Background of the Study

11

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

As a part of literary work, folklore has its own characteristics. While other works such as novels and poems are mostly enjoyed in the form of writings, folklore was firstly enjoyed by listening to it. Long times ago where traditional people lived without knowing how to write and read, they expressed their life experiences by creating stories. This kind of literature was spread by transmitting it through words of mouth. And it kept spreading to the next generations until the way of writing was developed. Seeing the history above, Jan Harold Brunvard defines folklore in the statement below: “Folklore comprises the unrecorded traditions of a people, it includes both the form and content of these traditions and their style or technique of communication from person to person.” 1 There are also other characteristics that folklore has as a literary work. Besides expressing life experiences of traditional people, folklore is an anonymous work that always has a moral message inside it. The combination of life experiences from traditional people and the moral message in folklore eventually form a belief that the existence itself is still doubted up to now. These traditional people primitive were not in the process of having intelligence as what modern people have today. Their closest relationship as human beings at that time was into nature. Therefore, they believed that nature had a very strong power 1 Jan Harold Brunvard, The Study of American Folklore New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., 1978, p.1. 12 in life and if they did not get along with the nature well enough, they would be hurt. In this case, this kind of belief emerged as a myth. From many understandings that put myth into definitions, one of the examples can be used as a suitable explanation of myth is that myth defined as the simplest thought of human effort in understanding the cosmos and the nature. According to Beth in Zeffry’s book; Manusia, Mitos dan Mitologi, there is an explanation about life, death and Gods are considered as supernatural things at certain age in the myth. 2 Folklore was born at the time where traditional people lived with lack of knowledge in order to understand the world and all the things inside it including how the nature worked. Therefore, it is definitely correct that myth emerges as the reflection of traditional people thought. The myth in folklore can be seen from the events inside the story that show the relationship between man and nature. In this case, traditional people consider myth as one of the rules of living. The indigenous people of Alaska are one of the examples of people who believe numerous taboo myths related between the life of human beings and nature. These myths are clearly seen from their several folklores. Alaska people believed that there would always be consequences for people violating the land and nature. 3 Like most Native American Indian people, Alaska people have traditionally regarded the land as both provider and protector. To them, the land 2 Zeffry, Manusia, Mitos dan Mitologi Jakarta: University of Indonesia Press, 1998, p. 4. 3 Bachrudin Musthafa, Teori dan Praktik Sastra-Dalam Penelitian dan Pengajaran Jakarta: PT. Cahaya Insan Sejahtera, 2008, p.118. 13 and its resources are sacred and the connection between human actions and the earth’s welfare is clear. For a better understanding, there are five folklores can be taken as examples to see how the traditional people of Alaska think about man and nature. They are The Ptarmigan Story, The Squirrel Shaman, How Selfishness was Rewarded, Crow Brings the Daylight and The Meeting of the Wild Animals. In brief, each story offers different conflicts and resolutions. However, it all depends on how the man as character in the story treats the nature first. Whether it is in good or bad manner, the nature has its own way to react differently. This kind of variation makes the stories become more interesting to read and enrich the way of thinking for people who read them. The Ptarmigan Story tells how nature reacts when human beings do not appreciate its existence. Alaska people believe that nature should be treated well because nature is essential for their living. They need fur from animals to warm them up; they also need meat from animals to fulfill their hunger. Therefore, fathers in every generation have an obligation to tell their sons the rules for hunting animals. There are two characters that disobey the rule in this story. And it can be seen how these characters pay for what they have done to nature the ptarmigan. A shaman 4 can not even help to fix the situation. Death is a punishment in this story. 4 Based on Viola Wolcott’s article available on http:www.shamanicjourney.comarticle5956what-is-a-shaman: The title “shaman” originated from the Tungas extinct Ural-Altaic language of Siberia where the term shaman eventually came to be applied to all medicine men and women of indigenous cultures. Shamans denote indigenous healers, visionaries one who sees, spiritual leaders, etc. they are people who set about to put things right. 14 There is the same rule of hunting animals but different consequence that the characters get in the story of The Squirrel Shaman. From three of young brothers who love to hunt and kill squirrels, there is one who gets the chance to see how animals feel towards this human cruel action. This character finds out that animals live like people where they have family, take care of their family and feel lost when their family members die. Nature that is represented by animals squirrels here offers a negotiation for human to be a great shaman in order to get their squirrel family come back to life. Since being a shaman was an honor with the highest position of human being, the character thinks the negotiation as something useful to pay for the guilt. In the end, the life of squirrels and the life of human beings become full of harmony in a very unique way to be understood. On the other hand, the story of How Selfishness was Rewarded tells a girl who acts very selfish. While her members of family are starving in the summer where food are hard to find and hunt always results in a disappointment, this girl uses a magic spell every night to collect fish. However, she never shares her satisfaction over the hunger that her family feels each day. Eventually, her shameful behavior is discovered and then she runs into the woods for avoiding her husband who is possibly mad at her. She finally escapes from him, but suddenly she feels something strange happens all over her body. The spell she has been using to collect fish selfishly now turns against her in punishment. She is transformed into an owl. It is a tragic story because it turns out that her husband plans to treat her gently instead of yelling at her over her shameful selfishness. 15 The next story is Crow Brings the Daylight. It tells about Inuit 5 people who beg to the crow for bringing daylight from the south. These people live in darkness for a very long time where hoping the sky turns into bright becomes very impossible. The crow itself is not so sure about the plan for helping those people because it is too old to do that. However, the pleadings of the people make the crow reconsider the plan again. After facing a difficult and a very long journey, the crow is succeeded bringing the daylight and the Inuit people are very happy. Even though the daylight only last for the next six months, the people are very thankful to the crow. The last story is a very unique one. It is The Meeting of the Wild Animals. It tells where the large animals hope for the best in life avoiding the Tsimshian 6 people. They suggest for Him Who Made Us to give the winter colder than before so hunters keep staying in their house. However, the small animals deny the suggestion because they would be died in freeze, while the large animals like Grizzly bear have a thick fur for getting warm. The large animals ignore the denial and continue for a colder winter. Then, the small animals like porcupine dare them if the winter becomes colder, those large animals would die sooner because plants would be dead and they will have no food. The small animals still could get food inside the trees. The porcupine warns and tries to convince all the animals not to control the nature Him Who Made Us as their wish, everything has its own 5 According to ‘Amazing Native American History’, Inuit people are defined as the natives peoples of the Arctic land and they are better known by the name “Eskimo”, a mispronunciation of an Algonquian word meaning “eaters of raw meat”. They, however, prefer the term “Inuit”, which means “people” in their own language. 6 Tsimshian people are believed as the cleverest and the strongest of all human kind. They were good hunters and successfully caught many animals. 16 portion and in the right order. Since then, porcupine is well-known as a very wise animal. All of these folklores describe how indigenous people of Alaska believe the power of nature and turn it into a taboo myth. Myths that basically create based on their traditional life experiences and teach them how to appreciate nature. Death could be the end for characters in the stories as a punishment after mistreating nature, but nature could also react in other ways to them as different consequences. From this understanding, the writer realizes how folklore and its uniqueness is an extraordinary ancient work that offers wisdom as a way of learning in life between human beings and the environment. Considering all of the things mentioned above, the writer decides to use these five folklores of Alaska as the object analysis for her research. She is interested in the topic of mythological perspective for analyzing the folklores. Therefore, Mythological Perspective on Five Alaska Folklores is chosen as the title for her research.

B. Focus of the Study