Discovering Cape Breton Folklore

For more than two decades, Richard MacKinnon--Canada Research Chair in Intangible Cultural Heritage, Cape Breton University--has researched Cape Breton's rich cultural heritage: from protest songs to company houses, from co-operative housing to nicknames, from log buildings to cockfighting.In Discovering Cape Breton Folklore, professor MacKinnon revists some of his research and exposes us to some new.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Mary Fraser was a pioneer in researching and recording the folklore of Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia, and this book is an invaluable source for the legends of rural Nova Scotians. Scottish, Acadian and Mi'qmaq traditions are all included. Writes Ian Brodie in the introduction: "Folklore of Nova Scotia is a flawed, wonderful book -- or a wonderfully flawed book. As I read, I alternate between exasperation and delight: exasperation from its romanticism, delight from its embrace of the contemporary; exasperation from its prejudices, delight from its efforts at multiculturalism ... It is a documentary snapshot of a part of Nova Scotia's cultural history that was changing before the author's eyes."

Excerpt from Folklore of Nova Scotia The purpose of this study of the Folklore of Nova Scotia was primarily academic; but the interest shown in the old stories, and the many requests for their preservation in book form, encouraged their collector to have them published. This study dos not pretend to be exhaustive. With the time and opportunities at her disposal, it was impossible for the author to do much more than blaze a trail. The fact that it was more convenient for her to collect material at first hand in Cape Breton and Eastern Nova Scotia, accounts for the preponderance of stories from these sections of the province. The author wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness to the Rt. Rev. Alexander MacDonald, D.D., and the several clergymen in Cape Breton who gave her valuable assistance and encouragement; to the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame by whose whole-hearted co-operation this study was made possible; and to the men and women who gave so readily of their stories. She is also indebted in a very special manner to Rev. John P. Monaghan, Ph.D., Professor of English, Fordham University, N.Y., who suggested the subject and directed her work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Here is the wit and good humour, the ghost tales, comebacks and outrageous happenings -200 stories by 34 storytellers that shorten the road, lighten the work, and make life worth living.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.