Smoke signals., June 15, 2005, Page 6, Image 6

Smoke Signals
Aboriginal Chinese Warrior-Poet Learning About U.S. Aboriginals
Aku Wuwu is the first to write poetry and perform its translation in the ritual language of the Yi minority.
6 JUNE 15, 2005
Dy Ron Karten
Aku Wuwu has an easy smile,
and when he reads his poetry, he
has a singer's voice. Not perhaps
what one expects of a warrior, but
Wuwu and the indigenous Yi
people of southwest China have
been warriors for centuries.
n i 77-
Warrior And A Poet Aku Wuwu is one of the great
poets of the Chinese Yi minority. He writes in both Chinese and
his native Nuosu language, addressing local concerns and also
reflecting the experiences of the larger Chinese community.
His success has enabled him to travel, where his interests have
focused on other aboriginal societies, and the common expe
riences that all share.Wuwu sports a necklace given to him by
Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy.
The Yi have "always been war
riors at heart," he said through
translator Mark Bender, an Asian
Studies Professor from Ohio State
University. "The warrior spirit is
still respected, but it is only during
festivals that some men dress up in
the old-style warrior garb."
The seven million Yi are among
China's largest indigenous minori
ties. They maintained an indepen
dent kingdom until the 1950s, ac
cording to Bender, when political
upheaval swept across China.
"Nobody came in. Nobody went
out," said Bender of the centuries of
Yi history.
Bender is the first American
translator of Wuwu's poetry and
one of two translators who accom
panied him during his five-week
American tour. Juwen Zhang,
Professor of Asian Studies at
Willamette University, also ac
companied Wuwu and translated
here in Oregon.
For centuries, the majority Han
Chinese have migrated down into
the southwest border areas where
the Yi have long lived, and pushed
the Yi further
and further
into the moun
tainous border
areas.
It is the clash
of the two cul
tures that is the
subject of
Wuwu's poetry,
said Bender.
From his poem,
"The Last Bimo
(ritualist, priest)
in the Village,"
translated by
Bender in the
2004 book, The
Poem Behind
The Poem I
Translating
Asian Poetry:
Ancestor, ah
I will use my
two old teeth
To exchange
for your two
new teeth.
On this, his first tour of America,
Wuwu wanted to see Indians, said
Bender. Indians and Yi are peoples
with similar experiences, said Wuwu.
The scenery also is similar, he said.
"As far as he can see," translated
Zhang, "there are quite a few com
monalities: the way the society is or
ganized, belief systems, personali
ties, people's relationships."
Before the Yi go hunting, said
Wuwu, there is a ritual to be per
formed to the Mountain God, to the
Tree God. "Only after the ritual can
they go up and hunt," said Zhang.
"After they've killed something,
they ask forgiveness. When they
cut up the animal, there are rules
about how and where to make the
cuts," said Zhang.
While touring the Grand Ronde
facilities, Wuwu met with Tribal
Council member Chris Mercier,
who had just finished the only
book on China he has read: Soul
Mountain. It turned out that the
book included the Yi country and
people. (Mercier has since donated
the book to the Tribal library.)
Wuwu also met Tribal Chair
woman Cheryle Kennedy, who
gave him the beaded necklace that
she was wearing. He received other
gifts as well, including a framed
photograph taken during pow-wow
and a Grand Ronde jacket.
Wuwu performed his poetry for
a small group at Grand Ronde,
and later in the day at Willamette
University, he was to join Janice
Gould (Konkow), a Native Ameri
can poet, for a reading. He also
read his work locally at Chemeketa
Community College.
In his travels as far east as Ohio,
Wuwu met with Cherokee, Ojibwe
and Choctaw
Tribes in addi
tion to the
Grand Rondes.
And during
these visits, at
least during his
visit to Grand
Ronde, Wuwu
asked as much
as he an
swered. He
wanted to know
whether casino
money goes to
Tribal mem
bers. He asked
whether the
federal govern
ment provided
money to the
Tribe. He
asked about the
relationship be
tween and among Tribes, about
changes in the culture over the
years, about efforts to preserve the
aboriginal language.
Wuwu saw "some sort of connec
tion beyond all the similar experi
ences," said Bender, and pieces of
this experience already are making
their way into poetry written since
his arrival.
"In the past, what I knew was
from TV and other people's eyes,"
said Wuwu. One of the "greatest
achievements" of his trip, was that
he has now seen "in my own eyes
this reality of the land, people, ev
eryday life, faces."
He comes from a family of sing
ers, he said, who left for future gen
erations the epics they used to sing
about: basic stuff like "the origins of
heaven and earth."
And today, Wuwu carries on with
traditional writing both in his na
tive Nuosu (a branch of the Yi) lan
guage, (that he won't allow to be
translated into Chinese), and in the
major Chinese language itself.
"Aku Wuwu sees his works on one
level functioning as textbooks on tra
ditional lore for those younger Yi,
expecially those caught between tra
dition and modern urban lifeways,"
wrote Bender in his essay, "The
! Z
y v. ; fiff
0 p
Greetings Wuwu meets Tribal Council member Valorie
Sheker-Robertson. In the middle is Juwen Zhang, Professor of
Asian Studies at Willamette University, who also translated for
Wuwu in his Oregon travels.
Spirit of Zhyge Alu: Translations of
Aku Wuwu's Nuosu Poetry."
Sponsors of the trip included the
Department of East Asian Lan
guages and Literatures at Ohio
State University, along with the
Oregon State University (OSU)
East Asian Studies Center, the OSU
Center for Folklore Studies, and the
Institute for Collaborative Research
and Public Humanities.
Floyd Red Crow Westerman Visits Tribal Council
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4.
Hollywood Comes To The Rez Floyd "Red Crow"Westerman (far right) , pictured with Tribal
Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy, recently visited with Tribal Council members to learn more about ;w' '
the history of Indians in the region in order to accurately depict local Tribal people in his upcom- j& 1 v.
ing movie, Tulamook Jreaswe. The movie takes place m Manzaruta, Oregon and depicts the
spiritual journey ofa 14-year-old girl as she searches for treasure. Tribal Council members
Valorie Shaker-Robertson (above, left) and Jan Reibach (above, right) pose with Actor
Maxwell Gail (known for his role as StanWojciehowicz on Barney Miller) . V
ft Photo by Heather Boylan I
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