Eriskay - A Poem of Remote Lives (clip 1)
A study of Eriskay's crofting life
- Description
- Questions & Activities
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Description
A film made by Dr Kissling during a sailing holiday and summer spent on the island. Crofters cut hay with sickles. A pony led by a crofter woman carries a load of dried peat to the house. Men take a pony up onto the moor to collect more cut peat. Older crofters stack the cut hay in stooks. Men herd the sheep into a stone pen and we see rams fighting and locking their horns. The sheep are then dipped and released.
Questions & Activities
Questions
- Where is Eriskay?
- What type of houses can you see?
- Do you think this is a romantic portrait of a community?
- Do you think the sound was recorded at the same time as the picture?
Activities
Discuss the tone of this film and compare it with the tone of other films about crofting in the collection like 'The Shepherds of Bernaray', 'A Crofter's Life in Shetland' and 'St Kilda - Britain's Loneliest Isle (clip 3)'. You may also want to discuss who this film was made for and where it would be shown.
Can you identify the song (sung in Gaelic) and talk about its content? Why was it included in this film?
Talk about why people lived this way on the islands and what their lifestyles entailed. Were they living individually or communally? Where did their income come from? Create a story about a character in the film.
Updated October 2022
Clip Details
| Record Id | 007-000-002-213-C |
|---|---|
| Resource Rights Holder | National Library of Scotland |
| Project Ref | 1701 |
| Date | 1935 |
| Genre | Documentary |
| School Subject | English, Gaelic, Geography, History, Social Studies |
| Who | Dr Werner Kissling (director) |
| Where | Eriskay |
| Attributes | Black and White, Sound |
| Clip Length | 10:05 |
| Film Length | 19:00 |