There There Microlecture #2
In the second microlecture, it was very interesting to see the different mediums in which Natives used to tell and spread stories. Many of them reminded me of the artistic media we had seen in the Special Exhibits and Archives section of the library. Some of these mediums included animal skins, quipus, shells ... I thought the Pervian Quipus was especially interesting and creative. I'm still slightly confused on how it is able to be read, but believed the idea of the nuts and ropes to be super cool. It causes the message to be hidden to a very niche audience which seems mysterious to me. The Wampum belts are also extremely beautiful and must have taken ages to make considering they were made of pieces of shells. In the microlecture, the main takeaway I realized was the creativity of the people to write things down and convey messages. A commonality in every media was a lack of text. It seems as though they had a written language of symbols and objects rather than actual letters and words.
Some further questions I had were as follows: What was contained in the medicine bundles? What were some examples of the contents? Was it disrespectful to show them because of how deep and personal their meanings went? When did they begin transitioning into more modern language? It is difficult to imagine a world without letters and solidified languages. Nowadays, everything is in writing and it is so easy to share anything with anyone. However, our creativity dwindles when related to types of media and we end up relying on and using the same mediums.
Hey Eloise! I agree with you on learning about the different mediums Indigenous people used in the microlectures and how they were fascinating. It is amazing to think about the different creative ways that the Indigenous groups used to communicate and how different it is from the European based perspectives. I too would like to know what exactly where in the medicine bundles and how they differed from individual/group to one another?
ReplyDeleteHi Eloise! I also thought that the Peruvian Quipus was quite interesting. I was also confused by it, but it makes sense that they had a system that we don't know now. As you said, it does make the message hidden. It's like encryption but without computers!
ReplyDeleteHey, Eloise! I also though the Indigenous art was very beautiful and appreciated the intricacies of its craft. There are so many unique mediums that these texts were created using; it is a shame that we don't see or learn about them as often as more traditional texts. I think your questions about the medicine are also very important- I'd be curious to know more as well!
ReplyDeleteI also found the Peruvian Quipus to be especially interesting. It surprised me that a simple pattern of knots could be used for such complex procedures as accounting. I was also surprised of how long they were able to be preserved due to the climate.
ReplyDeleteHey, Eloise! I agree with you that the Quipus and Wampum Belts was very interesting and creative. It's crazy to think that people created complex stories using these mediums that appear to be so time-consuming! I'm shocked that these ancient mediums are able to be preserved for us to see as well.
ReplyDeleteI was also shocked at how creative Native Americans were. They used patterns that look so confusing and used processes that seem like they take up so much time for communication that we take for granted.
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