Week 13: Native Americans

Please choose carefully! If you can't decide for yourself, let the Fates decide... Then, when you have made your choice, you can start the Week's Assignments.

The stories taken from Indian Legends of California and the Southwest are centered on the great trickster figure, Coyote. There are also a number of different creation stories, including stories where Coyote plays a role in creation, as well as stories about the great Spider as creator of the world, or the Earth Doctor who created the earth and its inhabitants. Along with these creation stories are aetiological stories, which tell how different animals and birds and plants and mountains in California and the Southewest came into existence. Here are some quotes:

Then Coyote was very, very proud because he was a blue coyote. He was so proud that as he walked along he looked around on every side to see if anybody was looking at him now that he was a blue coyote and so beautiful. He looked to see if his shadow was blue, too. ...

Coyote he made a small rattle by placing tiny pebbles in a gourd and fastened it to the end of his tail. He shook it a while and was much pleased with it. The next morning he started for the snake's house. He shook the rattle on the end of his tail and smiled, and said to himself, "This is good. When I go into Rattlesnake's house, he will be very much afraid of me." ...

But Earth Doctor saw that when the sun and moon were not in the sky, all was inky darkness. So he sang a magic song, and took some water into his mouth and blew it into the sky, in a spray, to make little stars. Then he took his magic crystal and broke it into pieces and threw them into the sky, to make the larger stars. ...

The stories taken from Myths of the Cherokee focus on a different trickster figure: Rabbit, with Cherokee versions of the race between the Rabbit and the Terrapin, and a version of the Rabbit and the Tar-Baby. There are also aetiological stories about other animals: why the mole lives underground, how the turkey got his wattle, how the possum lost the fur on his tail, and so on. The final cycle of stories is about the Uktena, a mysterious snake monster whose body contains a magical diamond, the coveted Ulûñsû'tï, which can be used like a crystal ball in order to see into the future. Here are some quotes:

The Rabbit was getting tired now and nearly out of breath, but he kept on down the mountain and up the other ridge until he got to the top just in time to see the Terrapin cross the fourth ridge and thus win the race. The Rabbit could not make another jump, but fell over on the ground, crying mï, mï, mï, mï, as the Rabbit does ever since when he is too tired to run any more.

Soon the news went around, that the Terrapin had killed the Wolf and was using his ears for spoons. All the Wolves got together and followed the Terrapin's trail until they came up with him and made him prisoner. Then they held a council to decide what to do with him, and agreed to boil him in a clay pot. ...

Now, the Ulûñsû'tî is like a blazing star set in the forehead of the great Uktena serpent, and the medicine-man who could possess it might do marvelous things, but everyone knew this could not be, because it was certain death to meet the Uktena. ...



Modern Languages / Anthropology 3043: Folklore & Mythology. Laura Gibbs, Ph.D. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. You must give the original author credit. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one.
Page last updated: October 9, 2004 12:52 PM