Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guishou, China
Mark Bender, Associate Professor, DEALL
Time and Place
Friday, November 17th3:30-5:30
Mendenhall Laboratory 0131
Summary of Talk:
Butterfly Mother: Miao (Hmong) Creation Epics from Guizhou, China was recently published by Hackett Publishing Company. The translation is based on a cycle of epic narratives from the Miao (Hmong) ethnic group of southwest China. The epics describe the creation of the earth and sky, the celestial bodies, forests and creatures, and finally, humans. Important in the creation of humans is a mythical butterfly named Butterfly Mother (Mais Bangx). The translator, Associate Professor, DEALL, Mark Bender will discuss aspects of what Lauri Honko has called the "process of textualization" of the narratives, which were originally performed antiphonally by pairs of singers in a sort of song competition. Professor Bender will briefly introduce the epics and singing style, then discuss in detail how he worked with the original collectors and Hackett Publishing to create a print version in English. This talk will be a follow up to the recent visit of Miao public folklorists, Wu Yifang, and the recent DEALL Graduate workshop on publishing.
Please contact Etsuyo Yuasa (yuasa.1@osu.edu) or Matthew Chudnow (chudnow.1@osu.edu) for further information regarding the DEALL Speaker Series.
