Post by Bill Jancewicz on May 13, 2015 4:11:48 GMT
Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories
This set of placemarks are all referenced in the collection of Naskapi stories and legends entitled "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories". These are locations in Naskapi traditional territory in Northern Quebec that have been documented by the Naskapi Development Corporation's Translation and Linguistics Services Department, which is engaged in developing quality Naskapi language materials for the use and benefit of the Naskapi community.
The placemarks in this posting use the traditional names of the places in the Naskapi language, and most are also transcribed in Canadian syllabics, which is the writing system used by the Naskapi people.
The book, "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories" features Naskapi stories written in the Naskapi language as told by elder John Peastitute. It also contains an English literary translation, analysis, background and other linguistic and cultural details about the Naskapi people.
Peastitute, John. 2014. "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories". Kawawachikamach, Quebec. Naskapi Development Corporation.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions to improve this thread.
Bill Jancewicz
The Naskapi Âchân stories describe a fearsome monster, a cannibal-giant. The accounts in this book are a collection of stories of encounters and interactions with these creatures. The first five are tipâchimûna stories which refers to reported accounts that the storyteller heard and re-tells for his audience: Kinuwapinuw’s story of the Sitting Âchân (story 32), Encounters with Âchân (story 11) and Âchân is killed in the Sea (story 10) are these types of retellings. Indeed, the stories Footprints of Âchân (story 30) and the Commentary on Shamans fighting each other (story 10a) are based on the storyteller’s own experience.
The last story in this collection is an âtiyûhkin, that is, a traditional legend or myth. It’s essentially the tale of The Two Bear Cubs (story 6), but Âchân makes a significant appearance in the first half of the story, where we find a wonderful example of thematic repetition storytelling as Âchân pursues the Bear Cubs past Misichiyâskw (Giant Seagull), Mwâkw (Loon), Mistikâkw (Giant Porcupine) and finally some Iyuch (people), who look after and defend the Bear Cubs as their own Umusumuwâwa (Grandfather) and Uhkumuwâwa (Grandmother).
An important feature of John Peastitute’s rendition of the tipâchimûna in this book is his inclusion of Naskapi place names that refer to actual geographic features that provide a physical setting for the events in the stories. The Naskapi Toponymy Project provided the data and locations for the maps that were especially drawn for this edition, in the book on pages 20-21 (maps in Naskapi) and 80-81 (maps in English).
Here is an excerpt from the English translation of the story, "Encounters with Âchân", which refers to three of the placemarks.
line 77 The man who had been in the forest said to his companions, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be fearful of what might happen.”
line 78 They continued on their way, and must have portaged around Kischâkus, Kischâkw and Minituw.
Line 78 is footnoted in the book as follows:
Kischâkus ‘little steep waterfall’ (Chute de la Pyrite / Pyrite Falls: 12 meter drop, 57° 25′ 55.13″ N / 69° 14′ 44.38″ W). Kischâkw ‘steep waterfall’ sometimes referred to as Misti-kischâkw ‘big steep waterfall’ (Chute du Calcaire / Limestone Falls: 22 meter drop, 57° 28′ 44.40″ N / 69° 18′ 30.64″ W). Minituw [pâustikw] ‘spirit rapids’ (Manitou Gorge rapids and portage: 7 meter drop over 4.5 km, 57° 32′ 57.29″ N / 69° 26′ 37.45″ W). See maps on pages 21 and 81.
There is also a Google Maps version of the set of placemarks:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1F0Yrf-z9hZY0A9oEK9DCidZhwJmASu9v&usp=sharing
Audio versions of the stories can be found here:
yourlisten.com/NDevCorp
This set of placemarks are all referenced in the collection of Naskapi stories and legends entitled "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories". These are locations in Naskapi traditional territory in Northern Quebec that have been documented by the Naskapi Development Corporation's Translation and Linguistics Services Department, which is engaged in developing quality Naskapi language materials for the use and benefit of the Naskapi community.
The placemarks in this posting use the traditional names of the places in the Naskapi language, and most are also transcribed in Canadian syllabics, which is the writing system used by the Naskapi people.
The book, "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories" features Naskapi stories written in the Naskapi language as told by elder John Peastitute. It also contains an English literary translation, analysis, background and other linguistic and cultural details about the Naskapi people.
Peastitute, John. 2014. "Achan: Naskapi Giant Stories". Kawawachikamach, Quebec. Naskapi Development Corporation.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions to improve this thread.
Bill Jancewicz
The Naskapi Âchân stories describe a fearsome monster, a cannibal-giant. The accounts in this book are a collection of stories of encounters and interactions with these creatures. The first five are tipâchimûna stories which refers to reported accounts that the storyteller heard and re-tells for his audience: Kinuwapinuw’s story of the Sitting Âchân (story 32), Encounters with Âchân (story 11) and Âchân is killed in the Sea (story 10) are these types of retellings. Indeed, the stories Footprints of Âchân (story 30) and the Commentary on Shamans fighting each other (story 10a) are based on the storyteller’s own experience.
The last story in this collection is an âtiyûhkin, that is, a traditional legend or myth. It’s essentially the tale of The Two Bear Cubs (story 6), but Âchân makes a significant appearance in the first half of the story, where we find a wonderful example of thematic repetition storytelling as Âchân pursues the Bear Cubs past Misichiyâskw (Giant Seagull), Mwâkw (Loon), Mistikâkw (Giant Porcupine) and finally some Iyuch (people), who look after and defend the Bear Cubs as their own Umusumuwâwa (Grandfather) and Uhkumuwâwa (Grandmother).
An important feature of John Peastitute’s rendition of the tipâchimûna in this book is his inclusion of Naskapi place names that refer to actual geographic features that provide a physical setting for the events in the stories. The Naskapi Toponymy Project provided the data and locations for the maps that were especially drawn for this edition, in the book on pages 20-21 (maps in Naskapi) and 80-81 (maps in English).
Here is an excerpt from the English translation of the story, "Encounters with Âchân", which refers to three of the placemarks.
line 77 The man who had been in the forest said to his companions, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be fearful of what might happen.”
line 78 They continued on their way, and must have portaged around Kischâkus, Kischâkw and Minituw.
Line 78 is footnoted in the book as follows:
Kischâkus ‘little steep waterfall’ (Chute de la Pyrite / Pyrite Falls: 12 meter drop, 57° 25′ 55.13″ N / 69° 14′ 44.38″ W). Kischâkw ‘steep waterfall’ sometimes referred to as Misti-kischâkw ‘big steep waterfall’ (Chute du Calcaire / Limestone Falls: 22 meter drop, 57° 28′ 44.40″ N / 69° 18′ 30.64″ W). Minituw [pâustikw] ‘spirit rapids’ (Manitou Gorge rapids and portage: 7 meter drop over 4.5 km, 57° 32′ 57.29″ N / 69° 26′ 37.45″ W). See maps on pages 21 and 81.
There is also a Google Maps version of the set of placemarks:
www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1F0Yrf-z9hZY0A9oEK9DCidZhwJmASu9v&usp=sharing
Audio versions of the stories can be found here:
yourlisten.com/NDevCorp
