Shakespeare in the Bush

It seems it would be nearly impossible to explain Hamlet to such a different culture considering that Hamlet (although it's read in many other cultures) requires the ablilty to accept the story with an impossible plot, and also, that it requires some knowledge of western beliefs. Ghosts, are a western belief, as well as marriage and life after death. It didn't seem that the tribe told stories that were fantasy, or that were completely fiction. Bohannan assumed not only that they were able to accept an impossible story, but also that they would understand certain characterisitics in humans that they simply don't believe in. The conflicts in Hamlet are dramatic because they go against the morals of our own society. ( unfortunately I haven't read it all the way through but I assume there is a lot of backstabbing between relatives, possibly some adultry, and most likely a simultaneous death or two). We have the ability to accept that Hamlet never happened and never could, but the tribe is obviously not accustomed to completely making up stories.

There was certainly no connection to the emotions that the tribe felt and the emotions that Shakespeare intended to provoke from Hamlet. To provoke the feelings of betrayal, anger, tragedy etc. Bohannan would have to completely change the plot, characteristics and morals of the story....... So no. I don't think it was possible for the author to translate the story.