Songs of gods, songs of humans: The epic tradition of the Ainu
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Book Overview
As an especially beautiful and pure example of the archaic epic styles that were once current among the hunting and fishing peoples of northern Asia, the Ainu epic folklore is of immense literary... This description may be from another edition of this product.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0865470634
ISBN13:9780865470637
Release Date:January 1969
Publisher:North Point Press
Length:416 Pages
Weight:1.55 lbs.
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Fascinating Look At a Vanishing Mythology
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 14 years ago
I was lucky enough to find this for $12 in a small rural used bookstore and was exposed to one of the richest collections of mythology I've ever seen. The Ainu myths were transmitted by storytellers claiming to be posessed by the entities telling the stories, so most were collected in a first person format where the god/hero/monster istelf is telling you the story. The stories are dripping with beautiful details, like the water and fire fans that the elemental godesses fight with, the evil river dragons, or the social customs of the Ainu that are mentioned in passing and taken for granted. Gary Snyder provides a well-written introduction, though as usual he puts a little too much stock in the 'deeper truth' of the myths. If you can find this at a sane price and value glimpses of the ancient world, I recommend it heartily.
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