The Bungling Host
The Nature of Indigenous Oral Literature
Published on 1. August 2018
Book
Hardback
570 pages
978-1-4962-0087-7 (ISBN)
Description
The Bungling Host motif appears in countless indigenous cultures in North America and beyond. In this groundbreaking work Daniel ClEment has gathered nearly four hundred North American variants of the story to examine how myths acquire meaning for their indigenous users and explores how seemingly absurd narratives can prove to be a rich source of meaning when understood within the appropriate context. In analyzing the Bungling Host tales, ClEment considers not only material culture but also social, economic, and cultural life; Native knowledge of the environment; and the world of plants and animals.
ClEment's analysis uncovers four operational modes in myth construction and clarifies the relationship between mythology and science. Ultimately he demonstrates how science may have developed out of an operational mode that already existed in the mythological mind.
ClEment's analysis uncovers four operational modes in myth construction and clarifies the relationship between mythology and science. Ultimately he demonstrates how science may have developed out of an operational mode that already existed in the mythological mind.
Reviews / Votes
"Anthropologists have been analyzing the oral stories of Aboriginal cultures for a long time. Aboriginal peoples have also been untangling the stories told to them by their elders. Daniel Clement weaves these two perspectives together to get at the meaning of these `myths.'"-Stephen J. Augustine, hereditary chief, Mi'kmaq Grand Council"The introduction is one of the most readable critiques of structuralism I have ever seen. It is nuanced yet accessible and poses terrific questions about structuralism. I can imagine this [book] as a central resource for Indigenous scholars, historians, naturalists, and anthropologists. It contributes greatly to the comparative study of mythology and to contemporary studies of structural analysis."-Thomas McIlwraith, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Guelph and author of ""We Are Still Didene": Stories of Hunting and History from Northern British Columbia
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
4 maps, 16 tables, 46 figures
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
1002 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4962-0087-7 (9781496200877)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2018
1st Edition
University of Nebraska Press
€44.49
Available for download
Persons
Daniel ClEment is an anthropologist consultant. He is the author of several books published in France. Peter Frost has translated several books in anthropology and local history and is an author in his own right.
Content
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Caribou Takes In His Wife's Dress (Subarctic)
2. Snake Makes a Meal in the Embers (Southwest)
3. The Fire Trap (Grand Basin)
4. While Bird Sings, Bear Cooks (Northwest Coast)
5. Seal Roasts His Hands (Northwest Coast)
6. Silver Fox Digs Up Yellow Jacket Larvae with His Penis (California)
7. Wildcat Beats a Blanket (California)
8. Deer Kills Her Children and Puts Their Bones Into the Water (Southwest)
9. Wolf Transforms Two Arrowheads into Mincemeat Puddings (Southwest)
10. Badger Pushes a Stick Down His Throat and Gets Yucca-Juice (Southwest)
11. Bison Skewers His Nose (Plains)
12. White-Tailed Deer Shoots at a Red Clay Bank (Plains)
13. Man Kills Bison with His Sharpened Leg (Plains, Plateau)
14. Black-Mountain-Bear Gets Persimmons by Leaning Against a Tree (Southeast)
15. Rabbit Gathers Canes (Southeast)
16. Squirrel Slits Open His Scrotum (Plains)
17. Duck Excretes Rice (Northeast)
18. Bird Gets Salmon Eggs by Striking His Ankle (Northwest Coast)
19. Muskrat Cooks Some Ice (Northeast)
20. Woodpecker Pulls Eels Out of Trees (Subarctic)
Conclusion
Appendix: Bungling Host Myths
Notes
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Caribou Takes In His Wife's Dress (Subarctic)
2. Snake Makes a Meal in the Embers (Southwest)
3. The Fire Trap (Grand Basin)
4. While Bird Sings, Bear Cooks (Northwest Coast)
5. Seal Roasts His Hands (Northwest Coast)
6. Silver Fox Digs Up Yellow Jacket Larvae with His Penis (California)
7. Wildcat Beats a Blanket (California)
8. Deer Kills Her Children and Puts Their Bones Into the Water (Southwest)
9. Wolf Transforms Two Arrowheads into Mincemeat Puddings (Southwest)
10. Badger Pushes a Stick Down His Throat and Gets Yucca-Juice (Southwest)
11. Bison Skewers His Nose (Plains)
12. White-Tailed Deer Shoots at a Red Clay Bank (Plains)
13. Man Kills Bison with His Sharpened Leg (Plains, Plateau)
14. Black-Mountain-Bear Gets Persimmons by Leaning Against a Tree (Southeast)
15. Rabbit Gathers Canes (Southeast)
16. Squirrel Slits Open His Scrotum (Plains)
17. Duck Excretes Rice (Northeast)
18. Bird Gets Salmon Eggs by Striking His Ankle (Northwest Coast)
19. Muskrat Cooks Some Ice (Northeast)
20. Woodpecker Pulls Eels Out of Trees (Subarctic)
Conclusion
Appendix: Bungling Host Myths
Notes
Bibliography