Hunkerin'

Hunkerin' is a posture, whereby one squats on the balls of one's feet for a long time, that is common in different cultures and briefly became an American fad in the late 1950s.

Hunkerin' (also known as "Hunkering") had been in use in different cultures, particularly in Asia,"Time", "Hunkering Around the World", 30 November 1959.] for centuries when it suddenly became a fad in the United States in 1959.Panotti, C. (1991) "Panotti's Parade of Fads, Follies and Manias", Harper Perennial: New York.] . "Time" reported that the craze started at the University of Arkansas when a shortage of chairs at a fraternity house led students to imitate their Ozark forefathers, who hunkered regularly."Time", "Hanker to Hunker?", 9 November 1959.]

Before long, hunkerin' had spread, firstly to Missouri, Mississippi and Oklahoma, thence across the rest of the country. While males were the predominant hunkers, it was reported that females hunkerers were welcomed. Within months, regional hunkerin' competitions were being held to discover champion hunkerers.

Considered by authorities as much preferable to the craze of the previous year, phonebooth stuffing, people hunkered for hours at a time on car roofs, in phone booths and wherever people gathered. "Life" referred to it as "sociable squatting" ["Life", "Hankerin for a Hunkerin", 23 November 1959.] Different styles of hunkerin' were reported as "sophisticates" tended to hunker flatfooted while other hunkered with their elbows inside the knees.

Reasons for the popularity of hunkerin' included the ability for large groups of people to participate together peacefully to discuss issues such as politics or sport. When asked about the popularity of hunkerin', one hunkerer said hunkerin' was

"A respite from a world of turmoil. The main purpose of hunkerin' is to get down and hunker together. It's a friendship thing: get your friends to hunker with you. The man you don't know is the man you haven't hunkered with."

Hunkerers urged United States President Dwight Eisenhower and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev to hunker together to end their differences.

While the word "hunkererin'" is believed to originate from the Scottish word for "haunches"., claims were made on behalf of a range of regions from which hunkerin' originated, including Yorkshire, Korea and Japan.

By 1960 the hunkerin' craze had died, although people continued to hunker. It has been suggested that hunkerin' "foreshadowed the seventies wave of Eastern meditation".

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