A Brief Guide to Native American Myths and Legends by Lewis Spence Page A
Authors: Lewis Spence
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all aspects of one, single supreme being, Wakan Tanka, ‘The Great Spirit’ (or, in a more accurate translation of the Lakota, ‘the Great Mystery’).
It is notable that the concept of the creation of the world out of the imagination of God or out of nothingness is practically unknown in Native American mythology. In short, there is no Creator in North American mythology. The creator almost always moulds or rearranges what already exists into a new earth. Many contemporary folklorists define the maker deities in Amerindian myths as being ‘transformers’. Transformers do not create the world; they bring order from chaos.
The Sioux were fortunate in having a benevolent creator god. Their Blackfeet (Siksika) neighbours were made by Na’pi, the ‘Old Man’ – who was also an archetypal trickster, capable of malevolence, violence and black humour. The trickster is a common character throughout Native American mythology, but generally has a greater place in the folklore of hunter-gatherer peoples than of sedentary agricultural groups, largely because people who lived on wild things were more horribly aware of the vagaries of nature. The trickster, who is always male, is the representation of uncertainty. Sometimes the trickster’s acts are simply practical jokes, but he can be a cruel destroyer. Invariably his actions stem from an uncontrollable appetite, frequently sexual, often transgressive, such as when he shape-shifts to marry his own daughters. The trickster appears in various guises in Amerindian mythologies, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a human. To paint with a broad brush, the trickster appears as Coyote almost everywhere but most often west of theMississippi, as Raven and Blue Jay in the Northwest, as Nanabush the Great Hare (and variants such as Manabozho and Winabojo) in the Northeast, as Rabbit in the Southeast and Southwest, as Spider and Hare amongst the Sioux, and Na’pi in the Great Basin. (See Michael P. Carroll, ‘The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero’,
Ethos
12, no. 2. Summer 1984.)
As a trickster Rabbit obtained a currency outside Native America. He is the ancestor of Brer Rabbit in the Uncle Remus tales. Brer Rabbit’s ancestral DNA is to be clearly observed in the tale of ‘Fox and Rabbit’ from the Jicarilla Apache:
Fox one day met a Rabbit who was sewing a sack. ‘What do you intend to do with that sack?’ asked he. ‘I am making this coat to protect myself from being killed by the hard hail which we are going to have today,’ replied Rabbit. ‘My friend, you know how to make them; give me this coat and make another for yourself.’ Rabbit agreed to this, and Fox put the sack over his head. Rabbit then hung him on a [tree] limb and pelted him with stones, while Fox, thinking it was hail striking him, endured the punishment as long as he could, but finally fell nearly dead from the tree, and looked out, to see no signs of hail, but discovered Rabbit had run away. Fox wished to avenge himself by killing Rabbit, and set off in pursuit of him. When overtaken Rabbit was chewing soft gum with which to make spectacles. Fox’s curiosity was stronger than his passion for revenge. ‘What are you making those for?’ said he. ‘It is going to be very hot, and I am making them to protect my eyes,’ answered Rabbit. ‘Let me have this pair, you know how to make them and can make yourself another pair.’ ‘Very well,’ said Rabbit, and he put the eye-shields on Fox, who could then see nothing, as the gum was soft and filled his eyes. Rabbit set fire to the brush all around Fox, who was badly singed in running through it. The gum melted in the fire, and yet remained as dark rings around his eyes. Fox again started on the trail of Rabbit, with the determination of eating him as soon as he saw him. He found Rabbit sitting beside the opening of a beehive. ‘I am going to eat you,’ said Fox; ‘you have tried to kill me.’ ‘You must not kill me,’ replied Rabbit.
It is notable that the concept of the creation of the world out of the imagination of God or out of nothingness is practically unknown in Native American mythology. In short, there is no Creator in North American mythology. The creator almost always moulds or rearranges what already exists into a new earth. Many contemporary folklorists define the maker deities in Amerindian myths as being ‘transformers’. Transformers do not create the world; they bring order from chaos.
The Sioux were fortunate in having a benevolent creator god. Their Blackfeet (Siksika) neighbours were made by Na’pi, the ‘Old Man’ – who was also an archetypal trickster, capable of malevolence, violence and black humour. The trickster is a common character throughout Native American mythology, but generally has a greater place in the folklore of hunter-gatherer peoples than of sedentary agricultural groups, largely because people who lived on wild things were more horribly aware of the vagaries of nature. The trickster, who is always male, is the representation of uncertainty. Sometimes the trickster’s acts are simply practical jokes, but he can be a cruel destroyer. Invariably his actions stem from an uncontrollable appetite, frequently sexual, often transgressive, such as when he shape-shifts to marry his own daughters. The trickster appears in various guises in Amerindian mythologies, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a human. To paint with a broad brush, the trickster appears as Coyote almost everywhere but most often west of theMississippi, as Raven and Blue Jay in the Northwest, as Nanabush the Great Hare (and variants such as Manabozho and Winabojo) in the Northeast, as Rabbit in the Southeast and Southwest, as Spider and Hare amongst the Sioux, and Na’pi in the Great Basin. (See Michael P. Carroll, ‘The Trickster as Selfish-Buffoon and Culture Hero’,
Ethos
12, no. 2. Summer 1984.)
As a trickster Rabbit obtained a currency outside Native America. He is the ancestor of Brer Rabbit in the Uncle Remus tales. Brer Rabbit’s ancestral DNA is to be clearly observed in the tale of ‘Fox and Rabbit’ from the Jicarilla Apache:
Fox one day met a Rabbit who was sewing a sack. ‘What do you intend to do with that sack?’ asked he. ‘I am making this coat to protect myself from being killed by the hard hail which we are going to have today,’ replied Rabbit. ‘My friend, you know how to make them; give me this coat and make another for yourself.’ Rabbit agreed to this, and Fox put the sack over his head. Rabbit then hung him on a [tree] limb and pelted him with stones, while Fox, thinking it was hail striking him, endured the punishment as long as he could, but finally fell nearly dead from the tree, and looked out, to see no signs of hail, but discovered Rabbit had run away. Fox wished to avenge himself by killing Rabbit, and set off in pursuit of him. When overtaken Rabbit was chewing soft gum with which to make spectacles. Fox’s curiosity was stronger than his passion for revenge. ‘What are you making those for?’ said he. ‘It is going to be very hot, and I am making them to protect my eyes,’ answered Rabbit. ‘Let me have this pair, you know how to make them and can make yourself another pair.’ ‘Very well,’ said Rabbit, and he put the eye-shields on Fox, who could then see nothing, as the gum was soft and filled his eyes. Rabbit set fire to the brush all around Fox, who was badly singed in running through it. The gum melted in the fire, and yet remained as dark rings around his eyes. Fox again started on the trail of Rabbit, with the determination of eating him as soon as he saw him. He found Rabbit sitting beside the opening of a beehive. ‘I am going to eat you,’ said Fox; ‘you have tried to kill me.’ ‘You must not kill me,’ replied Rabbit.
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