Eskimo Hunt

DESCRIPTION: Text so distorted by English speakers that the original probably cannot be determined. Supposedly about an "Eskimo" hunt for a polar bear. Insofar as it has a defining characteristic, it is the melody
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1962 (Max V. Exner, Tent and Trail Songs, according to Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage hunting campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, pp. 154-161, 175, 239, 318, 346, 431, 501, 510, "Eskimo Hunt" (notes plus 3 versions, all composite, on pp. 157-161; bibliography on pp. 657-658)
NOTES [117 words]: Of all the "case study" songs from Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, this is perhaps the one least likely to be traditional. She herself admitted that many had heard it but few liked to sing it -- the words were just too hard to remember. This apart from the fact that "Eskimo" isn't even the name of a people; it's an imposed name. If it had been properly field collected, the collector would presumably have gotten the right tribe name! And Averill's texts are all composites made from multiple sources to give the feel of a version rather than being an actual text that was sung somewhere. Note also that 1962 date; many of her case studies are of recent songs, but "Eskimo Hunt" is one of the newest. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.3
File: ACSF157E

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