FOLK TRADITIONS AND LIFE: A FEW SKETCHES

The paper represents the fragment of author’s long-term investigation aimed at understanding the commonalities and diversity in the value systems of hunter/gatherer people as expressed in their folklore. The particular focus of the paper is the conceptualization and reflection of emotional life and morality encoded in the folklore of the Wik-speaking groups of the Australian Aborigines (Cape York Peninsula) and the |xam busmen of South Africa. The paper focuses on folklore texts of the |Xam people, recorded and translated from |Xam into English by W. H. I. Bleek and L. C. Lloyd (1870–84), the original of which is owned by J. W. Jagger Library, University of Cape Town. These materials constitute the largest collection of San narratives ever recorded — approximately 9 000 pages in quarto. The Wik texts, studied in the paper, were published by U. McConnel in 1927–1940 and in 1957. They are not so numerous and extensive, but still represent unique and very valuable collection. The author is especially interested in the ways the creators of the folklore texts perceived, thought through and represented verbally human relations, behavioral norms and traditional ethics. Such analysis should lead to greater understanding of hunter-gatherer cultures, including contemporary representatives.