All 29 entries tagged Peoples

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June 06, 2008

Gryphon

Gryphon (5.XXXVIII.i).

An older pronunciation and spelling of the mythical beast, the griffin. In Berber folklore, the gryphon it is the result of the Ormaddu, a huge bird, mating with a female wolf. The mother is split apart by the gryphon upon birth. However, the griffin is also one of the oldest and most respected creatures in mythology, dating back as far as the writings of Aristeas in the seventh century BC. It is often used as a symbol of strength and regality. In Greek legend, the griffin was the chosen animal of Apollo and it was also used as a symbol of the Roman Empire. The creature is in a simile describing Satan in Paradise Lost: 'As when a griffin through the wilderness/With winged course o’er hill or moory dale/Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth/Had from his wakeful custody purloined/The guarded gold; so eagerly the Fiend/O'er bog or steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare,/With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way' (II: 943-7); the Arimaspi were a race of one-eyed horseman from the North of Greece who were said to always be at war with the griffins as the Arimaspi always stole their gold (Bib:27; Bib:28a).  The griffin is clearly a beast of dual interpretation, representing strength and honour, but also pain and war. Walcott’s griffins seem to be snarling because they are forced to hear ‘the cries in/the Isle of Dogs running over Westminster Bridge’, evoked by the ‘voice’ of the ‘bargeman’, the Isle of Dogs being another symbol of a darker side of London.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 16:31 |  Tags:             |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Berber

Berber (see Gryphon).

The Berbers are one of the indigenous peoples of North Africa. Whilst they make up the majority of the population, they represent another culture in search of an identity, since the Arabization of North Africa has left many of its inhabitants claiming Arab descendancy, far too many than is feasibly conceivable considering the small trickle of Arab people that have historically gone to North Africa.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 16:24 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

June 05, 2008

Ghost Dancer

Ghost Dancer (3.XXXI.iii).

A term that originated in the 1890s amongst colonized Indian tribes in North America. A prophecy was made by Indian men that all those who danced the Ghost Dance at the appointed times would be suspended in the air at springtime, whilst the new earth buried all the white men (Bib:24).


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 14:14 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Carib

Carib (3.XXXI.iii).

Member of an Indian tribe, formally dominant in the lesser Antilles, now found more in the West Indies, parts of Central America and the North-East of South America. In this context, ‘cracking like Caribs’ might refer to the tonality and sounds of their language.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 13:51 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

totem

totem (2.XXXI.ii).

A natural object assumed as the emblem for a family, clan &c., especially within Indian tribes. Here its discovery by Achille mirrors his journey of discovery into his own past and the reader’s accumulating knowledge of the island’s history. Totems were sometimes painted on a grave, but here the 'disturbed grave' is probably metaphorical. The fact that 'A thousand archaeologists started screaming/as Achille wrenched out the totem…' illustrates not only the tensions between the island’s inhabitants and the impositions of Westernised tourism, but also links in with the theme of being uprooted.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 13:28 |  Tags:           |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

pomme–Arac

pomme-Arac (3.XXXI.ii).

Explained below (3.XXXI.ii) by Seven Seas: 'Aruac mean the race//that burning there like the leaves and pomme is the word/in patois for "apple". This used to be their place.'


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 08:18 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Aruacs muskets Conquistador

like Aruacs/falling to the muskets of the Conquistador (3.XXXI.i).

A recurrent image throughout the text, a reminder of the original inhabitants of the island (Aruac Indians in the third century AD) and the themes of colonialism. Conquistador is Spanish for ‘conqueror’ (cf. Conquistadores, 1.VII.i), but is used specifically in reference to the sixteenth-century Spanish soldiers who defeated the Indians of Mexico, central America and Peru.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 07:59 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

May 21, 2008

white waggons

I saw the white waggons […] interstate (4.XXXIV.i).

The wagon train was the only option for white American pilgrims hoping to settle on the Great Plains in the mid-1800s.  The development of railroads as a faster, safer mode of transport accelerated westward expansion (cf. Union Pacific, 4.XXXIV.ii) and threatened the Native American way of life (Bib:22). Walcott’s reference to the Interstate Highway System currently used in the USA perhaps emphasises the fact that there can be no return to a traditional, nomadic Native American way of life on America’s Great Plains.


Amanda Hopkins : 21 May 2008 14:52 |  Tags:            |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

Crow horseman

The Crow horseman pointed his lance at the contrail (4.XXXIV.i).

A member of the Native American Crow tribe notices the vapour trail left by a passing aircraft, a sign of the change that is to be enforced on the traditional Native American way of life as a result of westward expansion and modernisation.


Amanda Hopkins : 21 May 2008 14:24 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

epic to epigram

a lost love narrowed from epic to epigram (4.XXXIV.i).

Perhaps a reference to the Great Plains and the Native Americans who populated them. The mid-nineteenth century acceleration of American expansion has effectively destroyed the epic landscape and Native American way of life – all that is left is a verse on a tombstone. Ironically, an epigram is typically witty, and is therefore an unsuitable legacy of the genocide of the Native American race.


Amanda Hopkins : 21 May 2008 14:16 |  Tags:             |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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