Of course, just because there wasn’t much literature in North America prior to the 16th century doesn’t mean there weren’t stories and lyrics. It’s just that they weren’t written down in characters; they were spoken, sung, and chanted. This was true of the northern European invaders’ own tribal ancestors, of course – but Europeans were becoming Modern, so they’d forgotten that part.
There’s not much need for writing if the author is right there, has their work memorized, and is teaching it to other people. Indeed, if multiple people know it by heart, it may be more durable than paper. Unless, of course, somebody kills off most of those people who know it and inflicts cultural genocide on the survivors. This is not a hypothetical scenario. But then there’s all those books from the ancient world that didn’t survive; and those that did were saved by happenstance, as much as anything. Parchment & papyrus are mortal, too. And they can discourage the use of memory (that daggumed Thoth!). If you’re an indigenous person (anywhere) and you care about indigenous culture, that means there’s probably going to be some degree of recovery and reconstitution involved. It may be that there are surviving people who bear the traditions in their heads (possibly in the language in which they were first conveyed). It may be that some of it was forgotten but written down first. The latter may or may not have been reported accurately, or the recorder may simply not have known enough about the cultural context to understand what was being said, and so wrote it down incorrectly. Or it was one of many many variants. This isn’t just true for Native American or First Nations: one of the only reasons we know anything about the ancient Celtic religious festivals and time-keeping is through the Coligny Calendar, which is thought to be a bowdlerized, demotic, sketchy, and not-altogether-reliable version of the druidical teachings of the Gauls. Somebody kinda sorta almost remembered that stuff. But whether it’s the right time to do a particular rite, or what kinds of trees bear what fruit at what times, orature often conveys crucial information. I have a hell of a time memorizing texts; I pretty much have to repeat something every day to remember it (which doesn’t happen). Which is another way of saying I’ve become dependent on writing. But it makes me suspect that orature only survives because it is important to the people hearing it – physically, metaphysically, emotionally. I guess it’s kind of a way of prioritizing – or winnowing out. And people pick up oral traditions from other people – stories and topoi spread – hence all the stories about dueling twin brothers throughout the Americas. So, the point is not the artist’s imaginativeness and personal inventiveness; the point is education, entertainment, cohesion, identity. The text may have originated in a vision, as I suspect most “myths” do. Then each teller adds their original inventions here and there, and the traditions evolve. But it’s not about individuality: originality didn’t become a really big deal in Europe until the 18th century. And originality + individuality have given us some great art – along with a carbon-fueled economy that threatens to wipe out human culture altogether, original or not. So maybe the take-away is that, not only should we de-center humans from our cultural narratives, but we should also de-emphasize the author. Various procedural forms of writing, esp. those that rely on chance operations, do that already. But if you’re a really great poet, you’ll come up with a fascinating way of singing instructions for grinding corn or mending a tear. And you’ll be a great person if you don’t have to have your name attached to it. Such people will be contributors to whatever sort of culture is to survive, just as they have been in the past. Next time (for prose post - Tues., Oct. 1): Guest post by poet, translator, essayist, etc., H.L. Hix!
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June 2021
Kristin Prevallet Author/Editor
I'm a writer & teacher in Lawrence, Kansas who actually believes the scientists. I wrote a book of poems called Of Some Sky that seems to have something to do with all this. |