The Maidu Indian Myths and Stories of Hanc'ibyjim

by Gary Snyder (Foreword by), William Shipley (Editor), Gary Snyder (Designed by)

Overview

A stunning combination of master storytelling and deft translation produced this world-class collection of Maidu myths, with a forward by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder. Published in conjunction with Rick Heide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780930588526
Publisher:	Heyday Books
Publication date:	01/28/1991
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.02(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

William Shipley is an ethnolinguist on the faculty of the University of California at Santa Cruz. A noted authority on California Indian Languages, his principal work has focused on the language and culture of the Maidu Indians.

Editorial Reviews

Linguist and anthropologist Shipley has produced a major anthology of myths and tales of the Maidu Indians of Northern California. Originally relayed by Hanc'ibyjim, the last great Maidu storyteller, to an American Museum of Natural History expedition in 1902-1903, the stories in this collection languished, all but forgotten until Shipley began their recovery in the 1980s. In his vibrant new translation, he has gone to great lengths to maintain the oral, theatrical quality of their original telling. Sensitively handled, the narratives take on an Homeric timbre. The centerpiece of the book is the creation myth in which Earthmaker sings the world into being. This is followed by a section of stories revolving around the trickster Coyote, present at creation and symbolizing at once negation and the human spirit. These are balanced by tales of numerous other beings. Shipley also provides a brief, helpful introduction to the Maidu people. He rejects romantic images that ultimately dehumanize Native Americans by turning them into icons. By culling a broad cross-section of myths, he supplies a full-scale picture of the Maidu as earthy, sensuous human beings. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In 1912, Roland B. Dixon published a dual Maidu/English edition of a large number of myths collected from the Maidu storyteller Hanc'ibyjim. Returning to the original Maidu transcriptions, Shipley offers this new and fresh translation, catching more of the drama and poetry of the myths than the original translation. The myths are divided into three sections: creation myths, in which Coyote and Earthmaker argue over the characteristics of the Earth and its inhabitants; the more familiar tales of Coyote; and tales of other beings. This is an important collection, advancing the cause of Native American literature. It will, however, appeal more to scholars and readers with some prior knowledge than to the novice.-- Debbie Tucker, Cincinnati Technical Coll.

Library Journal