Imdeduya: Variants of a myth of love and hate from the Trobriand Islands of Papua New GuineaThis volume presents five variants of the Imdeduya myth: two versions of the actual myth, a short story, a song and John Kasaipwalova’s English poem “Sail the Midnight Sun”. This poem draws heavily on the Trobriand myth which introduces the protagonists Imdeduya and Yolina and reports on Yolina’s intention to marry the girl so famous for her beauty, on his long journey to Imdeduya’s village and on their tragic love story. The texts are compared with each other with a final focus on the clash between orality and scripturality. Contrary to Kasaipwalova’s fixed poetic text, the oral Imdeduya versions reveal the variability characteristic for oral tradition. This variability opens up questions about traditional stability and destabilization of oral literature, especially questions about the changing role of myth – and magic – in the Trobriand Islanders' society which gets more and more integrated into the by now “literal” nation of Papua New Guinea. |
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
3 Mokopais version of Imdeduya the liliu Imdeduya mokwita the real Imdeduya myth | 25 |
4 Sebwagaus version of the Imdeduya myth documented by Jerry Leach in annotated English glosses as A Kula folktale from Kiriwina | 109 |
5 John Kasaipwalovas poem Sail the Midnight Sun | 135 |
6 How do the five Imdeduya texts differ from each other and what do they share with one another? | 165 |
7 Concluding remarks on magic myths and oral literature | 191 |
Appendix I Metadata for the variants of the myth documented on audiotape tape | 197 |
Appendix IIIa The structure of Mokopeis version of the Imdeduya myth | 203 |
Appendix IIIb Yolinas journey in Mokopeis version of the Imdeduya myth | 219 |
Appendix IVa The simplified structure of Sebwagaus version of the Imdeduya myth | 221 |
Appendix IVb Yolinas journey in Sebwagaus version of the Imdeduya myth | 225 |
Appendix V The structure of John Kasaipwalovas poem Sail the Midnight Sun | 227 |
231 | |
239 | |
Appendix II The structure of Gerubaras Imdeduya tale | 199 |
Other editions - View all
Imdeduya: Variants of a Myth of Love and Hate from the Trobriand Islands of ... Gunter Senft No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
1.Fut-lie.down move ba-loki baskets of betel-nut beach beautiful body-my bogwa canoe chief's daughter coconuts continual paddling day cries it cries deep desire drum eee eee eh eh Episode Eyam father Fergusson Island Gerubara's girls singing Greg Murphy Gumalele i-seki Im's Imde Imde Imdeduyo Imdedu Imdeduya myth Imdeduya song Imdeduyo Imde Imdeduyo Imdeduyo Imdeduyo intones and sings John Kasaipwalova journey Kaduwaga kalibom Kava Kavataria Keli kesai kibwayo Kilivila Kiriwina Kiriwina Island Kitava kukwanebu Kula kweduya land Leach lover magic Malinowski marry Midnight Sun milamala song mind to sail Mokopai's Mokopei Obulaku Omyuva paddle I paddle Papua New Guinea patrilocal residence poem punts Rogayeva sago Sail the Midnight sail to Myuwa Sebwagau's Senft Sinaketa singing his song sings his Imdeduya stanza stay Subevent texts tired of body Trobriand Islanders Tuma Tutauna Vakuta village and sleep village song vovo-gu Woodlark Island wosi Yegu Yolina