Oral Epic

Karl Reichl is Professor Emeritus of the University of Bonn (Institute of English, American and Celtic Studies). He has had visiting professorships at Harvard University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, the University of Madison at Wisconsin, and the Karakalpak State University in Nukus. His main research interests lie in medieval oral literature and in contemporary (or near-contemporary) oral epic poetry, especially in the Turkic-speaking areas of Central Asia.

Underlying The Oral Epic: From Performance to Interpretation are Reichl’s pioneering labor of many decades to inform research on orality in medieval European literatures by means of his extensive fieldwork with Central Asian Turkic oral bards (Parry’s first and unrealized choice as ethnographic subjects to test his path-breaking theory of Homeric composition) and his grounding in musicology, ethno-and otherwise. The book goes beyond this basis, however. It is one of the most broadly comparative single-authored syntheses of research yet produced on living or recently living oral epic traditions worldwide. As such, the book makes a worthy American/oralist complement to synthetic works in the other schools (for example, A. T. Hatto, “Towards an Anatomy of Heroic and Epic Poetry,” in Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry, Vol. 2, 1989; and V. M. Gatsak, Ustnaia ėpicheskaia traditsiia vo vremeni, 1989). Moreover, its conciseness, evenness in treating matters of broad scope, and accessible style make it suitable for use as a textbook.--Daniel Prior, Miami University for Journal of American Folklore

• IntroductionPart I: Settings1 How to Identify an Oral EpicOral: shades and gradesThe challenge of native classificationAn African interludeThe Uzbek dastan2 The SingerEpic singers: types and termsHow to become an epic singerThe chain of transmissionCreativity and innovation3 Introducing PerformanceThe ethnography of communicationTextualizationPart II: Performance4 VoiceSpeakingSingingShamanic voices5 GestureConventional gestures: the Karakalpak jïraw Stylized gestures: the Kyrgyz manaschï Gesture and inspirationGesture, miming, stage props6 Oral Epics as SongsSong as vehicle, song as music‘Riding the song’: the singing of the Kyrgyz epic ManasMusic and metre: some examples 7 Voice and InstrumentGusle, qobïz, horse-head fiddleLute, dutar, dombiraThe interplay of song and instrumentPart III: Interpretation8 Words, Music, MeaningMeaning and expressionWhat’s in a name?ImitationLeitmotifs in Siberian oral epicsExpression and convention9 The Singer and the TalePoint of ViewMythological epics, sacred timeFirst-person narration, shamanic tracesThe narrator’s presence in the narrative10 Performance and InterpretationVisualization and imagingAria and recitativeFrom context to textAppendicesA Notes on Oral Epic TraditionsB Audio/Video ExamplesC Discography