Cultural Learning - Tumblr Posts
To clarify, the posts I put up here involving the culture and/or the language usage never come without a purpose or translations below (especially in the latter case). I may use the tongue in occasional posts & even in the hashtags combined with other elements, but it remains in conscious efforts to help others learn about the culture & history as well hopefully to reach out to the titular people & others regardless to better understand the cultures through time & space. Any hashtags you see here in the language will of course include a translation in similar hopes of reaching out. Iyayraykere.
Outsiders are not not saving a language by learning it.
While I’m personally grateful services like Tribalingual exist, creating some academic access to Indigenous languages, particularly for Indigenous diaspora (if they can afford it), I’m extremely dubious of the notion that a outsiders learning an Indigenous language is somehow “saving” it. There was a testimonial from some white American girl learning Ainu itak, and she spoke of it as if she were collecting some rare Pokemon card before it went out of print or something, framing it in typical dying Native rhetoric. What is she going to do with Ainu itak, except as some obscure lingual trophy?
If you want to save a language, save the people.
Language means nothing without history and culture breathing life into it, and in turn we are disconnected from our history and ancestors without it. Support Indigenous quality of life, ACCESS to quality education, quality health services (mental and physical), land and subsistence rights, CLEAN DRINKING WATER, advocate against police brutality and state violence, DEMAND ACTION FOR MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS WOMEN.
Damn, if you really want to “save the language” pay for an Indigenous person’s classes for them to reconnect to their mother tongues. I’m not saying outsiders shouldn’t learn languages they’re invited to learn, but don’t pretend like you learning conversational Ainu itak is saving it from extinction.
Here’s some resources to go to for more info for us all to learn from.
EN language Ainu Museum Sites
Hokkaido Museum
Sapporo Pirka Kotan
Akanko Ainu Kotan
Nibutani Ainu Culture Museum
Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, formerly the Shiraoi Porotokotan
Title recommendations for outside of Korea, but still in Asia
Does anybody here know of a movie, drama, manhwa or aeni series themed from any of Jejuan or nearby island cultures? I don't mean those with scenes in Jeju or chapters in it, & I know some like 'Our Blues!' is set in a part of it off the shore of Jeju & nearby parts. Even still, would anyone happen to know of any series set in Jeju or nearby entirely? We should like to promote the cultural learning through pop media, & to help Pukjeju take pride in the culture? We know that would be a double-edged sword, but look at how Golden Kamuy (an anime & manga based on the Ainu culture) has been doing.
"In the remote Arctic almost 30 years ago, a group of Inuit middle school students and their teacher invented the Western Hemisphere’s first new number system in more than a century. The “Kaktovik numerals,” named after the Alaskan village where they were created, looked utterly different from decimal system numerals and functioned differently, too. But they were uniquely suited for quick, visual arithmetic using the traditional Inuit oral counting system, and they swiftly spread throughout the region. Now, with support from Silicon Valley, they will soon be available on smartphones and computers—creating a bridge for the Kaktovik numerals to cross into the digital realm.
Today’s numerical world is dominated by the Hindu-Arabic decimal system. This system, adopted by almost every society, is what many people think of as “numbers”—values expressed in a written form using the digits 0 through 9. But meaningful alternatives exist, and they are as varied as the cultures they belong to.
The Alaskan Inuit language, known as Iñupiaq, uses an oral counting system built around the human body. Quantities are first described in groups of five, 10, and 15 and then in sets of 20. The system “is really the count of your hands and the count of your toes,” says Nuluqutaaq."
Read the full piece here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-number-system-invented-by-inuit-schoolchildren-will-make-its-silicon-valley-debut/
@tree-on-the-hill using this as a chance to talk about powwow etiquette in general, hopefully some of this is helpful!
so big things i think of of the top of my head that may or may not be obvious:
during grand entry (especially flag songs/indian national anthem) if you can stand, stand up. if you are wearing a hat or a non religious head covering remove it if possible during grand entry
do not cross or enter the arbor after it has been blessed. the arbor is the clear area where people will be dancing. the only time to enter the arbor is during time when guests are invited (intertribal, some honoring songs, giveaways) usually this is announced by the MC
honor the protocol of whoever’s land you are on, I have lived on salish and the plateau tribes land most of my life so i am not the best guide on this specifically.
at a lot of native events people will save there spot by putting down a blanket(or shawl), so if you see a blanket with no person around it likely belongs to someone who is either dancing or getting food, give it the same space you would if the person it belongs to was there.
seats nearest the dancing circle are reserved for dancers + their families with or without blankets.
what the dancers wear is REGALIA not costumes
do not take photos of the dancers when they aren’t dancing without permission. photos or videos should not be taken during veterans songs, flag songs, honoring songs, prayer songs, dancer initiation, or any time announced by the MC.
if you find a lost feather DO NOT TOUCH!! find someone working the event or head man or head woman dancer, or notify someone at the MC booth immediately. additionally dont touch any regalia or dancers. also probably obvious but something ive seen visitors do.
trying to keep your thoughts as positive as possible especially when you are at powwow is a great extra step, a lot of nations (including mine) have beliefs where the energy of how you feel and think can be passed to others through your physical energy, especially thru contact with hands.
no alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, vaping.
in general be respectful and kind, elders are viewed as very important in most native nations, so things like making sure you arent cutting off an elder are important but also seem like general life rules to me.
luckily a lot of MCs tend to announce a lot of these but its good to know what to expect.
Honestly, so are other shellfish & most seafood in general. Speaking of sea bugs, one should at least consider the possibility of using land & sky bugs even in food & not continuing to overlook such a thing unless one is actually allergic to or have religious rules and/or taboos against eating them. Not only can they be quite sustainable to harvest as they often don't take much in the way of resources, they can be really versatile such as in cricket flour & fried cicadas (which apparently taste somewhat like fried oysters). Don't be so close minded as to limit what's edible to your own experiences or those around you uses, the question of what's edible or can be used relates to any & all things, bugs & usually thrown away stuff included.
Please know that I obviously don't endorse using endangered species, but would strongly suggest finding ways to harvest & use the plants in a root to leaf way akin to those of animals in a nose to tail way, maxing out their uses in the process (the same goes for other life forms including fungi, mycelium to cap). Don't chase people out of their eating & using habits & make assumptions from them, take the time to get to know them when possible & let a respectful exchange be made easier.
shrimps is bugs
I hope to give a little bit about some of their details not covered inside here soon.
Lower Sepik Mask Papua New Guinea
Similar in some ways to the Chinese dragon some masks were danced by a group of dancers in a choreographed display of tribal pride
Let's not forget oak trees & acorn kinds, which are just as important & versatile while having coexisted with the others above. Let's bring back the chestnut kinds for more uses even beyond food & drink.
I lent my mom a book before I read it and apparently right at the beginning they tell a true story about all our chestnut trees dying and it made my mother SO DEPRESSED that she couldn't sleep and now she's been researching chestnut trees for the past half hour looking sick