Due Jan 23
Sacred Performance Among Hunter-Gatherers
Reading: Native American myths: the Tsimshian tale of the Theft of light and the Oglala Sun Dance (Blackboard: Gill.pdf)
Reading: Nyau masks: mythic reenactment and cultural adjustment (Blackboard: Curran.pdf).
Writing: Read HW guidelines linked here. Then respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short: no more than three sentences. Post your comment as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:
- In the Tsimshian story of the theft of light, we learn how Giant/Raven brought daylight to the lower world. Do you get the sense that bringing daylight down from the heavens was Giant’s goal? Or was it an unintended consequence? Point to a key plot detail as justification for your answer.
- On p33 of his book, Sam Gill introduces Thomas Tyon’s account of the Oglala Sun Dance by claiming that rituals shape time and space. Point to one moment in this Oglala rite that strikes you as contributing to the transformation of everyday time and space into a special, indeed sacred time and space.
- What do Nyau masks and ritual transform, according to Douglas Curran’s article? Name one thing in particular and explain briefly if necessary.
Responses to the Theft of Light
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I get the sense that the giant brought the light down from heaven as his purposeful goal. He did this out of his own goal of obtaining food easier. The text reinforces this by stating, “Then Giant thought it would it would be hard for him to obtain his food if it were always dark”. He the recalls there is light in heaven which would help him fulfill his goal of finding food, which in my opinion proves it was a purposeful goal not an unintended consequence.
In the Tsimshian story of how daylight came to the lower world, it would appear that bringing the light down was Giant’s intention. The line, “Then he made up his mind to bring down the light to our world,” would imply that this wasn’t done accidentally or on a whim, but was a goal he thought through and made a plan to accomplish.
In my opinion, I believe that it was the Giant’s goal to bring down the light to the Earth. From the reading, I got the sense that the Giant, despite being of heavenly origin, would mingle and wander down to the Earth to gaze upon and enjoy the fruits of the mortals. However, because there was no “Light” or Sun or illuminate what was taking place. In the text this is shown in the excerpt, “The whole world was still covered with darkness…The people were distressed by this. Then Giant thought that it would be hard for him to obtain his food if it were always dark.” This demonstrates that there is a pure motive for the Giant to bring the sunlight down to the Earth. Too, the wording makes me believe that the Giant was sympathetic to the people on Earth who were struggling without the light to guide them.
After reading the Tsimshian story, I get the sense that Giant bringing light down from the heavens was certainly intentional. Giant, “made up his mind to bring down light to our world”, showing that he set this as a goal for himself and he was plotting on it. In addition, the sequence of events taking place in the heavens depict Giant operating in secrecy which gives way to the idea that he’s not welcome there any longer despite seeming to be from heavenly origin and so it reinforces the intentionality through the perspective of revenge.
I believe that the giants goal was to bring the light down from heaven. The text states “Then Giant thought it would it would be hard for him to obtain his food if it were always dark” which provides a direct reason for the Giant to bring light to earth. The giant needed sustenance to survive and so obtaining light also directly played a role in this.
I don’t believe that Giant bringing light down from the heavens was his intended goal. He remembered he wanted to see so he could hunt. It wasn’t an act of kidness, it was an act of necessity. In some ways you could even label it as selfishness. It was purely for his benefit that he wanted the light and nothing more.
Responses to the Oglala Sun Dance
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Responses to the Nyau masks and ritual
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I think that the Nyau masks and ritual transferred into some solution for the community. Each individuals wear on the masks and performed the stories but at the same time, they reflect the current issue or tension in the dance. Referred to the line, “ Gule Wamkulu provides a social safety valve, venting tensions that may build within a closed community reliant on consensual decision-making,” can lead us to think that some of the rituals were been held on purpose to solve any issues or to have some changes. Personally, I will say that some of the social solutions are being performed through these Nyau masks and ritual.
I agree with your idea. Nyau masks and rituals don’t only tell stories. I think they reflect real tensions within the communities. As Douglas Curran explains, Gule Wamkulu acts as a “social safety valve”. This allows issues to be addressed indirectly. Also, through expression with the masks/performances and traditions, the community releases tension and restores the overall balance without confronting individuals directly.