Anguish of Snails: Native American Folklore in the West

Description

After a career working and living with American Indians and studying their traditions| Barre Toelken has written this sweeping study of Native American folklore in the West.
Within a framework of performance theory| cultural worldview| and collaborative research| he examines Native American visual arts| dance| oral tradition (story and song)| humor| and patterns of thinking and discovery to demonstrate what can be gleaned from Indian traditions by Natives and non-Natives alike.
In the process he considers popular distortions of Indian beliefs| demystifies many traditions by showing how they can be comprehended within their cultural contexts| considers why some aspects of Native American life are not meant to be understood by or shared with outsiders| and emphasizes how much can be learned through sensitivity to and awareness of cultural values.Winner of the 2004 Chicago Folklore Prize| “The Anguish of Snails” is an essential work for the collection of any serious reader in folklore or Native American studies.