This dissertation is a fragment of a larger -project that explores the works of five
major oral mythtellers from Haida Gwaii, whose myths were transcribed in
1900 and 1901 by John Swanton: Haayas of the Hliiyalang Qiighawaay (Isaac
Haias), Kingagwaaw of the Ghaw Sttlan Llanagaay (Walter Kingagwo),
Gumsiiwa of the Xhiida Xhaaydaghaay (Job Moody), Ghandl of the Qayahl
Llaanas (Walter McGregor) and Skaay of the Qquuna Qiighawaay (John Sky).
While this larger frame constitutes the overall context, the thesis itself
focuses on several myths that in their turn form only a small part of a larger
whole, a part that is representative and unique at the same time: Skaay's
Qquuna Cycle. The focus of the dissertation thus mirrors the structure of
Skaay's work, which consists - to use one of Skaay's central images - of a
series of boxes within boxes.
The method of investigation is polyphonic, that is, a variety of different
voices and discourses - including academic monologues, fictional dialogues,
narratives, poems, autobiographical accounts, and various quotations -
combine in order to do justice not only to the complexity of the myths but also
to their inherent openness that allows a myriad of different readings, each of which
depends on the concrete situation in which the myth is read or told (including
social, historical and political conditions), the cultural background of the
listener / reader and his or her familiarity with Haida culture, the individuality
and predispositions of the listener/reader, and much more. What is in the
innermost box of the myths, the dissertation concludes, will be something
different for each listener/reader.
Since the most important voice in the polyphonic choir is that of the
mythteller, Skaay in this case, the analyzed myths are quoted in full length in
Haida. Most of them are accompanied, for copyright reasons, not by Robert
Bringhurst's poetic translations (which are easily accessible in Skaay's Being in
Being) but by a modified version of Swanton's translations from 1905.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/14999 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Dreher, Gudrum |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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