Zuni Folktales · Chapter
Translator's Introduction explained
The translator explains his decision to withhold Zuni folklore for a complete collection with proper context, and recounts a conversation with Waíhusiwa, his chief storyteller, who initially resists telling another tale but is persuaded by
What happens
The translator explains his decision to withhold Zuni folklore for a complete collection with proper context, and recounts a conversation with Waíhusiwa, his chief storyteller, who initially resists telling another tale but is persuaded by Pálowahtiwa to share a story about the Underworld.
Themes in this chapter
Folklore vs. Science
The translator balances the preservation of Zuni folklore with scientific ethnographic methods, referencing his work for the Bureau of American Ethnology.
Characters to notice
- Waíhusiwa
The chief storyteller of the Zuni priestly kin, who has told over fifty folk tales and is asked for one more story.
- Mr. Cushing
The translator and collector of Zuni folklore, who requests the story and provides the introduction.
Key passages
“Heretofore I have withheld from publication such single examples of Zuni folklore as the following, in order that the completer series might be brought forth in the form of an unbroken collection, with ample introductory as well as supplementary chapters, essential to the proper understanding by ourselves of the many distinctively Zuni meanings and conceptions involved in the various allusions with which any one of them teems.”
The translator has delayed publishing individual Zuni folk tales so that they can appear together as a complete collection with thorough introductory and supplementary chapters, which are necessary for readers to grasp the uniquely Zuni meanings and ideas behind the many references in each story.
Explains the rationale for withholding the tales until a full collection can be presented with proper context.
“Now, therefore, my word-pouch is as empty as the food-pack of a lost hunter, and—”
Waíhusiwa claims he has no more stories to tell, comparing his exhausted repertoire to a lost hunter's empty food supply.
A metaphorical expression of having nothing left to share, used to resist telling another tale.