I'm reminded by this discussion that all too often archaeologists overlook
the fact that labels applied to objects by their makers, distributors, and
consumers are important data in and of themselves. It behooves all of us to
consider labels to be another attribute of an object, an attribute which may
reveal a great deal about time, place, and culture.
We need to be wary while translating the labels used by those who do not
speak English into English. Much information can be lost in the
translation. What does it tell us, for example, that "jew's harp" in at
least one Spanish translation, is "birimbao"? What is the etymology of
"birimbao," and what can that tell us about the relationship between the
object and those who label it such?
Labels we use for objects in 2010 say somethng about us and our times,
just as labels applied in the last century or earlier say something about
those times and cultures as revealed by the relationships between people and
things.
B. Fontana
----- Original Message -----
From: "Margaret Hangan" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 27, 2010 11:59 AM
Subject: Re: What do you call a Jews Harp?
My father was a folk musician and educator starting during the folk music
revival period of the late 1950s and early 1960s until his death two years
ago http://www.clabehangan.com/. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hanganbros He, and
his contemporaries generally referred to that instrument as a mouth harp.
You might want to check out the Folk Music Center Museum
http://www.folkmusiccenter.com/index.php?page=museum. They may know of
someone who is an expert in that instrument.
________________________________
From: "Boyer, Jeffrey, DCA" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thu, February 25, 2010 6:43:39 PM
Subject: What do you call a Jews Harp?
Colleagues in Euroamerican Artifact Analyses,
We at the OAS are seeking your help with the question, what do you call the
musical instrument often known as the Jews Harp (or Jew's Harp)? We have
examined all the references available to us as well as many websites about
the instrument, its history, and its identities. As many of you know, there
is controversy about whether that name is ethnically inappropriate, even
offensive, because of its reference to Jews and, by inference, Judaism. The
ethnic reference does not, to me (some at the OAS don't agree), seem
offensive at face value, and I have no interest in political correctness for
its own sake in this situation any more than in the use of the name French
Harp for the instrument often known as a harmonica. The history of the
instrument, however, indicates that the name Jews Harp was and is limited in
distribution to England, a few parts of Germany, and the United States. The
first known recorded name of the instrument uses that name (15th century
England), but there are artistic renderings much older than that and the
instrument, in many varieties, is found all over the world. One website
lists over 1000 names for the instrument around the world, almost none of
which mention Jews. So, it seems use of the name Jews Harp in the United
States reflects the English portion of the nation's heritage.
Our concern with what to call the instrument has two foci. The first is to
find an adequate and appropriate descriptive name. Although pretty much all
of us know what a Jews Harp is when we see one or read about one, the
limited distribution of the name suggests that it might be adequate to
identify the instrument in specific contexts but not in a general analytical
sense. We are leaning toward calling it a "jaw harp," a term that seems to
describe it adequately (although, as I understand it, the instrument can be
broadly classified as a "woodwind" even though the reed is often,
particularly in Europe, the Americas, India, and parts of Southeast Asia,
made of metal, usually steel or brass). Still, if we were to classify it as
a woodwind instrument, we would still need to have a specific name for it.
What do our colleagues call the instrument for analytical purposes?
Our second focus is on historical names for the instrument in western and,
particularly, southwestern North America. A generalized, modern, Spanish
name is "arpo de boca" (mouth harp), but there are many others in modern
Spain and we don't know their antiquities or the breadth of their use in
Spanish colonies around the world. We can find no Southwestern Native
American examples of the instrument, but we assume that doesn't necessarily
mean there weren't/aren't any. Is it a post-Columbian instrument in North
America? Do our colleagues know what the instrument was called in Spanish
Colonial, Mexican National, and early United States periods? Answers to this
focus would probably not change what we call the instrument during analyses
but would be useful for discussions of its identity in archaeological and
historical contexts.
Thanks for your consideration and answers. We await them on the edges of our
seats,
Jeff Boyer
Jeffrey L. Boyer, RPA
Project Director
Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico
mail: P.O. Box 2087, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504
physical: 407 Galisteo Street, Suite B-100, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
tel: 505.827.6387 fax: 505.827.3904
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