Doctoral Dissertation Research: Artistic Production and Oral Tradition in a Yup'ik Community: The Scammon Bay "Fireball Story"

博士论文研究：尤皮克社区的艺术生产和口头传统：斯卡蒙湾“火球故事”

• 批准号: 0811132
• 负责人: Molly Lee
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-02-01 至 2010-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0811132&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Artistic; Production

The focus of this research is on expressions of contemporary Yup'ik culture as they occur through varied tellings of an ominous narrative of a natural phenomenon, the "fireball story." While recording interviews during previous fieldwork (summers of 2006 and 2007) in Scammon Bay, a Central Yup'ik community of 450 people, located on the southwestern shore of the Bering Sea in Alaska, the CoPI Katrin Simon noted an emergent theme in oral accounts, that of the "fireballs." These are a form of dangerous sea creatures who visit the village in the form of fiery balls or burning hands and kill ill-mannered community members. Contemporary Scammon Bay residents fear attacks by these sinister ancestral beings and employ the fireball story to explain bad luck, social malaise, conflict and death. By researching the history of this tale and recording its contemporary range of expressions, Simon will investigate how narrative and artistic production reflects and shapes the social realities of contemporary Yup'ik life. The history of contact in southwestern Alaska has been one of acute disruption brought on by the introduction of Western belief and political-economic systems. It is hypothesized that the "fireball phenomenon" acts as a central metaphor, articulating for the people of Scammon Bay modern-day social ills in a non-disruptive fashion; thus strengthening Yup'ik peoples? resilience in circumstances of rapid social change. The "fireball story" is said to provide healing for the community, offering a way to articulate societal tensions. By analyzing the connection between creative activities, colonial history and conflict resolution, this project explores the way Yup'ik people use art and storytelling to renew relationships to their traditional culture and redefine both past and present.

这项研究的重点是当代尤皮克文化的表达，因为它们通过对自然现象“火球故事”的不祥叙述的不同讲述而出现。先前在斯卡蒙湾（Scammon Bay）（位于阿拉斯加白令海西南岸，有 450 人的中央尤皮克社区）进行实地考察（2006 年和 2007 年夏天）时，CoPI 卡特琳·西蒙 (CoPI Katrin Simon) 在记录采访时注意到了口头叙述中出现的一个主题，即“火球”。这些是一种危险的海洋生物，它们以火球或燃烧的手的形式来到村庄，并杀死没有礼貌的社区成员。当代斯卡蒙湾居民害怕这些邪恶的祖先生物的袭击，并用火球的故事来解释厄运、社会不安、冲突和死亡。 通过研究这个故事的历史并记录其当代的表达方式，西蒙将研究叙事和艺术创作如何反映和塑造当代尤皮克生活的社会现实。阿拉斯加西南部的接触历史是西方信仰和政治经济体系的引入所带来的严重破坏的历史之一。据推测，“火球现象”作为一个中心隐喻，以一种非破坏性的方式向斯卡蒙湾人民阐明了现代社会弊病；从而增强尤皮克人的力量？在社会快速变革的情况下的恢复能力。据说“火球故事”可以治愈社区，提供一种表达社会紧张局势的方式。通过分析创意活动、殖民历史和冲突解决之间的联系，该项目探讨了尤皮克人如何利用艺术和讲故事来重建与传统文化的关系并重新定义过去和现在。