Publisher's Synopsis
In this first English-language collection of Tikigaq myths and oral histories, storyteller Asatchaq Jimmie Killigivuk recounts twenty-four tales of legendary and historic shamans.
When poet-anthropologist Tom Lowenstein began recording his stories in 1975, Asatchaq was the oldest Tikigaq resident and the community's most authoritative storyteller. Asatchaq saw his work with Lowenstein as a communal obligation to preserve these stories for members of the new generation who were growing up as modern Americans unaware of Tikigaq history.
From the Tikigaq creation myth to the oral history of a shaman's final renunciation of his practice and Christian baptism, these stories will become essential to the growing canon of native North American literature.
When poet-anthropologist Tom Lowenstein began recording his stories in 1975, Asatchaq was the oldest Tikigaq resident and the community's most authoritative storyteller. Asatchaq saw his work with Lowenstein as a communal obligation to preserve these stories for members of the new generation who were growing up as modern Americans unaware of Tikigaq history.
From the Tikigaq creation myth to the oral history of a shaman's final renunciation of his practice and Christian baptism, these stories will become essential to the growing canon of native North American literature.
