When Our Words Return: Writing, Hearing, and Remembering Oral Traditions from Alasak and the Yukon

Schneider, William

When Our Words Return: Writing, Hearing, and Remembering Oral Traditions from Alasak and the Yukon

In this Book

When Our Words Return: Writing, Hearing, and Remembering Oral Traditions from Alasak and the Yukon
Book
edited by Phyllis Morrow & William Schneider
1995
Published by: Utah State University Press
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

summary

The title to this interdisciplinary collection draws on the Yupik Eskimo belief that seals, fish, and other game are precious gifts that, when treated with respect and care, will return to be hunted again. Just so, if oral traditions are told faithfully and respectfully, they will return to benefit future generations. The contributors to this volume are concerned with the interpretation and representation of oral narrative and how it is shaped by its audience and the time, place, and cultural context of the narration. Thus, oral traditions are understood as a series of dialogues between tradition bearers and their listeners, including those who record, write, and interpret.