Is borrowing from folklore cultural appropriation?

May 20, 2019 7:39 PM

I am in the editing stage of a fiction writing project in which there is mention throughout of various mythological demon-type creatures, specifically the "wekufe" from Mapuche mythology. Should I be concerned that I'm treading into cultural appropriation?

I am in the editing stage of a fiction writing project in which there is mention throughout of various mythological demon-type creatures (however, this isn't really a work of fantasy/horror). The most prominent of these is the wekufe, a spirit creature out of Mapuche folklore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wekufe).

I am trying to be very sensitive toward issues of cultural appropriation (I am white, Canadian), but also true to the themes of the project itself. I am invoking the wekufe as a sort of equivalent to what a North American might call a "boogeyman," i.e., a nightmarish creature that exemplifies essential human/childhood fears. In this case, the character is of Chilean descent, so I've used this particular creature to represent their psychological condition. It doesn't really go much further than that.

This might be impossible to answer without the context, but am I way out of line here? My editor is concerned that I'm borrowing too freely. I reached out to a professor whose area of focus is Mapuche culture, but they wanted to paid for the consultation at a rate that just wasn't feasible. But even if my research is solid, is this ill-advised?

My instinct is to say: I'm not hijacking someone's struggle, I'm not claiming to be something I'm not, I'm simply drawing from another culture for storytelling purposes.

This troubling aspect really isn't an integral part of the work, and could likely be altered or cut, but it is fairly prominent as it currently stands.

I'd love to know what others think. Is it purely a matter of making sure I have my research tight, or am I treading into waters I should consider off-limits?

posted by southvie to Society & Culture (12 answers total)

If you're not from the culture and especially if you're using some aspect of another culture in a negative light (even if they're a boogeyman) then it might be worth trying a little harder to get some readers from the culture being portrayed to give you their read on it. And it would have been optimal to get input before you started writing a final draft. And this is me presuming you're writing for publication and not just as a hobby. This does not have to be a professor, it could just be people from within the culture who would have their own feelings about the depiction you are making.

In a general sense if you are from a majority culture and you are writing for your majority-culture audience about someone who is from a non-majority culture relative to that audience, you should be concerned. Not in a "You are going to screw this up" way or even "This is definitely appropriation" way, but in a "Research will not actually give you the nuance to be able to do this sensitively the way talking to people from within the culture would, and you should do that extra work." way.

And I get it, it's difficult to ask strangers to talk to you about something where you're worried you might get some negative feedback from them in a way that might tank your project which you have worked hard on. Or you might get people to say "Yeah sounds good to me thanks for asking" and people still give you a hard time about it. But yes, white people writing about other cultures for white people could be a problem. And it's good that you're thinking about this. Usually when I read works of fiction where people have borrowed from other cultures, they often mention in their credits/acknowledgments where they've gotten their source material from and/or thanked the sensitivity readers they've used.
posted by jessamyn at 8:18 PM on May 20, 2019 [17 favorites]

I'm simply drawing from another culture for storytelling purposes.

Which you will profit from without being a part of or giving back to the culture you drew from. From one writer to another, yes I’d consider that appropriation.
posted by Pretty Good Talker at 8:40 PM on May 20, 2019 [19 favorites]

I’d read this piece about the Windigo and consider if by using a complex piece of an entire cosmology as a shorthand for a psychological moment you’re doing the same thing as described there.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:53 PM on May 20, 2019 [10 favorites]

Would something essential be lost if the entity were simply referred to as a demon?
posted by notquitemaryann at 9:16 PM on May 20, 2019 [10 favorites]

My instinct is to say: I'm not hijacking someone's struggle, I'm not claiming to be something I'm not, I'm simply drawing from another culture for storytelling purposes.

I'd think that one aspect of the problem might tend more towards using part of someone else's identity as a decoration or minor stylistic flourish, in this case.
posted by XMLicious at 9:27 PM on May 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to check if what you're considering is cultural appropriation:

-Have you met and gotten to know Mapuche community members?
-Have you involved Mapuche elders or knowledge holders while writing your story? As in, have you spoken to elders or knowledge holders from that culture, shown them how you intend to write about the wekufe, and asked them what they think about your intended use?
-Do you know what the storytelling protocols are for the Mapuche? What are the rules around what stories can be told, and who can tell them? In this case, since the figure you are writing about is a demon, there may be special protocols around telling a story with the wekufe, since the figure you are writing about is a harmful spirit.
-Does your work recognize the spiritual significance of the wekufe to the Mapuche people?
-Are you acknowledging the indigenous culture from which this figure comes? Are you including cultural context?

If you can't honestly answer "yes" to these questions (and maybe even if you can; see my next point), then you are committing cultural appropriation. This can happen even when people have the best intentions, and when they are not even profiting financially. It is even more serious if you will be profiting from another culture's story:

To be clear, “cultural appropriation” is not creating art which deviates out of the racialized swim lane one was born into. It is superimposing one’s own understandings of another culture over that actual culture, slapping a package on it, modelling it, and often selling it. Cultural appropriation is galling to those of us who come from the cultures being appropriated, especially when we face social and financial repercussions for not shedding our own cultures and assimilating into the dominant one. Sarah Thomson, former Toronto mayoral candidate, wore her hair in dreadlocks while campaigning; Akua Agyemfra, a Black server at Jack Astor’s, was sent home for wearing her natural hair in a bun. The reggae band Magic! rakes in album and concert sales; musicians of Caribbean background toil in obscurity. Amanda PL and Joseph Boyden profit from their forgery of Indigenous art and culture; actual Indigenous writers and artists struggle for recognition and remuneration.

At some gut level, all white Canadians understand this concept, and in fact unknowingly respect the idea that some cultural and social symbols are both sacred and worthy of protection. If I wish, for example, to make sparkling wine and call it Champagne, or make whisky in Canada and call it Scotch, I would find myself in legal jeopardy. I would very likely lose in court, because we accept that the cultural authenticity of alcohol in certain regions merits legal protection. Or if I were to put on a “FDNY” T-shirt, go to a bar in New York, and accept free drinks, I would rightly be thrown out on my backside when the jig was finally up. We understand these social rules to the extent that I would be a complete fool to question why a group of bar patrons punched me in the face over what I considered a meaningless T-shirt.

posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:04 PM on May 20, 2019 [21 favorites]

It's not clear whether your character is Mapuche, or simply Chilean. If they're actually Mapuche... well, you'd better be very careful as a white outsider about more than their cosmology. And if they're not Mapuche-- and 96% of Chileans are not-- then I doubt they'd be thinking about wekufes.
posted by zompist at 2:06 AM on May 21, 2019 [6 favorites]

I reached out to a professor whose area of focus is Mapuche culture, but they wanted to paid for the consultation at a rate that just wasn't feasible.

If you're writing things that are way outside of your own experience, having people with the relevant experience read it over and/or advise you is something that you should pay generously for. If you can't or won't do that, I think it's a better idea to skip this part of the story.
posted by ITheCosmos at 4:07 AM on May 21, 2019 [10 favorites]

On a non-specific level, I've found that "when in doubt don't" is the best rule for cultural appropriation. If you're having trouble with this, picture yourself getting published and then worrying about this all the time, maybe getting dragged for it in your corner of the internet, having people say "it's a good story but I can't really recommend it because of the cultural appropriation", etc.

Why not a family demon? Your character's grandmother made up something local and exquisitely plausible either as a story or in an eats-bad-children way (like it lives in the Local Landmark) and it has haunted your character's parent and subsequently your character ever since. Its connection to Local Landmark would give it a non-appropriative local quality that would not hinge on identity except in the sense of "living in this part of Chile".
posted by Frowner at 4:31 AM on May 21, 2019 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. Your insights have helped me acknowledge and recognize things that I suppose I didn't want to admit about the work. Much appreciated.
posted by southvie at 5:18 AM on May 21, 2019 [21 favorites]

If your goal is to make reference to a bogeyman-like monster representing the fears of childhood for a non-indigenous Chilean, the more obvious choice would be el cuco. (NB Wikipedia calls it coco; in the Southern Cone he's definitely el cuco). It doesn't entirely erase the potential problems of misuse/appropriation, but it's a lot less messy, for a writer of European descent.
posted by dr. boludo at 6:35 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

Here's a discussion of American Gods and appropriation. I think it matters that Gaiman seems to be respectful, and the focus of his work is on cultural diffusion, which is distinct from appropriation. Anyway, perhaps good food for thought as you navigate this.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:22 AM on May 21, 2019