The Mythic Indian

The Mythic Indian: The Native in French and Québécois Cultural Imaginaries charts a genealogy of French and Québécois visions of the Amerindian. Tracing an evolution of paradigms from the sixteenth century to present, it examines how the myths of the Noble, Ignoble, and Ecological Savage as well as the Vanishing Indian and Going Native inform a variety of discourses and ways of thinking about Québécois culture. By analyzing mythic depictions of the Native Figure that originate at first contacts, this book demonstrates that an inextricable link exists between discourses as disparate as literature and science. This book will be of interest to scholars in French Studies, Francophone Studies, Indigenous Studies, Hemispheric Studies, Social Sciences, and Literary Studies.

"This invaluable exploration of mythic narratives helps us uncover our long-repressed values regarding the environment, society, and the spiritual world. Christopher Vecsey examines the Hopi myth of emergence and clan migration, the Ojibwa creation myth, the Iroquois myth of the Confederacy, the Navajo tradition of ritualized medicine, the pan-Indian myths of peyotism's origins, and a contemporary sweat lodge ceremony. The author finds at the heart of these myths a declaration of dependence: of the individual on the community, of the community on nature, and of nature on the powerful world of spirit."-- Back cover.

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

Provides a fresh understanding of the Hindu spirtual landscapes and pantheon of gods and goddesses through 99 classic myths.

This book interprets for the Western mind the key motifs of India`a legends myth, and folklore, taken directly from the sanskrit, and illustrated with seventy plates of Indian art. It is primarily an introduction to image thinking and picture reading in Indian art and thought and it seeks to make the profound Hindu and Buddhist intuitions of the riddles of life and death recongnizable not merely as Oriental but as universal elements.

The primary object of this book is to furnish the reader with a general view of the mythologies of the Native people of North America, accompanied by such historical and ethnological information as will assist him in gauging the real conditions under which this most interesting section of humanity existed. Contents: Divisions, Customs, and History of the Race The Mythologies of the North American Indians Algonquian Myths and Legends Iroquois Myths and Legends Sioux Myths and Legends Myths and Legends of the Pawnees Myths and Legends of the Northern and North-Western Indians

This study interprets for the Western mind the key motifs of India's legend, myth and folklore, taken directly from the Sanskrit. It seeks to make the profound Hindu and Buddhist intuitions on the riddles of life and death recognizable not merely as Oriental but as universal elements.

Reproduction of the original: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald Alexander Mackenzie