Franz Boas’ Postulate of the Warfare Origin of Secret Societies and Myths about the “Culture Heroˮ and the “Tricksterˮ in North America

In this paper, the authors argue that Franz Boas had a coherent theory of the secret society, which he did not systematically develop anywhere, but which can be reconstructed from several of his works. The authors are not dealing with the whole theory, but only with the postulate of the warfare origin of secret societies (which later became the foundation of the Männerbund theory). Namely, Boas believed that the secret societies of the North American Indians were originally warlike, but that by the beginning of the 20th century they either retained only the functions of initiation and education, or were transformed into therapeutic and dance societies. Although he claimed that the mythology of the Indians did not provide additional insights into the origins of secret societies, his dealings with the myth of the “culture heroˮ and the “tricksterˮ proved the contrary. The authors try to go a step further and find new contributions for the study of the origins of secret societies in North America in the myth of Wolf as the brother (father) of the “culture hero.ˮ

Suicide and attempted suicide among indigenous people

There are hundreds of indigenous groups and peoples around the world. Examples are the Australian Aborigines, the North American Indians (Native Americans) of the United States (US) and Canada, and the Māori of New Zealand. Indigenous people often have elevated suicide rates compared with the general population in their countries, and divergent epidemiological characteristics. Social, economic, political, environmental, and historical factors influence Indigenous people’s mental health. In this chapter, the adoption of culture-specific prevention strategies as well as community-based interventions in countries where indigenous peoples live are proposed and discussed, including the importance of involving the tribal leaders in the communities, clergies, and schools, and to sustain the indigenous heritage of the region.

New Trends in Multilingualism and Minority Languages on a Global Scale

The article examines current trends in language policy and attitudes towards multilingualism and minority languages in the European Union, the USA, and Australia. On the example of some languages (Basque, Breton, Corsican, Sámi etc.) various factors affecting the current situation of minority languages are analyzed with priority to the state language policy. Special attention is concentrated on a new phenomenon in European sociolinguistics – the emergence of "new speakers" from minority groups who have learned these languages not in the family, but due to the educational system. Regarding the US language policy, the situation with the languages of North American Indians is described through some positive changes that have occurred in the economic, legal, cultural and linguistic environment of Indian tribes. The Australian case is analyzed as an equally striking example of progress from banning the use of aboriginal languages to modern programmes of their revitalisation. On the basis of the considered cases the author points to the importance of such factors as language activism and the financial and economic situation of minorities themselves. It is concluded that the change in the value paradigm only sets the framework conditions for the implementation of language rights but does not guarantee their success.

DISTINCTIVE DIVERSITY IN THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE EPIC "SONGABOUT GAYAVATA" -THE REFLECTION OF DIVERSITY AND TRANSLATION ISSUES

In this article, the epic poem “Songs of Hiawatah” is devoted to the description of the life, life and culture of American Indians, and the epic embodies the traditions of folklore, which is a specific genre of nationalism. Longfello saw the source of inspiration for the creation of national literature in the folklore of the North American Indians -Native Americans. Longfellow's research on the Indians can be traced in several of his works. A number of scholars have conducted research on the work of G. Longfello and his works.

OLIGOTONICS AND CHASMATONICS IN TRADITIONAL SONGS OF NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS (on the 145th anniversary of the birth of Natalie Curtis)

The article is dedicated to the memory of the famous American ethnomusicologist Natalie Curtis Burlin (1875–1921), who made a significant contribution to the study of traditional music of North American Indians. This is the first experience in Russian musicology that addresses the theoretical issues of studying Native American vocal music. The main research problem of the article is the identification of the basic qualities of oligotonics and chasmatonics in traditional songs of North American Indians by the example of expeditionary records of Natalie Curtis. The author reveals that unichords, dichords and trichords, both in themselves and in their combinations, have semantic, symbolic and structure- forming significance for the formation of intonational structure of traditional Indian songs (lullaby, medicine, song-insert in mythological legend). The methodological base was formed by approaches of modern ethnomusicology (analysis of song genres of traditional ethnic music) and music theory (theory of mode and modal archetypes).