Xiipúktan (First of All): Three Views of the Origins of the Quechan People

First of All is a remarkable collaborative work by George Bryant, a fluent native Quechan researcher, and Dr. Amy Miller, linguist, University of California, San Diego. Their combined expertise enables the reader to examine three traditional stories [...] All three views of the origin of the Quechan are printed in parallel Quechan and English formatted text. The meticulous transcript review process is evidenced by notes at the end of each retelling. This single volume is made complete by providing a practical orthography along with pronunciation tips and grammar. [...] Highly recommended for Native language and traditional story collections.
—Naomi Caldwell, Associate Professor and Coordinator,
Library Education Media Program, Alabama State University. American Indian Library Association.
Review available at http://ailanet.org/book-review-xiipuktan-first/
Library Education Media Program, Alabama State University. American Indian Library Association.
Review available at http://ailanet.org/book-review-xiipuktan-first/
The Quechan people live along the lower part of the Colorado River in the United States. According to tradition, the Quechan and other Yuman people were created at the beginning of time, and their Creation myth explains how they came into existence, the origin of their environment, and the significance of their oldest traditions. The Creation myth forms the backdrop against which much of the tribe’s extensive oral literature may be understood.
At one time there were almost as many different versions of the Quechan creation story as there were Quechan families. Now few people remember them. This volume, presented in the Quechan language with facing-column translation, provides three views of the origins of the Quechan people. One synthesizes narrator George Bryant’s childhood memories and later research. The second is based upon J.P. Harrington’s A Yuma Account of Origins (1908). The third provides a modern view of the origins of the Quechan, beginning with the migration from Asia to the New World and ending with the settlement of the Yuman tribes at their present locations.
This collection is for the Quechan people and will also interest linguists, anthropologists, oral literature specialists, and anyone curious about Native American culture.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program grant no. MN-00-13-025-13 has generously contributed towards the publication of this volume.
Xiipúktan is the fifth volume in our World Oral Literature Series. The Series is produced in conjunction with the World Oral Literature Project.
At one time there were almost as many different versions of the Quechan creation story as there were Quechan families. Now few people remember them. This volume, presented in the Quechan language with facing-column translation, provides three views of the origins of the Quechan people. One synthesizes narrator George Bryant’s childhood memories and later research. The second is based upon J.P. Harrington’s A Yuma Account of Origins (1908). The third provides a modern view of the origins of the Quechan, beginning with the migration from Asia to the New World and ending with the settlement of the Yuman tribes at their present locations.
This collection is for the Quechan people and will also interest linguists, anthropologists, oral literature specialists, and anyone curious about Native American culture.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services Program grant no. MN-00-13-025-13 has generously contributed towards the publication of this volume.
Xiipúktan is the fifth volume in our World Oral Literature Series. The Series is produced in conjunction with the World Oral Literature Project.
Xiipúktan (First of All): Three Views of the Origins of the Quechan People
George Bryant (Linguistic work by Amy Miller) | November 2013
World Oral Literature Series, vol. 5 | ISSN: 2050-7933 (Print); 2054-362X (Online)
vii + 212 | 6.14" x 9.21" (234 x 156 mm)
ISBN Paperback: 9781909254404
ISBN Hardback: 9781909254640
ISBN Digital (PDF): 9781909254411
ISBN Digital ebook (epub): 9781909254428
ISBN Digital ebook (mobi): 9781909254435
DOI: 10.11647/OBP.0037
BIC subject codes: JHMC (Social and cultural anthropology, ethnography), JFHF (Folklore, myths and legends), 2J (American indigenous languages); BISAC subject codes: SOC002000 (SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General), LIT022000 (LITERARY CRITICISM / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology); OCLC Number: 941419514.
Authors’ biographies
Dedication
Part I: Acknowledgements and Introduction
Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Quechan Account of Origins
The Quechan Legend of the Creation
The Migration of the Yuman Tribes
From English to Quechan
From recording to manuscript
Alphabet
Grammar
Conventions
References
Part II: The Quechan Legend of the Creation
Retold in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Part III: A Quechan Account of Origins
Retold in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Part IV: The Migration of the Yuman Tribes
Told in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Notes
Dedication
Part I: Acknowledgements and Introduction
Acknowledgements
Introduction
A Quechan Account of Origins
The Quechan Legend of the Creation
The Migration of the Yuman Tribes
From English to Quechan
From recording to manuscript
Alphabet
Grammar
Conventions
References
Part II: The Quechan Legend of the Creation
Retold in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Part III: A Quechan Account of Origins
Retold in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Part IV: The Migration of the Yuman Tribes
Told in the Quechan language by George Bryant
Notes
© 2013 George Bryant and Amy Miller

George Bryant and Amy Miller, Xiipúktan (First of All): Three Views of the Origins of the Quechan People. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2013, http://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0037
Further details about CC-BY-NC-ND licenses are available at: http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Cover image: Taylor Lake, Lower Colorado River, California. Photo by Michael Field, http://www.flickr.com/photos/49825390@N08/4600070121 (CC-BY)

Some rights are reserved. The articles of this book
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Attribution should include the following information:
George Bryant and Amy Miller, Xiipúktan (First of All): Three Views of the Origins of the Quechan People. Cambridge, UK: Open Book Publishers, 2013, http://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0037
Further details about CC-BY-NC-ND licenses are available at: http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
Cover image: Taylor Lake, Lower Colorado River, California. Photo by Michael Field, http://www.flickr.com/photos/49825390@N08/4600070121 (CC-BY)
An early account of the Quechan creation, entitled 'A Yuma Account of Origins', published in English by anthropologist John Peabody Harrington (The Journal of American Folklore, 21/82 (Oct.-Dec., 1908), pp. 324-48), is available here.