Tales from Afar: The Blind Wolf. #FolkloreThursday

"Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" is a project to share traditional stories which have come from away, created by the St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. This is one of the tales we’ve collected so far. 

The Blind Wolf

As told by Moaweya Alahmad 

Many years ago, there was a rancher who lived with his wife in a small village. He was not satisfied with his job. Every morning, before the sun rose, he would wake up. He would gather the herd of sheep, and take them out of the village to the mountains. Then, in the evening, he would bring them back in the darkness.

His work was difficult, but they needed food, clothes, and other things. His wife said, “you must be patient.” He looked at her, and thought to himself, “For how long?”

After a few weeks, something began to happen. Every two weeks, one billy goat or nanny goat or sheep would be lost. Why, he didn’t know, and neither did the people the village. So he thought to himself, “Why are the animals getting lost?” He decided to find out.

One evening, in the dark, he walked home behind the herd. Suddenly, one of the kid goats stopped, and headed towards the mountain. While the man watched, the kid entered a cave, and began to cry out “ma ma ma ma maaaaa” in the cave.

Suddenly a wolf appeared.

“Oh oh,” the man said. But how was this possible? The wolf was blind.

The man thought about that for a long time, and then in the morning, he went back to his house. He decided to quit his job.

“If my God sends food for a blind wolf in a cave,” he said, “he can send food to me.”

One week passed.

Two weeks passed.

But there was nothing new.

So on the third week, the wife decided to take a job as a woodcutter. After a few days working, she hit the ground with the axe, and the axe went down into a hole. When she looked into the hole, there was a jar of gold.

She went back to her home, and when her husband saw the gold, he said:

“Thank you my God!”

Moaweya Alahmad, originally from Syria, is an adult level 5 English student with the Association for New Canadians. 

How can I share a story?

Stories can be submitted in written form, or participants can sit down with a collector and record a spoken version of their story. To share a story, you can:

• Email ich@heritagefoundation.ca
• Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 extension 2, or 
• Fill in the online form here: https://goo.gl/forms/QWmJY9haiyItAeop2

"Tales of the River" - Manuals River Memory Mug Up

A Memory Mug Up brings people together to tell their stories and experiences. If you have memories and tales about growing up and living near Manuels River or along “the shore” please join us for an enjoyable afternoon of sharing. Hosted by Dale Jarvis of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, this Memory Mug Up includes an informal story circle and a cup of tea and a snack.  This program is offered free or by donation. No pre-registration required.

When: Wednesday, November 15, 2:30-3:30pm
Where: Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre, 7 Conception Bay Highway

Looking for Informants - The Newman Building and The Press Club

The Newman Building c. 1970. Photo courtesy A.C. Hunter Library. 

Over the years, The Newman Building has functioned in many different ways. In 1969, the Press Club moved into the building. Formed in 1954, The Press Club was open to all employees of newspapers, magazines, radio and television persons in public affairs. They remained in The Newman Building until 1976.

Do you remember when this building housed the Press Club? If so, please contact Katie at 709-739-1892 ext. 6 or email katherine@heritagefoundation.ca.

Bonfire Night and the Mysterious Barn Vandals of Salmon Cove

Photo courtesy educationuk.org

On this the day of Guy Fawkes or Bonfire Night, I am reminded of a story Arthur Kelloway of Salmon Cove shared with me in a recent interview.

“This gentleman boasted that he had a barn full of barrels and tires, and he had his barn secured so that he’d never ever been stolen from. Well three of us heard about this boast and we figured you’re going to regret saying that. So we went and checked his barn one evening, and it was locked up like Fort Knox. But what he failed to see was that he had a flag pole on the front of his barn and a door that he put the hay in on the loft, it was up about eight feet. So I climbed the flagpole, opened the door, went inside and he had a pile of old tires and so on in there. The barrels we couldn’t get out unless we would take them up through the hatch and lower them down on the rope from the flagpole. We cleaned the barn out. The way that we got the tires out in the beginning was we took his horse's reins and we squat the tires together so that they would go out through the manure shutter which was only about a foot and a half by a foot and a half wide - 18’’ x 18’’ wide. In order to get the tire out through we just tied the rope around, collapsed the tire and put it out through. Three of us worked there for about an hour and a half. He, or his wife, just as I came down the flagpole came out on their doorstep to get some water out of the bucket, and they were talking back and forth. And I lid down beside the barn, and the other two guys were still in the barn. They came out eventually, locked up all the doors, closed all the doors, put everything back, hung up everything, straightened away the barn so it looked immaculate, went out through the manure shutter, closed it and closed the door for me on the inside and I came down the flagpole or flag rope again on the side of the barn after closing the outside door. Up until I’d say six or eight months before he died, I told him, because he had always wondered how they got into his barn. The locks weren’t broken, there was no sign of entry, but the barn was completely cleaned out. And I told him about it, and, you know, I think he held it against me even though it was fifty years later [laughs]."

It was common in Salmon Cove, and assuredly other parts of NL, for people to steal barrels and tires for Bonfire Night, and it was simply accepted by locals that kids would do this. It's interesting to hear about the lengths to which kids would go in order to have the biggest fire. Will you be celebrating Guy Fawkes night with a bonfire?  

-Katie Harvey 

Tales from Afar - Iara, the freshwater mermaid of Brazil. #FolkloreThursday

"Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" is a project to share traditional stories which have come from away, created by the St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. This is one of the tales we’ve collected so far. 

Iara, the freshwater mermaid of Brazil

As told by Sarah Nivea and Vinicius Tomé 

Iara can be described as a freshwater mermaid. From the indigenous Tupi language: “Mistress of the waters”. Half woman, half fish, she lives in the waters of the great Amazon River, using her long black hair, brown eyes, indescribable beauty and voice. She usually baths herself in the rivers and her chants attracts the men who she wants to marry, dragging them to the depths of the rivers. The indigenous people from the Amazon region have such a strong belief in this legend that they avoid rivers and ponds at dusk. XVI and XVII Century writers used to depict the character as a male who would devour the fishermen, named Ipupiara. Later, in the XVIII Century, the legend changed, representing a seductive female.

According to the legend, Iara was the best fighter of the tribe and used to receive many compliments from her father who was the Pajé (Chief). Her brothers were jealous and planned to kill her, but Iara heard the plan secretly and killed them first. Frightened of her father’s reaction towards her, she ran away. Her father found her and threw her in the water between the rivers Negro and Solimões. Shortly, several fishes helped the lady and turned her into a beautiful mermaid.

Vinicius is a student at Memorial University, and Sarah manages Terra Nova Mandalas. Both are from Brazil. Image: Gordon Browne, Fairy tales from Hans Andersen. 

How can I share a story?

Stories can be submitted in written form, or participants can sit down with a collector and record a spoken version of their story. To share a story, you can:

• Email ich@heritagefoundation.ca
• Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 extension 2, or 
• Fill in the online form here: https://goo.gl/forms/QWmJY9haiyItAeop2

Looking for Informants - The Newman Building and The Government of NL

View of Newman Building from Springdale Street. Photo courtesy Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Historic Sites.

Over the years, The Newman Building has functioned in many different ways. In recent years, the building has served as office space for the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Arts Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Did you or someone you know ever work in The Newman Building? If so, please contact Katie at 709-739-1892 ext. 6 or email katherine@heritagefoundation.ca.

The Newfoundland Mercy Foundation Urn

The urn (pictured above) is the work of the prominent Newfoundland artist, Gerald Squires and his wife, Gail Squires. Depicted on the urn are two Newfoundland scenes. The first is two fishermen hauling their nets, and the second is a family drying and salting fish. The blue cross seen on the front of the urn is the Sisters of Mercy's logo. The Basilica Cathedral and other buildings of Cathedral Square are also portrayed to represent Roman Catholicism in Newfoundland.

A replica of this urn was used by the Sisters of Mercy to collect water from Newfoundland. It was then transported to the Baggot Street Mercy Convent in Dublin, Ireland for the Blessing Ritual of the Fountain which took place on July 23, 1994. The Sisters collected water from all over the world in similar urns. The purpose of having water from various places was so that each place would be represented in the ritual, and in turn would unite all the people of the world.

You can see this beautiful piece in person at the Sisters of Mercy's Museum located at Littledale on Waterford Bridge Road, St. John's. The museum is open by appointment only. If you would like to set up an appointment, you can contact the Sisters of Mercy by calling 709-726-7320.

-Katie Harvey

#FoodwaysFriday - Tide Water Annie

Photo courtesy Newfoundland.ws

At the Port Blandford booklet launch, Calvin Efford of the heritage society mentioned the Tide Water Annie recipe. A couple of days later, he emailed me to explain the origins of this recipe:

"The recipe came to Port Blandford via Terra Nova Park. While constructing the road through the park in the late 1950’s, one of the cooks for the construction workers was named Annie, believed to be from Nova Scotia. She was noted for her dark raisin cake and the camp was at Tide Waters (a hill) near the eastern entrance to the park, overlooking Clode Sound.  Thus the name Tide Water Annie."

If you would like to make Tide Water Annie, here is the recipe:

4 cups Raisins

3 cups Hot Water

1 tsp Salt

1.5 tsp Cinnamon

1.5 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Cloves

3 cups Brown Sugar

.5 lb Butter

1 pk Cherries

Boil all the above ingredients, for 20 minutes. Let cool. Add 5.5 cups of Flower, 3 tsp Baking Soda, 3 tsp Vanilla or Lemon Flavouring. Bake 2.5 to 3 hrs.

-Katie Harvey

Tales from Afar: A short story about the lunar eclipse. #FolkloreThursday

"Tales from Afar: Old Stories from New Residents" is a project to share traditional stories which have come from away, created by the St. John’s Local Immigration Partnership and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. This is one of the tales we’ve collected so far. 

A Short Story about the Lunar Eclipse

As told by Xingpei Li

In the old days, people had no idea of astronomy, or how and why the lunar eclipse happens. People believed that there was a dog up in the sky who bites and swallows the moon sometimes. That is when and why the moon disappears. It was not a pleasant experience in old days without electric lights available in the night.

So people were very scared by the darkness when lunar eclipse happened. To drive away the dog who devours the moon, people used to make noises, such as by ringing bells, beating drums or any metal utensils they could find at home. In this way, they wished they could get the moon back soon, as well as the light.

There are different versions about this story in China, but the main plot is as described above.

Xingpei Li is a Chinese student enrolled in the graduate program, Department of Folklore, Memorial University. Image from Fire Dogs and Angry Demons.

How can I share a story?

Stories can be submitted in written form, or participants can sit down with a collector and record a spoken version of their story. To share a story, you can:

• Email ich@heritagefoundation.ca
• Call Dale Jarvis at 1-888-739-1892 extension 2, or 
• Fill in the online form here: https://goo.gl/forms/QWmJY9haiyItAeop2