Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Labrador Rug Hooking - An Interview with Alice Moores


On Thursday, June 19th, I gave an introductory workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Community Centre in L'Anse au Loup, Labrador. The workshop was organized in part by Smart Labrador, and was the first in what I hope will be a series of introductory ICH workshops for the province.

As part of the workshop, I conducted a demonstration interview with local artisan Alice Moores, a rug hooker from Red Bay, Labrador. The goal of the interview was to give people an idea of how to set up and conduct an interview, but also to give something of an insight into intangible cultural heritage from the viewpoint of a practitioner.

Traditional rug hooking is a craft where rugs or mats are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, called "brin" in Newfoundland and Labrador.

You can download the entire interview as an MP3, or visit archive.org to listen to a streaming audio version.
Photos were taken of the interview process as well.

Other Resources:

Thursday, June 12, 2008

ICH Workshop: What is Intangible Cultural Heritage?

Thursday, June 19th, 2008
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
Community Centre,
L’Anse au Loup, Labrador
FREE Workshop

Intangible Cultural Heritage, what we think of in Newfoundland and Labrador as our Living Traditions, is an important new development in the heritage world. We have long thought of heritage as comprised mainly of physical, things – our buildings, our furniture, our clothing – that have been handed down to us, and that we can preserve in our homes, museums and historic sites. However, many communities and peoples around the world recognize that this is only a part of what makes up their heritage, and that intangible ideas, customs and knowledge are equally important in terms of who we are.

Join Dale Jarvis, storyteller and Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer from the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, for a half day workshop at the community centre in L'Anse au Loup, Labrador, to learn what exactly Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is all about!

About Dale Jarvis, Workshop Leader

Dale Gilbert Jarvis is a folklorist, researcher, and author, who has been working for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) since 1996, and has recently taken on the role of Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer. Dale has a BSc (Hons) in Anthropology/Archaeology from Trent University (Peterborough) and an MA in Folklore from Memorial University. Jarvis is the author of two popular books on Newfoundland and Labrador folklore and ghost stories, and a third book of world ghost stories for young adult readers.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Taking time to listen

Travelling storyteller hopes to spread the power of the spoken word

CORNER BROOK
CORY HURLEY
Transcontinental Media

Listening to internationally known storyteller, Dan Yashinsky, it's not difficult to tell his audience in western Newfoundland was captive - in both senses of the word.

Whether it is the students who he admitted were "captives" to his speaking engagements at the various schools along his tour or seniors whose attention he grabbed of their own accord, he said people appeared sincerely interested in his folk tales and stories so far this week.

"I really want them to feel that the spoken word is important and that you can't double-click on wisdom, you have to learn it by listening," Yashinsky told The Western Star Tuesday. "Here, in Newfoundland, you have a strong oral culture, but in many parts of the world it's eroded. An old woman told me something (Monday) night that was very moving. She said she used to think she grew up poor, but she looks back now and realizes they were rich because they had time - time to listen, time to tell each other stories, time to talk.

"Nowadays, she said, the kids have a lot of material possessions, but they are very poor when it comes to culture and stories. I have to agree with that. The irony is, nowadays, we can communicate in so many different ways, but we have very little to say to each other."

The Toronto-based storyteller and author hopes people realize the power of the spoken word, yet also recognize the enjoyment it can bring.

"One of the great things about the tour is I am talking to a lot of high school kids," Yashinsky said. "I really have enjoyed that because, a lot of times, they tend to think of storytelling as something for little kids. Then, when they hear the kind of stories I try to tell, they realize they are for adults. In fact, I've told a couple (of stories) that are slightly risqué, tell you the truth."

Of course, he wasn't just interested in having people listen. Yashinsky wanted to expand his knowledge of the world's cultures and traditions by hearing local stories, too.

"Everywhere I went I felt I was part of the community, that they were very accepting and very appreciative," Yashinsky said. "Many of them would come up afterwards to share riddles and stories with me, too.

"Some people collect coins, some collect stamps, some people collect ring tones. Whatever you collect, I collect words - stories, sayings and expressions. I think the nature of a storyteller is to be a listener as much as a teller," he said. "Everywhere I have gone, I've been listening and hearing stories ... certainly, it's a culture that prizes stories here."He has also learned a bit while testing the local trout-fishing waters, he said. Today, Yashinsky will be in Lourdes and Cape St. George.

Reprinted from www.thetelegram.com 11/06/08