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Audio Recording Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith.

Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith

About this Item

Title

  • Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith.

Summary

  • The sound recording presented here features a chant recited by Luke Smith at the 1981 Florida Folk Festival in White Springs, Florida. Smith, a longtime guide on the Wakulla River, sings about the underwater environment and summons fish to the boat. His chant is reminiscent of African-American spirituals and field hollers common throughout the Deep South of the United States. Alligators, snakes, rare birds, and native exoticism are part of Florida's tourism industry. Narrated boat tours at sites such as Wakulla Springs State Park, located at the spring south of Tallahassee that gives rise to the Wakulla River, offer visitors the chance to experience all of these things and more under the guidance of knowledgeable guides. Such boat tours have been a long-standing part of Florida attractions, at Wakulla Springs, Silver Springs, Homosassa Springs, and Rainbow Springs, among others. Since the late 1800s, guides at Wakulla Spring have related folktales and described the flora and fauna as they rowed visitors up and down the river. Businessman Edward Ball built a lodge at Wakulla Springs in the 1930s, and as Wakulla Springs established itself as an attractive location for tourists and filmmakers, the guides were provided larger watercraft and regular employment. Right up through recent history, descendants of the first boatmen at Wakulla Springs have followed in the footsteps of their forefathers, and their chants, jokes, and stories have been passed down through the generations.

Names

  • Smith, Luke, 1901-1991 Speaker.

Created / Published

  • [White Springs, Florida] : [publisher not identified], 1981-05-22.

Headings

  • -  United States of America--Florida--Wakulla Springs
  • -  1981-05-22
  • -  African Americans
  • -  Boats
  • -  Description and travel
  • -  Fish
  • -  Folk songs
  • -  Folklife
  • -  Folklore
  • -  Springs
  • -  Tour guides (Persons)
  • -  Tourism
  • -  Wakulla River (Florida)

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Audio recording reel.
  • -  Original resource at: State Library and Archives of Florida.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021671080

Online Format

  • audio

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Smith, Luke, Speaker. Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith. [White Springs, Florida: publisher not identified, -05-22, 1981] Audio. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671080/.

APA citation style:

Smith, L. (1981) Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith. [White Springs, Florida: publisher not identified, -05-22] [Audio] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671080/.

MLA citation style:

Smith, Luke, Speaker. Wakulla Springs Glass-Bottom Boat Tour Chant by Luke Smith. [White Springs, Florida: publisher not identified, -05-22, 1981] Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021671080/>.