Native American Literature

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Native American Literature

• Honors English 10

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Oral Tradition

• American literature begins with the orally
  transmitted myths, legends, tales, and lyrics of
  Native American tribes.

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• The Native Americans spoke hundreds of languages
  and lived in incredibly diverse societies with
  varied mythological beliefs. Despite their
  differences, their cultures and literary
  traditions had the following common elements

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• believed in the power of words and relied on
  memory
• stories are not defined by the boundaries of
  written language
• the oral tradition was a performance and is
  offered to the audience as dramatic events in
  time

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• the storyteller is very important to culture and
  is one of the most honored and respected members
  of the tribe/society
• there is no known original author
• these stories are open to personal interpretation

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• These oral stories were chanted, spoken, sung and
  repeated over and over until embedded into the
  memories of the next generations.
• The Native American oral tradition was the only
  way to pass on tribal history, heritage, and
  cultural practices.
• In order to continue hundreds of years of a
  tribes history the young must listen and
  remember the stories the elders tell and then
  pass them on.

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Some Dominant Themes Motifs

• relationships between humans and animals
• respect and reverence for mother earth and nature
• land as the strength of the people
• village/community/tribe as sovereign
• cyclical patterns renewal and continuance
• importance of tribal traditions and history

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What is a myth?

• The word itself comes from the Greek "mythos"
  which originally meant "speech" or "discourse"

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Myth

• A traditional story that deals with goddesses,
  gods, heroes, and/or supernatural forces. A myth
  may explain a belief, a custom, or a force of
  nature.

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The 4 Major Functions of Myth

• 1. Instills a sense of awe toward the universe
• 2. Explains the workings of the natural world
• 3. Supports and validates social customs
• 4. Guides people through the trials of living by
  establishing rules, guidelines, and a religion.

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Creation Myths

• Explain how the universe, the earth, and life on
  earth began.

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Creation Myths

• SHOW WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE TRIBE! (corn,
  animals, rituals, etc.)- CULTURAL DETAILS!!!
• State the place and people of origin
• Describe what existed before the creation
• EXPLAIN the creation of things or the
  beginnings of rituals
• EXPLAIN who or what did the creating

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Characters in Myths

• Always have a flaw
• Represents/reflects how real human have flaws
• Teach how to deal if you let your flaw get the
  best of you
• Look for the character flaws in myths

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Tribal Hierarchy

• Chief
• Shaman Medicine People
• Tribal Elders
• Hunters Warriors
• Chiefs family/other high ranking family members
• Handicapped
• Regular Tribe people
• Children

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Coyote/Trickster

• Coyote is a mythological character common to
  many Native American cultures, based on the
  coyote(Canis latrans) animal. This character is
  usually male and may have some coyote-like
  physical features such as fur, pointed ears,
  yellow eyes, tail and claws. The myths and
  legends which include Coyote vary widely from
  culture to culture.

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Coyote

• Coyote often plays the role of trickster, god of
  tricks, although in some stories he is a buffoon
  and the butt of jokes and in a few is outright
  evil. His positive traits include humor and
  sometimes cleverness. His negative traits are
  usually greed or desire, recklessness,
  impulsiveness and jealousy.

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Trickster Tales

• One form of creation story
• Vary from tribe to tribe, but contain the same
  basic qualities
• Trickster are more than deceivers who make us
  laugh
• By crossing social boundaries, they both break
• rules and show how important rules are
• According to the folklorist Seth Thompson, a
  trickster
• may appear in any one of three roles the
  beneficent
• culture hero, the clever deceiver, or the
  numskull.