lesson-11-the-way-to-the-rainy-mountain

Lesson9TheWaytoRainyMountainN.ScottMomadayTeachingAimsBackgroundabouttheauthor,KiowaOrganizationofthetextCharacteristicofthelanguageExtension:introduceyourancestor--Cantonese,Hakka,TeochewCONTENTSADDYOURTITLEPre-classQuestionsTEXTTEXTMostNativeAmericantribesbelievedinseveralgods-godofsun,godofearth,raingod,etc.DiscusshowtheacceptanceofseveralgodsinsteadofoneomnipotentGodguidedNativeAmericanculture.Introduceyourancestor--Cantonese,Hakka,TeochewInterviewanElderofyourfamily.Didamemberofyourfamilyimmigrateherefromanotherplace?Whatimportantmythsorstorieshavebeenhandeddowninyourfamily?WhatwasthemostsignificanteventinyourElder'slife?TEXTDiscussthespecialmeaningsofhorse,buffalo,etc.inKiowacultureandcertainanimalsinyoursTheauthor:Biographyandhisbook[補充]Momaday••Name:N.ScottMomaday•BirthDate:February27,1934•PlaceofBirth:Lawton,Oklahoma,UnitedStates•Nationality:American•Ethnicity:NativeAmerican•Gender:Male•Occupations:author,schooladministratorMomadayN.ScottiswhollyabsorbedinhisNativeIndianculturethroughouthislife*HewasbornofanIndianorigin.*HespenthischildhoodinseveralIndianreservationsanddevelopedintenseinterestandpassionintheIndiancultureandtradition.*HiscareercentersaroundtheIndiancultureandtradition.*HisworksareinformedoftheNativeIndiantraditions.Prof.Momadaylifelongjourney1934borninLawton,Oklahoma.1935movedtoArizona1958graduatedfromtheUniversityofNewMexicoandtaughtontheApachereservationatJicarilla1963earnedadoctorateandtaughtattheUniversityofCaliforniaatSantaBarbara1969movedtotheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeley1973leftBerkeleyforStanford1982---taughtattheUniversityofArizonPrimaryworksHouseMadeofDawn,1968ThewaytoRainyMountain,1969AngleofGeeseandotherpoems,1974TheGourdDancer,1976TheNames:amemoir,1976TheAncientChild,1989InthePresenceoftheSun,1992(acollectionofproseandpoetry)“TheIndianworldisfullofaestheticvalues,art.Myfatherwasanartist,apainter,andhetaughtpaintingtothechildrenatJemezPueblo.Theyexhibitedallovertheworld.Theybecamefamousfortheirart.Heoncesaidtome,”Youknow,Scott,IhaveneverknownanIndianchildwhocouldn‘tdraw.“Ibelievethat.Ihaven’teither.Thatseemsintrinsicsomehow.That‘sarealpartoftheIndianworld,thisloveofsymmetryandcomposition.It’sagreatthing.Thathasbeenimportanttomeaswell.Indianpeoplehaveastrongsenseofhumor.It‘snoteasilyunderstoodbyotherpeople,butit’sthereandIlovethat.That‘sbeenapartofmylifetoo.”------MomadayN.ScottNewYorkTimesCommentsonMormadayWallaceStegnerWrittenwithgreatdignity,thebookhassomethingaboutitofthetimeless,ofthatlongviewdownwhichtheKiowalooktotheirmyth-shroudedbeginnings.Iknownothingquitelikethisbook,andnothingoftheIndianthatisatoncesoauthenticandsomoving.•TheKiowalivedatypicalPlainsIndianlifestyle.Mostlynomadic,theysurvivedonbuffalomeatandgatheredvegetables,livinginteepees,anddependedontheirhorsesforhuntingandmilitaryuses.Kiowa-NomadicWarriorsofthePlains•1650,BlackHills•1807,Arkansas,RedRiver,Texas,NewMexico•1867,areservationinsouthwesternOklahoma•1901KiowalandinOklahomawasopenedforwhitesettlement•1968KiowaTribalCouncilisformed•Today,therearemorethan12,000Kiowa,manyofwhomliveinOklahomaandotherareasoftheSouthwesternUnitedStates.ThetribeisgovernedbytheKiowaIndianCouncil.Hisbook•Momadaylinksthesurvivalofhispeopletotheirabilitytoremember,preserveandpassonstories.Takingtheideaonestepfurther,Momadaymodelsnecessarypersonalinvolvementinthestoriesthroughtheuseofimagination.Thatis,tomakesenseofandfindaplaceinthecontemporaryworld,onemustconnectonapersonallevelwiththestoriesofone'spast.AllfamilieshavetheirRainyMountain,theendoftheirjourney,theirspiritualHome.Hisbook--ThewaytotheRainyMountainTheGoingOn,thesecondpart,continueswiththethemeofKiowamythology,anddiscussestheoriginsofTai-meandtheSunDanceRitual.TheSettingOut,whichconsistsofearlyKiowalegendsandanthropologicalstudiesontheKiowapeople.TheClosingIn,thelastsection,describestheendoftheKiowagoldenageandhasalottodowiththedeathoftheKiowaculture.•Eachchapterisalsodividedintothreeparts:•ThefirstconsistsofthemythologicalstoriesoftheKiowas,•thesecondfocusesontheactualhistoryoftheKiowatribe,•andthethirdpartistheauthor'sownobservationsfromwhenheretracedthelongjourneytoRainyMountainhisancestorshadtaken.•Asthebookdrawstoanend,thesepartsstarttocombine,•themythologybecomesmorehistorical,•thehistorybecomesmorepersonal,•andthepersonaltalesbecomemoremythological.HisInfluence•Igetakickoutofhearingpeoplesaythis,butMomadayhasbeenreferredtoastheShakespeareofNativeAmericanletters.•AndIthinkthatphrasecapturessomethingofhissignificance,inthesenseofabaselineexcellence--asawriter.He'sapersonwithatremendouslyimagisticmind,buthelovesthevoiceinwhathedoes.TheSunDanceTheSunDance,aceremonylastinganywherefromfourtoeightdaysinsummertime,wasoneofthemostspectacularPlainsIndianreligiousrituals.OriginallyaLakotarite,itistodayconsideredasacredritualbymanytribes.Thedance,whichisperformedatthetimeoftheSummerSolstice,involvesyoungmen,orwarriors,piercingthemselveswithhooksatt