the spoken word is revered (mystic, tradition, experience)

[t3gah]

"It is through the power of speech, and the larger unified voice of the oral tradition, that we exist as we do."

"My first memories are not so much of *things* as they were of *words* that gave shape and substance to my being from the world around me. Born into two tribal cultures which have existed for millennia without written languages, the spoken word held me in a mystical and intimate way as it has others who come from societies whose literature is oral.

In such cultures, the spoken word is revered, and to it are attributed certain qualities. One quality is akin to magic or enchantment because the mystery of language and speech, and the process of their development, as well as their origin, can never be fully explained. For the same reason, the spoken word is believed to be power which can create or destroy.

In the Pawnee culture, the experience with that language and their spoken word, and their numerous voices flowing into one was identical to the Otoe experience, though the Pawnee culture and language are distinctly different because the two tribes are unrelated. The Pawnees also had adopted English by the time I was born.

Most of the time, the Otoe voice was as fluid as the water from which we were told that we came. In water we were conceived, and we made our first appearance on its shorelines in clans of the totem beings who have since not ceased to be. The clans of the Bear, Elk, Buffalo, and others traveled in circles for a while, leaving their imprints deeply impressed in the mud. Silence and speech alternated here. Remember we, need both we are told. Silence followed silence. Then all the totem beings spoke at once.

Yes, through their speeches, and through the ensuing silence, the people, the clans, knew that they lived.

This is the power of language, but often it is not realized until silence prevails. Silence. Remember both, we are told."

"The Spoken Word Is Revered" by Anna Lee Walters, Pawnee/Ote
(http://www.powersource.com/talkingleaf/)