Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Sings with Rain - Spirit in Anthro 356


|Credit: [x]|
(I will never -ever- get my homework done this way -- but I wanted to leave this here; which I wrote on Tumblr, in the event that people want to know how cool my Anthropology class actually is.)

Post One: (Last Tuesday, first day of this class)

That awkward moment a professor’s ancestor sits down in the adjacent seat and sings to herself, scares you into flinching, and then it begins to rain… (ANT 356; I swore when I looked over towards her and back up front, aforementioned professor noticed. Either I’m the crazy kid or the one that zones out too obviously now.)
* ANT 356 is Cultural History of the Iroquois, taught by a Mohawk professor.

Post Two: (Tuesday of this week; Third Day of Class)
Like for instance, Automatic Writing while listening to NOT the professor, but his ancestor.

This is all I’ve been able to ponder about all day today…

So here goes.

It occured in Anthro 356, Cultural History of the Iroquois.(Our professor is Mohawk and Seneca among other things — and is what he calls a ‘native scholar.’ [note — he said ‘native’ not ‘Native’ by which he meant he participates in his culture as well as studies/is a professional scholar of it.])
She (the Seneca ancestor) wrote in my book “Only we know us. Books pretend to know us.” in regards to the class as a whole hating on the sassy bits of Dean Snow’s “The Iroquois” intro chapter — which is one of our textbooks. She wrote this four times while I was supposed to be listening to the lecture.

We discussed in depth the creation story; how it differs in art and interpretation through the years. We were taking it from a literary approach and talking about changing with the times and modernized viewpoints of society in general, and how women of certain Iroquois tribes now say that Sky Woman jumped, instead of fell or was pushed. She (who told me I would only understand if she referred to herself as Sings with Rain [because when I met her, she literally sang and it literally rained. And it should’ve snowed here in Oswego at the end of January/Beginning of February, in all fairness, but it rained.]) wrote in my book, “When I told this story, I knew it to be told she fell. Creation is half intentional, half a mystery. Chance.” She wrote “Chance” four times. I might have freaked out the girl who sits next to me in class. She was wearing an amethyst ring. Amethyst, in general, tends to love me and help in this psychic stuff — no matter to whom its allegiance lies.

I get the feeling this class is going to be all kinds of weird. I love the topic — it’s a class for my minor. But I think input and information from spirits (even if this is all UPG my own personal experience) is particularly unique. I don’t know if she will stick around indefinitely — she follows the professor around wherever he goes. I don’t know if he even knows that I know this. But… raise your hand if something similar to this has happened to you? What should I do? What sort of things would be good to ask?

—> Also I’m not trying to be appropriative. I’m in a Native American Studies program in order to learn and to not be an appropriative bitch. But please, call me out if my stories or studies offend. Point me in the right direction. Please please please.

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