Moose hunting in Heart's Content, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland

Warren, John Phillip (2009) Moose hunting in Heart's Content, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In rural Newfoundland in autumn, nothing, other than the commercial fishery, dominates the discussion among men as much as moose hunting. This activity has evolved from the subsistence hunting and fishing traditions of early settlers but remains a focus of sociability in the community and a major aspect in the social identity of men. -- Unlike most mainland North American sports hunting where ritual is a major feature, in Newfoundland ritual is minimal, moose hunting being motivated by social, traditional, and economic factors. Sharing is dominant in the pre-hunt, hunt, and post-hunt stages including the traditions of sharing personal experience narratives and sharing meat within the community. Traditions have become highly detailed and are demonstrated by a system of horizontal and vertical transmission including a unique tradition of adoptive transmission that presents parallels to the former fishing industry. New traditions are evolving with women increasingly becoming participants in a supporting role to provide more access to moose licences, contributing to demographic changes in hunting parties. Moose hunting has become a practical means of providing food which has developed a range of foodways involving moose meat for private and community consumption. -- Though new technologies are being utilized in moose hunting, all hunters in this study share a love for the outdoors and the continuation of traditions established by generations of fisherman-hunter forefathers.

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