Asian Folklore Studies articles from June 2001

Asian Folklore Studies archives from June 2001

Introduction.(Iran)(Critical Essay)
June 1, 2001... THE "IRANIAN AREA" IS geographically cohesive, though its exact boundaries are rendered fuzzy by history and ethnology; conceptually, the term is vaguer, yet better merited. The highlands stretching across the Iranian plateau from the Zagros...

From Iranian Myth to Folk Narrative: The Legend of the Dragon-Slayer and the Spinning Maiden in the Persian Book of the Kings.(Critical Essay)
June 1, 2001... ********** THE STORY OF THE WORM is the closing episode of the chapter on the Askani (Arsacid) rulers in Ferdawsi's Shahnama. It is 277 verses long in the Moscow edition out of the 777 rhyming couplets devoted to the Askani dynasty as a...

Persian Popular Literature in the Qajar Period.
June 1, 2001... ********** IN THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL AREA, all discussions of the historical development of popular literature are dominated by one particular historical item as an indispensable source of information on reading matter in medieval times. The...

The Gender of the Trick: Female Tricksters and Male Narrators.
June 1, 2001... ********** THE TOPIC OF WOMEN'S TRICKS-makr-e zan or kayd un-nisa--is a particularly rich one in Islamic literature, written and oral, and in popular thought. Women are considered to excel even the devil himself in trickery, as various...

Rostam's Seven Trials and the Logic of Epic Narrative in the Shahnama.
June 1, 2001... ********** TWO SETS OF HEROIC ADVENTURES in the Shahnama are called "seven trials." These are the seven trials of Rostam, and those of Esfandiyar. Of these, Rostam's trials occur first in the narrative of the epic. In the course of these,...

Traces of Ancient Iranian Culture in Boysun District, Uzbekistan.
June 1, 2001... ********** THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEK1STAN has over 22 million inhabitants. Of these, the (Iranian) Tajiks comprise a small minority compared with the (Turkish) Uzbeks. The twentieth century wrought changes in their cultural destiny, which we...

The Persianization of Koroglu: Banditry and Royalty in Three Versions of the Koroglu Destan.
June 1, 2001... ********** THE STORY OF KOROGLU is one of the most widespread of the Turkic destans. (1) It is shared not only by nearly all Turkic peoples, but also by some non-Turkic neighboring communities, such as the Armenians, Georgians, Kurds,...

Healing practices among the Yezidi sheikhs of Armenia.
June 1, 2001... ********** THE YEZIDIS ARE A KURAMANJI Kurdish-speaking ethno-religious group, living mainly in northern Iraq (specifically, in Sinjar; Cia Sangale, in Kurdish), which is their original homeland, as well as in Armenia, Georgia, and Russia....

Hunters' lore in Nuristan.
June 1, 2001... ********** NURISTAN, SITUATED IN THE HIGH Hindu Kush mountains of northeastern Afghanistan, has long been of special interest to students both of linguistics and of anthropology. The area has been defined linguistically as the one where...

Malaysia. (Communications: Announcement).(Dayak Studies Oral Literature Series)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Re: NEW PUBLICATION SERIES: DAYAK STUDIES ORAL LITERATURE SERIES Professor Clifford Sather sent the following text, which we are sure will be of interest to many of our readers. As part of the establishment of Dayak Studies at the...

Australia. (Communications: Australia).(International Society for Folk Narrative Research conference)
June 1, 2001... Re: THE THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR FOLK NARRATIVE RESEARCH (ISFNR), 16-20 JULY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. The 2001 ISFNR Congress, held under the general theme "Traditions and Transitions: Folk Narrative in the...

Japan. (Communications: Report).(International Asian Folklore Society conference)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Japan Re: THE FOURTH INTERNATIONAL ASIAN FOLKLORE SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIP CONFERENCE On the last weekend in November 2001 scholars from Mongolia (2), China (15), Korea (7), Vietnam (5), Taiwan (1), and Japan (13) gathered at Nagoya...

"Children and Proverbs Speak the Truth": Teaching Proverbial Wisdom to Fourth Graders. (Book Reviews: General).
June 1, 2001... MIEDER, WOLFGANG and DEBORAH HOLMES. "Children and Proverbs Speak the Truth": Teaching Proverbial Wisdom to Fourth Graders. Supplement Series of Proverbium, Volume 7. Burlington: University of Vermont, 2000. 240 pages. Illustrations and...

Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World. (Book Reviews: General).
June 1, 2001... OTTO, BEATRICE K. Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. xxiv + 420 pages. Illustrations, appendix, glossary of Chinese characters, bibliography, and index. Cloth US$45.00/[pounds...

Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. (Book Reviews: Japan).
June 1, 2001... FITZHUGH, WILLIAM W. and CHISATO O. DUBREULL, Editors. Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. Washington D.C.: Arctic Studies Center, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 2001. 415 pages. Color and b/w illustrations, maps,...

Sources of Ryukyuan History and Culture in European Collections. (Book Reviews: Japan).
June 1, 2001... JOSEF KREINER, Editor. Sources of Ryukyuan History and Culture in European Collections. Monographien aus dem Deutschen Institut fur Japanstudien der Philipp-Franz-von-Siebold-Stiftung, Band 13. Munich: iudicium verlag, 1996. 396 pages. Cloth DM...

Mandschurische Gottinnen und iranische Teufel. Die Mandschu-Weltentstehungsmythen als Kultursynthesen. (Book Reviews: China).
June 1, 2001... BACKER, JORG, Editor. Mandschurische Gottinnen und iranische Teufel. Die Mandschu-Weltentstehungsmythen als Kultursynthesen. Shamanica Manchurica Collecta 4. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1997. 157 pages. Illustrations, bibliography, index....

Kochuan shishi xue: Ranpile "Jiangge' er" chengshi jufa yanjiu. (Book Reviews: China).
June 1, 2001... CHAO GEJIN [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Kochuan shishi xue: Ranpile "Jiangge' er" chengshi jufa yanjiu [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. Oral Poetics: Formulaic Diction of Arimpil's Jangar Singing]. Nanning:...

China's Old Dwellings. (Book Reviews: China).
June 1, 2001... KNAPP, RONALD G. China's Old Dwellings. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2000. xi + 362 pages. Map, illustrations, b/w photographs, bibliography, index. Paper US$44.95; ISBN 0-8248-2214-5. Houses embody culture, particularly...

Le jeu dans la Chine contemporaine: Mak-jong, jeu de go et autres loisirs. (Book Reviews: China).
June 1, 2001... PAPINEAU, ELISABETH. Le jeu dans la Chine contemporaine: Mak-jong, jeu de go et autres loisirs. Collection "Recherches Asiatiques." Paris: L'Harmattan, 2000. 302 pages. Bibliography. Paper 130 F; ISBN 2-7384-9210-X. (In French) The passion...

Crazy Ji: Chinese Religion and Popular Literature. (Book Reviews: China).
June 1, 2001... SHAHAR, MEIR. Crazy Ji: Chinese Religion and Popular Literature. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 48. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 1998. xix + 330 pages. Tables, maps, illustrations, appendices, bibliography,...

Miaozu guge yu Miaozu lishi wenhua yanjiu. (China).
June 1, 2001... WU YIWEN [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] and TAN DONGPING [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. Miaozu guge yu Miaozu lishi wenhua yanjiu [CHINESE CHARACTERS NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] [A Study of the Ancient Songs of...

Spirit of Siberia: Traditional Life, Clothing, and Footwear. (Siberia).
June 1, 2001... OAKES, JILL and RICK RIEWE. Spirit of Siberia: Traditional Life, Clothing, and Footwear. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. viii + 215 pages. Maps, illustrations, line drawings, appendices, glossary, bibliography, index....

Thai Folklore: Insights into Thai Culture. (Thailand).
June 1, 2001... NATHALANG, SIRAPORN T., Editor. Thai Folklore: Insights into Thai Culture. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press, 2000. xviii + 233 pages. Color plates and b/w photographs. Paper 250 baht. ISBN 974-346-046-2. (Distributed by Chulalongkorn...

Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry. (India).
June 1, 2001... TIEKEN, HERMAN. Kavya in South India: Old Tamil Cankam Poetry. Gonda Indological Studies, Volume X. Groningen, The Netherlands: Egbert Forsten Publishing, 2001. 270 pages. Appendices, index of places, bibliography. Paper Dfl 120; ISBN...

Lebensbaum und Kalaschnikow. Krig und Frieden im Spiegel afghanischer Bildteppiche. (Afghanistan).
June 1, 2001... FREMBGEN, JURGEN WASIM and HANS WERNER MOHM. Lebensbaum und Kalaschnikow. Krig und Frieden im Spiegel afghanischer Bildteppiche. Blieskastel, Germany: Gollenstein Verlag, 2000. 151 pages. Color plates, b/w photos, map, English summary,...