Amy Morrison ENG 231-2W1 Tammy Frailly August 21, 2013 Short Response for The Iroquois Creation

Story Often when texts are translated from one language to another, they lose that elusive something that makes them relevant. Translating the traditionally oral recitation of The Iroquois Creation Story is not any different. When David Cusick translated the native story into English, it seems that some aspects of the story lose that myth like quality and become absolutes. For example, the twins, Enigoro is described as being good while his brother Enigonhahetgeia is described as bad (Cusick 24). These traits are followed throughout the remainder of the story and regardless of what either of the brothers does; they never deviate from their previous good or bad status. Despite the loss of emotion in the translation, the facts or bones of the story remain unchanged. So for all intents and purposes it is still an Iroquoian creation text. While the meaning of the text is mainly unchanged by the translation, the structure of the Anglicized version seems to have lost some of the flow of a traditional Native American story. The Norton Anthology of American Literature describes the oral tradition of Native Americans to be dramatic events in time (Baym & Levine 8). A performance is hard to translate onto paper, and can be even harder for the reader to envision. Losing that essential personal interaction with the storyteller causes the emotion of the story to be lost in the transcribing. When this text is read by someone that hasnt heard the story before, such as a nonIndian, it could seem less interesting or too exacting. It lacks the spirit of the Native American oral tradition. The Norton Anthology of American Literature describes the speakers ability to alter his voice, tone, rate of speech to add drama to the story. This would allow audiences to react, and in turn gave the orator the feedback to enhance or alter his presentation (Baym & Levine 8). That being said the preservation of texts and stories is important, and sharing the

Amy Morrison ENG 231-2W1 Tammy Frailly August 21, 2013 knowledge of a culture is always to be valued. By sharing these translations the Iroquoian people have given a glimpse of their world view to those that are non-Indian. This can be very beneficial in the understanding of other cultures, and improve relations between Native Americans and non-Indians.

Amy Morrison ENG 231-2W1 Tammy Frailly August 21, 2013 Works Cited

Baym, Nina and Robert S. Levine, eds. The Anthology of American Literature. New York: Norton & Company, 2012. Print. Cusick, David. The Iroquois Creation Story Eds. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: Norton & Company, 2012. 23-25. Print.