The Anguish of Snails: Native American Folklore in the West

by Barre Toelken

After a career working and living with American Indians and studying their traditions, Barre Toelken has written this sweeping study of Native American folklore in the West. Within a framework of performance theory, cultural worldview, and collaborative research, he examines Native American visual arts, dance, oral tradition (story and song), humor, and patterns of thinking and discovery to demonstrate what can be gleaned from Indian traditions by Natives and non-Natives alike. In the process he considers popular distortions of Indian beliefs, demystifies many traditions by showing how they can be comprehended within their cultural contexts, considers why some aspects of Native American life are not meant to be understood by or shared with outsiders, and emphasizes how much can be learned through sensitivity to and awareness of cultural values.

Winner of the 2004 Chicago Folklore Prize, The Anguish of Snails is an essential work for the collection of any serious reader in folklore or Native American studies.

Genres: Nonfiction, Native American, Folklore

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2003

Reviews

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I asked Selina Peratrovich, an elderly Haida basketmaker from Ketchikan, Alaska, if she was passing her traditions on to her family. After telling me that she would never give up speaking to the plants and animals that give her materials, she admitted she was not going to be able to teach the basket arts to her grandchildren because they didn’t know the proper songs and prayers. Why didn’t they? Because they didn’t know the Haida language to express these prayers and songs. Why not teach them the language then? I asked. She fixed me with a fierce stare and said, “Listen: When I was a girl in a government school, we were physically punished for speaking our language. I don’t want my grandchildren to go through that, and since I can’t guarantee that it won’t happen to them, I’d rather just save them from it. That’s more important to me than baskets.”"
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A very interesting overview. I did find myself wishing it had gone more in depth and given more examples of folk art.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also a great introductory textbook for my Folklore class by a truly amazing folklorist here in Utah. Barre Toelken spent most of his professional career working with Navajo family members in Southern Utah. I especially like his introductory metaphor of looking at snail shell's patterns in order to try and discern what his life must have been like. I try to get my students to think about the traces or patterns they leave behind as they go through their lives--some more tangible than others, all of them shaped by other lives.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have listened to Barre in university classes and through published works for forty years, as many as he has listened to Navajo cultural traditions and innovations. Grab and share this true literature of Native and non-Native expression.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really informative and interesting. My favorite quote, regarding "The Sun's Myth": "...Someone's reckless and single-minded addiction to a bright object he can't let go of is a topic that is just as gripping today as it has ever been" (121).