Seneca Myths And Folk Tales

"Seneca myths and folk tales" by Arthur C. Parker is a collection of folk tales and stories that has fascinated readers for years. The tales in this collection are full of magic, adventure, and action that keep audiences turning pages and unable to put the book down until they've reached the last word.

Seneca myths and folk tales by Arthur C. Parker, 1923.In presenting this collection of Seneca myths and legends, the collator feels that he should explain to the general reader that he does not offer a series of tales that can be judged by present day literary standards. These Indian stories are not published for the mere entertainment of general readers, though there is much that is entertaining in them, neither are they designed as children's fables, or for supplementary reading in schools, though it is true that some of the material may be suited for the child mind. It must be understood that if readings from this book are to be made for children, a wise selection must be made.This collection is presented as an exposition of the unwritten literature of the Seneca Indians who still live in their ancestral domain in western New York. It is primarily a collection of folk-lore and is to be looked at in no other light. The professional anthropologist and historian will not need to be reminded of this. He will study these tales for their ethnological significance, and use them in making comparisons with similar collections from other tribes and stocks. In this manner he will determine the similarities or differences in theme, in episode and character. He will trace myth diffusion thereby and be able to chart the elements of the Seneca story.There is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois folk-lore, though much that arrogates this name to itself has been written. The writers, however, have in general so glossed the native themes with poetic and literary interpretations that the material has shrunken in value and can scarcely be considered without many reservations.We do not pretend to have made a complete collection of all available material, but we have given a fairly representative series of myths, legends, fiction and traditions. One may examine this collection and find representative types of nearly every class of Seneca folk-lore. Multiplication is scarcely necessary.The value of this collection is not a literary one but a scientific one. It reveals the type of tale that held the interest and attention of the Seneca; it reveals certain mental traits and tendencies; it reveals many customs and incidents in native life, and finally, it serves as an index of native psychology.The enlightened mind will not be arrogant in its judgment of this material, but will see in it the attempts of a race still in mental childhood to give play to imagination and to explain by symbols what it otherwise could not express.While there is much value in this collection explaining indirectly the folk-ways and the folk-thought of the Seneca and their allied kinsmen, the whole life of the people may not be judged from these legends. Much more must be presented before such a judgment is formed. Just as we gain some knowledge of present day religions, governmental methods, social organization and political economy from the general literature of the day, but only a portion, and this unsystematized, so do we catch only a glimpse of the life story of the Seneca from their folk-tales.To complete our knowledge we must have before us works on Seneca history, ethnology, archæology, religion, government and language. Finally, we must personally know the descendents of the mighty Seneca nation of old. We must enter into the life of the people in a sympathetic way, for only then can we get at the soul of the race.While all this is true, these folk-tales are not to be despised, for they conserve many references to themes and things that otherwise would be forgotten. Folk-lore is one of the most important mines of information that the ethnologist and historian may tap. We can never understand a race until we understand what it is thinking about, and we can never know this until we know its literature, written or unwritten. The folk-tale therefore has a special value and significance, if honestly recorded.

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The author of this collection of Seneca folk-tales cannot remember when he first began to hear the wonder stories of the ancient days. His earliest recollections are of hearing the wise old men relate these tales of the mysterious past. They were called Kă ́kāā, or Gă ́kāā, and when this word was uttered, as a signal that the marvels of old were about to be unfolded, all the children grew silent, -and listened. In those days, back on the Cattaraugus reservation, it was a part of a child's initial training to learn why the bear lost its tail, why the chipmunk has a striped back and why meteors flash in the sky.Many years later, -it was in 1903, -the writer of this manuscript returned to the Cattaraugus reservation bringing with him his friend Mr. Raymond Harrington, for the purpose of making an archæological survey of the Cattaraugus valley for the Peabody Museum of Archæology, of Harvard University. Our base camp was on the old Silverheels farm, which occupies the site of one of the early Seneca villages of the period after the Erie war of 1654. Here also is the site of the original Lower Cattaraugus of pre-Revolutionary days.To our camp came many Indian friends who sought to instruct Mr. Harrington and myself in the lore of the ancients. We were regaled with stories of the false faces, of the whirl-winds, of the creation of man, of the death panther, and of the legends of the great bear, but in particular we were blessed with an ample store of tales of vampire skeletons, of witches and of folk-beasts, all of whom had a special appetite for young men who dug in the ground for the buried relics of the "old-time folks."To us came Tahadondeh (whom the Christian people called George Jimerson), Bill Snyder, Gahweh Seneca, a lame man from Tonawanda, Frank Pierce and several others versed in folk-lore. I filled my note-books with sketches and outlines of folk-fiction, and after our return to New York, I began to transcribe some of the stories.The following winter was spent on the reservation among the non-Christian element in a serious attempt to record folk tales, ceremonial prayers, rituals, songs and customs. A large amount of information and many stories were collected. Some of this material was published by the State Museum, the rest perished in the Capitol fire at Albany, in 1911.Later I was able to go over my original notes with Edward Cornplanter, the local authority on Seneca religion, rites and folk-ways, and to write out the material here presented. Cornplanter's son Jesse assisted by way of making drawings under his father's direction. I also had the help of Skidmore Lay, Ward B. Snow, Delos B. Kittle, Mrs. John Kittle, James Crow and others. My informants from the lower reservation, the Christian district, were Aurelia Jones Miller, Fred Kennedy, George D. Jimerson, Julia Crouse, Moses Shongo, Mrs. Moses Shongo, David George, William Parker, Job King, and Chester C. Lay; and Laura Doctor and Otto Parker of the Tonawanda Reservation.

Excerpt from Seneca Myths and Folk Tales In the preparation of this volume the writer wishes to record his indebtedness to Mr. George Kelley Staples, Senator Henry W. Hill, Mr. George L. Tucker and Dr. Frank H. Severance, all members of the Buffalo Historical Society, for the advice and encouragement given. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The author of this collection of Seneca folk-tales cannot remember when he first began to hear the wonder stories of the ancient days.

Arthur Caswell Parker (April 5, 1881-January 1, 1 955) was an American archaeologist, historian, folklorist, museologist and noted authority on Native American culture. Of Seneca and Scots-English descent, he was director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences from 1924 to 1945, when he developed it's holdings and research into numerous disciplines for the Genesee region. This book also contains a short biographical sketch of the author and sections dealing with methods employed in recording folk-tales, examples of translation, and story-telling customs of the Seneca.