American Indian Trickster Tales

by Erdoes, Richard (Author); Erdoes, Richard (Illustrator); Ortiz, Alfonso (Editor)

• ISBN13: 9780140277715
• ISBN10: 0140277714
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Summary

Of all the characters in myths and legends told around the world, it's the wily trickster who provides the real spark in the action, causing trouble wherever he goes. This figure shows up time and again in Native American folklore, where he takes many forms, from the irascible Coyote of the Southwest, to Iktomi, the amorphous spider man of the Lakota tribe. This dazzling collection of American Indian trickster tales, compiled by an eminent anthropologist and a master storyteller, serves as the perfect companion to their previous masterwork, American Indian Myths and Legends. American Indian Trickster Tales includes more than one hundred stories from sixty tribes? many recorded from living storytellers'which are illustrated with lively and evocative drawings. These entertaining tales can be read aloud and enjoyed by readers of any age, and will entrance folklorists, anthropologists, lovers of Native American literature, and fans of both Joseph Campbell and the Brothers Grimm.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
PART ONE Coyote Creates the World---and a Few Other Things	1	(24)
The Beginning of the World (Yokuts)	3	(1)
Sun and Moon in a Box (Zuni)	4	(2)
Coyote Steals the Sun (Miwok)	6	(3)
Origin of the Moon and the Sun (Kalispel)	9	(3)
How People Were Made (Miwok)	12	(1)
Coyote Steals the Summer (Crow)	13	(2)
Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead (Yakima)	15	(3)
Coyote Steals Fire (Klamath)	18	(2)
Coyote Kills Terrible Monster (Salish)	20	(3)
The Seven Devils Mountains (Nez Perce)	23	(2)
PART TWO Up to no Good	25	(28)
Coyote Taunts the Grizzly Bear (Kutenai)	27	(2)
How Locust Tricked Coyote (Zuni)	29	(3)
Coyote-Giving (Paiute)	32	(2)
Putting a Saddle on Coyote's Back (Northern Pueblo)	34	(2)
A Satisfying Meal (Hopi)	36	(2)
A Strong Heart (Arikara)	38	(2)
Better Luck Next Time (Hopi)	40	(1)
Long Ears Outsmarts Coyote (Pueblo)	41	(3)
Old Man Coyote and the Buffalo (Crow)	44	(1)
Coyote and Bobcat Have Their Faces Done (Ute)	45	(1)
The Adventures of a Meatball (Comanche)	46	(1)
Coyote Gets Stuck (Shasta)	47	(1)
Anything but Pinon Pitch! (Navajo)	48	(1)
Fat, Grease, and Berries (Crow)	49	(1)
Don't Be Too Curious (Lakota)	50	(3)
PART THREE Coyote's Amorous Adventures	53	(26)
Coyote's Amorous Adventures (Shasta)	55	(1)
Two Rascals and Their Wives (Pueblo)	56	(2)
Coyote Sleeps with His Own Daughters (Southern Ute)	58	(3)
Old Man Coyote Meets Coyote Woman (Blackfoot)	61	(2)
Coyote and Fox Dress Up (Nez Perce)	63	(2)
Coyote and the Girls (Karok and Yurok)	65	(1)
Coyote Keeps His Dead Wife's Genitals (Lipan Apache)	66	(1)
The Toothed Vagina (Yurok)	67	(2)
Something Fishy Going On (Athapascan)	69	(3)
Where Do Babies Come From? (Karuk)	72	(2)
Winyan-shan Upside Down (Sioux)	74	(5)
PART FOUR The Trouble With Rose Hips	79	(12)
Coyote, Skunk, and the Beavers (Wichita)	81	(2)
Monster Skunk Farting Everyone to Death (Cree)	83	(3)
Coyote Sells a Burro That Defecates Money (Lipan Apache)	86	(1)
Coyote the Credulous (Taos)	86	(1)
The Trouble with Rose Hips (Lipan Apache)	87	(4)
PART FIVE Iktomi the Spider-Man	91	(30)
Seven Toes (Assiniboine)	93	(1)
Tricking the Trickster (Sioux)	94	(5)
Iktomi and the Man-Eating Monster (Lakota)	99	(3)
Iktomi, Flint Boy, and the Grizzly (Lakota)	102	(1)
Iktomi and the Buffalo Calf (Assiniboine)	103	(2)
Ikto's Grandchild Defeats Siyoko (Rosebud Sioux)	105	(2)
The Cheater Cheated (Lakota)	107	(2)
The Spider Cries ``Wolf'' (Rosebud Sioux)	109	(3)
Tit for Tat (Omaha)	112	(2)
Iktomi Takes Back a Gift (Rosebud Sioux)	114	(2)
Iktomi and the Wild Ducks (Minneconjou Sioux)	116	(1)
Iktomi Trying to Outrace Beaver (Santee)	117	(2)
Too Smart for His Own Good (Sioux)	119	(2)
PART SIX Spider-Man in Love	121	(16)
Oh, It's You! (Lakota)	123	(2)
Too Many Women (Lakota)	125	(3)
Forbidden Fruit (Lakota and Rosebud Sioux)	128	(4)
The Spiders Give Birth to the People (Arikara)	132	(1)
The Winkte Way (Omaha)	133	(4)
PART SEVEN The Veeho Cycle	137	(18)
He Has Been Saying Bad Things About You (Northern Cheyenne)	139	(3)
The Possible Bag (Northern Cheyenne)	142	(4)
Hair Loss (Northern Cheyenne)	146	(1)
Brother, Sharpen My Leg! (Cheyenne)	147	(1)
Veeho Has His Back Scraped (Northern Cheyenne)	148	(3)
He Sure Was a Good Shot (Cheyenne)	151	(2)
The Only Man Around (Northern Cheyenne)	153	(2)
PART EIGHT The Nixant and Sitconski Cycles	155	(14)
When the People Were Wild (Gros Ventre)	157	(3)
The Talking Penis (Gros Ventre)	160	(2)
Hairy Legs (Gros Ventre)	162	(1)
Sitconski and the Buffalo Skull (Assiniboine)	163	(1)
She Refused to Have Him (Assiniboine)	164	(1)
Ni'hancan and Whirlwind Woman (Arapaho)	165	(1)
Ni'hancan and the Race for Wives (Arapaho)	166	(3)
PART NINE Magical Master Rabbit	169	(16)
Little Rabbit Fights the Sun (Ute)	171	(4)
The Long Black Stranger (Omaha)	175	(2)
Why the Possum's Tail Is Bare (Cherokee)	177	(1)
Rabbit Escapes from the Box (Creek)	178	(2)
Rabbit and Possum on the Prowl (Cherokee)	180	(1)
Tar Baby (Biloxi)	181	(2)
Don't Believe What People Tell You (San Ildefonso or San Juan)	183	(2)
PART TEN Nanabozho and Whiskey Jack	185	(18)
Nanabozho and the Fish Chief (Great Lakes Tribes)	187	(3)
Why We Have to Work So Hard Making Maple Sugar (Menomini)	190	(1)
Who Is Looking Me in the Face? (Menomini)	191	(3)
Why Women Have Their Moon-Time (Menomini)	194	(1)
Whiskey Jack Wants to Fly (Cree and Metis)	195	(5)
Wesakaychak, the Windigo, and the Ermine (Cree and Metis)	200	(3)
PART ELEVEN Old Man Napi Chooses a Wife	203	(12)
Choosing Mates (Blackfoot)	205	(4)
Napi Races Coyote for a Meal (Blackfoot)	209	(2)
Magic Leggings (Blackfoot)	211	(4)
PART TWELVE Glooskap the Great	215	(16)
How the Lord of Men and Beasts Strove with the Mighty Wasis and Was Shamefully Defeated (Penobscot)	217	(1)
Glooskap Turns Men into Rattlesnakes (Passamaquoddy)	218	(1)
Kuloskap and the Ice-Giants (Passamaquoddy)	219	(2)
Questions, Questions (Passamaquoddy)	221	(1)
A New Way to Travel (Micmac)	222	(3)
Glooskap Grants Four Wishes (Micmac)	225	(4)
A Puff of His Pipe (Micmac)	229	(2)
PART THIRTEEN Skeleton Man	231	(12)
While the Gods Snored (Hopi)	233	(3)
How Masaaw Slept with a Beautiful Maiden (Hopi)	236	(3)
Scared to Death (Hopi)	239	(4)
PART FOURTEEN Raven Lights the World	243	(24)
Hungry for Clams (Hoh and Quileute)	245	(2)
Give It Back! Give It Back! (Haida)	247	(3)
Raven Steals the Moon (Haida)	250	(2)
Yehl, the Lazy One (Haida)	252	(2)
Raven and His Slave (Tsimshian)	254	(4)
A Lousy Fisherman (Haida)	258	(1)
Raven Lights the World (Tlingit)	259	(8)
Appendix	267	(18)
Sources	285	(10)
Index of Tales	295