

Bibliography

* Antoni Anguela, Lluís Calvo

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

''El món de Joan Amades'', Barcelona, Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 1990. (Joan Amades’ World, in Catalan)

External links

''Històries i Llegendes de Barcelona'' selecció a Eixample Web
(Stories and Legends of Barcelona, in Catalan)
''Associació Cultural Joan Amades''
(Cultural association Joan Amades, in Catalan) {{DEFAULTSORT:Amades, Joan Burials at Montjuïc Cemetery Writers from Catalonia Catalan-language writers Ethnologists from Catalonia 1890 births 1959 deaths Writers from Barcelona