Native American Mythology

More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups gives us a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices. With black-and-white illustrations throughout Selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

This fascinating and informative compendium, assembled by a celebrated anthropologist, offers a remarkably wide range of nomadic sagas, animist myths, cosmogonies and creation myths, end-time prophecies, and other traditional tales.

Passed down from generation to generation, the myths and rituals of Native Americans form a rich religious and cultural base from which all members of each society can create and maintain a sense of community, physical and emotional health, identity, family, and self. Such traditions, handed down through stories and rites, stand as the lifeblood of every Native American culture. This thoroughly illustrated and carefully researched guide explores the amazing array of mythical beasts, heroic humans, and nurturing spirits that make up the fascinating spectrum of Native American mythology. With over one thousand alphabetically arranged entries, representing over one hundred different Native American cultures, readers can quickly explore the meaning of hundreds of elements of Native lore--from names, phrases, and symbols, to images, motifs, and themes. Accompanying essays take a closer look at other issues related to the origin, development, and perpetuation of Native American mythology, such as the Christian influence on myth, varying mythology between tribes, storytelling, and more. We learn about such mythical creatures as Apotamkin of the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tribe of the Southeast (a bogey monster with long hair and huge teeth who, through the fear he generates, keeps small children from straying onto thin, newly frozen ice in the winter and unguarded beaches in the summer), ritual healing ceremonials such as the Southwestern Navajo's Uglyway ceremony (a ceremony to remove and protect against the forces of chaos and disorder that give rise to illness), and the Marau ceremony of the Hopi Indians of the Southeast (a complex ceremony concerned with rain, the ripening of corn, and the fertility of women, as well as rites of initiating new members into the society). This compelling volume honors the richness of the beliefs and values of the many peoples of native North America, from northern Mexico to the Artic Circle. In addition, a complete bibliography of primary sources and secondary sources points the way to further research, making this the perfect reference for anyone interested in the mythical history of America's original inhabitants.

The legends and myths of the Native American tribes—the Navajo, Cherokee, Lakota, Chippewa, Iroquois, Abenaki, and many more—offer a rich tapestry of spirituality, folk beliefs, communal tribal memory, and natural history, where everything in nature is considered to be animated by a divine spirit. Placed within a context of history, archaeology, and culture, this compelling book is the reader’s passport to a wide, glittering world of natural beauty, magical occurrences, and tribal lore.

The Algonquins, Iroquois, the legend of Hiawatha and The Last of the Mohicans – the tribes of North America and their folk tales are deeply fascinating because they are unique amongst the mythologies of the world. The tribes were isolated from outside influence for thousands of years and developed a fruitful, empathetic relationship with their landscape, evolving a tradition that respected and feared nature in equal measure. The retold tales collected for this new book celebrate the diverse tribal vision of a rich and powerful land that still resonates today. FLAME TREE 451: From mystery to crime, supernatural to horror and myth, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.

Originally published: Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2004, in series: Handbooks of world mythology.

"Seven Myths of Native American History will provide undergraduates and general readers with a very useful introduction to Native America past and present. Jentz identifies the origins and remarkable staying power of these myths at the same time he exposes and dismantles them." —Colin G. Calloway, Dartmouth College

Popular Hopi kachina dolls and awesome totem poles are but two of the aspects of the sophisticated, seldom-examined network of mythologies explored in this fascinating volume. This revealing work introduces readers to the mythologies of Native Americans from the United States to the Arctic Circle—a rich, complex, and diverse body of lore, which remains less widely known than mythologies of other peoples and places. In thematic chapters and encyclopedia-style entries, Handbook of Native American Mythology examines the characters and deities, rituals, sacred locations and objects, concepts, and stories that define and distinguish mythological cultures of various indigenous peoples. By tracing the traditions as far back as possible and following their evolution from generation to generation, Handbook of Native American Mythology offers a unique perspective on Native American history, culture, and values. It also shows how central these traditions are to contemporary Native American life, including the continuing struggle for land rights, economic parity, and repatriation of cultural property.