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Many, many thanks to everyone for their comments on the list, and to
those who have sent me private messages. (Note to Rand -- at least
3 people told me that they can read the posts but are blocked from
replying to the list. Can you let people know what to do in order
to post to the list?)<br>
<br>
It's remarkable how widespread this practice is: from the Micmacs
to the Blackfoot -- what an amazing range! And it's great to hear
about the non-Algonquian groups as well (Dakota, Navajo, Apache).
How interesting that the Metis follow a different pattern!<br>
<br>
Bernie, I knew you would have a good story to tell. thanks! <br>
<br>
Arden Ogg sent me a link to a discussion of this topic, which starts
with a joke. I'll copy the joke here:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.manataka.org/page1889.html">http://www.manataka.org/page1889.html</a><br>
"<span style="font-family: Arial;">At a Cultural Sensitivity seminar
in Los Angeles for counselors working in minority communities, the
teacher offered the following joke.</span><span
style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
<br>
Three good friends were out hunting with their favorite dogs,
boasting about their hunting ability. “Watch this” said the
English man. “Rover, go seek!” Immediately his dog took off at a
full run, darting all through the brush, until he came to a bevy
of quail. The dog froze, pointing with his front leg and standing
like a statue, marking the spot where the quail stood.</span><span
style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
<br>
“That’s very impressive” said his French hunting partner, “but
watch this.” With a series of shrill whistles he directed his dog
to search. The French man’s dog sped off and soon found the
location of an animal, hidden in the brush. The dog barked
furiously and spun in circles, marking the location of the hiding
animal.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
<br>
Both the English and the French man then turned to their Native
American hunting partner. “What can your dog do?” they asked.
The native man motioned to his dog with his chin, sweeping the
surroundings with a motion of his head. The native dog looked
around, sat down, and pointed toward another patch of brush with
his lips.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br>
<br>
Predictably, the native people in the audience laughed out loud.</span>"<br>
<br>
*******<br>
<br>
I was especially interested to hear the comments about spirits and
sorcery (e.g. Dick, Adrian, Anne L's link to Rob B's work). I
think there is also such a connection between finger-pointing and
spirits among the Meskwaki. A 1912 text by Alfred Kiyana which I
published in <i>Anthropological Linguistics</i> in 2003 contains an
illustration depicting a spirit with wings pointing with his finger
(at a fasting young man); later, when recounting his experience to
his father the young man says,<br>
apina=meko netaawinoohokwa (<i>apina </i>'even' =<i>meko </i>emphatic
particle; verb stem <i>aawinoohw</i>- 3rd sg. subject, 1st sg
object)<br>
'He even pointed at me.'<br>
In the story, the spirit with wings is angry at the young man for
having accepted the blessing of an underwater spirit. The young
man should have waited, since the spirit with wings would have
blessed him in a better way.<br>
<br>
Here's what I said about this aspect of the text in the article: <br>
<br>
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We learn less
in this story about the winged spirit than we do about the
underwater
spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is, however,
an antagonism
between underwater spirits and the thunder beings that would have
been well
known to the audience for this story.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>(See Jones 1907:202–207 and Michelson 1930:119–121 for
stories of
battles between the two; Michelson 1930:54–56 discusses their
opposition, with
photographs of woven bags depicting a thunderbird on one side and an
underwater
panther on the other.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Though
the winged
spirit in this text is not explicitly so identified, the fact that
he is a
spirit of the air and the enemy of the underwater spirit may suggest
that he is
one of the thunderers.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(See
Jones
1907:175 for a story in which a thunderer appears to a married
couple in human
form.)
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none"><span
style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>That the winged
spirit points at the
young man is significant (17C; illustration 2), since pointing at
people with
the finger is avoided in Meskwaki culture.<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Kiyana's lengthy version of the origin myth (Kiyana 1913)
contains
several references that shed light on the associations of
pointing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For example, the
culture hero, Wi∙sahke∙ha,
has the ability to create objects, such as a lake, merely by
pointing at a spot
(p. 723).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Moreover,
Wi∙sahke∙ha informs
the human beings of the Warchief clan that if they point at
someone they are
quarreling with, that person will die (p. 791).<span
style="mso-spacerun:yes">
</span>Later in the same story, a spirit is pointed at by other
spirits, as
part of a scolding (p. 963).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Pointing
with
the finger thus seems to be associated both with mystical power
and with
the expression of anger."<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none">Perhaps
if pointing with the finger is something that spirits can do
(whether to create, or to punish), it is disrespectful (as Dick
suggests) or even dangerous for humans to try to usurp that
power. (And of course even if the original motivation might be no
longer well remembered, the practice of avoiding finger-pointing
could continue on for some time.)<br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none">In
any event, thanks again to all for the fascinating discussion.
Please send more reports and stories, if you have them! <br>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;mso-pagination:none">with
best wishes,<br>
Amy<br>
<br>
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