ICH Podcast - Mira Hunter on Turkish Whirling

Mira Hunter is a visual artist and second-generation sufi mevlevi whirling dervish. She began her traditional training at the age of 16 with her father Raqib Burke and Sheikh Jelaladdin Loras. In this edition of the ICH Podcast, folklorist Dale Jarvis chats with Mira about the origins of whirling, how the tradition has changed, whirling as a form of moving meditation, and her work as an artist and dancer. Recorded on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 as part of the 20th Anniversary of the Festival of New Dance.

Download the podcast as a MP3 at:
http://www.archive.org/download/MiraHunterOnTurkishWhirling/MiraHunter23Sept2010.MP3

For other formats or to listen to a streaming version, visit:
http://www.archive.org/details/MiraHunterOnTurkishWhirling

Photos of the interview and workshop on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=318582&id=509323297

Traditional Turkish Whirling - Live ICH Podcast recording with Mira Hunter

Mira Hunter is a visual artist and second-generation sufi mevlevi whirling dervish, and this week she is in St. John's as part of the 20th anniversary of the Festival of New Dance.

Mira began her traditional training at the age of 16 with her father Raqib Burke and Sheikh Jelaladdin Loras, and is nudging the tradition into the 21st century. According to her website, "Mira continues to challenge the fundamental forms of whirling by incorporating innovative movements and concepts, gently coaxing the 13th century practice into a contemporary context."

This Thursday, September 23rd, folklorist Dale Jarvis will interview Mira about the tradition and art of whirling, just before a free community workshop. The live recording will then be podcast and archived online as part of ongoing work to document dance and dance traditions in the province.

The interview will take place at 12:30pm at Cochrane Street United Church, Thursday, Sept 23. All are welcome to come listen to the discussion.

Immediately following the interview, Mira will be giving a workshop on Turkish whirling. Please contact Neighbourhood Dance Works to register: 709-722-3663 or ndw@nfld.net. If you wish to participate in the workshop, please wear comfortable clothes, bring an assortment of extra socks and an open mind.

Links:

Mira Hunter - Whirling
http://www.mirahunter.com/whirling.html

Festival of New Dance
http://www.neighbourhooddanceworks.com

Help identify the 1937 Bay Roberts Roverines Hockey Team

Does anyone know the names of the ladies on the Bay Roberts Roverines Hockey Team, who were provincial champions in 1937? Margaret Ayad is looking for these women's names for the interpretive panels for Bay Roberts Railway Station.

Got any thoughts? Comment here, or email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Riddle Fence #6: An unexpected take on some old cultural icons

The sixth issue of Riddle Fence, hitting newsstands now, takes an in-depth, eloquent and not always easy look at John Guy’s colony as the Cupids settlement celebrates its 400th birthday.

Launched recently as part of the province’s Cupids 400 celebrations, this issue includes a fascinating and detailed essay by archaeologist Bill Gilbert on written records of the colony’s early days.

Also in this issue, we offer saucy samplings in our Fakelore (as in “fake folklore”) series, including artwork by Jackie Alcock and Robin McGrath's homegrown version of Grey's Anatomy. Meanwhile, 17th century Newfoundland comes alive as Patrick Warner takes a peek at Robert Hayman’s Quodlibets, believed to have been the first book of English verse written in the so-called New World.

Other highlights include:

• an intimate essay on leaving, belonging and outport churches by Amanda Jernigan, with photographs by John Haney
• poems by Griffin Prize winner A. F. Moritz and others
• fiction by Shane Nielson, who takes a sideways swipe at hockey culture
• artworks by Grant Boland and Jonathan Green that illuminate the issue and make Riddle Fence as marvelous to look at as it is to read.

Riddle Fence, a journal of arts and culture, is available for purchase at bookstores and magazine stands around Newfoundland and Labrador and across Canada.

For more information on the journal, visit www.riddlefence.com, or contact managing editor Michelle Butler Hallett at mbh@riddlefence.com.

Subscription rates and details are available on the website.

Doors Open, Culture Days, Sound Traditions, and a visit to the dump! September's ICH Update

In this month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update, provincial folklorist Dale Jarvis brings you up to date on ICH activities over the summer months, news on the Canada-wide Culture Days event scheduled for September, a peek at what our intern has been up to with Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative, sound traditions, and an invite to participate in Doors Open St. John's and Doors Open Petty Harbour with sites ranging from the divine to the disgusting!

Download the PDF of the update at:
http://tinyurl.com/ICHSept2010

The English Harbour Lithoskiff

I mentioned in a previous post the dry stone walling course that the English Harbour Arts Centre had offered this summer. One of the participants, Jerry Mcintosh, has pulled together a series of photos showing the construction of a piece of environmental art which the group calls the "Lithoskiff".

Check out the Lithoskiff on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmyiKl1PlOw or watch the embedded video below.

Job Posting: Intangible Cultural Heritage Assistant!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) program of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is looking for an enthusiastic, organized, and outgoing folklore graduate to help run ICH, folklife and oral history projects!

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Program Assistant will work closely with HFNL staff, partner organizations, and the general public in the planning and development of programs related to the collection, conservation, transmission, and celebration of living history, oral history, folklore/folklife and the intangible cultural heritage of NL. The Program Assistant will work on the organization of the annual folklife festival and mummer’s parade. The Program Assistant will work to organize and plan ICH related training workshops, public talks and other events as required. The Program Assistant will use ethnographic methods to document and identify key informants for research, as well as interview event participants. The job will also include some report writing, grant proposal writing, and taking minutes of committee meetings.

Good note-taking skills, organizational abilities and a keen interest in the folklore and culture of Newfoundland and Labrador are essential. Must be willing to wear a pillowcase over your face, drink Purity syrup, and act foolish as required.

Salary: $25,000 per year

This one-year position is pending funding, and the applicant MUST have graduated from a folklore program (or related discipline), either at the undergraduate or graduate level, within the last two years.

Please send a print copy of your resume, along with a photocopy of your degree and/or academic transcript to:

Mr. Dale Jarvis
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador

PO Box 5171

St. John’s, NL A1C 5V5

Applications must be postmarked by Friday, September 3, 2010

Hooking Our Heritage Book Launch

In August 2009, a group of twenty-eight women came together to design and hook rugs under the guidance of organizer/initiator Laura Coultas and artist/rug hooking consultants Sheila Coultas, Frances Ennis and Maxine Ennis. Inspired by the strong Irish heritage on the Southern Shore, known as the Irish Loop, the women decided to create a body of work that would illustrate Newfoundland and Labrador’s strong connection with Ireland.

Hooking Our Heritage uses text and pictures to trace the progress of the rugs and tell the story behind each one. Within these pages, you will find rugs displaying the words, traditions, landscapes, songs and history shared between the country of Ireland and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The finished rugs show Irish blessings, a farrier and his horse, fairies playing in a garden, Celtic symbols and many other examples of the links between Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Book Launch and Authors' presentation
Thursday, September 9th
7pm
LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria Street
for more information call 709-739-4477

Photos from the Dan Snow Dry Stone Wall Workshop and Talk

For 35 years Dan Snow, a Mastercraftsman with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. For the past couple weeks, he has been in English Harbour teaching his craft. I interviewed Dan last night at the Two Whales Coffee Shop in Port Rexton, and this morning checked out what he and his students have been working on.

Pictures are up on flickr at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalejarvis/sets/72157624760091740/

I will be posting the audio of the interview later on, so check back for more details. For more info on Dan's work in English Harbour, or to listen to the CBC podcast featuring Dan, check out his blog at:

http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/2010/08/english-harbours-fearless-adventurers.html

http://www.inthecompanyofstone.com/2010/08/cbc-interview.html