Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Mummers and Janneys on CBC Radio Noon

On Wednesday, December 17, CBC Radio Noon host Ramona Deering will be joined by special guest Chris Brookes for an hour long program on the Christmas mummering tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador. Listen, or phone in with your memories of mummers, janneys, hobby horses, wren boys, oonchicks and naluyuks. Program starts at 1:30 in Newfoundland (12 EST).

You can listen in to Radio Noon over the net through the CBC website:
http://www.cbc.ca/radionoonnl

The Mummer's Song, written by Bud Davidage


Mummers and Masks Documentary


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Wanted: Folklife Festival Intern


As part of the implementation of Province’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Strategic Plan, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is looking for a graduate level student interested in applying for a position involving both an internship and a research project. The student will divide their time between the HFNL and Memorial University. The intern will work with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) on a research project to create a model for an annual folklife festival. As part of that research project, the student will work closely with Dr. Gerald Pocius, Dept. of Folklore, MUN, to investigate issues and approaches to this event.

The student will organize and oversee a one-day festival, and will focus on creating a framework for appropriate cultural presentations following a festival format, sensitive to the needs of grassroots cultural groups. The student will prepare an organizational manual which will discuss details about choices made for performance contexts, issues of choosing presenters for the performances and demonstrations, and issues of repertoire, performance styles, and audience expectations. The event will be documented through still and video photography, and archived through Memorial’s Digital Archives Initiative. The development of a framework for appropriate cultural presentations, and research leading to a manual for community development of folklife festivals, will be of immediate relevance to HFNL in developing an annual provincial folklife festival.

This would be a 4 month internship, starting early in 2009, pending funding approvals. Interested graduate students should send a cover letter, including a statement of research interests and any relevant work experience, with CV, by December 17th , to:

Dale Jarvis
Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer
Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
PO Box 5171, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada A1C 5V5
ich@heritagefoundation.ca
http://www.heritagefoundation.ca
709-739-1892 ext 2
toll free: 1-888-739-1892 ext 2

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Helen Creighton Grants for Folklore Research, Collection & Publication


Grants-in-aid Committee

Applications are invited by the Helen Creighton Folklore Society for Grants-in-Aid to scholars, researchers, museums, and archives for projects relating to folklore research, collection, and publication.

These grants are intended to provide encouragement, not the sole support, for research or publication projects. They can contribute to research equipment, field trip projects, editing and illustrating material about to be published.

They can also assist researchers by offering professional assessment, thereby strengthening the applicant's position in larger competitions.

The Society operates on a limited budget, and tries to assist as many individuals and institutions as possible with limited resources. Grants are normally for $750, with the possibility of renewal; the size of grants may vary.

Announcements will be made by March 31, 2009.

Student applicants should provide a transcript, two letters from academic supervisors, and a prospectus and budget for their project. Scholars and experienced researchers should provide a CV, one supporting letter from a peer, a prospectus and budget.

Archival and museum administrators should outline how their proposal relates to an on-going program of collection, cataloguing or indexing of their materials.

Applications, bearing a postmark up to February 28, 2009, should be addressed to:


The Helen Creighton Folklore Society,
Research Support Committee,
c/o James H. Morrison, Chair,
6289 Yale Street,
Halifax, NS. B3L 1C9
Fax: (902) 420-5141

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Newsletter and ICH Booklet in pdf


I've had a lot of requests for copies of the "What is ICH?" booklet, and so I've put it online as a pdf. Also now online is the first edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update newsletter.

  • What Is Intangible Cultural Heritage? - A introduction to ICH for Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Intangible Cultural Heritage Update - December 2008 Newsletter

    If you would like a print copy of the booklet, please email me (Dale Jarvis). In Canada, you can call me toll free at 1-888-739-1892 ext 2.
  • Wednesday, December 3, 2008

    Innu Place Names Website a Worldwide First



    Natuashish (Labrador). For Immediate Release. 21 November 2008

    Labrador Innu made history today by putting on line the first comprehensive cultural website dedicated entirely to Aboriginal place names. Called Pepamuteiati nitassinat (‘As We Walk Across Our Land’), the website gives access to over 500 Innu place names in Labrador, as well as stories, photos, and video clips associated with the names. The website can be explored at www.innuplaces.ca

    Innu Nation Grand Chief, Mark Nui, said, “Place names are very important to our people because they are a gateway to our history on the land. Many younger Innu who have gone through the provincial educational system have never learned these names. We hope that the website will help them learn about their culture and history.”

    Lots of place names in Labrador come from the Innu (e.g. Minipi-Lake from Minai-nipi, meaning ‘burbot lake’), but others were given by pilots, mining companies, settlers and outfitters and were imposed on places that already had Innu names. The website will enable the Innu and members of the general public to start using the Innu place names, to learn about the meaning of the names and how to pronounce them.

    Other Aboriginal groups have been doing place name research over the years, and some are in the process of publishing their own websites (e.g. James Bay Cree and Norwegian Sámi). However, Pepamuteiati nitassinat is the first, comprehensive one put on line to date.

    Grand Chief Nui pointed out that “Over thirty years of research with our Elders went in to this website. It’s a gift from our Elders to younger Innu people. It’s part of our Elders’ legacy. It’s also an important part of our intangible cultural heritage that will help educate people about the richness of our history and traditions.”

    The website was made possible by contributions from many institutions and agencies including multimedia company Idéeclic, Environment Canada, Parks Canada, Memorial University Linguistics, and Canadian Boreal Trust. The Innu Nation wishes to acknowledge the generous financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through Canadian Culture Online.

    Monday, December 1, 2008

    "What is ICH?" Brochure released

    HFNL has just released a new booklet designed to give a basic introduction to Intangible Cultural Heritage The booklet gives a brief overview of intangible cultural heritage, and outlines the four goals identified in the province’s ICH strategy for safeguarding our living heritage:
    1. Documenting ICH and living traditions;
    2. Recognizing and celebrating ICH;
    3. Supporting and encouraging the passing on of knowledge and skills; and,
    4. Exploring the potential of ICH as a resource for community development.

    Copies are available by phoning 1-888-739-1892 ext 2 or by emailing Dale Jarvis at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

    Pdf available at
    http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/media/2239/what_is_ich.pdf

    Monday, November 17, 2008

    Blackwood talk in celebration of Folklore's 40th


    by Janet Harron

    David Blackwood, one of Canada's most respected visual storytellers -- and an honorary degree recipient from Memorial -- will give an illustrated public lecture on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m., in the Great Hall of Queen's College at Memorial. During the talk, Dr. Blackwood will discuss how growing up in outport Newfoundland has shaped his work and his life. His talk is in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Folklore at Memorial.

    "David Blackwood is a dominant and charismatic force, not only within Canada but also in the international art scene," said Dr. Paul Smith, a professor in the Folklore department. "His work translates the sagas of Newfoundland's traditional culture and commemorates a way of life quite foreign to the majority of Canadians, let along the rest of the world. I speak for all my colleagues in folklore when I say we are thrilled that he is giving this talk in honour of the 40th anniversary of the founding of our department."

    Dr. Blackwood's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally with over 90 solo shows and scores of group exhibitions. He has been the subject of two major retrospective exhibitions and the National Film Board's Academy-Award nominated documentary film Blackwood.

    His work may in found in virtually every major public gallery and corporate art collection in Canada, as well as in major private and public collections around the world, including the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (at Windsor Castle) and the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.

    Seating for the Nov. 20th event is limited. To reserve a seat, please contact the Department of Folklore by calling 737-8402 or e-mailing folklore@mun.ca. Parking is available in Lot 19 in the front of Queen's College and on meters in adjacent parking areas.

    Thursday, November 13, 2008

    Wooden Boat Building, continued



    The Wooden Boat Building Conference in Winterton at the start of the month was a great success, but the committee has not been resting on their laurels. They have identified three key areas where work needs to continue:

    1. Documenting the boatbuilding life of Mr. Henry Vokey.
    2. Action as an Advocacy Group for the preservation of our forest resource and rights of bona fide boat builders to harvest boatbuilding timber.
    3. Preserving the secrets locked up in the aging boats strewn across the province by creating an army of helpers through a Field Documentation Course specifically addressing the challenges of traditional wooden boats.

    The third goal dovetails nicely with the training and standards goals of the ICH strategy, so keep tuned for future developments on that front.

    You can see the Wooden Boat News, Issue 3 in pdf here.

    Wednesday, November 12, 2008

    Music in the Wrong Place: Disco Music in Quebec



    Memorial University welcomes noted author and editor Dr. Will Straw for the second in this year’s Music, Media and Culture Lecture Series. He’ll deliver a special lecture on Thursday, Nov. 20, entitled Music in the Wrong Place: Disco Music in Quebec.

    Through an analysis of artists and recordings, Dr. Straw will show how disco music found its place within a culture marked by an intense debate over language and its political meaning.

    “In the late 1970s, the music industry trade magazine Billboard called Montreal one of the three international capitals of disco music,” said Dr. Straw, the author of more than 60 articles on film music, media and cultural studies and the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Popular Music.

    “Dance music flourished in Quebec during the late 1970s. I will focus on the career of Pierre Perpall, a disco recording artist sometimes called the ‘first Afro-Quebecois star’.”

    The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m., in the Music, Media and Place Gallery in the Arts and Culture Centre, which is located in the northeast corner of the building.

    The lecture is sponsored by the Memorial University’s Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place (MMaP). The series showcases diverse research areas, approaches, and presentation styles in the field of music. The event is open to the public and is free of charge.

    Parking is available in the Arts and Culture Parking Lot.

    Dr. Straw is a professor in the Department of Art History and Communications Studies at McGill University. He is the author of the forthcoming book Popular Music: Scenes and Sensibilities, as well as more than 60 articles on film music,media, and cultural studies.

    He is the co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Popular Music and serves on the editorial boards of numerous journals, including Screen and Theory and Critique.

    His current research focuses on New York tabloid culture of the 1930s. Media agencies are invited to send representatives to this event.

    Friday, November 7, 2008

    The Memory Booth



    Dale Jarvis and Chris Brookes murmur about Water Street

    On November 13th, folklorist/storyteller Dale Jarvis and radio documentary producer Chris Brookes are turning the Crow’s Nest Officers Club into a memory booth for this November’s Storytelling Circle.

    Just like a photo booth records photos, a memory booth will record memories! In this instance, we’ll collect your personal memories of Water Street. Pleasant, poignant, historical, hysterical, smelly, or sensual, we want them all. Do you have a memory of a taste, a vision, a shared kiss, a late night conversation, a holiday gift, a loss, a love, something that happened on Water Street? Come share!

    We’ll be setting up a few mics, and recording whatever memories you want to share as part of bringing the fantastic [murmur] project to St. John’s.

    What is [murmur]? Just listen…

    [murmur] is a documentary oral history project that records stories and memories told about specific geographic locations. We’ll collect and make accessible people's personal histories and anecdotes about the places in their neighborhoods that are important to them. In each of these locations we’ll install a [murmur] sign with a telephone number on it that anyone can call with a mobile phone to listen to that story while standing in that exact spot, and engaging in the physical experience of being right where the story takes place. Some stories suggest that the listener walk around, following a certain path through a place, while others allow a person to wander with both their feet and their gaze.

    The stories we will record will range from personal recollections to more "historic" stories, or sometimes both -- but always are told from a personal point of view, as if the storyteller is just out for a stroll and was casually talking about their neighbourhood to a friend.

    $3 at the door, listeners welcome!

    Time and Place Date: Thursday, November 13, 2008
    Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
    Location: The Crow's Nest Officers Club
    Street: Just beside the War Memorial, Duckworth Street
    City/Town: St. John's, NL

    Check out:
  • http://murmurtoronto.ca/ [murmur] Toronto
  • http://galway.murmur.ie/ [murmur] Galway
  • http://edinburgh.murmur.info/ [mumur] Edinburgh
  • Friday, October 24, 2008

    Hooked on Digital Transcription

    Back in August, I blogged about the possibility of using a USB footpedal and transcription software for doing transcriptions of digital material. You can read that blog post here

    I found several online sources for the Infinity USB foot control, which I ended up purchasing through www.PCDictate.com. It retails for $58.50USD plus shipping (and plus another charge at customs) which brought it to around roughly $100CAD or so. I could find only one retailer locally, who did not have it in stock, though it was roughly the same price as having one shippped to Newfoundland from PCDictate.

    The unit is pretty basic: three pedals and a USB cable. The pedal unit comes with no software of its own, so I installed the free PC Express Scribe Transcription Playback Software from NCH Software. Instructions for configuring the foot pedal using a handy installation wizard can be found on the NCH website.

    Plugged in, and software installed, click Options/File Type to set the software to play whatever digital file type you need (I used MP3 for my test), then click the LOAD button on the software to load in your file.

    I loaded in a copy of the interview I did with Red Bay, Labrador resident Alice Moores, who I blogged about here and whose interview you can listen to here. I opened up MS Word, and then transcribed a short bit of the interview, as follows:

    ***

    DALE JARVIS: When your mother hooked rugs, what did she use them for?

    ALICE MOORES: Traditionally rugs were hooked for the Grenfell mission, and most of the rugs that she did, she did for that, but they also did rugs that they put on the floor as well, just rugs to throw down around. Mostly what I would see my mother make is poked mats.

    DJ: OK, so what is the difference?

    AM: Well, those two types of mats are very fine as you can see. [ALICE INDICATES MATS SHE HAD PRESENT DURING THE INTERVIEW]. The traditional Grenfell mat is hooked with a silk material, or t-shirts or whatever they could find, but the poked mat was just large pieces of rag poked through large holes in large brin. So they would just take a hook which didn’t have the hook on the top, but was just straight, and they would poke the piece of material through the hole, so that it was tight. It wouldn’t come back, but it would have long pieces of rag on the top. And so that, they would throw on the floor. But those here were more used, or more hooked to be used as displays, or people put it on their chests, or things like that. Sometimes it was used on the floors but not often.

    DJ: And where would people get the brin?

    AM: The brin I guess was found… I’m not sure where they would find the brin, back then. I guess it was potato sacks and some of it, well, first when the mats were being made it came about because of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, who thought it would be a good way for the women to add to the income of the household, because the men were doing what they could with the fishing, and he found that this was a way that the women could, in the beginning, get clothes for their children. Because what was happening was, people were very poor and it was very difficult to be able to get things for their families. So they would do the mats for Sir Wilfred Grenfell and the Grenfell Mission and in turn they would send in clothes and different things the women could use for their children. Now a little bit later they started to get paid for them. And so he would send in materials and probably in the beginning he was sending in the brin as well, but then as time went on they probably used potato sacks and they would wash those out and clean them up, and they would use that.

    ***

    All in all, a very handy combination of tools for anyone transcribing oral history/intangible cultural history interviews. One note: you do NOT need the foot pedal to use the software. You can load a file into the software, and then use hotkeys in place of the footpedals (F9 for play, F4 for stop, etc). For researchers and students on a budget, you can simply use the software without having to purchase a foot pedal, though for longer transcriptions, I can see where the foot pedal is useful. I got the hang of it very quickly, and know I'll be using it for interviews. The NCH transcription software runs in the background as you type, so you can use whatever word processing/blogging/email software you want to enter your transcriptions into.

    Wednesday, October 22, 2008

    Young Storytellers at The Lantern: A Concert of Young Voices Telling Tales

    The provincial ICH strategy recognizes, as a guiding principle, that the inclusion of multiple voices, including those of youth, is important in all work relating to Intangible Cultural Heritage. Intangible Cultural Heritage is kept alive and is relevant to a culture only if it is regularly practiced and handed down from one generation to the next. One of the key areas we must address as our work with ICH continues is the inclusion of youth in our thinking, planning, and celebration of our living traditions.

    Over the past two years, storyteller Mary Fearon and I have been working on a youth storytelling project at Holy Cross Elementary in St. John’s. In 2008, Mary worked with grades K-3, while I worked with grade 4-6. Students in the younger grades worked with Mary on rhymes, stories and story songs, and then also worked with puppetry intern Darka Erdelji to develop shadow puppet plays based on nursery rhymes.

    Students in grades 4-6 worked on traditional folktales and local legends, learning the basics of how to tell a story. For the second year in a row, the usual public speaking competition was replaced with storytelling, as kids competed at the classroom level in their telling of traditional material, from memory.

    This past weekend, I gave a workshop on Intangible Cultural Heritage at the annual meeting the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (MANL) in St. Paul’s, Gros Morne. Concerns were raised about including youth, and what some participants saw as threats posed by new technology.

    My response was to talk about the Holy Cross Storytelling project, where kids were introduced to traditional storytelling, but which also made sure that new technologies were embraced. At the end of the project, many of the stories were collected in digital MP3 format, and podcasted on the web. They are available for download at http://holycrosselementary.blogspot.com.

    Programs to share traditional knowledge, art and craft with the youth of Newfoundland and Labrador could truly help some of our youth find their passion and make it work for them, and for the good of our communities. Incorporating public performance, digital technology, and new media helps to maintain traditional ways of doing things while keeping it current and more meaningful to youth.

    Tomorrow night (Thursday, October 23, 2008), ten youth from Newfoundland, all under 17, will take part in the St. John’s Storytelling Festival, including five of my students from Holy Cross. The young storytellers also include Tamsyn & Naomi Russell, daughters of Newfoundland fiddler Kelly Russell, and granddaughters of the late Ted Russell of Pigeon Inlet fame. They will take the main stage at The Lantern on Barnes Road, and show that while traditions may change and evolve, storytelling is far from a dying art.

    Young Storytellers at The Lantern: A Concert of Young Voices Telling Tales
    Thursday Oct. 23
    The Lantern
    35 Barnes Road, St. John's
    7:00 p.m.
    Tickets $5 regular / $2 student

    Monday, October 20, 2008

    Registration Closed for David Taylor workshop

    Response to the November 3rd workshop with David Taylor has been incredibly positive, so much so that we are now at capacity, with a waiting list. If you have not yet registered, but want your name placed on the waiting list, please email me at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

    Wednesday, October 15, 2008

    Planning Cultural Documentation Projects: A Practical Workshop

    On Monday, November 3, David A. Taylor, from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, will lead a practical, three-hour workshop on how to develop plans for cultural documentation projects.

    He will take participants through the process of planning a project, addressing such factors as the identification of its goals, primary focus, financial requirements, and available resources, as well as the selection of documentation equipment and techniques, the use of consent forms, the development of products derived from documentary materials, and the organization and preservation of sound recordings, photographs and other materials generated through field research.

    This workshop will be beneficial to people who are contemplating cultural documentation projects of all sorts, ranging from short-term projects involving a single researcher to complex, long-term projects involving many researchers.

    “Proper attention to planning is crucial for the success of any cultural-documentation project,” says Taylor. “As well, if funds are needed to carry out a project, the presence of a clear, detailed and logical plan is very often a crucial factor in determining whether applications for grants are successful.”

    The workshop, which is being sponsored by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, will be held on Monday, November 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm, at The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John's. Those wishing to participate should contact Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer, at 1-888-739-1892 ext2 or email ich@heritagefoundation.ca in order to reserve a spot.

    The deadline for registration is October 30th. There is no charge for the workshop.

    About David Taylor

    Dr. David A. Taylor is the head of research and programs at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C. His work includes planning and carrying out research projects and public programs concerned with American, ethnic, regional, and occupational cultures; providing technical and reference assistance to cultural institutions and individual researchers; presenting public lectures about American traditional culture; and leading the Center’s research and programs unit. He also serves as the head of acquisitions for the Center's Archive of Folk Culture, the nation's first archive devoted to traditional life and, with over four million items in its collection, one of the largest repositories of its kind in the world. He is the founder and director of the Center's annual field school for cultural documentation, which was launched in 1994. He has directed a number of team-based, multi-disciplinary, field-documentation projects for the Center, including the “Italian-Americans in the West Project,” the “Maine Acadian Cultural Survey,” and the “Working in Paterson Project.” He has served as a member of the United States delegation to the World Intellectual Property Organization's intergovernmental committee on folklore, traditional knowledge and genetic resources.

    Taylor’s areas of specialization include field-research methodology, material culture, maritime culture, and occupational culture. In addition to his work for the Center, he has carried out independent field research on these topics in Maine, Florida, Newfoundland, and Norway. He is an expert on traditional watercraft, and is proud of the fact that his field research and writing served as the basis for the creation of the award-winning Winterton Boat Building and Community Museum, in Winterton, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Outside of his work at the American Folklife Center, Taylor is involved with research and writing about European and American decorative arts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

    He holds a B.A., in anthropology, from the University of Maine, and an M.A. and a Ph.D., both in folklore, from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

    Thursday, October 9, 2008

    A Winter's Tale - The Podcast

    On October 4th, as part of the symposium and gallery show "Invention, Exuberance and Art: The Country Furniture of the Island of Newfoundland", I chatted with William (Bill) Winter about his grandfather Henry William Winter’s life and legacy. We were joined by Newfoundland furniture expert Walter Peddle, and introduced by the curator of history for The Rooms, Mark Ferguson.

    You can listen to the conversation podcast here in MP3 format. For other formats, or to listen in streaming audio, go here.

    Tuesday, October 7, 2008

    Transformation of Local Music


    Dr. Carol Babiracki will present the first lecture in the Music, Media and Culture series October 7, 7:30 p.m., MMaP Gallery. Her topic is “Transnational Tribals and the Transformation of Local Music in India.”

    Carol Babiracki is an Associate Professor of Music, History and Culture in the Fine Arts Department of Syracuse University. Before joining Syracuse, she taught on the faculties of Brown and Harvard Universities, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has spent many years in India doing field research, with a focus on village expressive culture in the state of Jharkhand over a twenty-five year period. Her publications have appeared in the journal Asian Music and in the books Women's Voices Across Musical Worlds, Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives on Field Research in Ethnomusicology, Comparative Musicology and the Anthropology of Music, Ethnomusicology and Modern Music History, and The Western Impact on World Music. She is currently completing a monograph about the role of Mundari music history and performance in the autonomy movement that resulted in Jharkhand statehood in 2000.

    Dr. Babiracki will also be making informal presentations in three classes this week. These classes have been opened to members of the university community and the public, although space is limited in some cases.

    Tues., October 7, School of Music Video Conferencing Room, 9-11:30 am: Presentation in Problems and methods in ethnomusicology: on fieldwork issues in village India.

    PUBLIC LECTURE: Tues.,October 7, 7:30-9:00 pm, Public lecture (MMaP Gallery). Reception to follow. “Transnational Tribals and the Transformation of Local Music in India“

    Thurs., Oct. 9, Science building room 2101 at 10:30-11:45a.m., In Introduction to Folklore class “Studying traditional dance: Mundari dance, including a dance workshop & some flute tunes”

    Thurs., Oct. 9, Education building room 4008 at .2:00-3:15, In Folklore Research Methods class. “Advocacy in Fieldwork. Defining ‘human rights’ in Jharkhand”

    For further information, call 737-2051 or email kharriswalsh@mun.ca or bdiamond@mun.ca

    Tuesday, September 30, 2008

    Newfoundland Historic Trust Seeks Members, Board of Directors

    The Newfoundland Historic Trust invites nominations to fill vacancies on its Board of Directors. Prospective candidates would have knowledge and experience dealing with issues pertaining to built heritage preservation, and would be interested in playing an advocacy role within the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.

    The NHT is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the built heritage of our province since 1966. Key activities of the NHT include the annual Southcott Awards for Built Heritage Preservation, and the operation of a provincial historic site called the Newman Wine Vaults, located at Springdale and Water Streets in St. John’s.

    The Board of Directors are unpaid volunteers, committed to the Trust’s mandate of preservation. The Board usually holds in-person meetings one evening per month. Teleconference attendance can be arranged for prospective members located elsewhere in the province. The NHT will hold an election of officers at the upcoming Annual General Meeting at the end of November.

    If you are interested in joining this committee, please submit your resume by 4:30 pm, Friday, October 24th, 2008 for consideration:

    Newfoundland Historic Trust • PO Box 2403 • St. John's, NL • A1C 6E7
    tel 709-739-7870 • fax 709-739-5413 • email: historictrust@yahoo.ca www.historictrust.com

    Tuesday, September 23, 2008

    Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland: the Way Forward


    Yesterday, I recieved by post a copy of "Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland: the Way Forward", a summary of a report prepared by Alison McCleary, Alistair McCleary, Linda Gunn and David Hill of Napier University, based on research commissioned by Museums Galleries Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and the Scotland Committee of the UK National Commission for UNESCO.

    The report identifies practical steps to be taken in order to safeguard and promote the richness and diversity of Scotland’s cultural practices and living traditions. It came at a perfect time, as HFNL is working on preparing a booklet entitled "What is Intangible Cultural Heritage?" - a first step in a similar direction.

    Click here for the full report(439 KB pdf) or summary report (9,935 KB pdf).

    The press release on the launch of the report can be found here.

    The report summary, beautifully illustrated, gives an overview of Intangible Cultural Heritage in general, and how it relates to Scotland, as well as sections on collecting and managing ICH data, and safeguarding ICH. It recommends four next steps in conserving ICH in Scotland:

  • Creating a national inventory,
  • Collecting details of ICH practices,
  • Storing ICH data on a customized online wiki format, and
  • Using the national inventory as a tool for identifying what is under threat, and as a component of education and community development.


  • The summary also includes two small case studies, one on the "Up-Helly-Aa" festivals in Shetland (shown in the picture above), and one on collecting ICH on the island of Linsmore, on the west coast of Scotland.

    Interesting and exciting stuff, with some good recommendations!

    Wednesday, September 17, 2008

    Professional Development Coordinator Position


    The Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is a not for profit, registered charitable organization which represents and supports museums and people associated with them.

    Job Description

    The Professional Development Co-ordinator (PDC) is responsible for planning, organizing, delivery, controlling and evaluating the professional development activities and programme for the members of the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. In addition, the Coordinator will supervise and administer MANL's annual projects with the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) and the Museums Assistance Program (MAP). The PDC works with the Professional Development Committee and under the general direction of the Executive Director to fulfill the professional development goals of the Board of Directors of MANL.

    Duties and responsibilities

  • Support the Board of Directors and members
  • Sourcing, development and co-ordination of professional development programs and opportunities for the members of MANL.
  • Special projects
  • Other related duties

    Qualifications

  • Extensive knowledge of the Museums sector and heritage preservation
  • Demonstrated understanding of the needs of community museums and heritage organizations and of instruction and research
  • An acquired knowledge of digital collections and applicable software will be considered an asset
  • A university degree in a related area; good communication and proven organizational skills required to deliver a professional development programme

    Deadline for applications: September 25th 2008, 4:00 pm

    Applications may be forwarded to:
    Human Resources Committee
    Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador
    PO Box 5785 St. John's, NL
    A1C 5X3
    tel. 709-722-9034 fax. 709-722-9035
    kflynn@nf.aibn.com

    MANL thanks all applicants for their interest, however only those
    selected for an interview will be contacted.
  • Monday, September 15, 2008

    A Winter’s Tale: The Legacy of Henry William Winter


    A conversation with the grandson of one of Newfoundland's legendary furniture makers.

    During the late 19th and early 20th century, Henry William Winter, an ambitious self-taught furniture maker in Clarke's Beach, Conception Bay, mass-produced furniture using simple hand tools and a few primitive machines. These included a foot-powered jig saw, a foot-operated lathe and a larger lathe designed to be driven manually or powered by a dog. His home stands today, beautifully restored by his family, as a Registered Heritage Structure.

    On October 4th, Newfoundland furniture expert Walter Peddle will introduce us to the work of Henry William Winter. Then, folklorist and storyteller Dale Jarvis will chat with Bill Winter about his grandfather’s life and legacy.

    2:00 to 3:00
    Saturday, October 4, 2008
    The Rooms, 9 Bonaventure Avenue

    NOTE:

    Space is limited for the Saturday Session.
    Please register before September 26 by calling 757-8090.

    The Winter Home, Clarke's Beach
    http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/rhs/cf_listing/039.html

    Conception Bay Furniture Maker
    http://www.therooms.ca/museum/mnotes9.asp

    Facebook event page here.

    Event possible with generous assistance from the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador.

    Thursday, September 11, 2008

    "What Is ICH?" - Workshop in Happy Valley-Goose Bay


    ~Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop Series ~

    FREE Workshop

    Friday, Sept 12, 2008
    12:30pm – 2:30 pm
    Room 249, College of the North Atlantic
    Happy Valley-Goose Bay

    This Friday, I'll be giving a two hour workshop at the College of the North Atlantic, to discuss what Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) is all about! I'll be talking about oral traditions and expressions, performing arts, social events, traditional beliefs and knowledge, and the skills used in all sorts of traditional activites. Come have a say and join in a conversation about what ICH means in Labrador.

    Tuesday, September 9, 2008

    Wooden Boat Museum and Conference


    Living off the edge of the earth, the way of the water meant survival for peoples of Newfoundland and Labrador. With their hands, heart and handmade tools, they built boats to fish so that they could feed their families, travel and make their way from the land’s rocky shores. With crooked trees, ingenuity and hope, they build the boats that built the country of Newfoundland.

    Over the past half a century, the necessity and practice of these skills has declined. The sun has set on the lives of most of the men who practiced the craft with such expertise that today’s naval architects marvel at their skill. As their sons become seniors, we are in danger of losing these skills forever.

    But now new life is breathing in the old ways. Established in 2008, the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the legacy of our wooden boat building traditions by celebrating the past and passing on the strengths of the skills to younger generations.

    The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is working to spark new hope for the keystone of our heritage by bringing together traditional wooden boat builders, model wooden boat builders and wooden boat enthusiasts, and those who see wooden boat building as a symbol of the strength and fortitude of Newfoundland and Labrador. By becoming a Member of the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, you will help continue the legacy.

    The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting a Conference on November 1st and its first Annual General Meeting on November 2nd. Persons interested in attending either, or both of these events, or to become a Member, are asked to inquire by telephone at either (709) 583-2055 or (709) 583-2070, or by email at bkingheritage@gmail.com or barrett.hal@gmail.com

    Museum website: http://www.woodenboat.ca/

    Friday, September 5, 2008

    Doors Open Gets Intangible!


    Doors Open is a unique opportunity for the citizens and visitors of Newfoundland and Labrador to celebrate our architecture and heritage through the exploration of some of our hidden historical, architectural and cultural gems. Buildings that are normally closed to the public or charge an entrance fee welcome visitors to look around for free.

    Doors Open began in Glasgow, Scotland in 1990 under the cooperation of the Scottish Civic Trust. A year later it was launched as a Council of Europe initiative. In 1998, 19 million people had visited 28,000 sites throughout Europe making it the world's biggest festival of the built environment.

    This year, Doors Open St. John's is heading into its 6th year with its largest event to date! 28 sites are participating including some of our most popular sites and 11 new sites. As part of the event this year, several site will showcase and give visitors opportunities to take part in intangible cultural heritage activities. Some of these include:

  • Anna Templeton Centre for Craft, Art & Design - family workshops and craft demonstrations;

  • Bidgood's Fresh Food Market in the Goulds - come and learn how delicious traditional Newfoundland food is made by going behind the scenes in the Bidgood’s bakery.

  • Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre - Hands-on Displays (Touch Tank, Fast Rescue Craft, Fishery Patrol Vessel, Leatherback Turtle Replica), Demonstrations (tracking ocean conditions, eco-models, Terry Trauma), and Exhibits (marine debris, HR, species at risk).

  • Peter Pan Lawn Bowling, Bowering Park - Lawn bowling demonstrations and instruction will take place throughout the day. Come learn the sport and play a game with friends and family

  • St. John's Racing and Entertainment Centre - Tours of the stables will be held and races will begin 2:00 on Sunday.

  • The Old Mill, Brookfield Road - 4 Line dancing classes will be offered. They will begin on the hour starting at 12:00, Saturday.
  • Thursday, August 28, 2008

    Living RICH August meeting

    I just drove back into town from a meeting in Placentia with the committee for Living RICH (Rural Intangible Cultural Heritage), where I gave an overview of the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's ICH program. It was a good meeting, with representation from Parks Canada, Branch Heritage Group, Tramore Productions, Placentia Area Theatre d'Heritage.

    Patrick Carroll with Parks talked about the free concert which was organized at Castle Hill National Historic Site as part of their 40th anniversary celebrations. Part of the goal was to mix old and new musical traditions, and to bring in people from the area. Featured singers/songwriters included Joy Norman, Colleen Power, and one of my favourite traditional ballad singers, Tobias Pearson.

    Arlene Morrissey from Tramore talked about some of the projects of the company, which has a strong basis in the conservation and celebration of local oral tradition and oral history, and which incorporates ballad singing and storytelling into their performances. Helen Griffin with Placentia Area Theatre d'Heritage talked about their program of costumed interpretation at Castle Hill, their other shows based on local history, and their weekly theatre cabaret, which drew on the area's Irish, English and American culture with recitations, theatre and traditional music.

    Lorna Nash English presented on the various projects of Branch Heritage, including their walk of "name places", areas with particular significance for the community, their memorial skeet shooting competition, kitchen parties with ballad singing, and the revival of traditional dances from the community. She also stressed the importance of passing on skills from seniors to youth.

    In the end, the group talked about organizing a one day symposium on rural ICH for the area, sometime in November. I'll be sure to blog about it as it draws closer, so keep posted!

    Wednesday, August 27, 2008

    International Journal of Intangible Heritage


    The International Journal of Intangible Heritage is a refereed academic and professional journal for the cultural and heritage sectors. First published in May 2006, the Journal embraces theory and practice in relation to the study, preservation, interpretation and promotion of intangible heritage. In recent years, academics,researchers and professionals in many different parts of the cultural and heritage sectors have increasingly been collecting, systematizing, documenting and communicating intangible heritage and in particular supporting both its traditional and contemporary expressions. The Journal welcomes submissions of contributions covering all areas and all possible discourses of intangible heritage studies and practice.

    The need for such an international publication was one of the significant outcomes of the 2004 Triennial General Conference of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on the theme “Museums and Intangible Heritage”. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Korea agreed to provided support for this Journal through the National Folk Museum of Korea.

    The printed editions are supplemented by an electronic edition in PDF format at http://www.ijih.org.

    Monday, August 25, 2008

    Put your foot down on digital transcription!



    I had a question recently about transcribing digital recordings. The question was about the difficulty in using a digital recording to make a transcription of the interview.

    Have no fear! It is possible to use a foot pedal on your computer, to advance and rewind a digital wav or mp3 file. There are several on the market. Just do a Google search for "USB transcription foot pedal" and you'll get a lot of options. I have yet to try this out, but I'm itching to do so, and when I do, I'll update the blog and let people know how it works out.

    You have to buy a foot pedal, but you can get the basic transcription software for free. Express Scribe Transcription Playback Software is one example, which is a totally free download designed to assist the transcription of audio recordings. It is installed on the typist's computer and can be controlled using a transcription foot pedal or using the keyboard. This computer transcriber application also offers valuable features for typists including variable speed playback, multi-channel control, file management and more.

    Friday, July 25, 2008

    ICH meets Survey Monkey!

    The Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is overseeing the implementation of a strategy to safeguard the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) or "Living Heritage" of the province.

    As part of this strategy, HFNL is conducting an online survey through the web-based Survey Monkey to determine the types of assistance community organizations require in safeguarding their ICH. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes and all results will be confidential. A summary of final results will be posted on the HFNL website.

    To conduct the survey online, visit:

    http://www.heritagefoundation.ca

    Follow the link to “ICH Survey”

    For more information on the survey, telephone Barbara Gravinese at 709-737-3582.

    Thursday, July 24, 2008

    Veterans History Project

    This morning, Jillian Gould (Memorial University Folklore Dept's public sector folklorist) and I had an informative telephone chat with Dr. Timothy Lloyd, Executive Director of the American Folklore Society. We had questions for Tim about the training available for people interested in collecting stories, oral history, and personal experience narratives as part of the Veterans History Project in the United States.

    The Veterans History Project relies on volunteers to collect and preserve stories of wartime service. The United States Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000, with a primary focus on collecting first-hand accounts of U.S. Veterans from World War I up to the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

    For me, one of the interesting programs they deliver is a short, half-day introductory course on interviewing techniques for community groups, seniors' homes, high- and middle-schools who are planning on doing recording projects with veterans in their own communities.

    The Veterans History Project also makes good use of online resources, including a Veterans History Project Field Kit which can be downloaded from the Library of Congress website. The kit includes items like data and release forms, and audio, video and recording logs.

    The website also offers good introductory level information for groups (and individuals) on preparing for and conducting interviews.

    Tuesday, July 22, 2008

    ICH Needs Assessment Survey

    (photo: Joshia Snow and workers with salt fish, Fogo, Fogo Island, NL, no date)


    In the next step of the province’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Provincial Initiative, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) is in the process of conducting a needs assessment survey to uncover what communities need and how we can help to identify, document, celebrate, and transmit our “living heritage.”

    Examples of living heritage include skills like hand-building boats, homes, and furniture. HFNL is working to provide opportunities to celebrate people and their skills. Some skills and traditions were once matters of survival, like knitting woollens and preserving food over the winter. People in their homes and the homes of neighbours hooked mats, made fishing nets, told stories, sang and danced in our kitchens. These skills, traditions and crafts were not learned in schools, but learned over time in apprenticeship to senior craftspeople, or were passed down through the oral tradition. Today we look for ways to recognize and celebrate these traditions and skills.

    “All these things, and more, are pieces of our Intangible Cultural Heritage,” says Dale Jarvis, ICH development officer for the province. “The survey is part of our ongoing work to see what communities need in order to safeguard this sometimes fragile material.”

    The ICH survey will be asking questions about how communities share and celebrate Intangible Cultural Heritage. Barbara Gravinese, a Memorial University, Department of Folklore Graduate Student, will be conducting this phone survey. Gravinese is writing her doctoral thesis on pottery, a contemporary tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador.

    “We would also like to know if there are traditions that people value and think are at risk of being forgotten or lost, as the bearers of these traditions - the fiddle maker, the singer, the cook - age and die,” says Gravinese.

    “Many people are excited about becoming active members of this initiative on a grassroots level,” she explains. “We would like to know who might be interested in training, on lots of different levels, to do fieldwork recording, filming, and/or interviewing tradition bearers to document their lives and skills.”

    Gravinese will be conducting the survey with municipalities, local heritage groups and organizations over the next two months. When completed, the survey results will be posted on the HFNL website at http://www.heritagefoundation.ca/ich.aspx.

    For more information on the provincial ICH survey, email bgravinese@mun.ca, or call (709) 737-3582 until the 30th of September, 2008.

    Wednesday, July 16, 2008

    Intangible Cultural Heritage Strategy

    In its cultural strategy, Creative Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador identified the importance of safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) or “living heritage.”

    “Our intangible cultural heritage or, alternatively, our “living heritage”, . . encompasses a host of traditions, practices and customs that permeate and help constitute the very marrow of our society. Intangible cultural heritage embraces, among other things, our stories, holidays, community gatherings, culinary arts, rituals, songs and languages. These are passed from one generation to another but do not remain static; they are modified and recreated by each new generation.”

    The provincial cultural strategy identified the need to develop an action plan for safeguarding ICH. To develop such a plan, the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation (TCR) appointed an ICH Working Group made up of representatives from the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Archives Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, Parks Canada, the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Memorial University, Torngasok, and the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador, The Rooms Provincial Museum. Drawing extensively on discussions during the AHI Intangible Cultural Heritage Forum, held in June 2006, the group developed a strategy.

    The strategy has now been formally adopted by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador as the document that will guide their ongoing works to conserve ICH in the province.

    See the strategy here.

    If you have any comments or suggestions on the strategy please email ich@heritagefoundation.ca or call 709-739-1892 ext 2

    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

    Tuesday, May 27, 2008

    ICH Workshop: Stories, Memories, Facts and Family

    Friday, June 13th, 2008
    1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
    The Lantern, Barnes Road, St. John’s


    Ever want to collect and tell your family stories? Want to learn how to interview family members, preserve the oral stories, and weave together family facts and experiences into tellable tales? Join storyteller Cindy Campbell from Nova Scotia for this workshop that will help you create or re-create stories to pass along to the next generation. A Family Stories Workbook will be provided to help get you started.

    About Cindy Campbell, Workshop Leader

    Cindy is a storyteller, born and raised in Nova Scotia with roots in Prince Edward Island. She heard her first oral stories as a child while sitting around her grandmother’s kitchen listening to the adults talk. These were snippets of stories about people, events and community history. As an adult, she became interested in storytelling when she attended the 3rd Annual National Conference of Storytellers of Canada/ Conteurs du Canada in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1995. Soon, she became fascinated with regional stories and histories, family stories and personal stories. Cindy has performed at festivals, conferences and special events all across the country. In 2006, Cindy toured the Gaspe Region as a Storyteller for CASA and was a traveling Storyteller for the TD Canadian Children’s Book Tour.

    In 2006, Cindy was project manager for the Youth In Storytelling Initiative which encouraged the use of Storytelling in the schools, encouraged youth to collect their family stories, and the final stage was a Family Storytelling Contest. This project was in partnership with The Storytellers Circle of Halifax and Pier 21 National Historic Site. Cindy is also working on a Community Stories project for Cole Harbour Heritage Farm where the information from taped interviews are woven into stories. She is the Provincial Representative for Storytellers of Canada/ Conteurs du Canada, Coordinator of the Storytellers Circle of Halifax, and Storytelling Liaison for the Helen Creighton Folklore Society. In Halifax, from November 14 -16, the Helen Creighton Folklore Society will host the 2008 Conference for the Canadian Society For Traditional Music. Cindy is co-chair of this conference along with Clary Croft.

    FREE Workshop, limited seating, participants must pre-register.

    Register by fax (709-739-5413) phone (709-739-1892 ext 3) or email info@heritagefoundation.ca

    Tuesday, May 13, 2008

    First provincial folklorist a Memorial alumnus

    By Janet Harron Reprinted from today.mun.ca

    Memorial University alumnus Dale Jarvis has been named Newfoundland and Labrador’s first provincial folklorist. Mr. Jarvis, who holds an MA in Folklore, has worked for 13 years with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL).

    Well known locally from his involvement in storytelling festivals and the famed St. John’s Haunted Hike, Mr. Jarvis is also the author of two popular books on Newfoundland and Labrador folklore and ghost stories and a third volume for young adults.

    His entrepreneurial streak will serve him well in his new position as Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Development Officer for the province.

    “Our intangible cultural heritage is in everything we do, and it is such a huge part of the vibrant, living culture we have in Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Mr. Jarvis. “It is going to be exceptionally exciting work, and I am very enthusiastic about diving in.”

    Having worked as the provincial registrar for historic buildings, Mr. Jarvis is excited about moving from the tangible examples of our built heritage to the intangible and foresees much future crossover between his position and the folklore faculty of Memorial in terms of, among other things, providing technical expertise.

    Department head Dr. Diane Tye couldn’t be more pleased at the government’s decision to recognize the culture and tradition of the province as one of its greatest resources.

    “We are very pleased with the appointment of Mr Jarvis as ICH Development Officer,” says Dr. Tye. “We expect that this growing partnership will lead to closer collaboration between the university and the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation in developing future policies and programs. The Folklore Department is committed to documenting and preserving local culture in Newfoundland and Labrador and this new position will help bring folklore to the public view in different and exciting ways.”

    Mr. Jarvis is actively seeking input from the general public and encourages both communities and individuals to get in touch. The new provincial folklorist can be reached by telephone at 1-888-739-1892 or by email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca. His blog can be found at http://doodledaddle.blogspot.com.

    April 21, 2008

    Monday, May 12, 2008

    Oral History Workshop Ideas

    One of the projects I've been starting up with the province's new ICH position is a workshop of some sort on fieldwork and archival approaches for communities doing intangible cultural heritage work. I'll be putting up resources as I find them, but I stumbled across this very short video on Youtube about an oral history workshop, and thought I'll post it here.



    I like this little video as well, part of an oral history project done through the College of Sante Fe:

    Thursday, May 8, 2008

    Oral Tradition and the Virtual World

    On Saturday May 17 at 10 AM PDT the Center for Digital Storytelling (CDS), with the collaboration of the New Media Consortium, is hosting a reflection on storytelling in virtual environments in the form of a panel in the online virtual world known as Second Life.

    Joe Lambert (Director, Center for Digital Storytelling) and Ana Boa-Ventura (PhD Candidate, University of Texas at Austin) will be moderating, and speakers will be logging in from Newfoundland, Spain, China, New Zealand and the US, and covering areas from folklore to multimedia journalism to virtual performance.

    Dale Jarvis, Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for Newfoundland and Labrador, will be one of the presenters, with a talk entitled "Not in my time, and not in your time: Oral Tradition and the Virtual World." The following is the presentation abstract, taken from the conference outline:

    Oral storytelling is the art of using language, vocalization, and/or physical movement to reveal the elements and images of a story to a specific, live audience. "Telling" involves direct contact between teller and listener. A central, unique aspect of oral storytelling is its reliance on the audience to develop specific visual imagery and detail to complete and co-create the story in their minds. The teller's role is to prepare and present the necessary language, vocalization, and physicality to communicate the images of a story effectively and efficiently. The challenge, in the 21st century, is to take this most ancient of art forms, and recreate it in virtual settings, where some of the physical intimacy between teller and audience is lost. Storyteller and folklorist Dale Gilbert Jarvis will present some thoughts on virtual storytelling and the impact, and potential, of the digital age on intangible cultural heritage.
    The full list of speakers can be downloaded in pdf format. In-world participants can take part in the sessions at the Second Life Campus of the Center for Digital Storytelling.

    Wednesday, April 30, 2008

    Field Recording Equipment

    At a recent meeting, I was asked by someone about what sort of digital devices exist for doing field sound recordings. The best online source for reviews of recording devices is published by the Vermont Folklife Centre on its Digital Audio Field Recording Equipment Guide, prepared by Andy Kolovos. It is by far the most comprehensive reviews page for field recording equipment, written specifically for those people who will be doing folklore and oral history field recordings.

    While I am far from an expert on the matter, I have pulled together a little review. Note that everything that follows is personal opinion, and if you read the Vermont Folklife Center page, that author has varying opinions. Your best bet is always to figure out exactly what you will be using the recorder for, ask around and see what people are using for similar project, and to see if you can test out a recorder in a field situation before you spend your money.

    I personally use the Edirol R-09 WAV/MP3 recorder. I bought it at a local music store over a year ago, and I like it. I’ve used it mostly for recording storytelling events, either by using the built in mic, or by patching it in to a sound board using an inexpensive cable and jack adaptor bought from The Source. The Edirol is roughly the size and weight of a pack of cards, and I find the interface fairly easy to use. I recorded the 2007 World Storytelling Day Concert using the Edirol plugged into the headphone jack of a professional soundboard, and was quite pleased with the quality of the recording. I am currently using it, with the built in mic, to record stories told by storytelling students here in St. John’s as part of an ArtSmarts project, and will post a link to those recordings when they are placed online.

    Delf Hohmann is a singer, musician, folklorist and coordintor of the Cape St. Mary's Performance Series, who also uses the Edirol. He uses it for live recordings, fieldwork, and radio assignments. I asked him for his thoughts, and this is what he wrote:
    It is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, and it is an easy to handle, straightforward recording device with no extra knick-knacks. It works well with external microphones. The built in ones are fairly good, or good enough for recording of speech, yet, they are not good enough to make a high-end music/sound recording. The internal software version 1.3 (downloadable from the Edirol website) allows for the use of a 8GB SDHD card, which provides 12hrs of CD quality (16 bit, 44.1kHz) recording (with SanDisk Extreme III (6) 12hrs 50min). It takes Ni-Mh rechargerables or AA batteries. The only disadvantage is the machine's overall flimsyness. It is not very robust and needs carefull handling, i.e. I wouldn't suggest to drop it on the floor. The cover for AA-battery bay and the SD-card needs careful handling. In the slightly larger new version, the "Edirol R-09HR" this problem has been fixed by placing the battery bay on the back of the recorder - the "Edirol R-09HR" has an overall stronger casing.
    Andrea O'Brien is a researcher and project officer for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is using the Zoom H2 Handy Recorder
    When I first began my folklore studies back in the early 1990s, the hand-held cassette recorder was the way to go when it came to field recordings. While that compact gadget saw me through university, I lately realized that I would have to move into the digital age. After some searching, I recently bought a Zoom H2 and I’m impressed with its usability and recording quality. The Zoom H2 is compact, lightweight and has the capacity to record on four built-in microphones for 360 degree recording. Recording length varies by the size of the memory card you use and the format you choose (WAV or MP3). Recordings can be saved to a PC or Mac. The Zoom H2 comes with great accessories, including a tripod stand, microphone adaptor and wind screen. It also comes with an AC adaptor, but two AA batteries will provide 4 hours of recording time. I have used the Zoom H2 for voice recordings only, but it can also be used to record multi-instrument performances. The variety of menu options was daunting at first, but one read through the instruction booklet provided the basic knowhow I needed for voice recordings. For the student or researcher on a budget, the Zoom H2 offers great recording at a low price. I purchased mine at a local music shop for under $250.00.
     .

    Tuesday, April 22, 2008

    Hunting Dragons on St. George's Day

    St. George's Day is not an official national holiday in Canada. The patron saint of England’s feast day is, however, a provincial holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, where it is usually observed on the Monday nearest April 23rd (also Shakespeare’s birthday). This year the St. George’s holiday was celebrated Monday, April 21st.

    The most well-known story of St. George concerns him slaying a dragon that had long ravaged the country of Libya. Every day the dragon demanded a sacrifice of a beautiful maiden. Terrified of the beast’s power, the local people had sacrificed their daughters one by one, till none remained except the daughter of the King.

    St. George heard of this, and was determined to save the princess. He engaged the dragon in combat, but upon rushing upon the serpent, his spear broke into pieces against its impermeable scales. Falling from his horse, St. George rolled under an enchanted orange tree which protected him from the dragon’s venomous breath.

    Rested, the saint attacked again, though this time the dragon’s breath crumbled his armour, forcing him back under the orange tree. A third time, the saint attacked, sword in hand. He rushed under the dragon and pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it fell dead at his feet. The slaying of the dragon by the saint has similarities to similar legends, two notable examples being the conclusion to Beowulf, and the story of Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir.

    In Newfoundland, St. George is one of the typical characters in the old mummering plays, historically performed over the Christmas season. Good St. George is often a character in the plays who undergoes a death and rebirth, rising from a mortal wound delivered by Saracen or Turk to fight another day.

    In his article “Mummers in Newfoundland History”, George Story included the following introduction to St. George from one of the old Newfoundland Christmas masques:

    I am the good St. George, from Albion’s cliffs I come,
    The beauteous Isle of smiling fields – the fairest in Christendom.
    I fought the Hydra-headed Snake – led Dragon to the slaughter,
    I slew proud Egypt’s lordly King, and wed his royal daughter.


    Personally, I spent my St. George’s Day holiday in Clarke’s Beach, Conception Bay, just a short drive south of Bay Roberts. I took my kayak out for a spin, and was rewarded with a sighting of two eagles, but there was nar dragon to be spotted anywhere.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George

    Monday, April 14, 2008

    Galoot of a Culture meets ICH


    Last weekend, I did a radio interview with Angela Antle on CBC Radio's Weekend Arts Magazine, and they've placed the interview online.

    The following is taken from the WAM website:

    Dale Jarvis is well known to many of you as the man who walks the streets at night leading the Haunted Hike. Dale is also an avid storyteller and the author of several books of tall tales and ghost stories. Dale Jarvis has worked for years in various roles at the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador. Now he has a new gig there...one he says is a dream job. Dale Jarvis is the first Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Development Officer for the province. And maybe the only one in Canada. Listen to this audio feature.

    Friday, April 11, 2008

    Newfoundland and Labrador Hires First Provincial Folklorist

    Newfoundland and Labrador has recently created a position for its first provincial folklorist. With the support of the provincial government, the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL) has hired Dale Jarvis as the first Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Development Officer for the province.

    Jarvis has worked for 13 years with HFNL, having completed his Folklore MA at Memorial. He brings to the position involvement in local storytelling festivals and events, as well as a wide knowledge of the local heritage community. 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.

    “This is a dream job for me,” says Jarvis. “It brings together a lot of my interests, and I am very excited about the potential for this program. The living culture and tradition of the province is one of our greatest resources. I am delighted that I will be involved in helping document, conserve and encourage those aspects of our heritage.”

    The position of ICH Development Officer is the fruition of six years of work in the province, drawing on the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), including its 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage.

    In 2002, Dr. Gerald Pocius of Memorial University’s Folklore Department was involved in consultations on an early draft of the UNESCO Convention. Over the past six years, Pocius has been working with various provincial government agencies on policies and programs. Anita Best, another MUN Folklore Department graduate, worked for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in getting ICH as one of the main heritage priorities in the province’s “Cultural Blueprint: Creative Newfoundland and Labrador,” released in 2006.

    During that same year, the Association of Heritage Industries organized its annual meeting in St. John’s around the theme of ICH, with speakers from the Smithsonian, the American Folklife Center, and the ICH section of UNESCO. Memorial University’s Folklore Department continues to conduct a pilot inventory project in cooperation with the provincial government, and has committed to assist in developing training and documentation programs for the province in the future.

    “The ICH program for Newfoundland and Labrador has great promise,” Jarvis enthuses. “ICH is all around us, in everything we do: in our stories, our languages, the songs we sing, the crafts we produce, and in the knowledge people have about the land and sea that our history and culture is based upon.”

    Jarvis has started an internet blog site to keep people informed on the work of the provincial folklorist position, which can be found at http://doodledaddle.blogspot.com/.

    “What is a doodle-daddle, and what does it have to do with folklore and intangible cultural heritage?” Jarvis asks with a laugh. “Check out the blog, find out, and share your stories!”

    The new provincial folklorist can be reached by telephone at 1-888-739-1892, or by email at ich@heritagefoundation.ca

    Thursday, April 10, 2008

    What is a doodle-daddle?

    Doodle-Daddle:

    loodle-laddle (n) also doodle-laddle, oodle-addle. A contraption; esp a deliberately humorous or evasive name given to an object in order to puzzle a child. C 71-94 When a man was making something and some curious boy asked him what he was making the man always told him that he was making an oodle-addle. P 245-77 Do you know what we call that drain pipe? We call it the oodle-addle. P 30-79 My mother used to tease me by saying that a doodle laddle was a machine for catching wild ducks. - quoted from the Dictionary of Newfoundland English Online

    When I was a kid the way I first heard the idea of “thing-a-ma-jig” was “doodle-daddle for stirrin’ doughb’ys.” It was always like that, the whole phrase, and it came out together like one long word. If my father had something in his hand like a big bolt that I didn’t recognize, and I asked him what it was, and he didn’t care to go into it, he’d say, “This is a doodle-daddle-fer-stirrin’-doughb’ys.” I understood that what he meant is the same as “thingie,” but I must have been 20 before I separated the words out in my head and understood the word “stirrin’” as “stirring” and started to get an image of a utensil stirring dumplings -- a doodle-daddle for stirring dougboys. - Lara Maynard, Torbay, 2008.
    So now that you know what it is, why doodle-daddle? I've chosen the word as the blog title in part because of its wonderful, poetic alliterative quality, in part because it is one of those old Newfoundland expresions that in themselves are worthy of conservation as pieces of our intangible cultural heritage, in part because it is the type of word that generates discussion, stories and smiles, and in part because it is a word about words, which links the things that we create with the culture that creates, shares and transmits the ideas about those things.

    Do you have a memory of someone using the phrase "doodle-daddle"? If you do, post a message below, and share your story!