Book

Tales from Ulithi Atoll: a comparative study in oceanic folklore

University of California PressBerkeleyPublished In 1961 • Pages: x, 493

By: Lessa, William Armand.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
The first part of this study consists of a collection of previously unpublished myths and folktales from Ulithi Atoll in the West Caroline Islands, and how this folklore is related to the technology, social and political organization, religion, and values of the people. Lessa then presents a generalized discussion on the various motifs and themes present in Ulithian folktales which appear elsewhere in Oceania (e.g., Malaysia, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Australia, and even Madagascar) for which there is comparative data. From the analysis of this comparative material the author contends '…that Ulithian culture is a conglomerate with not too distinctive a character. The folktales clearly indicate this; they are anything but unique. For the most part they constitute an amalgam of stories and motifs from far-flung areas' (p. 20).
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Comparative evidence
Verbal arts
Mythology
Spirits and gods
Texts in the speaker's language
Texts translated into english
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Ulithi
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2000
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Micronesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle ; 2006
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1947-1949
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1900-1949
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Ulithi, Federated States of Micronesia
NotesAdditional notes
William A. Lessa
Includes bibliographical references (p. 465-493)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
61063844
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tales--Micronesia/Ulithi (Micronesia)