Risultati ricerca
Abstract/Sommario: Since the 1950s scholars Fang Guoyu, Ma Yao and You Zhong have established a historical link between the ethnic groups of the Yi linguistic family and the ancient Di and Qiang peoples, implying that the ancestors of the Lahu in Yunnan were migrants from Qinghai two thousand years ago. Based on the place names recorded in Lahu myths regarding the "world of death" they have also drawn a clear migration route of the Lahu. Today, the young generation of Lahu villagers and ritual specialis ...; [Leggi tutto...]
Abstract/Sommario: Kamui yukar (chants of spiritual beings) are one among over twenty genres of Ainu oral performance. Highly rhythmical, Kamui yukar are sung in the first person voice of the spiritual being whose story is told. Normally these spiritual beings are natural phenomena, usually animals. The article examines and translates the third kamui yukar, the Chant of the Fox About Itself recorded by Chiri Yukie in her 1976 collection the Ainu shin'yoshu. It looks at he general characteristics of foxe ...; [Leggi tutto...]
Abstract/Sommario: Korean Shamans (manshin or mudang) practicing in the tradition of Hwang-hae province possess numerous paintings of spirits of deceased shamans (songsu) who assist them in their activities. Attention has been paid to such paintings (hwan) mainly in the context of shamanism as a part of Korean national heritage, andt he role they play in the lives of individual shamans has been neglected. If one looks beyond the surface of these hwan, which often seem to be almost identical, it turns ou ...; [Leggi tutto...]
Abstract/Sommario: A widespread belief in India is that at birth a deity comes to write the destiny of the newborn child on his forehead. Like the well-known concept of karma. the motif of headwriting expresses that one must bear one's fate since no amount of effort can alter it. And yet folktales that use this motif often show that one's destiny can be fulfilled in surprising ways. The article examines five instances of the outwitting fate tale type that use the motif of headwriting to argue that thes ...; [Leggi tutto...]