Aboriginal Literature
Native traditions and history were passed down through the generations using the art of storytelling. Storytelling was not only useful for Natives in this way but became a part of the tradition and history they passed down to their children. Unlike Euro-Canadian people, Aboriginal people did not put their oral traditions into writing but have increasingly begun to do so in the present day. This may keep these traditions from dying out as many already have, but this may also destroy the showmanship and meaning of Aboriginal storytelling. This is one of the most important critical debates pertaining to Native literature; is the written word destroying the effect of Native oral tradition or is it saving it? This essay will show that translating and converting Native oral stories to text may keep them alive longer than those who tell them, but the written word will never capture the full effect of Native oral storytelling. In the past, Native people did not document their history or traditions on paper. When the Europeans came, their traditions were disregarded because of this fact. This, and the fact that oral traditions were easily lost with the death of a particular culture or language, is the reason why Natives have lost
A piece of traditional orature called "Song for the Burning of the White Dog" found in the "Anthology of Native Canadian Literature" illustrates some of the downfalls of Native tradition in text even though the story does try to capture the effect its oral counterpart in a few ways. This would help the reader to picture the actions of the person telling the story. In other words, when stories are collected they are at the mercy of their collector and are often changed to suit the needs of a new culture. If this story had been performed orally in its original language for the same audience, the levels of interpretation may have narrowed because there is no change from the original intended message. First of all, since it comes from the Southern First Nations it was obviously translated into English so that most non-Aboriginal people could read it. However, Native traditions written in text cannot meet up to the standards set by past storytellers and will never be as exciting and enjoyable. When an oral story is written down and translated into another language, the interpretation of that story will probably become more widespread than what was originally intended. He says, "the investigator imposes an external frame of reference from the start that. In this way the Native traditions would live on even if they were not passed on orally. and will soon be lost to oblivion if not taken down at once" (Clark xii). Since it has already been determined that this type of translation does not do Aboriginal oral traditions justice, this piece in particular probably does not capture everything that was intended by the oral version.
Common topics in this essay:
Southern Nations,
Unlike Euro-Canadian,
Canadian Literature,
North Country,
Claude Melancon,
Scugog Island,
John Foley,
Narrative Performance,
,
oral traditions,
native literature,
native oral,
White Dog,
traditional orature,
native traditions,
native stories,
text versions,
effect native oral,
effect native,
story text,
intended native,
text versions native,
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Acceptance Essays
