Kerim at Savage minds is starting a new series on anthropology classics; the first entry is Shakespeare in the bush — about translating Hamlet in the idiom of Tiv in West Africa.
The essay reminded me of some of the ideas that AK Ramanujan describes in his essays on folklore — for example, how the Aedipus story is told in India from the mother's view point unlike in Greece where it is told from the point of view of the son, and how the differences in view point lead to differences in the stories, their emphasis, and their texture. The problem of translating also reminded me of another chinese story that Ramanujan tells: Once a Chinese emperor wanted to build a tunnel across a huge mountain. The clever ministers suggested that they start work from both the ends, so that they meet in the middle, completing the construction faster. The emperor asked what would happen if they did not meet. The ministers replied, it seems, that they will have two tunnels instead of one. In fact, for me, who is reading AK Ramanujan for the past two weeks or so, this essay looks like a classic example which illuminates some of the ideas of Ramanujan.
Have fun!
