The function of folkore in the interrelationship of the Newfoundland seal fishery and the home communities of the sealers.

Scott, John Roper (1974) The function of folkore in the interrelationship of the Newfoundland seal fishery and the home communities of the sealers. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between an occupation - the Newfoundland seal fishery - and the communities from which the practitioners of the occupation come, and the examination employs the methods and materials of folklore to arrive at conclusions about this relationship. The basic concept is that individuals use the folklore of their home communities and of their occupations when they relate themselves to other individual members of the industry or the community or to these groups in a larger, more abstract sense. -- The methods of research have included investigation of printed sources about sealing, location of relevant materials in the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive and direct personal interviews with men who have been sealing, as well as less directed interviews with many Newfoundlanders about the industry. -- Five specific areas have been chosen for research, including the use of stereotypes in a man's relation to his occupation, an examination of the diversions which help to dictate interpersonal relationships on the sealing vessels, the relationship of the industry to the concept of manhood within the communities, esoteric and exoteric evaluations of the dangers of the seal fishery and an examination of the reasons which men give for continued participation in the seal hunt. -- Through these areas of investigation, one may see the extent to which occupations and communities interrelate, and the conclusions drawn detail the points of interaction. Briefly, the conclusions reveal that there is a significant relationship between the seal fishery and the home communities of the sealers and that folklore functions throughout this relationship.

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