The 1978 film Welcome to Spivey's Corner just got added to Folkstreams a week or so ago and, like most of the films on Folkstreams, it's absolutely amazing. The film spotlights Spivey's Corner (then pop. 49) annual Hollerin' Contest which still takes place every year in this tiny North Carolina town. What's hollerin'? From Folkstreams.net:
Hollerin' is considered by some to be the earliest form of communication between humans. It is a traditional form of communication used in rural areas before the days of telecommunications to convey long-distance messages. Evidence of hollerin', or derivations thereof such as yodeling or hunting cries, exists worldwide among many early peoples and is still be practiced in certain societies of the modern world. In one form or another, the holler has been found to exist in Europe, Africa and Asia as well as the US. Each culture used or uses hollers differently, although almost all cultures have specific hollers meant to convey warning or distress. Otherwise hollers exist for virtually any communicative purpose imaginable -- greetings, general information, pleasure, work, etc. The hollers featured at the National Hollerin' Contest typically fall into one of four categories: distress, functional, communicative or pleasure.
Spend 17 awestruck minutes here.