Re: Looking for Native American Proverbs

pbakker@alf.let.uva.nl
Tue, 3 Jan 1995 10:20:00 +0100


Years ago I read someplace that the absence of proverbs is some kind of
distinguishing feature for all of the cultures of he Americas. At first it
surprised me, but the more I have been thinking about it and asking around,
the more it seems to be true. In the cultures I am mostly familiar with
(subarctic Algonquians) there are no proverbs of any significance and I
could philosophize on their absence, but I will not do. I am curious to
hear about the results of this query.
Peter Bakker (pbakker@alf.let.uva.nl)

[ I wonder whether this is an appropriate topic for the NAT-LANG list.
(Not being a linguist, I can't really offer an educated opinion
myself.) As with the previous article on this topic, I'm sending a
copy to the NATIVE-L list, where it will get a wider reading and seems
more appropriate. I can imagine that this is a topic that might also
be appropriate for discussion on the NATCHAT list (discussion is dis-
allowed on NATIVE-L). I'd be curious to hear what anyone might have
to say on the subject of the best forum for this topic. Thanks.

--Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ]