Pueblo myths and folklore about their animal gods: badgers, pronghorns, deer, buffaloes, elk, mountain sheep, rabbits, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions.
Here is a thorough, and long-needed, presentation of the nature of the Pueblo gods and myths. The Pueblo Indians, which include the Hopi, Zuni, and Keres groups, and their ancestors are closely bound to the Plateau region of the United States, comprising much of the area in Utah, Colorado, and–especially in recent years–New Mexico and Arizona. The principal god of the Hopi tribe was and is Masau'u, the god of death. Masau'u is also a god of life in many of its essentials. There is an unmistakable analogy between Masau'u and the Christian Devil, and between Masau'u and the Greek god Hermes, who guided dead souls on their journey to the nether world. Mr. Tyler has drawn many useful comparisons between the religions of the Pueblos and the Greeks. "Because there is a widespread knowledge of the Greek gods and their ways," the author writes, "many people will thus be at ease with the Pueblo gods and myths." Of utmost importance is the final chapter of the book, which relates Pueblo cosmology to contemporary Western thought. The Pueblos are men and women who have faced, and are facing, problems common to all mankind. The response of the Pueblos to their challenges has been tempered by the role of religion in their lives. This account of their epic struggle to accommodate themselves and their society to the cosmic order is "must" reading for historians, ethnologists, students of comparative religion, and for all who take an interest in the role of religious devotion in their own lives.
"Hailed by many as the most accessible of all epic narratives recounting a classic Pueblo Indian story of creation, migration, and ultimate residence, this version of the Acoma Pueblo creation myth offers a unique window into Pueblo Indian cosmology and its dramatic, ancient history. It reveals how one premodern society answered key existential questions and formed its guiding social, religious, and economic customs. In 1928 it was narrated by Edward Proctor Hunt, a Pueblo Indian man from the mesa-top village of Acoma, New Mexico, to Smithsonian Institution scholars. In this new edition, Peter Nabokov renders this important document into clear sequence, adds excerpted material from the original storytelling sessions, and explains the creation and roles of such central myths in American Indian cultures." -- Back of cover.
More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups present 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. “This fine, valuable new gathering of ... tales is truly alive, mysterious, and wonderful—overflowing, that is, with wonder, mystery and life" (National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen). 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.
Presents detailed coverage of the deities, legendary heroes and heroines, important animals, objects, and places that make up the mythic lore of the many peoples of North America.