Insights on Alta Jablows Gassire's Lute - Book Report/Review Example

Insights on Alta Jablow’s Gassire's Lute Insights on individualist hero by analyzing ‘Alta Jablow’s Gassire's Lute Epic’ In general, epics are in fact full of descriptions and catalogues of cultural information valuable for the interested present generation to recognize and identify the remarkable civilization from which the epic has emerged. Indeed, fieldwork is necessary in order to gain a holistic picture of living epic traditions. http://books.google.ru/books?id=v0sdoDWfzwwC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=fieldwork+is+necessary+in+order+to+gain+a+holistic+picture+of+living+epic+traditions&source=bl&ots=_MXRdHEaRa&sig=Ck3GRnbGV_qtxRtmPgPjLhCVVSE&hl=ru&ei=qFbHScD4F5yLsAbfzNDgCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Alta Jablow will be able to retrieve stanzas, formal repetition of words and ideas, and rhythmic sentence structure in the Soninke epic Gassire's Lute from a German version of 1921 by Leo Frobenius in to the present translated form. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Public/Ibonia/background/translation.html Everything that came to know on the bardic art in Western Africa and its origin proves that primarily it was a poem. Gassier’s Lute is a legend from the Sudan of West Africa, which clearly demonstrates the presence of the heroic epic, in its present form, at least as old as the seventeenth century. A rousing tale of wars and heroes, Gassire’s Lute recounts the fall of the Soninke city-state Wagadu and tells how Gassire, warrior son of the ruling family of Dierra (Fasa Dynasty), renounced his noble birth to become his people’s first bard. This epic originally with unknown oral literature is rich in historical and cultural interest. The epic shows clearly the universality of art and of human experience. Epic- In Brief Gassire's Lute is a fragment of an ancient Soninke epic that implies to narrate Soninke dynastic history. Leo Foerbenius collected it in 1909 from a Soninke bard living in northern Dahomey, and recreated from the content that includes circumstances of Soninke dynasty successions, dispersions, and migrations in the time- honored anthropological response to such legends. “Gassire was a prince, the successor of the Fasa Dynasty”, grew tired of waiting for the King (his father) to die. Gassire wants to be king and on approaching a fortune-teller, he got the information that he would never be king after the death of his father, and the empire will fall. Gassire will have to throw away his quest to be king to play the lute. In the meantime Gassire heard a guinea fowl singing in triumph at his victory over a snake and thus understood the power of song. Gassire went to a smith who made him a lute. When he tried to play the lute, it did not produce any sound. He heard that it could only be played if he goes into battle and the lute will only work if the bearer experiences loss. Gassire went into battle and each day one of his sons died and he bore the body home on his back, the blood running over the lute. Seven of his sons died, but the lute still not played. Finally, Gassire was exiled because of his violence and disregard for his family, and there in the wilderness of dessert, the lute began to sing. Gassire finally played the lute about songs of the empire and the story provides lessons to all the people who listen. http://books.google.ru/books?id=Pxwg6XX1GaMC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=heard+a+guinea+fowl+singing+in+triumph+at+his+victory+over+a+snake+and+thus+understood+the+power+of+song.+Gassire+went+to+a+smith+who+made+him+a+lute&source=bl&ots=q-qYPfeXdn&sig=UeF51Pq3ZP-jNkGdPHmRZCABmkU&hl=ru&ei=0FfHSbXMMMaPsAaL5f3lCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Study on Identified Significant Points to be Addressed On reading the epic and analyzing the "crisis point" covered includes significant information that can be of modern usefulness as well. It seems that the epic of Gassire's Lute follows the idea of a character that tries to attain some goal in life but encounters hardships in order for him to attain the goal. In everyday society, we can find people who are willing to do anything in order to obtain fame or fortune, just as Gassire wished. Throughout the story, we can see a change in the character of Gassire from a spear-wielding warrior to a lute-playing bard. Now a day, we can find wealthy parents who own companies, whose children is the next power of the company actually fight against their own parents and finally put themselves in trouble could find a lesson from this epic. In modern era, the dismissal of the workers from the company equates to Gassire losing his sons to death. The ultimate goal of making money for the company or whatever growth it may be is equal to Gassire's goal of getting the lute to work. The story upholds us a lesson that no matter who we are, death will eventually come. Jablow found the Gassire's Lute epic originally in an English prose version while searching out material on the bardic art to present in a class in African folkfare. Jablow tracked it back from African Genesis by Leo Frobenius and Douglas C. Fox (New York: Stackpole Sons,1937) to the original source in the classic work by Frobenius published in Germany. Everything Jablow knew about bardic art in West Africa and everything that could discover about its origin seemed to support my conviction that Gassire’s Lute was a poem. In translating it from the German, Jablow attempted to retrieve its poetic form. Lacking original text material, Jablow could be certain of very little concerning its meter, length of line, or stress. But the language and style of the narrative is of such a nature that, even without any change, it lent itself most readily to poetic transcription. Then regarding the challenges in terms of the epic analysis method by Jablow, some questions have risen on how to treat such unique phenomena. Literary appreciation does seem the appropriate response. But their singularity should also be acknowledged, and this has not been done. Alta Jablow has erected a vision of Soninke epic art on the basis of this one narrative, perpetuating the romantic vision that inebriated Frobenius himself; but Jablow has done so without consideration of the related historical and ethnographical material provided by other scholars that would have provided a more accurate picture of the tradition Jablow describes. http://books.google.ru/books?id=Pxwg6XX1GaMC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=Alta+Jablow+has+erected+a+vision+of+Soninke+epic+art+on+the+basis+of+this+one+narrative,+perpetuating+the+romantic+vision+that+inebriated+Frobenius+himself&source=bl&ots=q-qYPffQcr&sig=kR4w8OpXEqQRqv9fFMQ_RroUV5s&hl=ru&ei=9ljHSbmTNNqPsAbrwI3gCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Most of the epics and stories have female characters either as heroine or as goddess or as any supernatural female character. There is a legend that seems closely related to Gassire's Lute mention in its glossary, telling of the origin of the Pui that depicts the female soul in the epic. The story related to guinea hen that has laid many large and beautiful eggs of which she was proud. When she goes out to hunt for food, a giant snake comes by and swallows all her eggs. The guinea hen was thoroughly roused, and decided to declare war against the snake. She sets out in pursuit of the snake and sang a song of war and vengeance. Gassire, who understands the song of birds, hears her song and follows the guinea hen. He observed her encounter with the snake, her battle and subsequent victory. Then the hen flied to a tree and sang of her brave deed. Her song was the first pui and in future Gassire learned it and sang it to the people. Most of the authors tells that the most interesting and significant parallel between the Soninke ideal and that of the Western Romantic movement is the concept of art as self-expression. Works Cited “Gassire’s Lute.” Various Approaches. Retrieved from http://www.csupomona.edu Read More