Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honours B. A. in the Department of Bantu Languages of the University of Zululand, South Africa, 1981. / The aim of this paper is to bring forth the educational value of folk tales as well as the relationship that existed between grandmothers and grandchildren. Education is an old phenomenon amongst Zulus. It existed long before the white man came with a formal type of school.

In studying the early history of the legends, the author have found that it could be divided into three periods: 1) the period of origins, 2) the period of literary creation, and 3) the period of translation and adaptation. The last period may be said to have never reached a conclusion, for writers of many nations are still finding in the ancient legends material for poem and song.

No description available.

The fantastic stands as an important part of Chinese culture. It is in fact through its literature that it has been made possible for us to enjoy this heritage. With the study of fantastic tales and anomaly accounts, this thesis tackles the problem of rationalism in relation with supernatural. It attempts to understand the mechanisms of the intermingling of the concepts of fiction and history, through the comparison of Chinese historical and fictional texts, as well as parallels between China and Europe. It will also deal with the concepts of nature, in both the perspectives of China and Europe, and the Enlightenment.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Submitted by PPG Comunica??o Social (famecos-pg@pucrs.br) on 2018-04-03T11:10:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 CAMILA_AMORIM_DIS.pdf: 1864621 bytes, checksum: 8e8e9a4203ea314c0f7e98377441b3f3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lopes (tatiana.lopes@pucrs.br) on 2018-04-13T14:20:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 CAMILA_AMORIM_DIS.pdf: 1864621 bytes, checksum: 8e8e9a4203ea314c0f7e98377441b3f3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-13T14:24:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CAMILA_AMORIM_DIS.pdf: 1864621 bytes, checksum: 8e8e9a4203ea314c0f7e98377441b3f3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-23 / With the professionalization of electronic sports (e-sports) and the exponential growth of this market, many companies are investing in create unique experiences for their spectators. This research aims to understand how a computer game, especially the League of Legends, can be designed to be played and watched by many people as a sportive manifestation, turning a local reception into a global and connected activity. Based on the Grounded Theory, a methodology that supports the qualitative and quantitative data analyzes, favoring the multidisciplinary view on a given event. This work consists in three distinct phases: data collection and analysis, coding, memoing and theory writing. Where in the first phase, bibliographical surveys on games and esports were carried out, as well as analyzes of the media related to electronic sports. In the second phase, all the data obtained were codified and separated into categories and subcategories, where it was possible to understand that e-sports are a phenomenon formed from different social perceptions, relating games, sports entertainment and media. In the third phase, the memoing presents as inferences from the research for the work, to finally be possible a writing of a platform on a construction of e-sport and how its transformations in different transmissions. / Com a profissionaliza??o dos esportes eletr?nicos (e-sports) e o crescimento exponencial desse mercado, muitas empresas t?m investido em criar experi?ncias ?nicas para seus espectadores. Com isso em mente, este trabalho tem o objetivo de entender como um jogo de computador, especialmente o League of Legends, pode ser projetado para ser jogado e assistido como uma manifesta??o esportiva por diversas pessoas, transformando a recep??o local em um ato global e conectado. Para isso, ? utilizada a Grounded Theory, uma metodologia que permite o uso de an?lises qualitativas e quantitativas, favorecendo o olhar multidisciplinar sobre um determinado evento. Assim, este trabalho ? formado por tr?s fases distintas: coleta e an?lise de dados, codifica??o, memorando e escrita da teoria. Onde, na primeira fase, foram realizados levantamentos bibliogr?ficos sobre jogos e e-sports, al?m de an?lises das m?dias relacionadas ao esporte eletr?nico. Na segunda fase, todos os dados obtidos foram codificados e separados em categorias e subcategorias, no qual foi poss?vel entender que os e-sports s?o um fen?meno formado a partir de diferentes percep??es sociais, relacionando os jogos, o entretenimento esportivo e as m?dias. Na terceira fase, o memorando apresentou as infer?ncias da pesquisadora ao longo deste trabalho, para, por fim, ser poss?vel a escrita de uma teoria sobre a constru??o do e-sport e as suas transforma??es em diferentes transmiss?es.

Dans le bassin du lac Tchad, aux confins des États que sont actuellement le Nigeria, le Cameroun, le Tchad et le Niger coexistaient près des empires et royaumes médiévaux du Borno et Kanem les Sao. Ces Sao animistes étaient considérés par qu’Ibn Furtû comme les véritables autochtones de la région. Grâce aux chroniques de cet imam kanuri, ces populations dont principalement les Sao-Tatala et les Sao-Ngafata nous sont connus plus ou moins en détail. Ils nous sont connus parce que dans ces chroniques, Ibn Furtû décrit les expéditions de son maitre le maï Idriss Alauma qui les a combattus à de nombreuses reprises. Après leur défaite face aux musulmans dirigés par Alauma, les rescapés Ngafata et Tatala migrent vers le sud du lac Tchad, pour s’installer sur les rives du Chari et du Logone où ils occupent certaines terres libres, s’allient aux populations présentes et battissent des buttes anthropiques et développent les pratiques de la terre cuite. Ils apportent avec eux leur savoir-faire, notamment l’architecture et la poterie, la pêche ainsi que leurs croyances. Leur maitrise du travail de la terre cuite leur a permis d’établir de véritables industries dont les produits avaient plusieurs fonctions : cultuelles, usuelles, ludiques et probablement artistiques. Avec la terre, ils construisent aussi des fortifications bâties sur des buttes anthropiques de terre qui avaient deux fonctions : rempart de protection face aux musulmans qui continuent par les poursuivre et contre les inondations. Au cours des siècles, l’histoire de ces populations a considérablement été tronquée aussi bien par leurs adversaires qui obscurcissent leurs mémoires, que par leurs descendants qui trouvent en eux des héros géants. Tout cela donne naissance à de nombreuses légendes et mythes qui tendent à effacer le passé tangible de ce peuple qualifié de «Sao légendaires». Très peu de sources renseignent de façon profonde sur ces populations. Même les informations fournies par les chroniques d’un imam Kanuri, qui semblent pourtant être les plus fiables ne sont pas dénudées d’impartialité. Dans ce bassin du lac Tchad, les Sao y laisseront un héritage culturel considérable, identifiable matériellement et immatériellement. La reconstitution de l’histoire des Sao par les auteurs s’appuie sur une multitude de sources. Outre les sources matérielles comme les buttes anthropiques visibles et les tessons de poteries éparpillées à plusieurs niveaux, il convient aussi de faire mention de la tradition orale où abondent des mythes et légendes. / In the Lake Chad Basin, at the borders of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, lived Sao’s people next to the medieval empires and kingdoms of Kanem Borno. Sao, black animistic people who was seen as the true native of the region by Ibn Furtû, are considered today wrongly or rightly to have disappeared. These people, mainly Sao-Tatala and Sao-Gafata are more or less known thanks to the chronicles of Iman Kanuri. In these cronicles, he describes his master’s Idriss Alauma expeditions who fought against the mat many times. After their defeat against muslims ruled by Alauma, the surviving Gafata and Tatala migrated to the south of the lake Chad to settle in the free lands of the edges of rivers Chari and Logone. They form an alliance with people already present, build mounds and develop baked clay experiences. They bring their know-how in architecture and pottery, fishing as well as their believes. Their mastery of the work baked clay allowed them to set up true industries which products had many functions : cultural, common ludic and probably artistic. With the clay, they also build fortifications which had two functions : protection defense against Muslims and against the floods. During centuries, the history of these people has considerably been truncated by their opponents who tarnish their memories and by their descendants who see them as great heros. All this gives rise to many legends and myths that tend to erase the tangible past of this people qualified rightly and wrongly “legendary Sao”. Very few sources give information on these people. Even inquiries given by the Imam Kanuri’s chronicles which seem to be reliable are not so lake of impartiality. In this basin of Lake Chad, Sao will leave a considerable and identifiable e cultural heritage which is tangible and intangible. The rebuilding of Sao’s history by authors is based on a multitude of sources. Besides tangible sources such as visible mounds and pottery’s shards scattered at several areas, it is also appropriate to mention that the oral tradition of myths and legends abound. / En la cuenca del lago Chad, en los límites de los Estados que actualmente son Nigeria, Camerún, Chad y Níger coexisten cerca de los imperios y reinos medievales de Borno y Kanem, los Sao. Los Sao, animistas, eran considerados por Ibn Furtû, como verdaderos autóctonos de la región. Gracias a las crónicas del imán kanuri, descubrimos estas poblaciones y principalmente los Sao-Tatala y los Sao-Ngafata porque en sus crónicas, Ibn Furtû describe las expediciones de su maestro el maï Idríss Alauma que los ha combatido en numerosas ocasiones. Después de la derrota frente a los musulmanes dirigidos por Alauma, los sobrevivientes Ngafata y Tatala migran hacia el sur del lago Chad, para instalarse sobre las orillas del Chari y del Logone donde ocupan ciertas tierras libres, se alían a las poblaciones presentes, construyen montículos antropogénicos y desarrollan la práctica del barro cocido. Llevan consigo su experiencia y su «conocimientos» 1, la arquitectura y la alfarería especialmente, la pesca y sus creencias. Su conocimiento en el trabajo del barro cocido les permite establecer verdaderas industrias cuyos productos cumplían diversas funciones: culturales, cotidianas, lúdicas y probablemente artísticas. Con la tierra, construyen también fortificaciones edificadas sobre los túmulos antropogénicos de tierra que tenían dos funciones: muralla de protección contra los musulmanes que continúan a perseguirlos, y contra las inundaciones. A lo largo de los siglos, la historia de estas poblaciones ha sido considerablemente truncada tanto por sus adversarios que oscurecen sus memorias, como por los descendientes que encuentran en ellos héroes gigantescos. Todo esto da lugar a numerosas leyendas y mitos que tienden a borrar el pasado tangible de este pueblo calificado como « Sao legendarios ». Muy pocas fuentes informan de manera profunda sobre estos pueblos. Incluso, las informaciones proporcionadas por las crónicas de un imán Kanuri que parecen no obstante las más confiables, no están exentas de imparcialidad. En esta cuenca del lago Chad, los Sao dejarán una herencia cultural considerable, identificable material e inmaterialmente. Los autores que reconstituyen la historia de los Sao, se apoyan sobre un gran número de fuentes. Más allá de las fuentes materiales como los túmulos antropogénicos visibles y los fragmentos de alfarería dispersos en diversos niveles, conviene mencionar la tradición oral donde abundan los mitos y leyendas.

In this dissertation, I examine a genre of commercially-published, illustrated hagiographical books. Recounting the life stories of some of China’s most beloved cultural icons, from Confucius to Guanyin, I term these hagiographical books “origin narratives” (chushen zhuan 出身傳). Weaving a plethora of legends and ritual traditions into the new “vernacular” xiaoshuo format, origin narratives offered comprehensive portrayals of gods, sages, and immortals in narrative form, and were marketed to a general, lay readership. Their narratives were often accompanied by additional materials (or “paratexts”), such as worship manuals, advertisements for temples, and messages from the gods themselves, that reveal the intimate connection of these books to contemporaneous cultic reverence of their protagonists. The content and composition of origin narratives reflect the extensive range of possibilities of late-Ming xiaoshuo narrative writing, challenging our understanding of reading. I argue that origin narratives functioned as entertaining and informative encyclopedic sourcebooks that consolidated all knowledge about their protagonists, from their hagiographies to their ritual traditions. Origin narratives also alert us to the hagiographical substrate in late-imperial literature and religious practice, wherein widely-revered figures played multiple roles in the culture. The reverence of these cultural icons was constructed through the relationship between what I call the Three Ps: their personas (and life stories), the practices surrounding their lore, and the places associated with them (or “sacred geographies”). In this dissertation, I explore this dynamic through the prism of origin narratives by focusing on the immortal Xu Xun 許遜, the god Zhenwu 真武, and the immortal bard Lü Dongbin 呂洞賓. I conclude with a case study of a recurrent theme in origin narratives: the protagonist’s journey through hell. The main goal of this dissertation is to examine the pivotal yet overlooked genre of origin narratives and unveil its significance to Chinese literature and cultural practice. What was the reading experience of origin narratives? What spurred their rise and commercial success in late Ming? And what was their long-term impact on writing and worship in late-imperial China? To answer these questions, this dissertation attempts to transcend anachronistic disciplinary boundaries that obscure the realities of life in late Ming China, and instead explore origin narratives within the broader cultural framework that informed their production and consumption during this period. Therefore, I analyze origin narratives in conjunction with a wide range of materials that fall into the realms of literature, religion, and history. These include literary works, canonical texts, popular religious tracts (baojuan and shanshu), daily-life encyclopedias, local gazetteers, geographical compendia, pictorial hagiographies, and art works. Origin narratives reflect three concomitant trends in late-Ming book culture: a renewed interest in hagiographies, a penchant for anthologizing in commercial publishing, and the multiple roles xiaoshuo narratives played in the culture. In their hybrid composition and encyclopedic scope, origin narratives are a unique late-Ming phenomenon that opens a rare window onto the interplay between literature and religion during this transformative period in the history of Chinese culture.

Modern scholarly theories of oral folk narrative suggest that urban legends contain expressions of cultural beliefs that can be understood both through the contexts in which these stories are told and through the elements of the stories that remain constant across multiple tellings by various narrators. This study centers exclusively on stories and popular culture products that utilize missing or damaged fingers, hands, or arms, in order to identify the cultural values that are attached to hands in American culture. These stories in particular were chosen because the severed hand was perceived at the onset to be a common element within stories that had not been broadly analyzed. The particular theories that drive this study are drawn from the fields of folklore, disability studies, psychology, and neuroscience, and suggest that stories about severed hands express belief about the nature of humanity. Once the hypothesis was formed, I turned to the Fife Folklore Archives of the Merril-Cazier Library at Utah State University in order to collect transcripts of interviews in which severed hand legends had been told. Three hundred fifty potential texts were initially identified, and two hundred fifty featured a mention of severed hands. Those texts were then classified by what role the severed hand played in the course of the story into three distinct categories: villains with severed hands and prosthetics, victims who lose hands in the course of the narrative, and severed hands appearing in pranks or as contaminants. The narratives of each category were then analyzed, and themes of evil, risk, safety, and crossed boundaries began to emerge. To verify the cultural themes of the textual study, popular culture narratives were then analyzed to determine if similar themes were expressed. This set of narratives included movies, television, comic books, and novels. While the same themes were expressed in these narratives, the categories of evil and crossed boundaries each featured subverted forms of heroism and hands as characters as well, all of which supported the original interpretation. The results indicate that severed hands in American narratives represent lost humanity, and therefore that the hand is a vital part of how individuals within the culture might perceive their own humanity.