J.F. Campbell; Words From the Heart
March 7, 2010
J.F. Campbell undertook Scotland’s first great ethnographic collection influenced by scientific methods, he undertook to collect the material as best he could. Using a network of collectors, they often first listen to the tale and then got the performer to repeat again and transcribe. Given the limitations of technology at the period this is a good method. Performing a tale is a somewhat different process, than having to sit and slowly speak while someone writes. As it’s rather different from the manner in which the individual normal performs you have a higher chance of stumbling and losing the plot line. A collector who has listened carefully to the tale beforehand can act as prompt and aid the process. It’s still not uncommon for people to do this using modern recording methods. People get nervous. Telling a tale to a friend is very different to having a story recorded by an ethnographer.
J.F Campbell’s methods are the practical working methods of someone use to recording material in the field.
The problems surrounding ethnology have been discussed in a previous post. So I can discuss briefly the role of J.F. Campbell the ethnologist. I suspect he was rather a shrewd one. But that is very difficult to determine. Very little has been written about J.F Campbell. He has left a wealth of research diaries, that contain a wealth of material and a fine collection of his art work. But they were written by one of his relatives and the hand-writing is problematic. But it is through proper analysis of these diaries that J.F. Campbell’s true contribution to the subject will be understood.
He outlines part of his method in the Introduction to West Highland tales titled “The Fairy Egg and What Came Out of It.” I think with J.F. Campbell the problem may be not what he is saying but how he is saying it. In order to understand what he is saying you have to confront his use of metaphor. This is not a language of science. Three metaphors seem essential in my view to understanding J.F. Campbell, the fairy egg which is a reference to the mullaca bean, the barnacle goose and the great tree.
The mullaca bean and the tree would seem the two central metaphors. Galton discussed his objections to J.F. Campbell and suggested the tree was a symbol intended to stand in opposition to Darwin’s tree. He also takes exception to Campbell’s use of metaphor in his work. Stating that it makes his definitions unclear and somewhat difficult to grasp. It should be noted that Campbell was almost certainly an expert story-teller himself, his use of metaphor is very sophisticated. To suggest that the tree is simply standing in opposition to Darwin, may be a partial truth. An example of Galton playing the same word games.
J.F Campbell’s mullaca bean looks like it may contain some pretty interesting information, particularly if it can be traced to the indian version of the name. As it throws an immediate link between Scottish folk practise and Indian folk practice. Something that we can suspect J.F. Campbell would be extremely familiar with.
But such is the problem with metaphor. It is not clearly what exactly is being said. It certainly fulfills its role, in sparking the imagination, opening a world of possibilities and demonstrates the skill with language that oral performers have. But it is never certain. It is not a scientific language, it would appear to be related to a philosophical debate of the period.
Again with J.F. Campbell’s tree as a metaphor for the journey that international tales undertake, the trade routes they follow, the great paths of knowledge along which they travel along with other forms if information. It is a beautiful image. But one that also hints at other things. It’s an uncertain language.
To repeat. It is not what he is saying it is how he is saying it. I’ve spent quite a few years studying the barnacle goose. It is an interesting creature in its own right. The bean and the tree should not take so long. The philosophy of the Duke of Argyll need to be looked at in relation to this use of language.
It is a debate that still continues in Post modernism. It seem’s to be making points with regard to language that are not so far removed from the Duke of Argyll’s discussions with regard to language and indeed his use of metaphor.
