The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought: Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-DayChamberlain, Alexander Francis
Science
The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought: Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day
Chamberlain, Alexander Francis
Child rearing; Children -- Folklore; Folklore and children
earth is a flat surface, and the sky is an arch of solid rock suspended
above it. This arch rises and falls continually, so that the space at
the point of juncture is constantly opening and closing, like a pair of
scissors"], and then "they went through and climbed up on the other
side." Here they met Kanati and Selu, but, after staying with them seven
days, had to "go toward the sunset land, where they are still living."
Dr. G. M. Dawson records, from the Shushwap Indians of British Columbia,
the story of an old woman,--husbandless, childless, companionless,--who,
"for the sake of companionship, procured some pitch and shaped from it
the figure of a girl, which became her daughter," whom many adventures
befell (425. 33).
There is a very interesting Tahitian myth telling of the descent of
little Tavai to the invisible world. Tavai was his mother's pet, and one
day, for some slight fault, was beaten by the relatives of his father.
This made Ouri, his mother, so angry, that Oema, her husband, out of
shame, went down to Hawaii, the under-world, whither Tavai, accompanied
by his elder brother, journeyed, and, after many adventures, succeeded
in bringing to their mother the bones of Oema, who had long been dead
when they found him (458. 250).
Legion in number and world-wide in their affiliations are the stories of
the visits of children and youths, boys and girls, to heaven, to the
nether-world, to the country of the fairies, and to other strange and
far-off lands, inhabited by elves, dwarfs, pigmies, giants, "black
spirits and white." Countless are the variants of the familiar tale of
"Jack and the Bean Stalk," "Jack, the Giant-Killer," and many another
favourite of the nursery and the schoolroom. Tylor, Lang, Clouston, and
Hartland have collated and interpreted many of these, and the books of
fairy-tales and kindred lore are now numbered by the hundred, as may be
seen from the list given by Mr. Hartland in the appendix to his work on
fairy-tales. Grimm, Andersen, and the _Arabian Nights_ have become
household names.
For children to speak before they are born is a phenomenon of frequent
occurrence in the lives of saints and the myths of savage peoples,
especially when the child about to come into the world is an incarnation
of some deity. Of Gluskap, the Micmac culture-hero, and Malumsis, the
Wolf, his bad brother, we read (488. 15,16):--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account