Ellangellemni: When I Became Aware.

N

641

Administration for Native Americans (DHHS/OHDS), Washington, DC.
National Park Service (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

Alaska Natives; Elementary Secondary Education; Eskimos; Family Life; Females; Folk Culture; Food; Mythology; Nonformal Education; Oral Tradition; Story Telling; War; Yupik

978-1-55500-061-5

The stories published in this book are the result of a collaborative effort of the elders of the village of Tununak (Alaska), the Lower Kuskokwim School District, and school staff and students. The stories were told in Yup'ik by elders at various school and community gatherings. The book is divided into seven sections: (1) hunters and animal helpers (food and the social contract, hunting and the power of the spirits); (2) Yup'ik womanhood (the Sky Woman, domesticity and violence, heroines, jealousy); (3) the two faces of Tulukaruk (Raven) (creator and trickster); (4) animal souls; (5) war and peace; (6) the land of the dead; and (7) shamans. Introductions to each section discuss such areas as the storytelling occasion, story variants in other indigenous cultures, cultural elements and symbols in the stories, the storyteller's presentation and remarks, the use of "story knives" and their reintroduction to present-day students in Tununak, the accuracy of oral tradition and tactics to assist memory, the distinctions between fictional and historical narratives, traditional winter festivals, and beliefs and practices concerned with death and with shamanism. The stories are presented in Yup'ik and English on facing pages. Contains 56 references, cultural and linguistic notes on the stories, a glossary of Yup'ik exclamations, and many photographs. (SV)

1998

ED421305