Reading Notes: Alaskan Legends Part B
From Alaskan Legends by Katharine Berry Judson (1911).
- Woman unwittingly marries bear man
- Coexistence but perpetual conflict between humans and animals
- "He taught the Tsimshian tribe first"
- Woman divided in half and made of wood
- Little regional stereotypes/generalizations (North v. South)
- Significance of the lone tree on the tundra?
- "Holes in the sky-wall covered in gut-skin" Setting (time & culture)!!!!!!
- North, south, east, west, northwest
- Sky arch - perception of the world
- Repitition. "She died. When she died,... 'You are dead'"
- "The shade of her grandfather" to mean ghost/spirit
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven, lol
- Teaches us what death means. Purpose of death ceremonies (sending objects/cultural artifacts w/ dying people)
- Physical paths between real world and spirit world
- Passive verbs (canoe was "being paddled about")
- Can't bring people back to life - instructive/coping purpose
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| Totem poles and masks. (21) by Bernard Spragg. NZ via Flickr |
- Cultural details - packing up for trip
- Migration story?
- I love reading oral histories. I would like to compare different versions stylistically. Makes me wonder how much is an artistic creation and how much is getting plot details across to the audience
- Confusing to read
- Storybook candidate (sun = So; moon = Dolt'ol) (Athabaskan words)
- No rhyme scheme (in English at least)
- SETTING
- "Ahmi, Ahmi" = expression of affection?
- Another creation tale. More dialogue.
- Dialogue and language are pretty literal
- Similes
- What is "the northland'? Just away forever?
- Conflicting motives
- Similar to Man in the Moon story in Laos stories.
- So much detailed description of how people might live and survive
- People/animal ambiguity, this one threw plants into the mix
- Tricky fox... What traits make the fox a trickster across so many cultures?
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