Clogging Man

Eighteen years ago this month, my friend Jan Oosting made this "clogging man" for me by hand and showed me how to use it. Also known as a "limberjack" and a few other names, it is both a toy and a musical instrument of the (Appalachian) Southern Mountains in the United States. The player sits on a hard chair or bench with one end of the paddle under his or her thigh. Then, with one hand, the spindle (attached to a hole on the doll's back) is moved forward and back and turned, while the person's other fist is rapping on the paddle. Thus the player sings and the clogging man's swinging arms and legs dance to the tune. All this goes great with banjo music.

On the back of my clogging man, Jan wrote, "Something of the People."