The Red River Jig
by Elizabeth CampbellA special dance known as the “Red River jig” we have never seen any one but a native of the country do to perfection. The music was always the violin played to the vigorous accompaniment of the foot, and we have known men carry with them an extra pair of moccasins, so that when one pair was worn out on the rough floor they might not be at a loss.
- Rev. R. G. MacBeth
The Red River Jig goes hand in hand with the fiddle music that is now so strongly associated with the Métis of Manitoba. Yet it was a combination of cultures at Red River that gave rise to the famous dance. One can hear the French Canadian overtones in the music as well as the Scottish. I’ve never seen anyone but a Métis dance it myself, yet I know it was a dance at which the Scottish settlers excelled.
At the 90th birthday celebrations of Eliza (Matheson) Lamb, she retreated to a room to chat quietly with her great-niece about the old days. Soon John McNab joined them.
“Is she telling you about the old days then?” he asked the young woman, knowing how much his old friend loved to do just that. “Did she tell you what a fine dancer she was? Eliza here was the best dancer in all Red River. She could dance the Red River Jig the whole night long with a teacup on her head and never spill a drop!”
(references: Rev. R.G. MacBeth. p. 54, Kathleen Campbell.)
Tags: dancing, Eliza (Matheson) Lamb, John McNab, Member Memories, music, social customs, The Rev. R. G. MacBeth
