Saturday, March 12, 2016

Ancient legends and ancient contexts



Ancient Legends Enlightening Us

Through an in depth look at the Tulalip tribe and their folklore and legends, I was intrigued by what the elders of this tribe felt were the most significant and important stories to pass down to the next generations.  A major and significant reason this took place was because of the rising reality that language can be forgotten and then the culture can be lost.  By reading these tales and learning about context, it made me think about one of my hobbies and how the lack of understanding a culture’s context within a story, and how you lose a crucial portion of the message when this occurs.  I am referring to watching and reading Japanese Manga and Anime, and losing part of the story due to there being a phrase or word that means more than what is translated on the screen.  For example, kodama, is a term used for “tree spirit”, we in western culture have a difficult time understanding this concept because in Japanese culture all living things have a spirit and it isn’t weird to see a kodama or understand why or what this creature is and what  it is doing in a forest.  These minute alterations in translations of these stories can really have an impact on a culture and their history.

(Kodama, Princess Mononoke, Studio Ghibli.)

“Stories, with their multiple levels of meaning for listeners of all ages, and with the demands they make on the memory and judgment of the audience, were the most effective way of introducing and reinforcing the skills a person needed to be successful in a demanding world. Moreover, it is not just the telling of the teachings, but the practice of reflecting on and figuring out every part of the teachings, that provide the full measure of what stories continue to bring to us.” (Legends, The Tulalip Tribe, Vision Mission Values)

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