Words. Chamberlin talks a lot about language, in particular the strangeness and wonder of how language works. Stories, he says, “bring us close to the world we live in by taking us into the world of words” (italics mine,1). He describes learning to read and write as learning “to be comfortable with a cat that is both there and not there” (132). Based on Chamberlin’s understanding of how riddles and charms work, explain this “world of words.” Reflect on why “words make us feel closer to the world we live in” (1).
In chapters Eight and Nine of If This is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories, J. Edward Chamberlin discusses the significance of riddles and charms in stories and songs. In his opinion, riddles celebrate contradictions and require us to “make sense of what seems to be nonsense.” (160) They show how language can be twisted to take on strange and surprising meanings. In a similar way, charms blur the line between reality and imagination. They are magical and musical, lending power to words and breathing new life into language.
Chamberlin’s own storytelling takes the reader into a “world of words.” Reading the story of his grandfather, who was robbed at gunpoint in the bank he owned, I couldn’t help but be charmed by the man’s heroism. Chamberlin’s grandfather is described as being “cool and calm” (177) when a bank robber is pointing a gun at his face. Rather than hand over the money, the grandfather “kicked the safe door shut, spun the handles to set the lock and swung back to face the stranger. “Shoot me and be damned,” he said.” (176) This story served as a charm for Chamberlin growing up, reinforcing his grandfather as a hero in his imagination.
After reading this story, I was reminded of a tale that my dad used to tell me at night before bed. I used to request to hear this particular story over and over, even though I already knew the storyline by heart. In it, my dad is a young boy, hanging out with his group of neighbourhood pals. They decided that they wanted to be detectives. They formed a club and met every day to discuss possible cases. One day, their local candy store had a mysterious robbery. Behind the store was a chicken wire cage where they stored all of their bottle and can returns. Someone had cut the wire and taken all of the cans. The detective club had found their case! Across the street from the store was a large and empty field where they used to hunt horned toads and snakes. My dad, the star detective, noticed some cans in the ditch. The group spent the afternoon searching the field until they found the stash of cans and bottles covered by branches. They told the store owner who then recovered the bottles. The Kids Detective Club was rewarded with free candy and sodas. Mystery solved! Just like Chamberlin’s story, my dad’s tale has mystery, adventure, and a happy ending. While simple, it holds the promise of a charm and captured my youthful imagination. Stories like these simultaneously give us a sense of the extraordinary and the everyday.
But what about the cultures whose languages and words are endangered? In chapter Five, Chamberlin writes about the Khomani people, a small group of bushmen from South Africa who suffered numerous atrocities, including being displaced from their traditional lands. In the middle of the 20th century their language N|u was declared dead, despite the fact that there were a handful of fluent speakers still living. After their homeland in the Kalahari Desert was returned to them in 1999, Chamberlin travels with the Khomani on their first return to their aboriginal homeland. (111) Chamberlin writes, “The Khomani are recovering their language…they have the interest, for now that they are back in the desert they want to learn about it through the names of its plants and animals and spirits and stars.” (113) Despite the atrocities the Khomani have faced as a people, words still have the power to make them feel closer to their ancestral lands.
In every culture, words and stories console and unite individuals. As Chamberlin notes, the “dedication to the power of words to bring comfort and build community is all but universal.” (182) Words keep us company and show us that we are not alone in our suffering. They bring us faith when faced with uncertainty and sorrow. Above all, words are about connection. They connect individuals to history, communities, and the world itself.
Works Cited
Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?:Finding Common Ground. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2004. Print.
“Khomani San.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVMHtquHlTM. YouTube, uploaded by Portal Films, 20 Jan. 2008.
Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.” unesco.org, http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016.