Skills from the 30's

[NCO]

I happened to come across some short documentaries showing traditions and techniques and skills of the rural Finland. These documentaries were filmed in 30's, just few years before the start of the WWII. The films were made to preserve some of the habits and skills of the "old folks" to generations to come, as these skills were already rare and disappearing. Some have Finnish commentary and some are silent films. All are black and white. Most are divided in two or more parts. All are made publicly available on the internet by the Finnish officials.
The skills and traditions shown include preparing a field for crops by slash and burn, games and "strength tests" of the old, building a sort of a dugout canoe called "haapio", making a fence, fishing and so on.
I'm not certain if these films fit the guidelines so I thought I'd check first. If I'm to post them, I'll add a description with the embedded films so that the main idea and the context of the film is clear. I'm certain that even though the commentary is in a language you won't understand the picture will speak for it self. I have a strong feeling that you would find these films useful or at least interesting.

I'll add a You Tube url's to one film here for moderator review.

PART 1: Wood working, games and tests of strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fdCFheNS_Q

First part starts really at 1:50, so feel free to skip there, you'll loose only the finnish description of the contents. First is shown a way of making a fence that no longer is used.
Then we move to games and such, starting with a big swing.
After that follows the "jumping board", predecessor of the trampoline. Note the villagers wearing their Sunday clothes.
After the board is a strength test called "manlifting" one succeeds if the man is lifted upright.
Then follows the "thumb stick" Hold the stick between your thumbs. Winner is the one who can keep the stick.
Next is "finger hook", use your middle finger and pull until the looser quits.
Then comes the "salt weighting". I'm not sure if this is just a game, child's play, or a competition of who lifts the most times.
"Strenght block" pull the other person up from sitting position.
"Cat's tail" Pull the stick from the other person.
"Neck line", I'm not certain of the rules, but I'd imagine that the idea is to pull the line off from behind the oppositions neck.
"Knot trick" continues on the part 2. Seems to be a magic trick aka sleight of hand.

PART 2: Continues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2EwZSOfZs8

Second part shows two boys making simple toy boats from reed leafs. The wind catches those things really nicely.

[crashdive123]

NCO - I moved your post to a more appropriate place.

[NCO]

Thanks! It didn't occur to me that stuff from the 30's counts as primitive. So Will I embed those you tube videos here? The whole point of the post was really just to verify that it is OK to post the videos in the instructional videos section...

[crashdive123]

Where you originally put them was the FAQ about the Instructional Videos section. If you read below where it says Instructional Videos you will see that that section is for videos that have been shot by members. I've seen your picture........you aren't that old. I'll look to see if there is a better place, but unless you shot the vids - they don't go there.

[Kortoso]

Very interesting to see old-time practices that are otherwise lost.

[oldtrap59]

NCO. Thankyou for making stuff like this available. I personally have a 4 ft shelf in my bookcase that is nothing but older books from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These books cover all kinds of subjects but they all have one thing in common. They all cover their subjects in a manner that was used up to 125 years ago. I guess you could say I have several 100 year old DIY books.

Oldtrap

[NCO]

I'm linking one from the original source. It is making a dugout canoe. This type of craft was commonly used from before the viking age to just a hundred years ago. Main use was on the inland waterways, pretty much our version of the american birch bark canoe.
Film has commentary in Finnish, but don't let it bother you. The liquid they use is tar.
http://vstr1.nebula.fi/?id=1785532-1...&r=640&a=1&p=1

EDIT: The wood they use to make those is aspen, "Populus tremula" in latin. For the ribs it is spruce or juniper.

[Rick]

When someone is swinging an axe past your ear you had better trust them a lot. Good vids!

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I'm linking one from the original source. It is making a dugout canoe. This type of craft was commonly used from before the viking age to just a hundred years ago. Main use was on the inland waterways, pretty much our version of the american birch bark canoe.
Film has commentary in Finnish, but don't let it bother you. The liquid they use is tar.
http://vstr1.nebula.fi/?id=1785532-1...&r=640&a=1&p=1

EDIT: The wood they use to make those is aspen, "Populus tremula" in latin. For the ribs it is spruce or juniper.

Excellent post! I really enjoyed the canoe build! Rep sent!

[kyratshooter]

These films are great!

NCO some of these films remind me of my childhood. This was what we saw on "film day" when I was in school, not DVD releases of current action films, chick flicks or political propaganda.

One aspect of growing up in a "backward" region filled with hillbillys and oldtimers was that they were still doning many of these things into the 1950s-60s. Many things they were no longer doing were still being used and discussed.

It is amazing how many things are cultural universals.

The Native Americans of the Southeast and Pacific Northwest made dugouts using the same processes. I have also seen films of South American natives using the same techniques.

Contrary to international belief, the U.S. is not covered with birchbark and all the Indians did not have birch bark canoes. They were restricted to the northeast and Great lakes areas.

The rest of the nation, Indian and Anglo, used the dugouts.

Lewis and Clark used two of these craft on their cross country expidition, both ways, and we had one as a relic in my home town. One of our city founders rode the dugout down the Tennessee River, up the Ohio and 200 miles up the Cumberland and Stones Rivers to our town. He used it as water transport for several years and then turned the boat into a "salt box" for curing meat after it developed a crack.

In the most of the southeast poplar was our prefered wood. In the deep south it was cypress. In the PNW it was cedar.

They were valued pieces of property due to the time invested in their construction.