Folklore: Hollerin'

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: open mike
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 08:51 PM

yes the news clip says that winners go on davind letterman show.
the contest in third sunday in june...so the winners will be on
after that...keep your eyes and ears open for that!

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: RangerSteve
Date: 16 Jan 04 - 05:48 AM

Johnny Carson used to have the winners of the National Hollerin' Contest on his show every year. Jay Leno is too cool to have that kind of thing on his show, but David Letterman had the winners on his show a while back and hopefully, he'll make it a yearly event.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: masato sakurai
Date: 15 Jan 04 - 10:30 AM

The semi-official website for National Hollerin' Contest, an annual competition held in Spivey's Corner, NC, that celebrates North Carolina Folklife. Click on each face.

And see video clips: National Hollering Contest Draws Crowd To Spivey's Corner - WRAL.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: GUEST,Cruiser at work late, after hours
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 11:26 PM

Man, this reminds me of my grandpappy and that hollerin' of hisn. H.H. Oliver and his hog call sounded pertnigh like my pa.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 05:49 PM

The "hollers" of the Negroes nearly all have been lost. Courlander heard them in Nigeria, Cuba and Haiti.
Sometimes they evolved into a kind of song or series of statements, more than a simple message or indication of location. (such as some of the white hollers on the Rounder release cited by Masato).
Courlander cites this one from Alabama:

Ay-oh-hoh!
I'm goin' up the river!
Oh, couldn't stay here!
For I'm goin' home!
So bad, I'm so far from home!
And I can't get theree for walkin'!
I want to go home so bad partner!
I'm goin' up the river but I can't stay here!
I'm goin' home, woh!
I won't get back till July and August.
I won't get there till fall.
My boat up the river.
But I can't stay here, want to go back!
Oh Lord!

Frederick Law Olmstead, 1853, was impressed by one he heard in South Carolina from a loading gang by the railroad.

"Suddenly one raised a such a sound as I never heard before: a long, loud musical shout, rising and falling and breaking into falsetto, his voice ringing through the woods in the clear, frosty night air, like a bugle call. As he finished, the melody was caught up by another, and then, another, and then, by several in chorus... After a few minutes I could hear one urging the rest to come to work again, and soon he stepped towards the cotton bales, saying, "Come, brederen come; let's go at it; come now, eoho! roll away! eeoho-eeoho-eeoho-weeio-i! - and the rest taking it up as before, in a few moments they all had their shoulders to a bale of cotton, and were rolling it up the embankment."
F. L. Olmstead, 1856, "A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States in the Years 1853-1854, with Remarks on Their Economy."
Quoted in D. J. Epstein, 1977, "Sinful Tunes and Spirituals, Black Music to the Civil War," p. 182.

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 12:53 AM

"..If I could holler like a mountain jack
I'd climb thayt mountain and call my baby back"

How Long Blues

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: khandu
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 12:13 AM

Yes, you can call a hog...the # is 555-5; (sorry, couldn't resist!)

My Granddad would call his hogs with an unusual "holler" & the hogs would come running.
He also called his cows, with a different call! I guess hogs & cows have different languages!

k

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: Amos
Date: 14 Jan 04 - 12:03 AM

That is a hoot indeed!! Thank you, once again, Masato!

A

Subject: RE: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: masato sakurai
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 11:28 PM

Listen to Various Artists: Hollerin' (Rounder, Released 1976), with sound clips.

Subject: Folklore: Hollerin'
From: michaelr
Date: 13 Jan 04 - 09:58 PM

Recently, I heard a song on country radio with a lyric that went "…she don't need a phone/She'll just holler down the mountain…" or something like that. This reminded me of a time when I was sitting in the Oakland Coliseum, waiting for a concert to begin.

A woman rose from her seat, put one hand to the side of her mouth, and gave a tremendous "hoot" that resounded around the arena. Now this is a big place, 60,000+ seats, and I was amazed to hear a sound so loud and vibrant come from an unamplified human throat.

I asked someone about this and was told "yes, that's hog-calling, or hollering. It's how they used to communicate in the Appalachians before there were telephones." I also seem to remember something about there being, to this day, competitions in this "sport".

Does anyone here know about this? Maybe Paw and Cletus could enlighten us, or perhaps the Wes Ginny contingent? Can you really call a hog, and what will the hog do when called?

Breathlessly awaiting enlightenment,
Michael