Culture and The Arts
The Papa Stour sword dance may be of Norse origin and bears similarities to the long sword dance of the north east of England. A description of the dance appears in The Pirate by Sir Walter Scott.
The writer and journalist John Sands lived on Papa Stour and Foula for a while during the late nineteenth century. The writer, folklorist and musician, George P. S. Peterson was brought up on Papa Stour.
It is also the 'Papa' of Vagaland's poem Da Sang o da Papa men, now adopted as part of the folksong tradition, as set to music by T.M.Y. Manson. The insistent chorus chant, 'Rowin Foula Doon!', is particularly striking.
- "Oot bewast da Horn o Papa,
- Rowin Foula doon!
- Owir a hidden piece o water,
- Rowin Foula doon!
- Roond da boat da tide-lumps makkin,
- Sunlicht trowe da cloods is brakkin;
- We maan geng whaar fish is takkin,
- Rowin Foula doon!"
"Rowin Foula doon!" refers to the fishermens' practice of rowing their open fishing boat out to sea until the high cliffs of Foula were no longer visible. This entailed the boat being some 96 kilometres (60 mi) west of Papa Stour. The 'tide-lumps' are increased swells of unusual size due to the combined action of wind against tide. The resonant final image of the piece is of the fishermen being led back home to Papa by the 'scent o flooers' across the water. This is an example of Vagaland's ability to create a vivid sensual impression of a situation. An extra layer of meaning is added by the knowledge that Da Horn o Papa collapsed in a storm around the time of this poem's composition, so that it is a tribute not just to a lost way of life, but a noted geographical feature.
Read more about this topic: Papa Stour
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