Books
•ihr
( t/ytfh’ I las Going 1 ixiv
Coyote Was Going There
By Jarold Ramsey
© 1977 University of Washing
ton Press
$14.95 hardback
In Oregon there Is a vast canon
of native literature virtually untap
ped. And until now, few persons
outside a select group of scholars
writing in obscure journals were
even aware of it. With Coyote was
Going There, the first anthology of
this literature to appear, tales
about Indians of the Oregon coun
try may receive wide recognition.
The stories are well worth read
ing, whether as bawdy and (some
times) satirically told escapades
of Coyote and his friends, or as
tales of mythological and cultural
importance.
Divided into six sections along
geographical and tribal bound
aries, the stories can further be
separated along “historical" lines.
The three epochs are the Myth
Age, when the world is first
created; the Age of Transforma
tion, when the world is being or
dered; and the Historical Age,
when man and the animals as
sumed the guises they wear
today.
The most striking quality of the
stories, perhaps, is their acute
consciousness of place, which is
in contrast with our own society’s
alienation from the environoment.
The cast of characters includes
Elk, Snake, Wolf, Eagle and
Wren. Stories of the coastal tribes
tell of South Wind, Ocean,
Ocean s daughter and Thunderer.
Everywhere there is Coyote, who
figures as the central character for
all the tribes.
The stories are also disting
VALUABLE COUPON
THREE
FOR THE PRICE
OF TWO
COLOR
PROCESSING
_ Kodak
The price is right!
For a limited time only, order three Kodak color enlargements
made from color prints, instant prints, slides or Kodacolor
negatives and you'll get one enlargement free Simply take this
coupon, plus your negatives, slides or prints, to your dealer in
Kodak products
• For every three same-size Kodak color enlargements ordered,
two will be at regular price and the third will be made by Kodak
without charge
• Offer good on orders received by Kodak labs in the United
States from January 15 through March 14, 1979
• This coupon (or facsimile) must accompany each order
• Enlargements in one order will be supplied on same paper
surface.
• Any number of enlargements may be ordered from any number
of same-size color prints, slides or Kodacolor negatives
• Offer applies to ALL Kodak color enlargements. 5" x 7" or
larger It does not include 3S (square). 3R (rectangular) or 2R
(wallet size) color prints
NAME
STREET
CITY STATE
Number of color enlargements at regular price
ZIP
Number of color enlargements at no extra charge
TOTAL
erlach’s'
849 E. 13th
EUGENE
500 MAIN
SPRINGFIELD
uished by their frank and humor
ous treatments of matters often
considered too delicate by the
puritan and the civilized. In one
story, Coyote consults his excre
ment for advice, an action Freud
might have noted as a linking of
the mind and the bowels.
Most of these stories were con
ceived during visions, and might
be worthwhile to persons in
terested in dream interpretation
and the comparative study of cul
tural expressions of the subcon
scious.
For persons interested in com
parative mytnoiogy, inese raies
have some striking parallels in
classical and Judeao-Christian
myth. The book contains a story of
the version of creation, in which a
flood cleanses the earth for a new
age. There also are several
Orpheus-like tales in which
Coyote sets out to bring loved
ones back from the dead. His fail
ure brings death into the world
permanently.
As in the Prometheun legend of
Greek myth, man's discovery of
fire was a result of theft, as related
in "How the Cayuse Got Fire”
llrixyusej, aiiu in i • iv men vi
Fire” (Shasta).
Thanks to Coyote editor Jarold
Ramsey, the general reader can
now be exposed to this previously
unavailable literature. For the stu
dent of Indian culture, many tales
of topical and tribal diversity are
for the first time accessible in one
volume.
Coyote should be of particular
interest to ecologically minded
Oregonians, as an expression of a
cultural and philosophical contrast
with today's Oregon country. By
Brooks Dareff
1
Films
Lord of the Rings
Animated by Ralph Bakshi
Cinema World
The advertising for Lord of the
Rings is deceptive — we are given
the impression the whole of the
Ring trilogy will be covered. Actu
ally only about half of the major
plot line unfolds before the film’s
end, when a narrator informs us
we ll just have to wait for Part II.
Phooey. Well, I can wait.
Even with all the time the film
devotes to the incomplete tale,
Rings is stripped down. Purists
will notice the complete absence
of certain characters. Other
characters are treated superfi
cially — Ents are little more than
just walking trees. The richness
one associates with the Tolkien
books is missing.
The animator, Ralph Bakshi
has reduced the story to a chase
something on the order of Frodo
and the Sundance Kid. This simp
lif ication works to Bakshi’s advan
tage because it gives him plenty of
opportunities to exploit scenes of
Ores and Dark Riders. Ores and
Dark Riders are the epitome of
Evil, and if it’s anything that Bakshi
understands or seems to be in
terested in, it's evil.
The Dark Riders are suitably
terrifying. My boots filled up with
water when they came on the
screen.
On the other hand, peering into
the face of one of Bakshi’s wide
screen hobbits is as exciting as
confronting a bowl of unsalted
oatmeal. Frodo is bland, Sam
blander, and Bilbo is boring. When
Bakshi occasionally attempts fa
cial ‘ines to indicate hobbit ex
pressions, one can’t figure out if
the hobbit is puzzled, constipated,
irritated or fatally wounded. Bring
back the Lucky Charms lep
rechaun.
Gandalf is also troubled by what
I can only call a lack of accurate
texture. He’s the world’s first *
smooth-skinned ancient person.
Bakshi better not ever attempt a
film on Nixon — I don’t think he
could handle the jowls.
Conveying goodness in the car
toon medium seems beyond
Bakshi's talents. Or maybe he
finds goodness dull and unin
teresting. Certainly his Gollum
has texture and life — he's dis
gusting, funny and pitiful.
Many of the animation’s prob
lems probably have to do with the
method of making the film. Bakshi
has allowed techniques to stunt
his imagination. Scenes were
filmed with live actors, then drawn
over. Some people might consider
that technique cheating, but who
cares about ethics if the technique
works aesthetically. It does work
occasionally, as with the Ores and
a tavern scene. But with the hob
bits, the technique makes us corv
cious of humans beneath the sur
(Continued on Page 7B)
Game craze
(Continued from Page 5B)
Backgammon, like other “race"
or “chase" games, uses a board
and a random generator (most
commonly dice). The chase
games originated in Egypt or
Mesopotamia about 5,000 years
ago. "Senet," in a flashy box with
King Tut’s picture on it, is a mod
em version of one of these ancient
games.
The Egyptians used a two
sided bar, curved on one side and
flat on the other as their random
generator. The Samarians rolled a
dice with four surfaces (pyramid
shaped). We most commonly use
the six-sided dice although die
can have up to 22 sides.
All cultures have had games of
some kind. Kilgore says the
sophistication of the games
matches the cultural level of the
socrety. The more primitive the
society, the more primitive the
games. He says the reverse is
true as well.
That may not be a compliment
to our society, taking into account
Eugene’s latest game craze,
'Pigmania.” Kilgore says the
game has really caught on.
Two little pink rubber ptgs are
rolled out of a cup called a "pig
sty,” and players get points de
pending on what position the
swine land in. Possible positions
are the pig out, the sider, the hoof
er, the leaning jowler, makin
bacon, the snouter and the razor
back. The game is instantly for
feited if the pigs land on top of
each other.
"It's an unnatural position for
pigs," Kilgore explains.
Some persons are avowed
game haters. "I’ve met people
who’ve said that,” says Kilgore in
obvious disbelief. He elaborates.
“I'm convinced that there is a
game somewhere that every per
son could enjoy. I'll even go
farther than that — there is a game
somewhere that every person can
be good at.”
With the variety on the shelves
these days, it seems as if there
must be one to match any per
sonal fetish.
There are "scene” games for
Houston, Washington and San
Francisco; spy training games,
“Project KGB" and "Project CIA;’’
drug games, “Scam, the interna
tional game of dope smugglers;”
- —-—11
VW’S MERCEDES BMW’S
DATSUN TOYOTA
reliable service for
your foreign car
2025 Franklin Blvd
Eugene. Ore. 97403
Bus Ph 342-2912
political games, "Class Struggle,
to prepare for life in capitalist
America" and "Lie Cheat & Steal,
the game of political power;" word
games, cultural games, puzzles
and many more.
But games take time and
energy, and for the most part, the
results are intangible. Kilgore
says he meets people who believe
games are a waste of time and
who are convinced the rewards
are few or non-existent.
"What do you have when you
finish a set of exercises"? Kilgore
asks rhetorically, making a com
parison to gaming. “Your brain is
sharper.
“There's really no value to it ex
cept what we give it," he adds,
saying that most experiences are
valueless if one is looking for tan
gibles. He cites making love as an
example of a "valueless’' activity.
Some people use games as
study tools as well as for enter
tainment. Kilgore mentions his
own favorite — war games. With
war games, the "hook” is history.
The important conditions are re
created and the players take the
place of the major actors.
These games are popular in
Eugene as are other strategy
games. Kilgore says University
people boost the demand for
these "intellectual" games.
Kilgore refuses to underesti
mate the learning possibilities or
the rewards of gaming.
“You’re changed, you’re differ
ent," he explains. "You probably
learned something about the
game, about yourself, your oppo
nent or about the universe,”
By Judy Emerson
Photos by Keith Allen