The Dance Festivals of the Alaskan Eskimo

The Dance Festivals of the Alaskan Eskimo

This account of the Dance Festivals of the Alaskan Eskimo was written from material gathered in the Bering Strait District during three years residence: two on the Diomede Islands, and one at St. Michael at the mouth of the Yukon River. This paper is based on my observations of the ceremonial dances of the Eskimo of these two localities. [Pg 7] , , , , , long vowels. a, e, i, o, u, short vowels. , as in hat. , as in law. ai, as in aisle. au, as ow in how. h, w, y, semivowels. c, as sh in should. f, a bilabial surd. g, as in get. g, a post-palatal sonant. k, as in pick. l, as in lull. m, as in mum. n, as in nun. ng, as ng in sing. p, as in pipe. q, a post-palatal surd. , a uvular sonant spirant. s, as in sauce. t, an alveolar stop. tc, as ch in chapter. v, a bilabial sonant. z, as in zone. [Pg 9] THE DANCE IN GENERAL The ceremonial dance of the Alaskan Eskimo is a rhythmic pantomimethe story in gesture and song of the lives of the various Arctic animals on which they subsist and from whom they believe their ancient clans are sprung. The dances vary in complexity from the ordinary social dance, in which all share promiscuously and in which individual action is subordinated to rhythm, to the pantomime totem dances performed by especially trained actors who hold their positions from year to year according to artistic merit.[1] Yet even in the totem dances the pantomime is subordinate to the rhythm, or rather superimposed upon it, so that never a gesture or step of the characteristic native time is lost. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 26544
Author: Hawkes, Ernest William
Release Date: Sep 6, 2008
Format: eBook
Language: English