Tricksters

In which some passages of the Historia Langobardorum are examined, with the purpose of evidentiating the existence of a "trickster" or shapeshifting figure in the Lombard culture of the VII century.
Parallels among this character and the Norse character of Loki (or rather Loptr) are made.
Original Latin text included.
Emglish translation soon to follow.

Blackfoot people claim they have always resided in their defined traditional territory on the Northwestern Plains of North America since time began. Today their treaty reserves and reservation remain as fragments within that defined territory. When the primary Blackfoot subsistence economy of buffalo hunting vanished in the late 19th century, various efforts were made by Blackfoot chiefs and White recorders to document Blackfoot culture and oral stories, many of which described the creation of the Blackfoot people and their traditional landscape. Various academic opinions subsequently emerged about these traditional stories to interpret how the Blackfoot came to be where they are. This essay reexamines those recorded traditional oral stories, subsequent academic opinions and collateral research.

In 1929 D. F. Bleek wrote that |xam people she encountered in the Upper Karoo two decades before were unable to tell her a single story, and that their folklore `was dead’ and so was, by extension, their culture and sense of community, thus encouraging the notion that the |xam people had become extinct. Archival research and fieldwork in the area by the author in 2011-2014 shows that no such extinction took place and that a rich oral tradition, with strong connections with that documented by Bleek and Lloyd in the 19th century, is still very much alive in the area.

Don Juan es una de las figuras trágicas que más atención ha acaparado en Occidente. Hasta ahora los críticos han encontrado a varios seductores de carne y hueso que pudieron servir de inspiración al autor (o a los autores) de los dramas del siglo XVII. Sin embargo, a diferencia de Don Juan, ninguno de esos candidatos pudo ser –evidentemente– un anfitrión de difuntos.
En este volumen conoceremos a unos personajes de ficción que fueron seductores de mujeres; pero, además –como el burlador sevillano–, fueron sacrílegos y blasfemos, se mofaron de los muertos, los convidaron a cenar y acabaron duramente castigados por todos esos excesos. Poco a poco iremos siguiendo el rastro de esos relatos por varias regiones de Europa, África y Asia hasta remontarnos a las huellas que han dejado en la Antigüedad clásica.

Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Introduction. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:202-216.

While I (b. 1980) was a child, living in Ne'u na (Sne na, Nina) Village, Khri ka (Guide) County, Mtsho lho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Mtsho sngon (Qinghai) Province, I heard many stories from my grandfather, Rdo dpa' (1918-1996). I was told to call him Abu  'Grandfather' in the local A mdo Tibetan dialect. Many villagers called him Abu Rdo dpa'. Locals said he was good at many things aside from telling stories and singing folksongs. He was known as the toughest man in the village because he had escaped from Ma Bufang's army three times. He could hide and live alone in the mountains for years. He was also the best swimmer. He could hide from enemies in the Yellow River for hours and steered rafts with heavy goods, even when water reached above his knees in the rushing current. Moreover, he was known as a sharpshooter because he could shoot down flying eagles with an old firelock that he cleaned almost every day until his death. ...

Khro bo rkyal stong. 2017. A Clever Bus Driver. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:193-194.

Uncle Ston pa was driving a bus down a dirt road in the countryside. The only empty seat in the bus was just behind the driver's seat. The seat was for two people. The empty seat was next to a nun, who sat quietly by the window. ...

Tshe dbang rdo rje. 2017. Tricking the Landlord's Daughter. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:224-225.

After tricking the landlord's wife, Uncle Ston pa was given even more difficult tasks to do. One day, the landlord and his wife had to go to other villages to invite their best friends and relatives for their daughter's skra ston 'hair changing ritual'  that would be held in a week. They called Uncle Ston pa to their daughter's room and told her to keep an eye on Uncle Ston pa. Before they left, the landlord said to his daughter, Lha mo, "Sweetie, today Ston pa is your servant. Order him to do whatever you like! But remember, don't let him out of your sight!" ...

Wen Xiangcheng. 2017. Nuns and Navels. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:181-183.

I am a Minhe Mangghuer (Tu) born in 1981. A Tibetan acquaintance told me these two Uncle Dongba stories in Chinese. I read several Uncle Dongba stories in English in about 2004 so I had a general idea about him. To my knowledge, Minhe Mangghuer lack stories about a trickster that goes by a certain name. Also, I never heard anyone tell an Uncle Dongba story in Mangghuer. However, I intend to tell these two stories in Mangghuer when I meet some of my friends.

Muni niereni Wen Xiangcheng gela bi. Bi shi 1981 niandu Qinghai Sheng Minhe Xiandu shengkesang Mangghuer kun bi. Ni liangge Dongba Awuni bihuangni yige Tiebie xuesheng dameidu jianglaji huba. Bi dagai 2004 niandu Dongba Awuni bihuangni Yingyula zhurusangni jige wuji ba. Ninggekula bi Dongba Awu yamerdage kun bikuni dagai ge meidielang. Bi mulasa yige nenggan kun guori kunni gezhong banfala huerghuerku ningda bihuang Minhe Mangghuersidu wuguang. Dongba Awuni bihuangni dani Mangghuer gela jianglakuni bi ye suonuosisang gui. Dongba Awuni bihuangsi hudu renao bang. Bi khuainuoher nukuersinang qigeku Mangghuerla jianglaji hua. ...

Wen Xiangcheng. 2017. A Wheat Seed and a Millet Seed. Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:184-187.

QINKUO MA NARAMU GHULA BIEQING ZHIKE

Dongba Awudu gujiu xijundiaoge bisa zou hudu zaihangbang bei. Dongba Awu mulakuni ni zaihang gujiunang yajige naduni sha. Yitiandu gandu dughuli sanarge baojiang. Gan linjiarnang daodaji riji keliji, "Qi muni gujiu xijundiaonige daodala xi a. Dameidu shuguo bieqing kuerjiang geji keli." Ganni linjiar yaoku gan hegangdinang engtadegha bieqing zhuangke saojiang.

Uncle Dongba had a very beautiful cousin. Every day he thought about how to have sex with her but, sadly, he never had a chance to make his wish come true. One day he came up with an idea, lay on his bed, and pretended to be seriously ill. Then he asked one of his friends to inform his cousin that he was very ill.
...

The central motif found in the variety of tales involving Jack's contest with the Giant at the top of the Beanstalk appears to be that of the archetypal Trickster. Frequently, it is the foolish and ordinary that topples the titanic obstacles in the way of personal, spiritual and social progress.

Libu Lakhi. 2017. Can You See My Yak? Asian Highlands Perspectives 47:188-190.

My name is Libu Lakhi (Li Jianfu, Dawa Tenzin). I was born in Dashui Village, Mingshen Township in 1981. I am a Namuyi Tibetan. Uncle Ston pa stories are not told in my village, however, I heard many such stories during the years I spent studying in Kangding and in Xining. I heard this story, which I tell in Namuyi Khato. ...

ŋa³³ tɛ³³ na⁵⁴mʑi⁵⁴ la²¹kʰi³³ ja³³, li³³ bu33 la21 khi³³ mi²¹, o21ljo21 o54ndʐo54 la21ga³³ dʐə21qv21 dzu54 su⁵⁴. ŋa⁵⁴ so54 qʰfu²¹ khv54 ru21 du³³ ro21. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ kvu²¹sə²¹ ko³³ko³³ tʰa³³ ɡi⁵⁴ ma³³ ndzo²¹ tɛ³³ o²¹ljo²¹ kʰa³³ti²¹ na²¹ ɕə⁵⁴ni²¹ tʰa²¹ræ²¹ so²¹ tʰa³³ ɡi⁵⁴ dzo²¹. a⁵⁴kʰə³³ tən⁵⁴mpa⁵⁴ tʰi⁵⁴ ly⁵⁴ su⁵⁴ la²¹ ʂo³³ su⁵⁴ ŋa³³ ræ³³ ɡi⁵⁴ ka³³ la²¹ no⁵⁴ ʂo³³ su⁵⁴.