In this book, the Native people of southwest Alaska generously share the traditional stories that form the expressive core of their unique culture. The lifeways observed and anecdotes recounted to a then-young university graduate, who recorded and compiled them in communities on Nunivak Island and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, offer a glimpse today of a longstanding way of life. In the mid-1930s, Hans Himmelheber closely observed the Yup'ik and Cup'ig people who offered him hospitality, paying heed to their stories and anecdotes; he photographed them just as carefully, capturing their activities with technical elegance while simultaneously preserving unstudied moments in the people's lives. Himmelheber's photographs also honor his informants, for as one of them told him regarding his people's artwork, "you know every picture has a meaning." The majority of these photographs have not been published before. This book includes the translated contents of Himmelheber's The Frozen Path: Myths, Tales, and Legends of the Eskimos; "Ethnographic Notes on the Nunivak Eskimos"; "Noseblood as Adhesive Material for Color Paint among the Eskimos" ; and "Unimaginable Miracles in the Poetry of Western Africa and the Eskimos," originally released in German. Kurt and Ester Vitt's translation is readable and clear. Editor Ann Fienup-Riordan, herself a distinguished ethnographer known for her work in southwest Alaska, provides annotation and a detailed discussion of Himmelheber's role as observer and recorder in a thoughtful, scholarly introduction. Though much has changed in the last half century, Yup'ik and Cup'ig orators continue to tell stories to educate and amuse their listeners. With this English translation, Himmelheber has passed on what he learned to Native and non-Native readers alike.
Ann Fienup-Riordan is an anthropologist who has lived and worked in Alaska for more than forty years. She has written and edited more than twenty books on Yup ik history and oral traditions.
Preface Acknowledgements Hans Himmelheber: Making His Own Path Himmelheber's Alaska Year The Frozen Path The Frozen Path: Myths, Tales, and Legends of the Eskimos Introduction The Prose Poetry of the Nunivak Eskimos Creation Stories How the Raven Created Nunivak Island How a Woman Came Down from the Sky and Created Nunivak Island Support Anecdote: The Star How Nunivak Island Received its Population Myths How Sun and Moon Came to Be About a Girl who was Unwilling to Marry Wolves as Human Beings Where the Echo Began Support Anecdote: The Raven A Shaman Story Support Anecdote: Crackling the Eyes of Murres Animal Stories How the Raven Deceived Various Animals Great Adventures of a Little Mouse Support Anecdote: The Disobedient Mouse People's Stories The Expelled Woman The Expelled Woman (Second Version) Support Anecdote: The Wooden Wedge The Woman with Five Husbands About a Man Who Ran Away from His Wives The Evil Sister The Needlefish Experiences of a Tree About a Father Who Wished a Daughter for Himself The Five Kayak Travelers Support Anecdote: The Man and the Loon How a Brother and Sister Met Other Human Beings for the First Time Ancestor Stories The Glutton The Big and Little Brother The Wooden Hat Strange Hunting Adventure The Father and His Child Wolf Adventure Adventure of a Couple in Love Swan Flight The Fight with the Walrus Two Strong Men The Kayak Danced Ancestor Story Ethnographic Notes on the Nunivak Eskimos Festivals of the Nunivak Eskimos Agaiach [Asiggluteng], The Women's Dancing Nagatschuchdachelu'ting [Nakacugtarluteng], The Bladder Festival Kokchlu'ting [Qupluteng], Halving It Beduchdacheluni [Petugtarluni], Small Things are Hanging Religious Ideas The Shaman Analogy-Operations Omina The Good Number Six Fire Drilling Manufacture of Wooden Eating Bowls Games of the Eskimos Selected Writings The Use of Noseblood as a Binding Agent for Paint Colors Among the Eskimos Unimaginable Miracles in the Poetry of Western Africa and the Eskimos Yup'ik and Cup'ig Oral Traditions Translation and Transciption Dog Husband Retelling an Old Tale Story by Robert Kolerak; recorded, transcribed, and translated by Marie Meade Hans Himmelheber: Selected Bibliography References Index About the Editor
