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result(s) for
"Crocodiles Folklore."
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Mrs. Chicken and the hungry crocodile
When a crocodile captures Mrs. Chicken and takes her to an island to fatten her up, clever Mrs. Chicken claims that she can prove they are sisters and that, therefore, the crocodile shouldn't eat her.
Book
Island Rivers
Anthropologists have written a great deal about the coastal adaptations and seafaring traditions of Pacific Islanders, but have had much less to say about the significance of rivers for Pacific island culture, livelihood and identity. The authors of this collection seek to fill that gap in the ethnographic record by drawing attention to the deep historical attachments of island communities to rivers, and the ways in which those attachments are changing in response to various forms of economic development and social change. In addition to making a unique contribution to Pacific island ethnography, the authors of this volume speak to a global set of issues of immense importance to a world in which water scarcity, conflict, pollution and the degradation of riparian environments afflict growing numbers of people. Several authors take a political ecology approach to their topic, but the emphasis here is less on hydro-politics than on the cultural meaning of rivers to the communities we describe. How has the cultural significance of rivers shifted as a result of colonisation, development and nation-building? How do people whose identities are fundamentally rooted in their relationship to a particular river renegotiate that relationship when the river is dammed to generate hydro-power or polluted by mining activities? How do blockages in the flow of rivers and underground springs interrupt the intergenerational transmission of local ecological knowledge and hence the ability of local communities to construct collective identities rooted in a sense of place?
eBook
Party croc! : a folktale from Zimbabwe
\"In this retelling of a Shona folktale from Zimbabwe, a girl promises a crocodile he can come to a party in exchange for a favor, but since crocodiles aren't allowed in the village, she doesn't expect she'll have to keep the promise\"-- Provided by publisher.
Book
The Poetics of the Flute: Fading Imagery in a Sepik Society
Male initiation rituals used to be of central importance for the Sepik River societies of Papua New Guinea. Among the Karawari-speaking Ambonwari they were characterized by two idiosyncratic song-dances: one associated with the spirit-crocodiles and the other with the bamboo flutes. Hence, the songs of the flute and crocodile were the most secret songs known only to a small number of 'big men'. Since the Catholic charismatic movement entered the village at the end of 1994, all previously important rituals were slowly abandoned and so were the song-dances of the crocodile and flute. By analysing various transpositions of meanings in the song of the flute one can detect vanishing cultural values and fading social relationships that these verses were meant to sustain.
Journal Article
“Crocodiles are the Souls of the Community” An Analysis of Human-Animal Relations in Northwestern Benin and its Ontological Implications
In this thesis I explore human-animal relations amongst the Bebelibe of the Commune of Cobly, in the northwest of the Republic of Benin, West Africa, with a focus on how they relate to their tikedimɔmɔnte (true totem(s), literally “interdict(s)-true”). I start with an historical review of totemism, the debates it generated and how these contributed to the recent ontological turn in anthropology. I then explore the theoretical ideas I use for my analysis, which include “presencing” and the “ontological penumbra” (J. Merz 2017b; J. Merz and S. Merz 2017). Presencing builds on semiotics by explaining how people make meaning present through their engagement in and with the world around them, whilst ontological penumbras are the shadowy spaces of limbo that affect our whole being and that people need to negotiate as part of making sense of their engagement with the world. As part of these theoretical frameworks, I examine the “onton”, as introduced by Johannes Merz (2017b). Ontons are experiential, agentive and relational entities that are the result of presencing processes. Ontons, however, cannot be divided into representations (signifiers) and represented (signified) as signs can. An engagement in the world between different entities in an ontonic and thus nonrepresentational sense necessitates my introducing further notions including shared “ontonity” (instead of shared humanity) and “ontonhood” (rather than personhood). I demonstrate how these theoretical ideas work with reference to human-animal relations primarily amongst the Bebelibe in the Commune of Cobly. In order to do this, I provide an in-depth, “thick description” (Geertz 1973) ethnography that explores how people perceive and relate to animals through hunting, domestication, attitudes to eating meat, animal commodification, reincarnation, shapeshifting and totemism. As part of my analysis I also examine the impact of Christianity on human-animal relations by exploring several incidents involving Christians and their tikedimɔmɔnte.
Dissertation
As long as there are crocodiles
Some animals have always fascinated mankind for their mystery and power. Crocodiles, snakes and sharks are feared as enemies in some cultures and admired as super beings in others. Whether part of our nightmares or greatest hopes, this fascination has pushed man to want to confront these great animals and has given birth to surprising legends and beliefs that still haunt us today. Impressive rituals, ceremonies and combat scenes are gathered into six incredible stories that explain the bond between tribal animals and human kind and why they are so present in our imaginations.
Streaming Video
Zoo volunteers share amazing animal tales
From how a kangaroo got its pouch to how the tiger got its stripes, children heard folk tales and learned interesting facts about animals around the world, as told by Rolling Hills Zoo volunteers at the Clay Center Library's \"One World, Many Animals\" program Tuesday. The animal is black on top, to protect from birds from attacking from above, and white on bottom, to protect from predators attacking from below, like snakes.
Newsletter
MONSTER FROM THE CRETACEOUS LAGOON
Crabs scuttle along a tidal flat near the entrance to a great braided river system that is flowing out to sea on the north coast of Africa, 95 million years ago. Apart from the insistent buzz of insects, all seems quiet along the banks, as animals rest in the shade to escape the heat of the midday sun. A crocodile the length of a bus is sleeping, its tail poking out from vegetation. But things are not as tranquil below the surface of the wide, slow-moving river channel. A fizz of bubbles hints at the presence of giant, car-sized coelacanths
Book Chapter