In many oral cultures, as we discussed in class, the dead are believed to still exist as spirits in the physical world. In some cultures, speaking the names of the dead would risk calling them back, when they're supposed to be on a journey -- Ishi explained that the dead journey somewhere far to the South (if I remember correctly), then either (A) climb up a ladder into the heavens, and float away like clouds, or (B) jump, one after another, into a great hole in the earth.

What would happen if one were to speak one of those names? If, for example, somebody were to accidentally reference a dead family member, how would one send them back on their journey? It seems like it would be terribly disheartening to have accidentally disrupted a beloved friend or family member on their spirit-form journey. Surely there must be a method of atoning for this, right? I can't imagine the spirit would simply wander around forever, but could that be a risk?

This is less a concern of language, and more a concern related to oral culture in general. Maybe once I'm done with my required work I'll look into this!

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