An Overview of Native American Oral Literature::

Myths

Categories of Myths or Stories

Though each tribe categorises its stories or myths in particular ways, it is possible to generalise. Many tribes divide their stories into those which deal with spirits and the ancient past and can only be told at a particular time, and those which deal with the recent past or even the present and deal with earthly beings and events and can be told at any time.

Paul Radin notes that the Winnebago divide their narratives into waikan (what is sacred) and worak (what is recounted). Sacred stories are told only in winter and after dark and they deal with events that occurred in the ancient or mythical past. They tend to have divine or spirit protagonists. Recounted stories, on the other hand, deal with present-day events and can be told at any time and they tend to feature human or earthly heroes and heroines (Radin 1956).¹

Lakota oral narratives are divided slightly differently - into those which are considered to have actually occurred (ehanni woyaka), and those which are products of the imagination (ohunkanka). The ehanni woyaka are those narratives that deal with the creation of the world and the conditions therein. Another category of such 'true' narratives relate historical stories of recent memory, such as the origin of place names and the deeds of leaders and bands. The ohunkanka tend to be morality tales such as those narrating the mischievous exploits of Iktomi, the trickster-spider, and do not try to locate the narrative in any particular time or place. Except for stories relating to historical events, all Lakota stories tend to be told in the evenings (Theisz 1975).²

American Indian mythologies vary considerably from tribe to tribe, but there are some common themes. Sacred stories or myths usually include stories about the creation of the universe or world, origins and migrations of the tribe, trickster-transformers, and culture heroes. Secular stories usually include anecdotal stories and include legendary tales of battles and other descriptions of specific events that occurred in a tribe’s history.

In order to once again demonstrate how both diversity and commonality typify Native American oral literatures, I want to finish of this article by looking at two specific forms of sacred stories: creation stories and trickster tales.

Notes::

• 1 - Paul Radin, ed. 1956. The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology. New York: Schoken.
• 2 - Ron D. Theisz, ed. 1975. Buckskin Tokens: Contemporary Oral Narratives of the Lakota. Rosebud: Sinte Gleska College Press.