Hunting Hogboons and Detecting Trows: Kids search out the supernatural

I had two meetings today about future folklore projects in Conception Bay, one in Bay Roberts and the other in Cupids. Perhaps unsurprisingly, talk of the fairies came up in both. Conception Bay is rich in fairy lore, and there seems to be a growing interest in communities in the area in documenting and celebrating these traditions.

While in Cupids, I mentioned two fairylore projects from across the pond, one from Shetland and the other from Orkney. I first heard about the Shetland project from storyteller Davy Cooper when he visited Newfoundland a few years back. The Shetland Museum and Archives had created a Trowie Knowe, the house of a "trow" - a type of small, ugly supernatural creature like a troll. They had also created a "Trow Detector" - a steampunkish looking device for alerting museum goers to nearly trows.

The Orkney project allowed kids to search out evidence of a similar type of creature, a hogboon, a mound-dwelling creature tied to particular families. The hogboon hunt was part of a one day workshop where participants used newly learnt archaeological skills like surveying, map making, photography, and collecting and documenting artefacts. You can check out the video of the kids on their hunt on Vimeo. The story in the piece is told by Orkadian storyteller Tom Muir.

Rousay Summer Club Survey from Mark Jenkins on Vimeo.

The Paranormal in Heart's Content

As a folklorist, it isn't every day that you get to hear a good ghost or fairy story, but then on some days, people will tell you two or three. Doing fieldwork for the Heart's Content heritage district this past Wednesday, a few residents shared some of what they know about the paranormal in Heart's Content. Art Cumby had a wonderful fairy story to share, along with a photograph of himself hanging out with the other boys he knew as a child. You'll find him standing up, wearing a striped shirt. He and his friend Art Button (also wearing a striped shirt) were just 11 years old when this happened to them:

Gina Balsom, on the other hand, has been working as an interpreter at the Cable Station historic site for several years. She explained that while she has never had any strange experiences or feelings in the old building, a few visitors certainly have. Here is what Gina had to say about working in a supposedly haunted space:

Thanks to Art and Gina for sharing their stories. In fact, I'm always looking for a good ghost or fairy story. If you know of any from the Heart's Content or Bay Roberts (my next heritage district destination), please drop me a line at lisa@heritagefoundation.ca.

-Lisa

Help us, universe, we need this type of headset. Ideas?

Hi all,

We have an antiquated (heritage?) phone system in our office, and we need to find a headset we can use with it.

The phones do NOT have a standard mini headset jack, they have an old fashioned phone jack port like this:

None of the usual places you'd buy phone/computer equipment in town sell headsets that fit these anymore. I'm looking for something that might look like this, with a headphone plug instead of a mini jack:

Anyone seen one of these lying around somewhere, or for sale in St. John's? If you have, email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca 

The Arnold's Cove Water Truck, circa 1970

I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that we've been working with some local heritage enthusiasts in Arnold's Cove on a project to map out the legacy of resettlement in that community. We'll be running some community training over the next little bit, showing people how to create a Google map of some of their photos and stories.

The area of interest in Arnold's Cove contains over 70 buildings which were floated into the community during the resettlement period. The local heritage committee has located most of these on a paper map, and we'll be showing them how to transfer some of their collected information into a digital format which they can share online.

I drove out to Arnold's Cove this morning to plan out our workshop, and local volunteer Edna Penney showed me some of their historic material on the theme of resettlement.

The photo above is one of hundreds they've amassed. It was taken around March 1970, and shows one of the houses which was brought into Arnold's Cove. When the houses first arrived, many of them were not yet hooked up to town water, so the town had a water truck (pictured above) which delivered water to those dwellings.

If you have a memory of the Arnold's Cove water truck, or know any of the people in the photo, you can email me (Dale Jarvis) at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium in Alberta, Sept 2013

New Partnership with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO

The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCU) to present the AMA’s 2013 Conference, which will explore the concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).

The Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage defines five general topic areas of ICH:

(a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage;
(b) performing arts;
(c) social practices, rituals and festive events;
(d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;
(e) traditional craftsmanship.[i]

Together, we aim to raise awareness about ICH and to provide the Alberta museum community with the opportunity to start thinking about what role they play to foster and preserve ICH. A coordinated partnership between the AMA and CCU will utilize the capacity of each organization to expand the audience and level of understanding for ICH and its role in creating a sense of cultural belonging.

Intangible Cultural Heritage Symposium
September 19, 2013

Presented by the AMA and CCU, the 2013 Pre-Conference Symposium will be dedicated to the exploration of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) from a theoretical perspective. The ICH Symposium will help to foster the discussion around the importance of culture in our society. The one-day event will feature presentations by recognized experts in the ICH field. This innovative and inspiring opportunity will positively impact the museum community by bringing together museums, academia and practitioners to examine issues around ICH; thereby contributing to the social, cultural, and educational fabric of our communities as well as increasing awareness of ICH practices.

[i] UNESCO, “General Provisions: Article 2.2 – Definitions,” Text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Accessed 5 November 2012).

Contact:

Carrie Ann Lunde, BA, MA
Communications Lead
Alberta Museums Association

Suite 404, 10408.124 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5N 1R5
P: 780.424.2626 x. 244
F: 780.425.1679
E: clunde@museums.ab.ca
W: www.museums.ab.ca

How I Spent My Summer

Summer in Port Royal from Knoah on Vimeo.

How I Spent My Summer is a short video that was filmed by Noah Bender during this past summer in Port Royal.  Four of us lived together in a cabin on resettled Long Island participating in a cemetery restoration project. Our group was made up of two folklorists, an artist, and a carpenter. Together we worked hard to preserve 25 headstones... but as you will see in the video, we also had a summer of great leisure and adventure. It was a wonderful few months and all of us feel fortunate to have spent time in such a beautiful place. -Lisa

Newfoundland Pony Census Project

This past summer I was privileged to work with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador to learn about and document one mode of transportation that helped develop our province, the make and break engine. This winter, I continue my research into historically important methods of transportation and development in our province by taking an indepth look at Canada’s only heritage animal: the Newfoundland Pony.

The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Newfoundland Pony Society are coming together this winter to try to get a better picture of how many of these heritage animals are left in our province. A census will begin to be completed over a twelve week period which will attempt to create a database of all the ponies in the province. 

By conducting oral interviews and recording details of ponies, we hope to identify ponies that may have been mistaken for horses or other equine types. This will be done by recording physical features of ponies and comparing them to guidelines set forth by the Newfoundland Pony Society. The hope is that there will be ponies which have not been identified as such and with this comes the promise of there being a larger population than currently known. This would add to the overall population of the pony type.

The reasoning for this project is really quite simple. Worldwide, the current Newfoundland Pony population is thought to be around 400 ponies and only 250 of these ponies have reproductive capabilities. This number is down from around 12,000 in the 1970s! With the threat of extinction on the horizon it is important for us to recognize all animals which may be of the Newfoundland Pony type. This project will hopefully identify animals who have not been previously documented so that a population can be better determined. This project could help secure the future of the Newfoundland Pony. 

Max (Maximus of the Avalons’ Lucky Seven) is owned by Peter Halley of Spirit of NL. He is a 10 years old, 14.2 hands high, and weighs approximately 800lbs. Max is a radical changer, referring to the fact that his coat changed in color from the time he was born (as a bay) throughout the seasons for his first five years of life, and is now settled with a beautiful light grey coat.

This work also hopes to bring awareness to the plight of the Newfoundland Pony. Many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do not realize that the Newfoundland Pony exists, or, if they recognize the name, they mistakenly liken it to the much smaller miniature pony types. The knowledge of the Newfoundland Pony is held with the older generations but it is due time that our heritage animal be recognized across our province for the animal that it is. The oral history project, which will be conducted simultaneously with the census, hopes to document the memories of Newfoundland Ponies on our island throughout our history so that future generations can understand the relationship between our provinces development and these noble animals.

These hard working, diligent, and strong ponies are often fondly remembered by their owners. These animals helped improve the livelihood of many people in our province throughout the ages and were seen as an indispensable part of life until the introduction of modern technology. Used for many work purposes, such as drafting and carting, as well as recreational travel, either being hitched to a sled or being rode, these animals created opportunities for people that would have been impossible otherwise - hauling wood through the forest in the winter or seeking medical attention in a nearby town. Capturing the memories created during such work and outings will provide an indepth history of how the Newfoundland Pony has been utilized in our past and give an indication of how important these animals have been throughout our development.

If you own and Newfoundland Pony, or think you might, and would like to get involved with our project, please call 1-888-739-1892 ext. 5 or email joelle@heritagefoundation.ca.

Ponies, Perogies, Skateboarding and more

ICH Update for January 2013

In this month's edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador is conducting a needs assessment survey to measure the type and amount of ICH related training needed in the province; work continues on the Foundation's documentation of the Heart's Content Registered Heritage District; intern Joelle Carey starts work on a project identifying living Newfoundland Ponies; new ICH intern Christina Robarts works with Memorial University Department of Folklore professor Dr. Mariya Lesiv on "Newfiki" - celebration of eastern-European cultures in Newfoundland; the Rooms announces a scrapbooking workshop; and Nicole Penney presents on a collection of skateboard videos which will become part of the province's inventory of intangible cultural heritage.

Contributors: Nicole Penney, Lisa Wilson, Joelle Carey, and Christina Robarts
Download the PDF

ICH Conference in Flanders

Recently, ICH Development Officer Dale Jarvis was invited to take part in an ICH conference in Mechelen, Flanders. The topic was participative methods for inventorying or documenting elements of ICH, and the conference included presentations from Joanne Orr - Museums Galleries Scotland (Scotland), Paulo Ferreira da Costa - Institute for Museums and Conservation (Portugal), Hans van der Linden - Agency for Arts and Heritage Flanders (Belgium), Jorijn Neyrinck & Ellen Janssens - tapis plein – Center of Expertise for heritage participation and intangible cultural heritage (Belgium), Eva Van Hoye & Kim Van Belleghem - Heritage units Mechelen & TERF (Belgium), and Marc Jacobs - FARO. Flemish interface for cultural heritage; VUB - Free University Brussels – Heritage Studies and Ethnology (Belgium).

Download Dale's presentation on ICH inventory work in PDF

Romanian Wooden Kissing Bobblehead Dolls

                                            Photo taken by Christina Robarts Jan. 16, 2013 (Front view)
 

On a recent interview, which is part of ICH’s project on Eastern Europeans from the former Soviet bloc, I happened to come across a pair of Romanian bobble head dolls. The dolls, consisting of a girl and a boy, were purchased by Teodora Koronka for her 3-4 year old daughter during a recent trip to Romania. Teodora stated that she had purchased them at a shop in a local village that is owned by an older woman who creates works of art or objects based on the traditional art style of Romania. The clothes of the dolls are reflective of traditional Romanian dress and are produced using  paint and wood burning techniques.

The basic model for traditional Romanian dress is a white chemise which is typically made out of hemp, wool, or some other form of woven material. For women, the chemise is generally long enough to reach the ankle, while for men it is shorter and worn with pants or leggings. Women will always wear an apron, made up of one or two pieces of fabric, tied with a cloth belt at the waist. For men the clothing is made up of a white shirt (cămasă), white trousers, hat, belt (wider than a woman’s), waistcoat and or overcoat.

Photo taken from Eliznik

 Local differences are marked by shirt length, type of embroidery, trouser cut, hat shape, or waistcoat decoration. The style depicted on these dolls is found in Maramures, located in the northern part of Romania. Aprons from this area are made of a rectangular piece of cloth often called Striped apron (‘Catrinţă or zadie’). They are usually worn in pairs, one in the front and one in the back and the wool is woven with horizontal red and black stripes. Straw hats in the maramures traditional style called clop, pl. clopuri, are very small, when compared to other areas.

        

 

Photo taken from Eliznik

These particular dolls have a interesting feature: when brought together, magnets located in the heads allow the dolls to “kiss.”

Photo taken by Christina Robarts Jan. 16, 2013 (Side view)

Source list:

Eliznik
Apron
Clop Hat