Wednesday 9 March 2011

Tibetan Folk Talkes: by Frederick and Aubry Hyde-Chambers

Jack POT!  I have discovered an anthology of Tibetan folktales!  I am so excited!

This work is taken from the ancient oral tradition and is packed with imagination, color, and wisdom-filled stories that are for all people of all ages.  It includes the Tibetan creation myth (which would be really interesting to read all the way through), and also some of the famous Jataka tales and stories form the former lives of the Buddha.  Of course, the most popular being the one most closely associated with Tibet, the great epic of King Gesar of Ling, "the warrior who became a national hero."  I have only had time to skim so far, but I can tell it is going to be a great read.

It might not seem directly applicable to the literature I have been collecting, but if stories do make up our identity (the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves), then wouldn't these traditional tales be rather revealing about the Tibetan people, at least in some degree?  I tend to believe so.

 This discovery got me thinking about my own project and my own paradigm of cautionary tales, etc.  The Brothers Grimm for example.  When I went rock climbing with a friend last week she was telling me that these brothers got their stories from traveling all over the world and documenting their stories.  I have got to look more into this, because I feel like I am attempting this in some degree (except no the world, and not necessarily mythical stories, but rather the lived experience).  Anyways, I think I found my next source for next week. :)

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