Transcript Native American Oral Tradition

Native American
Oral Tradition
The Origins of Literature
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The origin of what we call American
literature predates the arrival of Europeans in
the Americas.
Oral tradition is the foundation of literature
Early rock carvings and petroglyphs are
perhaps the first examples of written
language
Newspaper Rock
(UT)
Newspaper Rock
petroglyphs
(UT)
“A Storyteller and His Art”
N. Scott Momaday
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“We have no being beyond our
stories.”
“Our stories explain us, justify us,
sustain us, humble us, and forgive
us. And sometimes they injure and
destroy us.”
“Perhaps the greatest stories are
those which disturb us, which shake
us from our complacency, which
threaten our well-being.”
Stories & Storytelling
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“Make no mistake, we are at risk in the presence of
words.”
“We are shaken and soothed in turn by stories.”
“…the central function of storytelling is to reflect the
forces, within and without us, that govern our lives,
both good and bad.”
“Stories are pools of reflection in which we see
ourselves through the prism of the imagination.”
-from “A Storyteller and His Art”
– N. Scott Momaday
“The belief that words in themselves have the
power to make things happen —especially
words in extraordinary combinations—is one
of the distinguishing features of native
American thought; and it may be said that for
the people who share this belief a connection
exists between the sacred and the verbal, or to
put it in more familiar terms, a connection
between religion and poetry.”
- John Bierhorst, The Sacred Path
The Oral Tradition
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Words are powerful
Words are sacred
Words are magical: they can bring about
physical change in the world
The Oral Tradition
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Words must be spoken with great care
The speaker must be careful, clear &
deliberate, for he will be taken at his
word
There is a connection between the sacred
& the verbal; to be careless in the
presence of words is to violate a
fundamental morality
Three Stories
The Arrowmaker
The Kiowa Brothers
The Death of Chief Sitting Bear
The Arrowmaker
If an arrow is well made, it will have tooth marks upon it. That is how you
know. The Kiowas made fine arrows and straightened them in their teeth.
Then they drew them to the bow to see if they were straight. Once there
was a man and his wife. They were alone at night in their tipi. By the light
of the fire the man was making arrows. After a while he caught sight of
something. There was a small opening in the tipi where two hides were
sewn together. Someone was there on the outside, looking in. The man
went on with his work, but he said to his wife: “Someone is standing
outside. Do not be afraid. Let us talk easily, as of ordinary things.” He took
up an arrow and straightened it in his teeth; then, as it was right for him to
do, he drew it to the bow and took aim, first in this direction and then in
that. And all the while he was talking, as if to his wife. But this is how he
spoke: “I know that you are there on the outside, for I can feel your eyes
upon me. If you are a Kiowa, you will understand what I am saying, and
you will speak your name.” But there was no answer, and the man went on
in the same way, pointing the arrow all around. At last his aim fell upon the
place where his enemy stood, and he let go of the string. The arrow went
straight to the enemy’s heart. From The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday. University of New
Mexico Press, 1969.
The Arrowmaker
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The Arrowmaker and his wife survive not because
of the arrow but rather because of language and
words.
He is “a man made of words” – his survival is
contingent on his knowledge of language and his
enemy’s lack of knowledge.
The story illustrates the importance and power of
language in the oral tradition.
The Kiowa Brothers
On a raid against the Utes, one of two brothers was
captured. The other, alone and of his own will, stole
into the Ute camp and tried to set his brother free, but
he too was captured. The chief of the Utes had respect
for the man’s bravery, and he made a bargain with him.
If he could carry his brother on his back and walk upon
a row of greased buffalo heads without falling to the
ground, both brothers would be given horses and
allowed to return in safety to their home. The man bore
his brother on his back and walked upon the heads of
the buffalo and kept his footing. The Ute chief was true
to his word, and the brothers returned to their own
people on horseback.
From The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday. University of
New Mexico Press, 1969.
Kiowa Brothers
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The chief is true to his word even though he
has nothing to gain and everything to lose by
doing so.
The chief fulfills his promise of freeing the
brothers and giving the valuable commodity of
horses to the brothers.
The chief never for a moment considers or
would consider going back on his word.
The Death of Sitting Bear
Set-angya, or Sitting Bear, was chief of the
Kaitsenko Society, the Crazy Dog or dog soldier
organization of the Kiowa tribe. It was composed
of ten men only, the ten most brave. They were
the first and last security of the people. If they
should die, everyone should die. Each one of
them wore a long sash, so long it trailed the
ground, and carried a sacred arrow. In the time of
battle, each of these Kaitsenko warriors must, by
means of his sacred arrow, fix his sash to the
ground, and he must stand his ground to the death.
Set-angya’s son was killed on a raid in Texas,
and Set-angya went there and gathered up the
bones of his son, and from then on he led a
hunting horse that bore the bones of his son on
its back. At night he placed the bones in a
ceremonial tipi and invited all the people,
saying, “Come, come. My son is at home
tonight. Come and visit him. Come and pay
your respects.”
Set-angya was imprisoned at Fort Sill. Along with two other
chiefs, White Bear and Big Tree, he was placed in the bed of
a wagon, to be taken to the railroad, then sent to Fort
Richardson to be tried for the raid on the Warren wagon train.
As they were going along in the wagon on the grounds of the
fort, Set-angya began to sing the song of the Kaitsenko. At
this, the others became very upset, because that song was
sacred. It could only be sung in the face of death. And when
he had sung the song, he said to Set-tainte and Big Tree, “You
see that cottonwood on the side of the road ahead? By the
time we reach that tree, I will be dead.” He then pulled a
knife, which he had somehow hidden about him, and he
attacked the teamster, stabbed him in the leg. The guards,
riding close beside the wagon, shot him dead. But he was true
to his word.
Adapation of a story from The Ancient Child by N. Scott Momaday. New
York: Harper Perennial, 1999.
The Death of Sitting Bear
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“By the time we reach
that tree, I will be dead.”
“But he was true to his
word.”
The story illustrates the
sacred nature of
language.
The Kaitsenko Society
(Crazy Dogs or Dog
Soldiers)
Chief Sitting Bear
Myths
Myths
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The heart of the oral tradition is the story.
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Myths: traditional stories passed down from
generation to generation, which explain why
the world is the way it is.
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They characteristically involve immortal
beings and contain magic or the supernatural
Myths
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Myths attempt to explain things such as
Natural phenomenon
 The origin of humans
 The customs & religious rights of a
people
 Events beyond people’s control
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Myths
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Through myths and legends we can see social orders
and daily life:
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how families were organized
how political structures operated
how men caught fish
how religious ceremonies felt to the people who took
part
how power was divided between men and women
how food was prepared
how honor in war was celebrated
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Myths
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Myths teach the values and ideals of a
culture -what that culture holds as
important.
Myths are the stories that a culture uses to
create coherence in its life, values, and
symbols.
Myths
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In myths a culture tells its story of origin
and its understanding of the major issues
of life and death.
Myths are not stories in isolation: they
express a culture’s whole life—all that it
is and all that it values.
Myths
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Myths and legends are not told merely for
enjoyment, education or amusement: they are
believed.
They give concrete form to a set of beliefs
and traditions that link people today to
ancestors from centuries and millennia past.
Legends and myths are unique in the way they are told and the
regions and landscapes in which they are set. Yet there are
some universal recurring themes and images:
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the sacred four directions: North, South, East, West in
various forms
the children of the sun
the twin brothers who bring culture
worlds piled on top of each other
primordial waters
perpetual destruction and recreation
powerful heroes and tricksters (Veeho, Rabbit,
Coyote, Spider Man)
Creation Myths
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Myths and legends of human creation and
origin reflect in myriad ways a common belief
that people are a living part of the natural
world, brother and sister to the grain and the
trees, the buffalo and the bear.
Genesis: The Christian Creation Myth
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God is the creator of mankind; mankind
is granted dominion/power over all other
creatures on earth
God created Adam (man) out of
clay/earth
Genesis: The Christian Creation Myth
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God created Eve (woman) from Adam
Adam & Eve can have everything they want
except fruit from the tree of knowledge
(eating from this tree represents a desire to
be God-like)
It is Eve’s (woman’s) weakness that causes
their expulsion from the Garden of Eden
“In the beginning, when God created the
universe, the earth was formless and desolate.
The raging ocean that covered everything was
engulfed in total darkness, and the power of
God was moving over the water. Then God
said, “Let there be light” –and light appeared.
God was pleased with what he saw. Then he
separated the light from the darkness, and he
named the light “Day” and the darkness
“Night.” Evening passed and morning came—
that was the first day.”
Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of
Eden to cultivate it and guard it. He told him, “You
may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the
tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is
bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do,
you will die the same day.
…
The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die.
God said that because he knows that when you eat it,
you will be like God and know what is good and what
is bad.” The woman saw how beautiful the tree was
and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought
how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she
took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to
her husband, and he also ate it.”
…
God asked, “Did you eat the fruit that I told
you not to eat?” The man answered, “The
woman you put here with me gave me the
fruit, and I ate it” The Lord God asked the
woman, “Why did you do this?” She replied,
“The snake tricked me into eating it.”
God said to the woman, I will increase your
trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving
birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire
for your husband, yet you will be subject to
him.
The Power of
THE WORD
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John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the
Word (logos), and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”
“And the Word became flesh and made his
dwelling among us…”
In John’s Gospel Jesus is the “new Adam”
Genesis: God creates the world by speaking:
“And God said…”
The spoken word or just words/language have
the power to create (and thus destroy).
Kiowa Origin Myth
“You know, everything had to begin, and this is how it
was: the Kiowas came one by one into the world
through a hollow log. There were many more than now,
but not all of them got out. There was a woman whose
body was swollen up with child, and she got stuck in
the log. After that, no one could get through, and that is
why the Kiowas are a small tribe in number. They
looked around and saw the world. It made them glad to
see so many things. They called themselves Kwuda,
“coming out.”
From The Way to Rainy Mountain
– N. Scott Momaday
from
The World on the Turtle’s Back
– Iroquois creation myth
“In the middle of the Sky-World there grew a
Great Tree which was not like any of the trees
that we know. It was tremendous; it had grown
there forever. It had enormous roots that
spread out from the floor of the Sky-World.
And on its branches there were many different
kinds of leaves and different kinds of fruits and
flowers. The tree was not supposed to be
marked or mutilated by any of the beings who
dwelt in the Sky-World. It was a sacred tree
that stood at the center of the universe.”
(text, p 23)
“The woman decided that she wanted some
bark from one of the roots of the Great Tree—
perhaps as a food or as a medicine, we don’t
know. She told her husband this. He didn’t like
the idea. He knew it was wrong. But she
insisted, and he gave in. So he dug a hole
among the roots of this great sky tree, and he
bared some of its roots. But the floor of the
Sky-World wasn’t very thick, and he broke a
hole through it. He was terrified, for he had
never expected to find empty space underneath
the world”
“But his wife was filled with curiosity. He
wouldn’t get any of the roots for her, so she set
out to do it herself. She bent over and she
looked down, and she saw the ocean far
below…She fell through the hole…And so she
began to fall toward the great ocean far
below…
from
The World on the Turtle’s Back
– Iroquois creation myth
“They [the twins] buried their mother. And
from her grave grew the plant which the
people still use. From her head grew the corn,
the beans, and the squash— ‘our supporters,
the three sisters.’ And from her heart grew the
sacred tobacco, which the people still use in
the ceremonies and by whose upward-floating
smoke they send thanks. The women call her
‘our mother,’ and they dance and sing in
rituals so that the corn, the beans, and the
squash may grow to feed the people.”
(text, p 26)
Coyote and Buffalo - Okanogan
[Buffalo Bull] gave Coyote a young cow, the
youngest cow, and he said, “Never kill her,
Sink-ka-lip! Take good care of her and she
will supply you with meat forever. When you
get hungry, just slice off some choice fat with
a flint knife. Then rub ashes on the wound
and the cut will heal at once…But after a
while he became tired of eating fat, and he
began to long for the sweet marrow-bones
and the other good parts of the buffalo.”
‘Buffalo Bull will never know,’ Coyote told
himself, and he took his young cow down
beside a creek and killed her…
Coyote had to return to his own country
without a buffalo. That is why there never
have been any buffalo along the Swah-netk’qhu.
Devil’s Tower
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The Native American
myth of the boy who
turns into a bear is
common among many
tribes of the Great
Plains.
The myth explains the
natural phenomenon of
Devil’s Tower and of
the Big Dipper.
“Eight children were there at play,
seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly
the boy was struck dumb; he trembled
and began to run upon his hands and
feet. His fingers became claws, and his
body was covered with fur. Directly
there was a bear where the boy had
been. The sisters were terrified; they
ran, and the bear after them…
They came to the stump of a great tree,
and the tree spoke to them. It bade
them climb upon it, and as they did so
it began to rise into the air. The bear
came to kill them, but they were just
beyond its reach. It reared against the
tree and scored the bark all around
with its claws. The seven sisters were
borne into the sky, and they became
the stars of the Big Dipper.”
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming
Lakota: Mato Tipila, which means “Bear Tower”
http://www.nps.gov/archive/deto/home.htm
• Their
names for the monolith
include: Aloft on a Rock (Kiowa),
Bear's House (Cheyenne, Crow),
Bear's Lair (Cheyenne, Crow), Bear's
Lodge (Cheyenne, Lakota), Bear's
Lodge Butte (Lakota), Bear's Tipi
(Arapaho, Cheyenne), Tree Rock
(Kiowa), and Grizzly Bear Lodge
(Lakota).
• The name Devil's Tower probably
originated in 1875 during an
expedition led by Col. Richard Irving
Dodge
when
his
interpreter
misinterpreted the name to mean Bad
God's Tower. This was later
shortened to the Devil's Tower.
http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibit
s/bears/teachersguide/backgro
und.html
Bad Women are Thrown Away - Kiowa
“Bad women are thrown away. Once there was a
handsome young man. He was wild and reckless, and the
chief talked to the wind about him. After that, the man
went hunting. A great whirlwind passed by, and he was
blind. The Kiowas have no need of a blind man; they left
him alone with his wife and child. The winter was
coming and food was scarce. In four days the man’s wife
grew tired of caring for him. A herd of buffalo came
near, and the man knew the sound. He asked his wife to
hand him a bow and an arrow. “You must tell me,” he
said “when the buffalo are directly in front of me.” And
in that way he killed a bull, but his wife said that he had
missed…
He asked for another arrow and killed another bull, but
again his wife said that he had missed. Now the man was
a hunter, and he knew the sound an arrow makes when it
strikes home, but he said nothing. Then his wife helped
herself to the meat and ran away with her child. The man
was blind; he ate grass and kept himself alive. In seven
days a band of Kiowas found him and took him to their
camp. There in the firelight a woman was telling a story.
She told of how her husband had been killed by enemy
warriors. The blind man listened, and he knew her voice.
That was a bad woman. At sunrise they threw her away.
- from The Way to Rainy Mountain
N. Scott Momaday
Discussion Questions
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What supernatural or magical elements are contained
in the myth?
What does the myth reveal about the qualities the
Kiowa value or disapprove in an individual?
What does the myth reveal about an individual’s
relationship with the tribe as a whole?
How does the role of language in this story (think of
the wife) contrast with the role of language in the
story of the Arrowmaker?
The Buffalo with Horns of Steel - Kiowa
“There was a strange thing, a buffalo with horns of
steel. One day a man came upon it in the plain, just
there where once upon a time four trees stood close
together. The man and the buffalo began to fight. The
man’s hunting horse was killed right away, and the
man climbed one of the trees. The great bull lowered
its head and began to strike the tree with its black
metal horns, and soon the tree fell. But the man was
quick, and he leaped to the safety of the second tree.
Again the bull struck with its unnatural horns, and the
tree soon splintered and fell. The man leaped to the
third tree and all the while he shot arrows at the beast;
but the arrows glanced away like sparks from its dark
hide. At last there remained only one tree and the man
had only one arrow. He believed then that he would
surely die…
But something spoke to him and said: “Each
time the buffalo prepares to charge, it spreads its
cloven hooves and strikes the ground. Only
there, in the cleft of the hoof is it vulnerable; it
is there you must aim.” The buffalo went away
and turned, spreading its hooves, and the man
drew the arrow to the bow. His aim was true and
the arrow struck deep into the soft flesh of the
hoof. The great bull shuddered and fell, and its
steel horns flashed once in the sun.”
from The Way to Rainy Mountain
N. Scott Momaday
Discussion Questions
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How do we know this is a post-contact (with
Europeans) story?
What does the buffalo’s one weakness echo in
Greek mythology?
What might the buffalo with horns of steel
represent?
Given this symbolism, what message might
this story communicate to the Kiowa people?
The Horse that Died of Shame - Kiowa
“Once there was a man who owned a fine
hunting horse. It was black and fast and afraid of
nothing. When it was turned upon an enemy it
charged in a straight line and struck at full speed;
the man need have no hand upon the rein. But,
you know, that man knew fear. Once during a
charge he turned the animal from its course. That
was a bad thing. The hunting horse died of
shame.”
- from The Way to Rainy Mountain
N. Scott Momaday
Why Buffalo Has A Hump
from the Ojibwa and Seneca
Buffalo have humps.
They hang their heads low.
And do you know why?
A long time ago,
Little Buffalo Calf liked to run and jump and play.
Just like you do.
His father, The Buffalo Chief, said,
“You can run and play in the green grass.
You can run by the stream.
You can run near the big trees.
You can run by the gray rocks.
But do not run hear the brown grass.”
One day Little Buffalo Calf asked,
“Father, the brown grass looks nice.
May I play in the brown grass, please?”
“No,” said the Buffalo Chief.
“You must keep out of the brown grass.”
“But why?” asked Little Buffalo Calf.
“Because that is where the birds live,” answered
his father.
Little Buffalo Calf wished he could play in the
brown grass.
“I do not think the birds will mind,” he said to
himself.
When his father was not looking, Little Buffalo
Calf ran in the brown grass. He trampled the
birds’ nests under his heavy feet.
The birds began to cry. “You are a bad buffalo!”
said the birds. “You have ruined our homes!”
“Oh my!” said little Buffalo Calf. He was sad.
Just then the Creator came. “Little Buffalo Calf,
you did not mind your father,” the Creator
said. “And now the birds have no home. You
must be taught a lesson.”
The Creator put a stick on Little Buffalo Calf’s
shoulders. And there a big hump grew.
“I am sorry,” said Little Buffalo Calf.
And he hung his head low with shame.
Now all buffalo have humps.
And they hang their heads low.
Verbal Equations
Songs, Spells, Prayers
Verbal Equations
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Spells, prayers and songs that are
characteristically brief, and contain patterns,
repetition and formulas, all of which make them
easier to remember.
Verbal equations are recited at specific, significant
times for an intended purpose (birth, marriage,
travel, sickness, hunting, harvest time).
Spell: a set of directions
Prayer: a request
Song: a description
Birth & Infancy
Lullaby
Baby, sleep, sleep sleep
Father has gone to find turtle shells
He said he will come back tomorrow
Baby, sleep, sleep, sleep
- Creek
Lullaby
Baby swimming down the river:
Little driftwood legs,
Little rabbit legs.
- Kiowa
Cradlesong
sleep, little one, your father is bringing
a spotted deer to be your pet,
a rabbit’s ear to be your necklace,
spotted bramble fruits to be your toys.
- Mbya
When the Child is Named
The mother and the godmother stand on the housetop before dawn; the
godmother speaks:
My sun!
My morning star!
Help this child to become a man.
I name him
Rain-dew Falling!
I name him
Star Mountain!
The mother throws a live coal; the godmother throws sacred meal.
- Tewa
Growing Up
A Song of the Girl’s Puberty Ceremony
When the earth was made;
When the sky was made;
When my songs were first heard;
The holy mountain was standing toward me with life.
At the center of the sky, the holy boy walks four ways with
life.
Just mine, my mountain became; standing toward me with
life.
The dancers became; standing toward me with life.
When the sun goes down to the earth, where Mescal Mountain
lies with its head toward the sunrise,
Black spruce became; standing up with me.
- White Mountain Apache
Love Songs & Love Magic
The Dream
Last night I dreamed of you.
I dreamed you were walking on the shore pebbles
and I was walking with you.
last night I dreamed of you.
and as though I were awake,
I dreamed that I followed you,
that I wanted you like a young seal,
that you were wanted by me
the way a hunter
wants a young seal
that dives when it feels it is being followed.
that’s how you were wanted
by me,
who dreamed of you.
- Ammassalik Eskimo
Woman’s Song
A loon
I thought it was
But it was
My love’s
Splashing oar
To Sault Ste. Marie
He has departed
My love
Has gone on before me
Never again
Can I see him
- Chippewa
Song
Early morning dawning green,
Ah…is the willow so green?
In the green fields,
You gave me your love.
- Quechua
Woman’s Prayer
Ruda! Ruda!
O you who dwell in the skies,
Who love the rainO you who dwell in the skies!
Make it be that he will find all other
women unattractive.
Let him think of me,
When the sun disappears in the west.
-Anambe’
Against Sickness & Evil
Medicine Man’s Prayer
Listen, my dream!
This you told me should be done.
This you said should be the way.
You said it would cure the sick.
Help me now.
Do not lie to me.
Help me, Sun person.
Help me to cure this sick man.
- Blackfeet
For the Hunter
A Song of the Buffalo Dance
One I have wounded, yonder he moves,
Yonder he moves, bleeding at the mouth.
One I have wounded, yonder he moves,
Yonder he moves, with staggering steps.
One I have wounded, yonder he moves,
Yonder he falls, yonder he falls.
- Omaha
Prayer Before Killing the Eagle
Do not think that I shall harm you.
You will have a new body.
Now turn your head to the north and lie
flat!
- Yokuts
Words to Call Up Game
Beast of the sea,
Come and offer yourself in the dear early morning!
Beast of the plain,
Come and offer yourself in the dear early morning!
- Iglulik Eskimo
War and Death
Prayer to the Deceased
Naked you came from Earth the Mother.
Naked you return to her. May a good wind
be your road.
- Omaha
War Song
clear the way
in a sacred manner
I come
the earth
is mine
- Sioux
The Moon and the Year
The moon and the year
Travel and pass away:
Also the day, also the wind.
Also the flesh passes away
To the place of its quietness.
- Maya
Crazy Dog Song
I live, but I cannot live forever.
Only the great earth lives forever,
The great sun is the only living thing.
- Kiowa
Song of the Kaitsenko
The sun and the moon will live forever,
but we Kaitsenko must die.
- Kiowa
Dog Soldier