finding-the-middle-of-the-earth-pages_from_alcheringa_1-1.pdf
notes-to-finding-the-middle-of-the-earth-pages_from_alcheringa_1-1.pdf
This entry comes from an oral performance by Andrew Peynetsa about the Zuni creation myth. It was translated and transcribed by Dennis Tedlock with the aid of Joseph Peynetsa.
In his notes on the translation and transcription, Tedlock mentions his intention to involve more than just the surface meaning of the words in his English version. The notes also outline the first part of this origin myth, as this piece includes only the second of two parts.
The Zuni are a Native American Pueblo people that historically settled in the Zuni River Valley. They call their home “Halona Idiwan’a,” or “middle place.” This name relates to their beliefs about their home being the center of a nine-layered universe, with each layer being home to a different set of plants and creatures. The Zuni believe that their home, the earth, resides at the center of the nine layers and is like a circular island surrounded by water.
The Zuni language is still spoken by many and is considered an isolated language and, therefore, distinct from others. Zuni has been a language isolate for an estimated 7,000 years. There are a few words in Zuni that were borrowed from other languages that mostly pertain to religious beliefs and terminology.
In the notes that Tedlock included, he placed a high level of importance on the orality of the performance and the vital role it played for the meaning of the piece as a whole. He also wanted to provide a better format for the piece than the plainness of prose to keep its dynamic nature at the forefront of the reader's mind. He explained the stylistic choices he made to better represent the nature of the flow and audible elements during the oral performance of the tale in detail, including the silences, louder portions, lengthened vowel sounds, voice quality, sustained pitches, and even comments or sounds the audience made during the performance.
This piece is the second part of the creation story of the Zuni people. “Finding the Middle of the Earth” was performed orally, so the choices made for the transcription of the piece were meant to reflect the different vocal qualities, speeds, and intonations of the speaker during the performance. The choice to include audience interactions with the speaker's performance exhibits the shared energy between the audience and the performer and the importance of unity between storytellers and their listeners. This also speaks to the influence an audience may have on an oral performance and on one another during a performance.
The excerpt outlines the beginning of the Zuni people and how they came to their home, the historical Hawikku. It also tells how they built their first village there and in a few places elsewhere. This settling event preceded the Zuni's finding of the “Middle Place” and briefly speaks of their settling in different areas before they found the 'true' Middle Place. In the piece, it is said that a water-strider deity was summoned by two Zuni twins. They told the water spider that he was to stretch all his limbs and body across the earth and where his heart fell on the earth was where the true Middle Place, now known as Zuni Pueblo, would be. Where each of the water strider's limbs met the earth the Zuni built six other villages, along with the village at the heart of the water-strider.
Adams, Lili. “The ‘Middle’ Gender in Zuni Religion.” Owlcation, Owlcation, 29 Mar. 2018, https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/The-Middle-Gender-in-Zuni-Religion#:~:text=In%20the%20origin%20myth%2C%20the%20Zunis%20are%20represented,is%20thus%20represented%20as%20desirable%2C%20stable%2C%20and%20pre-ordained.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. “Finding The Center.” The New York Times, 24 Dec. 1972, pp. 4–4.
“Zuni Language.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuni_language.
“Zuni People.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Jan. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuni_people.
Contributors: