Nine Visits to the Mythworld: Told by Ghandl of the Qayahl Llaanas

by Ghandl of the Qayahl Llaanas, Robert Bringhurst (Translator)

In the Fall of 1900, a young American anthropologist named John Swanton arrived in the Haida country, on the Northwest Coast of North America, intending to learn everything he could about Haida mythology. He spent the next ten months phonetically transcribing several thousand pages of myths, stories, histories and songs in the Haida language. Swanton met a number of fine mythtellers during his year in the Haida country. Each had his own style and his own repertoire. Two of them—a blind man in his fifties by the name of Ghandl, and a septuagenarian named Skaay—were artists of extraordinary stature, revered in their own communities and admired ever since by the few specialists aware of their great legacy. Nine Visits to the Mythworld includes all the finest works of one of these master mythtellers. In November 1900, when Ghandl dictated these nine stories, the Haida world lay in near ruins. Wave upon wave of smallpox and other diseases, rapacious commercial exploitation by fur traders, whalers and miners, and relentless missionization by the church had taken a huge toll on Haida culture. Yet in the blind poet’s mind, the great tradition lived, and in his voice it comes alive. Robert Bringhurst’s eloquent and vivid translations of these works are supplemented by explanatory notes that supply the needed background information.

Genres: Indigenous, Poetry

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

Reviews

[Keith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I've been interested for years in Haida culture (who could not be once in the presence of those poles, no matter where one finds them!), but I came to this book through Robert Bringhurst. I know and love his poetry. I know the work he has done with Haida sculptor Bill Reid, and have a lovely book they did together of children's stories. And I knew of his long work in Haida Gwaii with the people and with the language.

So even though I have no access to the original, I trust these in a way I have never really been able to trust other things like this (say those early Howard Norman "versions"). Although Bringhurst doesn't give much critical apparatus here (apparently this is only the second of three volumes he did on this work), he gives just enough to point out the structure of the stories/poems. It becomes clear that Ghandl made some significant and difficult artistic choices while making these stories out of the material he received from his culture. Bringhurst's point that these are classic North American epics that deserve a heightened place in the literature of the continent is well taken and proven by this collection.

But, best of all, when I would read these late at night and start drifting off with the book in my lap, I would find myself in this language of repetition, among the orcas and the eagles and the clams, drifting on that cold ocean with the spruce trees off on the shore. It was a magical reading experience. I think it might have been something like, or a small and faint image of, the experience the original listeners might have had on Haida Gwaii. How often do you get a chance like that?!!

[Léa Taranto · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I appreciated that this book had much less background information but still provided necessary appendixes, several of the myths featured in this book were already shared in the previous volume. As a stand alone book, this is excellent. I just wish there was more variety. Nevertheless, Ghandl's unique voice shines through the muddled lens of the English language.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

A difficult read, but even if I couldn't understand these stories like the Haida people did/do, I could at least sense the importance in each word. The introduction is helpful as it provides context for how the stories were translated as well as the Haida people's history, Ghandl's biography and role as a storyteller, and some cultural information that proves useful when reading.

[flightofbirds]

DNF given https://www.circuitmagazine.org/dossi... and https://www.google.com/books/edition/...

Bringhurst appears to have translated this without permission from the Haida Nation.

[Tao Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool to learn that the Haida oral tradition lives on now in the English language!

[Ronald Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haida myths as told by the storyteller Ghandl. I learned of this book through a list of Bringhurst's works published in his book A Story as Sharp as a Knife: The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World, which I read in April 2004. This was printed as a sequel to Story and contained a purer presentation of the stories themselves. Some of the background information was repeated, but this served as a convenient refresher of things I learned from the first book. This one ended with lighter, more humorous stories which actually made me chuckle a few times.

[Michael Muller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In-depth presentation of classical Haida literature by selected authors, excellently translated according to Bringhurst's insights and sensitivities.

[Elizabeth]

I agree with Bringhurst: students of literature have neglected the epic tradition that has thrived on our continent. Reading these Haida poems is illuminating, enriching, exciting.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. The stories themselves are incredible, the translation is thrilling, and the translator's introduction is stunning. I've never read anything else like this.