And... the problems continue

Well, I cleaned out my browsing history and still blogspot won't let me comment. I'm really not sure what is going on. Here's my comments for both Catherine's and Holland's most recent posts.

Holland's:

Something I've been thinking about lately in relation to oral knowledge is the influence ancient oral traditions have on current society. For example, Ta' ziyeh was started over one thousand years ago in Islamic culture. It is still being performed today and helping Muslims remembmer their history.

As it turns out, carnivalesque plays are similar to/ derived from the Feast of Fools. This totally ties to Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame! In this way, ancient oral traditions can still be found in our lives today.

Catherine's:

It's crazy that so little is known about the Assyrian culture. Because they relied so heavily on oral knowledge it seems, their history has been almost entirely erased from history. This makes me wonder if there are other societies that at one point existd and no longer exist because they left no written record or art or anything. What if there weren't any arts to preserve that culture in some form? What if there were no artifacts to be found. What if that group of people just ceased to exist. In this way, oral knowledge is a terrible and terrifying way to remember something importnat.

A little more about Assyria

Well, I interviewed Dr. Paul Hoskisson on Monday and quickly arrived at the conclusion that a lot of the information in my last post is just someone’s interpretation of the original texts.  Brother Hoskisson stated “you can’t read into texts from different places.  Assyria is different.”  Some of my sources strayed from the knowledge contained in the original texts and gather information from other societies.   For example, the original texts do not specifically say that musicians were spared (although one refers to women being kept to become singers), that was just one scholar's interpretation. (Sorry Samuel)  

Lusitanian poetry, drama, and origin myth

Lusitania is the area of present-day Portugal that the tribal people called Lusitani inhabited (7). Historians debate their origin. Some believe they were indigenous people; others believe they descended from Celts. Conflict with Rome concluded in the Roman conquering and Romanization of the Lusitanians around 100 BC (6).
 

POETRYAccording to one author, Lusitanian poetry really began in the fifteenth century with the following poets: Cancioneiro (actually a group of 150 poets) ; Ribeyro, who focused on pastoral themes, and others like Camoens, Ferreira, Caminha, Diogo Bernardes, and Gil Vicente (1).

Statue of Gil Vicente in the Rossio, a plaza in Lisbon, Portugal (8, 9). 

 

DRAMAGil Vicente was also a playwright.  His were the first recorded plays and were carnivalesque in nature (3).  They are described as “carnivalesque” because they, like carnivals, are humorous and chaotic (4).
 

ORIGIN MYTHLusitanians believed that they came from a god named Lusus (2).  You might recognize this god as the companion to the Roman god, Bacchus (5). This connection between Roman and Portuguese gods makes sense because of Rome’s conquering and Romanisation of the people (6).

(1) The North American review

(2) Historical Dictionary of Portugal

(3) The carnival stage

(4) Wiki: Carnivalesque

(5) Wiki: Lusus

(6) Wiki: Lusitanians

(7) a history of portugal

(8) Image link

(9) Wiki: Rossio

More Technical Difficulties

I really have no idea why I can no longer make comments, but here is my comment for Samuel's Wednesday October 5th post:

The way Polynesians would remember events such as battles reminds me of the Irish culture. They also commemorated battles through set dances called Ceilis. One specific Ceili I remember learning was called Waves of Torie, and it told the story of a battle. Several other Ceilis shared Irish history, and at the very least, all preserve the Irish culture.

As a performer, I definitely find the arts as the most engaging and useful way to preserve knowledge. There is something about music, drama, and dance that just sticks with our minds much better than mere memorization alone. Like Catherine, I can still remember dances and songs I have learned going all the way back to the late 1990s'. However, I can hardly remember what I ate for dinner last week or the contents of my last quiz taken in the testing center.

Has anyone else had any problems posting comments? I think it might be my computer, but I'm really not sure. It seems like ever since we got the new layout, I've been having problems.

Technical Difficulties

For some reason, blogspot isn't allowing me to comment. So I'm making my comment in response to Blaine's post on Greek Music its own post. Hopefully this works!

Haha! Holland, I love your comment about popular music fading with time, except for of course the Beatles. Which in a way ties back to Catherine's comment about exceptions. So much of the Greek culture was preserved EXCEPT for most of the music, it seems. And today so much popular music is not conserved EXCEPT for the Beatles, according ot Holland. Perhaps Greek music is the exception because it is oral knowledge. This I believe exposes oral knowledge's biggest flaw.

If no one makes an effort to preserve oral knowledge, to continue passing it down in some way, it is lost. Perhaps that is what happened to Greek music. No one made a real effort to preserve it, hence it was lost. In a depressing way, this shows just how fragile knowledge is. It shows what we as humans value. We make an effort to preserve that which we care about. Think of all the ancient texts that have been preserved. Think of all the ancient mathematical formulas we're still learning about! Society decides what is important and makes sure it stays around. Everything else is left to waste. It is most unfortunate that we don't see much of Greek culture in our music today.

Aloha!

Plop!

You've just landed on ancient Polynesian shores. Hear that? It's the sound of trade winds carrying the spray of the ocean through the canopies of the coconut trees. But what's that boom-da-boom-BOOM coming from the distance? It seems you've arrived just in time to commemorate a birth in the royal family!

Greek Please!

In my last post I gave a glimpse into Mycenaean music culture. Adding more to that, yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Luke Howard from the School of Music about ancient Greek Music. After I was referred to him from my roommate who is taking his Music History class, I caught up with him and he was obliged to answer a few of my questions.

From his college web page, Dr. Howard specializes in the culmination and influence of classical music in the pop culture as well as music history in general. He enjoys relating the ancient to the modern and looking for those traditions passed down from each respective culture. Here are a few of his responses:

Ta'ziyeh

Islam: the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah.

Drama: a composition in prose or verse presenting in dialogue or pantomime a story involving conflict or contrast of character, especially one intended to be acted on the stage; a play.

When I think of Islam, the last thing I would associate it with is drama. However, Shakespeare called all the world a stage. Therefore, drama is history. History is drama. Life is drama. "And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. . ." (Al-An am 6:32)

As oral knowledge developed in the Middle East, drama became a means by which Muslims could commemorate one of the greatest martyrs during Umayyad Dynasty. What began as a way to preserve the history of one single war has now become the great "Islamic Drama." It is ritualistic. It is powerful. It is Ta'ziyeh.