Other editions of book Tlingit Myths and Texts, Recorded by John R. Swanton

This is a massive study of the myths and legends of the Tlingit, Native Americans of southern Alaska. These texts include a lengthly cycle of stories about Raven, the trickster figure of the Northwest, the equivalent of the better known Coyote of the Southwest. Another major thread that runs through these stories is the typical Northwestern preoccupation with wealth and status. The land was abundant with marine life, wildlife and other resources. The Tlingit, along with other cultures in the region, had developed a very high level of material wealth, as well as levels of social inequality not found elsewhere in North America. For this reason, many of the stories are parallel to European folklore (without being derivative in the slightest way), in which a low-status person achieves wealth and respect by supernatural intervention or a series of epic trials.On the other hand, the Tlingit were also avid believers in the Potlatch system, by which wealth was distributed by the rich at festivals, in order to reinforce their status. Hence there are also stories in this collection in which altruism and sharing wealth are rewarded.Usually in 19th century ethnographies the texts are presented without any clue as to the cultural context in which they were told. This collection diverges from this sometimes maddening practice. The function of stories is often described in an footnote by the informant, for instance, as fables for young people. In another instance at the end of the book the myth cycle is retold, woven into a grieving ceremony. (Quote from sacred-texts.com)About the AuthorJohn Reed Swanton (1873 - 1958)John Reed Swanton (19 February 1873 - 2 May 1958) was an American anthropologist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

This is a massive study of the myths and legends of the Tlingit, Native Americans of southern Alaska. These texts include a lengthly cycle of stories about Raven, the trickster figure of the Northwest, the equivalent of the better known Coyote of the Southwest. Another major thread that runs through these stories is the typical Northwestern preoccupation with wealth and status. The land was abundant with marine life, wildlife and other resources. The Tlingit, along with other cultures in the region, had developed a very high level of material wealth, as well as levels of social inequality not found elsewhere in North America. For this reason, many of the stories are parallel to European folklore (without being derivative in the slightest way), in which a low-status person achieves wealth and respect by supernatural intervention or a series of epic trials. On the other hand, the Tlingit were also avid believers in the Potlatch system, by which wealth was distributed by the rich at festivals, in order to reinforce their status. Hence there are also stories in this collection in which altruism and sharing wealth are rewarded. Usually in 19th century ethnographies the texts are presented without any clue as to the cultural context in which they were told. This collection diverges from this sometimes maddening practice. The function of stories is often described in an footnote by the informant, for instance, as fables for young people. In another instance at the end of the book the myth cycle is retold, woven into a grieving ceremony. --J.B. Hare

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This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.