دانلود کتاب Chinook Texts

The Chinook tribes inhabited the salmon-rich lower Columbia river area in the Northwest culture region, in what is now upper Oregon and lower Washington state. As is evident from these texts, fishing was at the center of their culture, and they were also avid traders and gamblers. A creole based on their language and several European languages, the 'Chinook Jargon', was widely used as a trade language in the Northwest. The Chinook practised the 'Potlatch'--the charateristic Northwestern ceremony in which wealth was ritually redistributed.These unfiltered stories, translated with great care by Franz Boas, one of the founders of modern Anthropology, reflect a rich storytelling tradition which shows a deep understanding of the range of human emotions. The central character in many of these is 'Blue-Jay', a rather dim but heroic figure who, in one memorable tale visits the land of the dead, in a story worthy of the Twilight Zone. (Quote from sacred-texts.com)About the AuthorFranz Boas (1858 - 1942)Franz Boas (July 9, 1858 - December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did post-doctoral work in geography. He is famed for applying the scientific method to the study of human cultures and societies, a field which was previously based on the formulation of grand theories around anecdotal knowledge.Franz Boas was born in Minden, Westphalia. Although his grandparents were observant Jews, his parents, like most German Jews, embraced Enlightenment values, including their assimilation into modern German society. Boas was sensitive about his Jewish backg