Thesis--Columbia University. / Thesis statement on label mounted on t.p. Bibliography: p. 130-135.

The problem around which this thesis is written concerns the relation of myth to social organization in a small society. The society chosen for intensive study is Cape Madge, British Columbia, a Kwakiutl village of the Southern Lekwiltok group on the Northwest coast of North America. That myth and social organization are bound in together in a total system of social relations has been demonstrated for primitive societies by such eminent anthropologists as Raymond Firth, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Sir Peter Buck for the Oceanic area. The material gathered by Boas for the Kwakiutl of the Northwest coast of North America implies the same for traditional Kwakiutl society. Myths interact with all other elements of social structure and organization, so that the total system of social relations in the society is not to be understood without an understanding of the role of myth in providing a wide frame of reference within which the total social behavior of the members of the society becomes significant. This proposition has been accepted into the body of generalizations about primitive society built up In the field of anthropology. It does not Imply a conception of society as an apparatus maintaining the culture as it is, since all cultures are changing by the stresses inherent in social interaction and by the choices open to individuals. The empirical data brought forward in this thesis to support the assumption that myth and social organisation are bound together in a system of social relationships demonstrate that such a system is not closed, but open to adjustment without apparent opposition. This thesis is an attempt to give fuller meaning to the generalisation that the myths of a people are bound into the total system of social relations. The proposition advanced here is that even under conditions of advanced acculturation (to Western European culture) in a small once tribal society, myth will play a part. Where the old myths fade, new ones will arise to take their places in the, changing social context. The alteration of social structure, of social organisation, and of the roles played by individuals will create the need for maintaining some ancient myths that underwrite the worthiness of the individual and group. New myths will arise to justify rapidly changing patterns of behavior under the impact of Euro-American culture. This proposition has been tested and supported by the data derived from field work. Upon the basis of the affirmation of this proposition by data derived in a small society in the process of rapid change, the above hypothesis may be generalised to suggest that in all tribal societies moving rapidly into the orbit of advanced ones, myth will not be lost. Just as social structure, social organization and the roles of individuals will change feat be fitted into new configurations, so myth will not disappear but be transfigured or newly created in order to meet the needs of people for an understanding of their changing existence. The operation of myth and social context In Cape Hudge society today is discussed in this thesis by reference to the operation of myths in two important areas of social organizations social control and values. The exploration of myth in these areas touches upon most aspects of life in the village. Intensive field work was of one month's duration in the summer of 1963 when I lived with my husband and three children in the village but casual contacts and interest in the village had extended over a ten-year period prior to the formal study. The contacts made by my husband, two teen-age children and on pre-school child extended the range of social contacts very considerably. The definition of my position as wife and mother was of prime importance to my ready acceptance. The villagers had happily been introduced to anthropologists through Helen Codere who left behind an atmosphere of admiration and trust. The villagers expressed the opinion that other villages were getting anthropologists interested in them and they thought it was high time for someone from the University to come again. The field work situation could not have been more propitious I wish to express my sincere regard for the great achievements of these people and my thanks for their generosity and hospitality. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Musicolgy and Ethnomusicology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-157). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ56180.

This thesis explores the dialectical relationship between aboriginal and anthropological discourses of tradition and cultural performance. Specifically, I examine some ways in which concepts of tradition and culture are invoked in British Columbia's First Nations communities in order to negotiate, validate, and contest contemporary transformations to cultural practice. Two case studies of recent controversies within Kwakwaka'wakw communities are presented, one surrounding the bestowal of the Hamat'sa Dance on the pan-tribal American Indian Dance Theater for use in public presentations, the other involving the performance of the Hamat'sa— customarily a male prerogative— by women. This study addresses both local Kwakwaka'wakw dialogues about history and contemporary values, and the larger public, academic, and political environments in which those dialogues occur. This thesis takes as its broadest context these dialogues and shifts in the scale of identity and representation: between different native communities and different voices within them; between contests for local privilege and global control over "national" heritage; between indigenous peoples and the discipline of anthropology. I argue that tradition is best approached as a critical value emerging from these discourses, a concept which is intentionally used as a marker of present identity through strategic appeal to the past.

In this thesis I have set out to examine the historic change in the primary unit of Kwakiutl property tenure as it reflects the changing character of social relations between the members of this society. In order to follow this particular development the units of Kwakiutl social organization have been situated within the history of the period under scrutiny. This study commences with the speculative reconstruction of Kwakiutl social organization just prior to direct European contact. The namima is presented here as a property holding descent group with an inalienable attachment to an exclusive estate composed of specific territories, supernatural powers, and prerogatives. As a unit of economic production and consumption the namima was able to derive all of its material sustenance from this estate. The relations between individuals and the degree of access to the fruits of the harvest were organized according to the hierarchical order within each of these descent groups. The Kwakiutl became involved in the fur trade before the end of the 18th century as European entrepreneurs extended their trans-continental network. The wealth gleaned from this trade was integrated into the Kwakiutl economy to the enhancement of the existing social order. European settlement on the Northwest coast introduced the option of participation in the wage economy. This economy offered individual Kwakiutl men and women the experience of creating wealth outside of the traditional economic unit. Individuals began to seek status on the basis of their achievements. This change exemplified the new mode of relations. Individuals who had previously related as members of a descent group were now distinguished on the basis of their acquired wealth. While namima members of high birth maintained their title to traditional properties, these properties no longer, figured significantly in the native economy. In the 1880's the Department of Indian Affairs imposed units of property tenure upon the Kwakiutl without regard for the traditional native units. The populations identified within each administrative units were forced to recognize the imposed structure in order to represent their interests. In the years following 1830, then, the namima declined as the primary unit of Kwakiutl property tenure. The Kwakiutl redefined the units of social interaction as the character of social relations changed due to the introduction of new forms of wealth and land tenure. Today the namima is a specialized concept shared by a few Kwakiutl elders, anthropologists, and several Kwakiutl individuals involved in cultural revitalization. As the Kwakiutl acquire greater political and administrative independence in the near future it is certain that the namima will continue to be redefined. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

During the 1960s, residents of isolated Kwakiutl Indian communities, located near the northern tip of Vancouver Island in Johnstone Straight, were encouraged by representatives of the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) to relocate to regional urban centers. The majority of families from various Kwakiutl bands were, as a result, assimilated into non-native centers throughout the province. This thesis examines the planning processes that contributed to the death of the Johnstone Straight communities; identifies the impacts of relocation on members of one Kwakiutl band, the Tanakteuk; and evaluates various alternatives for Indian development in the future, including an assessment of the desirability of reinhabitation of Kwakiutl homelands. A literature review of international regional planning theory and development approaches points to the popularity of growth center development theory for two decades after World War Two. This theory continued to guide Canadian planning initiatives during the 1960s, resulting in the decline of rural communities, both native and non-native. Interviews with Kwakiutl band members and former DIA personnel, and an examination of DIA documents, contribute to a profile of events leading to the relocation of Kwakiutl bands in the region. Consistent with the proponents of the growth center theory, DIA suspected that the costs of providing services and facilities could be minimized in urban centers as a result, of achieving economies of scale not possible with scattered villages, and that employment opportunities in industry would be greater. The department acted on this belief by reducing the provision of crucial services to the Johnstone Straight communities, without consulting those Indians directly affected. An examination of documentation suggests that the relocation of Indians to urban centers was further advocated by DIA personnel for an additional reason: such a move would encourage Indians to abandon traditional lifestyles, and promote their assimilation into modern Canadian society. According to the assumptions on which orthodox development theory and DIA planning processes are based, Indians must adopt the values and lifestyles of participants in modern society for their development to proceed. A questionnaire was administered to Tanakteuk Band members to investigate the impacts of relocation and the level of support for re-establishing the community of New Vancouver in their traditional homeland. Results of the survey demonstrate that the socio-economic conditions of the Tanakteuk families have not significantly improved as a result of being incorporated into mainstream Canadian society. In retrospect, growth center doctrine proved to be an inappropriate guide for the planning process for natives. While relocation may have increased access to services and facilities, it did not result in increased employment opportunities. Moreover, by promoting assimilation into non-native societies, relocation threatened the cultural survival of the Tanakteuk. Having evaluated several options, the re-establishment of a community in New Vancouver has been identified by five Tanakteuk heads of households as the most rational means to strengthen their culture and further the long-term development of the Band. An alternative theory of development based on a synthesis of a territorial development approach and systems theory supports this planning option. The case study of the Tanakteuk provides strong justification of the need for major changes to the planning processes used by the Department of Indian Affairs. An orthodox approach to development must be replaced by an alternative that aims to strengthen Indian society through the development of Indian economies within Indian cultural frameworks under the control of Indian political institutions. Planning processes must account for cultural differences of clientele. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis explores the dialectical relationship between aboriginal and anthropological discourses of tradition and cultural performance. Specifically, I examine some ways in which concepts of tradition and culture are invoked in British Columbia's First Nations communities in order to negotiate, validate, and contest contemporary transformations to cultural practice. Two case studies of recent controversies within Kwakwaka'wakw communities are presented, one surrounding the bestowal of the Hamat'sa Dance on the pan-tribal American Indian Dance Theater for use in public presentations, the other involving the performance of the Hamat'sa— customarily a male prerogative— by women. This study addresses both local Kwakwaka'wakw dialogues about history and contemporary values, and the larger public, academic, and political environments in which those dialogues occur. This thesis takes as its broadest context these dialogues and shifts in the scale of identity and representation: between different native communities and different voices within them; between contests for local privilege and global control over "national" heritage; between indigenous peoples and the discipline of anthropology. I argue that tradition is best approached as a critical value emerging from these discourses, a concept which is intentionally used as a marker of present identity through strategic appeal to the past. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

Cet ouvrage examina une cérémonie particulière aux Kwagul de Colombie Britannique: le rituel d'initiation hamatsa. Basée sur une recherche effectuée en pays kwagul et enrichie de nombreuses données ethnographiques, la thèse s'appuie au niveau théorique : sur des travaux récents de Lévi-Strauss et de Turner. Afin d'atteindre la structure du rituel per se, nous, l'expurgeons de ses gloses et exégèses. Ses mythologies implicite, et explicite sont analysées. La première réfère à la vision du monde kwagul et à son ethos. L'éthos kwagul est constitué d'un ensemble de thèmes rituels qui tous relèvent du principe de transformation de la mort en la vie. La vision du monde kwagul est à l'image d'un monde zoo ou anthropomorphique doté d'une unique cavité appelée par les kwagul, la bouche. C'est par l'intermédiaire de celle-ci que les transformations s'opèrent. L'analyse des codes culinaires déployés dans les mythes et les rites dévoile que la mort et la Création sont exprimées par des métaphores orales. La mythologie explicite composée du paradigme mythique Baxbakwalanuxsiwae est analysée sur une période d'un siècle, confirmant certaines caractéristiques de l'évolution des mythes. Le mythe exprime une exogamie démesurée à laquelle s'oppose sa limite inférieure; le rapprochement trop étroit d'un frère et d'une soeur que les Bella Bella et les Kwagul illustrent dans la phase finale de leurs mythes et de leurs rites. La métaphore cannibalique est analysée sous l'angle de la parenté; elle circonscrit le champ de l'alliance acceptable par la culture. La femme est perçue alors comme le médiateur entre les humains et les ogres surnaturels. Evoquant le thème de la grande naissance, les différentes séquences du rituel hamatsa sont analysées chronologiquement. Au cours de son initiation, afin de surpasser sa "mort", l'initié devait manger la "mort". A la mort symbolique du novice correspond une naissance symbolique suivie d'une socialisation réelle. La comparaison mythe/rite permet finalement de conclure que la démarche rituelle ne répète pas systématiquement la démarche de la pensée mythique, mais au contraire l'inverse. Cette inversion est due à l'emploi du morcellement et de la répétition qui fait que le rite remonte le mythe à contresens. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate