American Indians: Folk Tales and Legends (Wordsworth Myth, Legend & Folklore S.) - Softcover

Cunningham, Keith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 184022505X ISBN 13: 9781840225051

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 2000

Synopsis

This collection begins with an introduction to American Indians' narratives, past and present, but concentrates upon a broad tasting of American Indian folk tales and legends, chosen to allow the reader to experience the wonder of other worlds, other times and other sensibilities.

About this title

From the Author

Selected compilation of American Indian stories
Over the decades my wife and I conducted folklore fieldwork among Native Americans, there were many times our co-researchers slipped into narratives that obviously referred to traditional stories they had heard as children. Some of their retellings of myths sounded like Anglo-American references to Bible stories in the way they grew out of conversation and explained an action or belief. During other interviews, Coyote stories were told along with puns and joking allusions to shared humorous experiences. These narratives were told in the natural settings of grandparents around a kitchen table surrounded by family and friends or young people standing around an open fire in the evening laughing and talking. When we started reading the collections of American Indian myths and legends that had been published in Journal of American Folklore, we found the sources of many of these stories or of stories that our co-researchers had refereed to in passing. This book contains a representative sampling of the stories published in Journal of American Folklore and encompasses the entire range of stories people share: myths, legends, clan stories, family stories, tribal histories, historic legends, personal stories, jokes, and puns. We grouped the stories together by the tribes that told them so it is possible to see the continuity of values, attitudes and beliefs they reveal. It is also possible to experience the similarities across tribes in such stories as "Origin of Death," the "Star Husband," and "Big Man." While it would be misleading to suggest all tribes have a similar origin myth, there are striking comparisons that can be made using these tales. And these stories were selected to show both the variety of types and topics as well as the commonalities that exist across the miles and years. Some are delightful examples of the adventures of Everyman or Everywoman, some are breathtaking insights into the concerns and fears of the tellers and listeners, and all show worlds where there is never enough food, dangers are everywhere, and life is to be grasped in huge handfuls and lived to the fullest.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184022505X
• ISBN 13: 9781840225051
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Cunningham Keith