Reading Notes: Great Plains Part B

Price of Truth

There was a Coyote that always walked in a straight line across the prairie. He heard someone call out to him telling him to stop. He looked around seeing no one kept on walking. He then heard someone say for him to walk around. Again the Coyote was perplexed seeing no one. He walked a bit further until the Coyote saw the snake. The Snake would not move and said walk around again. To this the Coyote said I do not want to walk around you. Then the Coyote told the Snake to get out of his way. The Snake said he had never thought to move for anyone let alone the Coyote. The Coyote said he would still run over him. The Snake then threatened to kill him if he walked over. The Coyote laughed it off saying that the Snake couldn’t possibly kill him. So he walked over him and the Snake bit him. The Coyote mocked the snake telling him that he isn’t dead yet. The Snake held his tongue knowing what was to come. The Coyote traveled on until he came to a creek for some water. He drank from the creek seeing his reflection in the water thinking to himself that he was quite fat. He then walked on until he was quite tired. He then lay down and went to sleep never to wake up again. The Snake’s words held true.

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains byKatharine Berry Judson

Coyote and Rattlesnake by Alan Schmierer 

Reading Notes: Great Plains Part A

Unlikely Friendship

This is a story about a Buffalo Bull and a Grizzly Bear. The Grizzly Bear came to the stream like he always had done. When he got there he saw a Buffalo Bull. The Buffalo Bull was very lean and muscular with his head bowed. The Grizzly Bear got closer to him and in an instant jumped upon him. He seized the Buffalo’s hair that was on his head and turned him around and around. All the while the Grizzly saying that he came there quite often and each time he came there somebody would tell him that the Buffalo Bull wants to fight him. He kept spinning him and spinning him until at last he hit the Buffalo Bull on the nose with his open paw. The Buffalo Bull was confused and asked why he was doing this and that he had never threatened to fight him ever. He also inquired as to who it was that said he had wanted to fight the Grizzly Bear. The Grizzly wouldn’t hear any of it and seized him by the tail and continue to spin him around and around. The Buffalo was in great pain and thought that he must attack him. The Grizzly somehow heard his thought and came back and seized the Buffalo again. This time the Buffalo stepped back getting room. He threw himself on the ground nd rolled until he had gotten himself enough room. He then stood and charged at the Grizzly. He caught the Grizzly with his horns and launched him into the air. He then ran at him trying to gore him with his horns. He did this until the Grizzly fell over the cliff. The Grizzly eventually climbed the cliff and rejoined the Buffalo at the top and asked the Buffalo if he would like to be friends, for they were so much alike.

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson

Grizzly Bears Attacking Buffalo by George Catlin

Week 10 Story

Price of Fitting In

There once lived a man named Timothy in a faraway land that knew not what it was like to have a wife. He wanted a wife for as long as he could remember. He wanted to grow old with a woman raising their children together. He also wanted very much so to be included in his friend group when his friends went over with their wives to Mark’s house. Mark’s house was where all the cool and interesting get togethers happened, at least that was what he was told. One day he was walking along the street when an old women bumped into him on the sidewalk.

“I am so sorry young man. I must not have been looking where I was going” the old lady said.

“It is no trouble” said Timothy as he turned to continue walking.

The lady grabbed his hand and pulled his face down to hers so she might inspect his face.

“You have a very interesting soul. You should marry my daughter she is about the same age as you” said the old lady.

“Thank you, but no thank you” said Timothy as he turned to walk away quickly.

Then out of the corner of his eye he saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen sitting on the bench. She waved to him to come sit down next to her. He dumbly walked over and started to have a conversation with her. This just so happened to be the old lady’s daughter. Soon after a while they were married and living together. Timothy was finally invited to Mark’s house to one of his get togethers. He showed up with his wife but for some reason he couldn’t remember going home with her. He also couldn’t find her anywhere at their house. Eventually he figured she must still be at Mark’s house so he went back to see her. He found her strolling out of Mark’s house covered in blood.

“What happened? Are you okay? Why are you covered in blood?”

“Mark forced himself on me so did the other men at the party. Apparently it is not a very friendly party, and your friends wanted to bite off a bit more than they could chew. I’m surprised anyone shows up to these parties at all. Mark is apparently the head of a cult and suckers people into bringing their wives as a sacrifice to join. I am no sacrifice do you hear me?” she said quite firmly.

“Well where are they? What did you do with them?”

“I cut the important bits off of each of them so they will not forget what they did for as long as they live. I come from a land far from here that consumes man flesh to become one with the gods. I left that to start a new life. Who knew that I would use my skills again?”

“I am so sorry for what you had to go through. Let’s go to the hospital to get you checked out then let’s go home!” Timothy said.

“Fine, fine as long as we can be home for dinner.”

The couple turned and headed off into the distance with the sun at their back as it dipped below the earth.

Author’s Notes: This is a combination of a story about a man who wanted a wife so he could be part of a group that got to see the wizard. He gets a wife only to have her taken from him. He challenges the wizard and gets her back. In my story the man does want to go to the get togethers with his friends. His wife is taken but she cuts her way out. The second story is about the wife who lies that gets her villages women killed. She goes back to her own people and they believe that she is treated harshly so they attack her husband’s village. Her husband’s village retaliates and attacks back and then kills her. In my story the women is from a faraway land and is married off by her grandmother. I however left out the part about her lying and instead of a slaughter happening to those that didn’t deserve it I decided to turn it around on Timothy’s friends.

Bibliography: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen  

Eskimo Massacre Site by Universal History Archive

Reading Notes: Eskimo Part B

Lying Wife

This story is one about a wife who lied. Navaranapaluk came from a tribe that ate men. She later married a man from another tribe. One day she decided to go to her own people with mittens on her feet instead of boots. She did this so they would feel pity on her and hate her husband’s people. Her people felt exactly the way she thought they would. The decided to attack her husband’s tribe. When they got to her husband’s village they found no men there, only the wives. They still attacked killing all the women they could find. They ended up killing all but three. One women hid against meat, the other hid in skin, the last hid in the store shed. Once they had killed all they saw they put all of their bodies on pikes and stuck them upright into the ground for all to see. When the men came home they were outraged and set to making war on the enemy. The three women who were left alive helped them vigorously until they had nothing but bone showing in their fingers. When the men came to the next village they hid amoungst the rocks. One of the old women from the village had a dream that told her the avengers must be near. After she dreamed this the dog on the roof barked alarming those in the village. They rushed out of the house but the enemies moved in and killed them shooting every man down with arrows. They men then chose for themselves wives out of those that were before them. Navaranapaluk was then grabbed by two men who took her out onto the ice. She asked the whole way who it would be out of the two men to be her husband. The men laughed and then cut both her arms off leaving her to blead to death for her lie.

Bibliography: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen

Illustration from Eskimo Folk-Tales by Eskimo Artists

Reading Notes: Eskimo Part A

Isigaligarssik Challenge

This story is about a man who had no wife. He wanted to be like the other men who had the opportunity to go out and hear the wizard. To be able to hear the wizard one needed to be married. Since Isigaligarssik was unmarried he had to stay with the old widow and her young daughter. On one occasion when the men are gone listening to the wizard the widow whispers to Isigaligarssik that her daughter wants to marry him. He agrees to marry her and before the men return they are married. They are happy for him. The next time the wizard called he went to see him and brought his wife. The wizard then took his wife from him telling him he no longer had a wife. From then on he lived without a wife going to every calling from the wizard to be told to go home. Eventually he went in to the wizard and was stabbed by him. He ran home and placed a dress of his wife on the wound and it healed. He then challenged the wizard to a shooting match with bows and arrows. He became small so the wizard would miss him. He then told him to go home for he could not shoot. When the wizard arrived at home Isigaligarssik shot his bow and killed him.

Bibliography: Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen  

Eskimo Massacre Site by Universal History Archive

Week 9 Story

Heartbroken Man

There once was a man named Jason that lived in a small village. He was a very wise and powerful man that gave the people of his village powerful blessings. Eventually the people of the village grew jealous of his wondrous gift that he had and came to imprison him so they could get blessings whenever they wanted. The man heard of this and decided to leave the village and take his son through the forest in search of a better village, one that would appreciate what he did for them. While the man was out on a walk through the forest when he came across his son, a lion, a goose, and an ox that were in a net hanging from the tree.

Jason thought to himself, “I need to rescue my son the others I will leave in the tree, they are of no use to me.”

When he told his son that he would be up to get him the other animals pleaded to him asking him to please save them and that he would be richly rewarded. The lion said that he would be his protector and would make sure no harm ever befell him. The goose promised him golden eggs and the ox promised him to work for him in his field for as long as he needed. Jason agreed and went up the tree and cut everyone down and they all made their way to the next village. When Jason made himself at home in the new village he started blessing the people of this village. He too was blessed by the deeds which the animals did for him. They all kept their promise and he was made quite wealthy. One day the king saw him as a threat and wanted him gone but couldn’t figure out a way to capture the man. Jason’s son decided that he too wanted to be wealthy and told the king he would let him in the house to capture his father. When the King heard this he was quite pleased.

So, in the dead of night the king came for him and was let in by Jason’s son. As the guards that were with the king piled into the house they were met with a most ferocious foe. The lion jumped upon them and in a few short moments had killed all but the king. Jason woke up and jumped out of bed to see what the matter was. He saw the king lying on the floor with the lion on top growling.

Jason asked the king, “What are you doing in my house? Who let you in here?”

Sputtering the man said, “It was your son he let us all in to take you. We promised him many riches for doing so.”

Jason looked at the man, then at his son and said, “Leave while I allow it, both of you.”

Though Jason had all the blessings and wealth he was never to be happy again. He had lost everything that truly mattered to him, his son.

Author’s Note: I decided to combine two stories. I combined a story about Anansi in which he gives out wisdom to the people only for them to begrudge him. He decides to take all the wisdom back and hide it from them. In the process of hiding it his son tells him a better way to climb the tree so that he might hide it. He decides he doesn’t have all the wisdom and decides to get rid of his plan. I incorporated the son but changed him from being good to being evil. I also made it to where it was blessings instead of wisdom. The other story I mixed in was the story called the Ungrateful Man which is about a hunter who finds several different things in a whole. He saves them and all of them bestow him with a gift for his deed. All except the man who ends up lying to the king telling him that it was hunter who stole from him. After being imprisoned he cures the king’s son using one of the gifts he received. In my story I decided to incorporate him saving a few animals that would bless him, but made his son the ungrateful man in my story.

Bibliography: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair 

Disappointment by Unknown  

Week 9 Reading Notes: West Africa Part B

The Ungrateful Man

A man was out walking one day and crossed paths with a hole. In the hole was a serpent, rat, leopard and a man. They all begged him for their release but he thought to themselves none of them were good but the man. The serpent bit men and killed them, the rat was of no use to anyone, and the leopard stole his cattle and ate them. But each of these enticed him with things. They each promised to do him a good dead. The serpent gave him a powerful antidote to snake venom. He told him to apply the blood of a traitor to it to make it active. The leopard showed his appreciation by killing many animals for him and supplying him with food for a while. The rat went off and fetched him many valuable things such as gold and ivory. The ungrateful man that was taken from the pit went to the king and blamed the hunter for being the one who stole the king’s belongings. He did this so that he could get half of what was stolen when it was returned. The hunter was thrown in prison and was scheduled to be beheaded. The king’s son was bitten by a snake and was on the verge of death. He told the king of the serum he had that would cure his son and what he needed. He also told him how he had gotten it and all that had happened. He needed the blood of a traitor and the Majesty pointed to the wicked man who had accused the hunter. The king was grateful for all the hunter did and gave him much honours for him to take home with him.

Bibliography: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair

The Hunter and The Serpent by Cecilia Sinclair