Full Description
In many places around the world, flutes and the sounds of flutes are powerful magical forces for seduction and love, protection, vegetal and human fertility, birth and death, and other aspects of human and nonhuman behavior. This book explores the cultural significance of flutes, flute playing, and flute players from around the world as interpreted from folktales, myths, and other stories--in a word, ""flutelore."" A scholarly yet readable study, World Flutelore: Folktales, Myths, and Other Stories of Magical Flute Power draws upon a range of sources in folklore, anthropology, ethnomusicology, and literary analysis. Describing and interpreting many examples of flutes as they are found in mythology, poetry, lyrics, and other narrative and literary sources from around the world, veteran ethnomusicologist Dale Olsen seeks to determine what is singularly distinct or unique about flutes, flute playing, and flute players in a global context. He shows how and why flutes are important for personal, communal, religious, spiritual, and secular expression and even, perhaps, existence. This is a book for students, scholars, and any reader interested in the cultural power of flutes.
Contents
CoverTitle PageCopyrightContentsIllustrationsPreludeStory One. Raman's New Flute: Vellore, IndiaChapter 1. Flute Types and StereotypesStory Two. The Turtle, the Monkey, and the Jaguar: Apinayé (Gê) culture, BrazilChapter 2. The Making of World FlutesStory Three. Manwoldae Is Autumn Grass: Korean Poem from the Late Fourteenth CenturyChapter 3. Flutes That TalkStory Four. Culture Heroes Discover the First Flutes: Wogeo culture, New GuineaChapter 4. Flutes and Gender RolesStory Five. The Story of the Flutemaker: Lakota culture, United States of AmericaChapter 5. Flutes, Sexuality, and Love MagicStory Six. Aniz the Shepherd: Uyghur culture, ChinaChapter 6. Flutes and the Animal KingdomStory Seven. The Origin of Maize: Yupa culture, VenezuelaChapter 7. Flutes and NatureStory Eight. The Fluteplayer: ChinaChapter 8. Flute Origin Myths and Flute-Playing HeroesStory Nine. Yoshitsune's Voyage among the Islands: JapanChapter 9. Flutes and Protective PowerStory Ten: The Rat Catcher of Korneuburg: AustriaChapter 10. Flutes and DeathStory Eleven. The Pifuano Flute of the Chullachaqui Rainforest Spirits: Iquitos, PeruChapter 11. Flutes and Unethical/Ethical BehaviorStory Twelve. Song of the Flute: The First Eighteen Verses of Rumi's Masnevi: Persia (Iran)Chapter 12. Religious Status of FlutesStory Thirteen. How the Noble Fujiwara no Yasumasa Faced Down the Bandit HakamadareChapter 13. Socioreligious Status of Flute MusiciansStory Fourteen. Hard to Fill: IrelandChapter 14. The Aesthetics and Power of Flute Sounds, Timbres, and Sonic TexturesConclusionNotesReferencesIndex of StoriesIndex
