Who coined the word 'Bushcraft'?

[FeralSheryl]

When I was growing up I used to find it enormously difficult to explain to people what my interest in, what we now call Bushcraft, was all about. Without a nice neat name for it, I had to go into complex definitions of what it was and what it wasn't, frequently leaving people more perplexed at the end than they were at the beginning.

It occured to me today, that I don't actually know where the word came from exactly. Do we have Mr Mears to thank for the term or does it go back further? Whoever thought of it, they have my eternal gratitude. It makes life a lot simpler now. I'm sure there's an easy or at least an educated answer. Anyone?

 

[Gary]

This is a thread which ahs run before Sheryl - bushcraft can be hailed back to both Oz and Alaska - in both cases (and similifying things greatly) people going camping were going bush.

Mors Kochanski seems to have coined the phrase in many respects by terming everything a craft, knife craft, fire craft, shealter craft and all under the flag of bushcraft.

Interestingly enough Preben, the Swedish instructor have, didnt know or understand the term bushcraft as out there they simply call it wilderness living skills and he actually thought it amusing we call it that. Which coming from the man who originally trained Lars Falt and by default many other more famous people is quite something.

Another interesting side line is that in many other countries we would call ourself woodsman not bushcrafters .........end of the day I guess its just a name.

 

[FeralSheryl]

This is a thread which ahs run before Sheryl...

D'oh! Sorry I didn't spot it.

... bushcraft can be hailed back to both Oz and Alaska - in both cases (and similifying things greatly) people going camping were going bush.

Mors Kochanski seems to have coined the phrase in many respects by terming everything a craft, knife craft, fire craft, shealter craft and all under the flag of bushcraft.

Interestingly enough Preben, the Swedish instructor have, didnt know or understand the term bushcraft as out there they simply call it wilderness living skills and he actually thought it amusing we call it that. Which coming from the man who originally trained Lars Falt and by default many other more famous people is quite something.

Another interesting side line is that in many other countries we would call ourself woodsman not bushcrafters .........end of the day I guess its just a name.

Always interested in origins. Thanks for the info Gary. Granted it is just a name, but having one does make for quicker explanations and info easier to find. Guess that opens and closes this thread.

 

[Fluxus]

whoever it was I bet they never used it as a verb.

 

[AUSSIE]

The term Bushcraft goes way back to at least the late 1800's in Australia but was far more all encompassing than what most modern practitioners know it as. Being called a good bushman or a real bushman (a practitioner of bushcraft) was one of the finest accolades that could be bestowed upon a white European! It was not so much about your ability to light fires with a bow drill or to carve a wooden spoon it was your ability to live, work, prosper and survive in the bush with whatever it could throw at you! The ability to improvise, endure, make do and look after yourself and your family were all important! Ron Edwards series of books on Traditional Bushcraft Skills capture perfectly the true and original meaning of the term Bushcraft which to the best of my knowledge deffinitely originated in Australia and can still be traced back in use to Australians in the Boer War. As for the modern scene there are a few Aussies on here such as Wentworth who are the real deal as far as bushcrafters and bushmen go!! I'm sure he would find it just as interesting as I have to see Northern Europeans only just now discovering / re-discovering really useful items such as hootchies, Swandri Bush Shirts etc.. Oiled Japara Cotton / Ventile jackets, canvas rucksacks etc.. We have been using these things for thirty and forty years. In our apprenticeships as bushmen / bushwalkers there was absolutely minimal focus on equipment and much more focus on navigation skills, self-sufficiency and using your brain, survival, moving fast and light, improvisation, living and travelling as comfortably as possible in some of the most extreme bush conditions in the World. In fact what you folks call Hill Walking / Hiking we call bushwalking and despite us now being inundated with modern US and European Equipment it still has a far closer connection to it's traditional bushcraft origins.

 

[Moonraker]

FeralSheryl, asgary says there was an old thread on this here:

[http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=12]Why call it bush craft?[/url]

In that thread Hoodoo pointed out that the earliest reference to the word 'bushcraft' was probably in a book written by Richard Graves called "Bushcraft" in 1972. bigjackbrass said in fact pamphlets that formed this book book appeared sometime soon after the Second World War.

From what I have seen the term 'bush' and related terms appear to originate from colonial British in Africa and Australia for example.

I think when you mention the fact that Preben as a Swede did not know a direct translation of the word ( although the origin of the word 'bush' is related to the Swedish 'buske') as they tend to refer to it as 'wilderness', you highlight the problem Gary; in that where most people in the UK practice the craft is not in wilderness since there is little (natural) wilderness left in Britain especially where most people live.

For me the term 'Bushcraft' is very much now related to Ray Mears now and is a distinctly British term and activity. In other words it is not a historical knowledge still widely practised (although this is perhaps changing even now) as in Scandinavia but more a hobby or leisure pursuit. That does not mean it is not meaningful, in fact it is about a whole load of stuff and re-engagement with our surroundings.

As to the term 'bush', personally I think it is quite appropriate given it's etymological roots:

[Middle English, partly from Old English busc, partly from Old French bois, wood (of Germanic origin), and partly of Scandinavian origin (akin to Danish busk). N., sense 3, possibly from Dutch bosch.]

source: he American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000

'craft' is another awkward part of the puzzle as it is often misunderstood as being more akin to handiwork or purely a trade skill, whereas in English it tends to have wider scope encompassing other aspects of both practical skill and also more spiritual/ philosophical qualities as in 'witchcraft'. The use of the word 'lore' is an interesting one too which tends to relate more to historical practice, of which bushcraft re-discovers or develops from, such ancient skills.

In the end a Gary says no one word can really define what it is to encompass such a rich and often diverse interest. For me words have a lot of meaning as they are part of the actual culture and heritage, but again it is the extraordinary richness and diversity of words, even for the same thing (such as snow in Sami), that make them so wonderful, because so much of the skill that we refer to as craft or lore etc, were passed down through initiation without a written record but as the spoken (or sung) and demonstrated knowledge.

 

[AUSSIE]

"For me the term 'Bushcraft' is very much now related to Ray Mears now and is a distinctly British term and activity. In other words it is not a historical knowledge still widely practised (although this is perhaps changing even now) as in Scandinavia but more a hobby or leisure pursuit. That does not mean it is not meaningful, in fact it is about a whole load of stuff and re-engagement with our surroundings."


I'm sure the owners of outdoor stores such as "Bushcraft" and "Bowhunting and Bushcraft" in Australia established over twenty plus years ago would disagree!

I'm sure every author in Australia and New Zealand who over the last fifty plus years have written books on bushcraft and have the word "Bushcraft" in their title would disagree!

I'm sure every outdoor school in Australia and NZ who offers a course in Bushcraft and include the word "Bushcraft" in the title would disagree!

I'm sure that the thousands of Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans who step into the real bush every day to practice true "Bushcraft" both for recreation and work would disagree!

 

[Moonraker]

"For me the term 'Bushcraft' is very much now related to Ray Mears now and is a distinctly British term and activity. In other words it is not a historical knowledge still widely practised (although this is perhaps changing even now) as in Scandinavia but more a hobby or leisure pursuit. That does not mean it is not meaningful, in fact it is about a whole load of stuff and re-engagement with our surroundings."


I'm sure the owners of outdoor stores such as "Bushcraft" and "Bowhunting and Bushcraft" in Australia established over twenty plus years ago would disagree!

I'm sure every author in Australia and New Zealand who over the last fifty plus years have written books on bushcraft and have the word "Bushcraft" in their title would disagree!

I'm sure every outdoor school in Australia and NZ who offers a course in Bushcraft and include the word "Bushcraft" in the title would disagree!

I'm sure that the thousands of Aussies, Kiwis and South Africans who step into the real bush every day to practice true "Bushcraft" both for recreation and work would disagree!

AUSSIE, I did not write that to offend Antipodeans I stated that from the perspective of British usage (this being BCUK) and the fact that bushcraft is very much associated with RM now in the UK and it has developed over the past 20 odd years into a new phenomena beyond one person or company. Also the fact that for instance, there are twice as many web site hits for the term on a Google search for .co.uk sites than .au sites, for instance.

I realise the term 'bush' and the bush-craft has a particular usage in your part of the world and that many great skills come from there. It is not to denigrate Aussie shops,or course or writers, but just to discuss the usage of the word and it's origins.

The word 'bush' in this context is not uniquely Australian and has been used on other continents. In fact the origin of the term as it is used today there would most probably from the original settlers who moved there:

The origins of Australian words

Australian English incorporates many uniquely Australian terms, such as outback to refer to remote, sparsely-populated areas, and bush to refer to native forested areas, but also to country areas in general. One theory is that many such words or usages originated with British convicts transported to the penal colonies of Australia between 1788 and 1868. The convicts were mostly people from English cities, such as Cockneys, and many words widely used by country Australians are or were also used in London and/or south east England, with minor variations in meaning. For example: creek (in Australia, a stream whereas in England it is a small watercourse flowing into the sea); paddock (in Australia any field, in England a small enclosure for livestock); bush (in England this usage survives as a proper name, for example Shepherd's Bush) and; scrub (lightly wooded area, in England, this survives as a proper name, for example Wormwood Scrubs).

source:http://www.answers.com/topic/australian-english

No doubt in Aus if the same question was posed then there would be a really different response as there probably would be in Africa or USA etc.

 

[anthonyyy]

In Ray Mears' first book "The Survival Handbook - a practical guide to woodcraft and woodlore" he dosent use the word "bushcraft" and the introduction contains almost an apology for using the term "survival" which had become maco.
In this book he used the terms "woodcraft" and "woodlore".

I can remember correcting an african about 20 years ago for referring to the English countryside as "the bush".
Infact the term "the bush" is never used in Britain in this context.


Wherever the term "bushcraft" came from we all know what it means even if we dont have a "bush"



(no sniggering in the cheap seats about the word bush please)

 

[FeralSheryl]

Thanks for the link Simon. It was an interesting thread.

Growing up in Africa in the 60s, 'The ‘Bush’ was a place only foolhardy or crazy people explored. I remember driving past the edge of the Jungle and my Dad pointing to it, "Look, there's 'The Bush'". I always felt scared and excited and couldn't take my eyes off it until it was completely out of view. Like a great Green Cobra, for the ex-patriot community, it was beautiful and fascinating but considered deadly and something your were advised to steer well clear of if you had any sense.

Anyway I digress (as usual)... For me the word 'Bushcraft' is god send. It's how I found this place after all I agree with Aussie, in that we do seem to have a bit of a preoccupation with Kit over here. Essentially my own interestes lie in travelling very light and finding what you need in Nature itself. But like a Magpie, I still get captivated by all the shiney things that could prove really useful. My response to so many posts here is frequently "Oooh, thats nice, where can I get that". I should and will endeavour to resist!

The term I personally feel most at home with is Woodlore, in that it conveys a knowledge passed down through the generations with both [size=-1]wholly [/size]practical skills and emotional content in the relationship we have with the Woodland.It brings in a wealth of enigmatic myths and legends that have come down to us through history and the wisdom often hidden within them. I love all that. But Bushcraft suits me fine too.

 

[bp1974]

It seems this discussion has been going on for quite some time. I've just started reading the second volume of Kephart's "Camping & Woodcraft", written in 1914(?) and he alludes to similar debates on usage back then. He doesn';t mention the term bushcraft, but he does state that people are using '..craft' terms for specfic activities, such as woodcraft, firecraft, etc, and he suggests bringing them all under the heading of 'wildcraft'.

I thought that was interesting in this context.

 

[FeralSheryl]

It seems this discussion has been going on for quite some time. I've just started reading the second volume of Kephart's "Camping & Woodcraft", written in 1914(?) and he alludes to similar debates on usage back then. He doesn';t mention the term bushcraft, but he does state that people are using '..craft' terms for specfic activities, such as woodcraft, firecraft, etc, and he suggests bringing them all under the heading of 'wildcraft'.

I thought that was interesting in this context.

We're certainly part of a long tradition then.
How nice.

 

[Doc]

I have seen the terms 'Earth Skills' 'Wilderness skills' and 'Primitive Skills' used more or less as a synonym for bushcraft.

The army have a term 'fieldcraft' but it has a rather different meaning, covering camouflage and concealement, judging distances, etc.

Ray Mears makes a clear distinction between bushcraft and survival, and rightly so.

 

[FeralSheryl]

...Ray Mears makes a clear distinction between bushcraft and survival, and rightly so.

Yeah, agreed.

 

[whitebuffalo]

I have seen the terms 'Earth Skills' 'Wilderness skills' and 'Primitive Skills' used more or less as a synonym for bushcraft.

The army have a term 'fieldcraft' but it has a rather different meaning, covering camouflage and concealement, judging distances, etc.

Ray Mears makes a clear distinction between bushcraft and survival, and rightly so.

Apart from the roughing it element what would be the difference then? I can see a difference between escape and evation military skills but not between survival skills and bushcraft.

To my mind saying there is a distinct difference is like saying there is a difference between long hair and short, after all its all hair just worn a different way.

Surely bushcraft and survival are fingers on the same hand and as such interchangable, many of the bushcraft skills I have watched Mr Mears show us on the television are the same skills I see in many survival books. Indeed when I first started learning these skills Bushcraft didnt exist it was all called survival skills.

Maybe theres a bit of snobbery in the term bushcraft (i dont mean that offensively) or maybe bushcraft is the easy option as in survival it is sometimes seen as roughing it while bushcrafter are self seen as being comfortable.

Sorry to have rambled but I just dont get it?

 

[FeralSheryl]

This is an interesting little chat with Ray. I think I share his views pretty much. But not everyone has to.

As I see it (me Sheryl that is), survival skills are clearly an important part of Bushcraft, but that's not all it's about. It's more than that. Therein lies the distinction for me at least. The skills that interest me - survival and other - are those that are based on what the Natural World offers us directly, rather than what kit we can take with us or adapt to save a life. Although that again is an interest and invaluable knowledge to develop in itself, I feel it takes the survival aspects outside the sphere of Bushcraft. Don't get me wrong, I'm not negating it's importance for a second, but if you're not using what Nature provides it's purely a Survival Skill rather than a Bushcraft one.

 

[bambodoggy]

Apart from the roughing it element what would be the difference then? I can see a difference between escape and evation military skills but not between survival skills and bushcraft.
Maybe theres a bit of snobbery in the term bushcraft (i dont mean that offensively) or maybe bushcraft is the easy option as in survival it is sometimes seen as roughing it while bushcrafter are self seen as being comfortable.

Sorry to have rambled but I just dont get it?

Hey Dude...here's how I see the difference being... bearing in mind I came from a scouting/bushcraft background, then went on to the Military and have now moved back to bushcraft but with still a great love of testing myself through survival training.

Survival: I see this as just exactly what it says...SURVIVAL, no matter what the cost or damage to anything else. If you need to rip down a whole glade of trees to make a raft to paddle to civilisation then so be it. If you find a patch of edible plants and eat them all because you are starving then so be it. If you need to eat fish eyes while at sea to get fresh water (although not a lot) then so be it. If you find an old tin can and need to it boil water then use it and if you're by a river and have a net then span it and take all the fish you need to survive.
I see this as a very short term thing and due to possibilities of rescue/capture or the running out of the resources you have plundered.

Bushcraft (or whatever you call it): I see this as living very much with nature, using only what you have to and replanting where you have taken (willow withies are a good example where you can plant small branches back....or while pulling up Cattail root you might take a hand full of seeds and scatter them). Maybe you take an animal for food but you thank it and feel grateful for the gift rather than just wanting the food. You make little items to help your comfort levels, a bed maybe or a better shelter unlike in survival where you save energy by doing the total minimum to survive. You are not tryin to escape or be rescured and you are able to stay there indefinately without using up all the resorces.
I see Bushcraft as a much longer term thing and a more balenced way of living rather then just a constant fight to survive.

Hope that makes sence...if a little off topic! lol

Cheers,

Bam.

 

[whitebuffalo]

This is an interesting little chat with Ray. I think I share his views pretty much. But not everyone has to.

As I see it, survival skills are clearly an important part of Bushcraft, but that's not all it's about. It's more than that. Therein lies the distinction for me at least. The skills that interest me - survival and other - are those that are based on what the Natural World offers us directly, rather than what kit we can take with us or adapt to save a life..

Interesting quote dear, but where does that fit in with all the kit he sells or sponsors?

Sorry devils advocate.

But yes I see the idea behind what your saying, thank you.

 

[FeralSheryl]

Interesting quote dear, but where does that fit in with all the kit he sells or sponsors?

What Ray does is Ray's business, literally
I'm not looking for an Icon, just someone to point the way and I find myself liking the guy as well as what he inspires in us, s'all

 

[Biddlesby]

Perhaps we should collate a definition to put up on wikipedia.org?