Becoming Tsimshian : the social life of names
Record details
- ISBN: 029598807X (paperback)
- ISBN: 9780295988078 (paperback)
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Physical Description:
print
regular print
xiv, 282 pages : map ; 23 cm - Publisher: Seattle : University of Washington Press, 2008.
- Copyright: ©2008.
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-266) and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Names as people -- Names as wealth -- History and structure in Tsimshian lineage consciousness -- Descent, continuity, and identity under colonialism -- Appendix A. Glossary -- Appendix B. Tsimshian houses. |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Tsimshian Indians -- Name Names, Tsimshian -- History Tsimshian Indians -- Social life and customs Tsimshian language -- Etymology Naming ceremonies -- British Columbia |
Available copies
- 2 of 3 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 2 copies available at Terrace Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Terrace Public Library | 971.1004 ROT (Text) | 35151001048974 | Adult Non-fiction | Not holdable | Lost | 2023-10-26 |
Terrace Public Library | TC 971.1004 ROT (Text) | 35151001048966 | Terrace Collection | Not holdable | Available | - |
Summary:
The Tsimshian people of coastal British Columbia use a system of hereditary name-titles in which names are treated as objects of inheritable wealth. Human agency and social status reside in names rather than in the individuals who hold these names, and the politics of succession associated with names and name-taking rituals have been, and continue to be, at the center of Tsimshian life. Becoming Tsimshian examines the way in which names link members of a lineage to a past and to the places where that past unfolded. At traditional potlatch feasts, for example, collective social and symbolic behavior ?gives the person to the name.? Oral histories recounted at a potlatch describe the origins of the name, of the house lineage, and of the lineage's rights to territories, resources, and heraldic privileges. This ownership is renewed and recognized by successive generations, and the historical relationship to the land is remembered and recounted in the lineage's chronicles, or adawx. In investigating the different dimensions of the Tsimshian naming system, Christopher F. Roth draws extensively on recent literature, archival reference, and elders in Tsimshian communities. Becoming Tsimshian, which covers important themes in linguistic and cultural anthropology and ethnic studies, will be of great value to scholars in Native American studies and Northwest Coast anthropology, as well as in linguistics.