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CHRISTOPHER VECSEV
IMAGINE OURSELVES RICHLY Mythic Narratives of North American Indians This
is
an introduction to the various ways of
understanding mythology and a resource for the study of North American Indian traditions.
describes and then employs the principal means of myth analysis in interpreting a It
sequence of myths and rituals from Indians across North America. Spanning a range of mythological possibilities and of American Indian culture areas, the myths and rituals treated here include the Hopi myth of emergence and clan migrations, the Ojibwa creation myth, the Iroquois myth of the Confederacy, the Navajo "Orpheus" tradition, the numerous pan-Indian myths (or monomyth) of peyotism's origins, and, finally, a contemporary sweat lodge ceremony.
As the
title
suggests, Imagine Ourselves
Richly treats these myths and rituals not only
and methods of survival but as a legacy of the spirit for us all. "The lessons they teach," says Vecsey, "community as clues to Indian identity
harmony, natural reciprocity, realism in facing death, yet hope and striving to better the
human
condition, a laughing sense of
absurdity,
and yet acceptance despite
it
life's all
—
these are healthy, eminently health-promoting ideas that
we
can hardly afford
to ignore." At
(continued on back
flap)
WHEATON PUBLIC LIBRARY 299.7
VEC 1988
Vecsey, Christopher. Imagine ourselves
3
richly :mythic narrati
5143 00153240
1
299.7 VEC
Vecsey, Christopher
Imagine ourselves richly
Wheaton 225 Wheaton,
Public Library N. Cross Illinois
60187
Digitized by the Internet Archive in
2016
https://archive.org/details/imagineourselves00vecs_0
Imagine Ourselves Richly
Imagine Ourselves Richly Mythic Narratives of
North American Indians
Christopher Vecsey
CROSSROAD
•
NEW YORK
1988
The Crossroad Publishing Company 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Copyright All rights reserved.
© No
1988 by Christopher Vecsey part of this
book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of
The Crossroad Publishing Company. Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data Vecsey, Christopher.
Imagine ourselves richly Indians p.
/
:
mythic narratives of North American
Christopher Vecsey.
cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8245-0878-5 1. Indians of North America E98.R3V43 1988 299'.78—dcl9
—Religion and mythology.
I.
Title.
88-15065 CIP
Contents Acknowledgments
ix
Preface
xi
1.
Mythography
2.
The Emergence and Maintenance of the Hopi People
1
34
written with Carol Ann Lorenz 3.
The Ojibwa Creation Myth written with John F. Fisher
64
4.
The Story and Structure of the Iroquois Confederacy
94
5.
A
6.
An American
7.
The Genesis of Phillip Deere’s Sweat Lodge
118
Navajo Heroic
References
Index
Indian
Monomyth: Narratives of Peyote’s Origin
and Bibliographies
1
50
206 233 295
Vf
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.
.
1
1
Index Busk ceremonials among Creek ans, 219-21, 227, 231 Buzzard Cult, 230
Aarne, Antti, 18
Orpheus 119-120 Agave chief, 36 Afterworld
tradition,
in
Indi-
Campbell, Joseph, 140-141
Ajitee
Way
see Prostitution
Cannibal, 100
Alabama Indian emergence myth, 225 Algonkian culture, folklore
of,
65-66
American Indian Movement (AIM),
Carrizo Apaches and peyote, 162 Cassirer, Ernst, 13
Cayuga Indians
208 as fertilizing clouds,
Changing Woman, 123, 127 Chantways, 124, 126-27, 142-48 Chekilli, 224 Chickasaw Indian emergence myth, 224
44
Hopi gods, 45—46 Antelope chief, 36 Antelope cult, 38 as
Anti-Christians,
6-7
Christianity
65 compared
compared
stories,
Aztec beliefs ty,
Confeder-
,acy stories, 102
Ancestors
Atisokanak
in Iroquois
to Christiani-
to Aztec myths,
relation to peyotism,
6
6
169-73,
179 Chuku, 53, 58
Banyacya, Tom, 40
Chukuwimkiya
Barton, Ron, 160
Clowns Clowns see
6 37-38
Bayle, Pierre,
Bear clan,
as bringers of rain,
and rivalry' with Spider Beautyway, 125 Beggar’s Son, story
of,
1
clan,
40—4
28-38 1
38
and hunting powers,
138 showing overwhelming power of the gods,
1
Benedict, Ruth, 4
220
importance of
in
Hopi
society,
as integrators of
Hopi
63
59-60 ritual,
218-
as satirists in
Hopi
society,
56
serving Hopi religion, 61
Boas, Franz, 15
tension toward,
38
57
Hopi subconscious,
solemn and sacred funtions
clan,
62-
society,
Blue bird clan, 38
Bow
55-
63
as reflections of
Blackbear, Joe, 154
19,
56-57
as leaders of kachina dancers,
38
Black Drink purification
59 demonstrating sexual and violent to the dead,
excesses,
emphasizing sexual conquests, linking sexual
compared
57
of,
58
58-59
Cohen, Percy, 30
295
1
296
Index
Comanche
162-
Indians and Peyote,
Cushing, Frank, 40-41
166-67 Condolence ceremony
Cusick, David,
peace negotiations, 113 Condolence ceremony as symbol of
Death
64,
as part of
Iroquois Confederacy, 105,
107 Consolation as basis for Iroquois Con-
112—113 Cooperative societies, Hopi as example of, 50 Corn Woman, 228—229 Coweta Indian emergence myth, 224-225 Coyote
attempts to conquer, 119
growth cycle, 45 as concept in myths, 29 importance of in Ojibwa Creation as beginning of
myth, 81-83
federacy,
as sexual copulator,
128
143-144
as trickster character,
43
Creek Indians Busk ceremonials among, 219-221 concept of sacred fire among, 220 Corn Woman tradition among,
228-29 cosmology
of,
218
creation beliefs of
compared
to
Hopi, 226 creation myths
of,
223-229
Green Corn Dance among, 22 influence of Christianity on myths of, 227, 229 Orpheus tradition among, 226 pan-Indianism of sweat
227-32 Deganawida, 99—106 as outsider,
1 1
217-221 separation of sexes among,
228-
229 plans
of,
208-21
218 215—17, 231—32
rituals of,
1,
use of Black Drink among, 218-19,
220
Delaware Indians and peyote,, 1 57158 Discours sur I’origine des fables, 6 Disease and ritual cures among Nava-
124-127 Divination as way to judge reality, 83 Djigonsasa (Mother of Nations), 100, 106-107 Dreams as way to judge reality, 8384 Drum Dance, 189-190 jos,
Diirkheim, Emile, 16, 25 Eagle Feather Belt Grace Dance,
acy,
105
25 Enlightenment, debunking of religions and myths during, 6-7 Epheus, 4 Euhemerism, 4 Euhemerus the Messanian, 4 Evilways, 124 Excess
Way
Way
use of sweating rituals among, Crisis cult,
peyotism
38 Flute ceremony, 38 Fat cavity clan,
as, 1
52,
1
53
92
Eagle as symbol of Iroquois Confeder-
see Prostitution
214-215
106
1—1 12
Eliade, Mircea,
purification as leitmotif of religion,
town
after
ritual of,
230
sweat
(Hopi culture), 45-46 Navajo view of, 121—122 Death Cult, 230 Deere, Phillip, 206-12, 217, 221-23, life
as historical person,
in the story of the Beggar’s Son,
132,
97
1
297
Index 37
Flute chief, 36,
Folklore, performative aspects of,
20—
Honko, Hopi
Lauri,
19
ceremonial year
21
compared to mythogra* phers, 18-19 Folktale, difference between myth and, 23 Folktales, compared to myths and legends, 22 Fontanelle, Bernard, 6 Four White Roots as symbol of IroFolklorists,
quois Confederacy, 105 Frazer, Sir James, 7-8, 12,
22
7,
example of “Waterworks” society, 50-51 importance of clowns in society of, 50-51
as
language concepts
of,
Hopi emergence and maintenance myth, 35-39 antisocial characteristics of,
compared 226
to
49
Ghost Dance, 152 Gluskabe compared to Nanabozho, 65 Goggles, John, 156, 165
as demonstration of
communal
human depen-
dence on nature, 53 as description of tribal existence,
39,
Great Pine Tree as symbol of Iroquois
of,
cooperation, 53
Goldfrank, Esther, 21, 40
94
as identification of
Hopi
culture,
47-48
Confederacy, 105 Spirit,
43
Creek creation myths,
defining necessity for
Great
41-42
contemporary political context 39-41, 42
Frenzy Witchcraft, 128 Freud, Sigmund,
5
of,
207, 222
as portrayal of
Green Corn Dance, 221
human
kinship,
47
and prophesy of trouble with
39-40 earth as mother of all
Whites, Hale, Horatio,
98
reflecting
22 Health, controlled by
beings, 52
Harrison, James,
Heart as
146-149 container of the soul, 84 ritual,
Hecataeus of Miletus, 4 Herder, Johann Gottried von,
Hero,
monomyth
of,
and separation of clans, 49 and separation of sexes, 49-50 social cohesion demonstrated in,
9-10
140-141
43 societal tensions reflected in,
Hero with a Thousand Faces, 140J.
N.
48-49
as symbolic representation of fertil-
141 Hewitt,
41, 42-43,
40—
B.,
97
50
witchcraft
Hiawatha as cannibal,
ity,
100
Horn
chief,
in,
43—44
36
as historical person,
Hultkrantz, Ake, 118, 120
in
Humans, opposing
106 Iroquois Confederacy stories,
quois Confederacy stories, 108
100-106 as outsider,
1 1
dualities of in Iro-
1-112
and struggle with Tadadaho, 108 Hide strap clan, 37-38 Holyways, 124, 128
Hume,
David,
8-9
Hunting depicted in Ojibwa Creation myth,
87-89
298
Index
Hunting {continued)
and
link
with sexual powers,
as sacred activity,
1
Hiawatha mourns and quits Onondaga, 101-102
38
87
Hiawatha’s relatives are killed,
Hydrocentric healing ritualism, 213
101
journey to the Mohawks, the Immortality, Navajo concept
of,
146—
the league declares
208
its
sovereignty,
105 migration and separation of the
Iroquois Confederacy
establishment
of,
95-96
99
people,
105 symbolic images of, 105 Iroquois Confederacy stories birth and growth of Deganawida, of,
the Mother of Nations accepts De-
ganawida’s message, 100
98
as myth,
the nations march to Tadadaho singing the Peace
99 conception of divine law and
Hymn, 103
the prophets prove their power,
the cannibal converts, 100
100-101
its
113—114 the Condolence ceremony mainapplication,
tains the confederacy,
105 the confederacy takes symbolic images, 105
Deganawida consoles Hiawatha, 102-103 Deganawida departs, 106 Deganawida and Hiawatha establish Iroquois unity and law, 104 Deganawida and Hiawatha establish league chiefs and council polity,
99—100
plained,
International Indian Treaty Council,
sovereignty
and the mission ex-
tion,
147
situa-
y
98
as sacred text,
scouts travel to Tadadaho, 103
Tadadaho the wizard prevents peace, 101 Iroquois Indians belief in
human
perfectability,
109 conception of divine law and
113-114 108-109
application,
dualism
of,
kinship systems
of,
narrative genres of,
109
97-98
unity and law established by Hia-
104
Deganawida and Hiawatha join Oneidas, Cayugas, and Senecas to Mohawks, 103 Deganawida and Hiawatha transform Tadadaho, 103-104 as epic of nation formation,
96
establishment of kinship systems
watha, 104 Isleta
Pueblo, 21
Ispahihtoa, 224,
227
Jesus Christ
appearing
in
peyotism, 170-73,
186, 197
myths
109 as examples of peacefiil means and purposes, 1 10
Jung, Carl Gustav, 14-15
as expression of teleology of Iro-
Kachinas, in Hopi ceremonials,
in,
quois national
96—97 Mohawks
of,
14
55-
56
life,
Hiawatha gives the
les-
sons in protocol, 102
Hiawatha invents
its
wampum, 102
emergence myth, 224 Kik-mongwi, 36 Kasihta Indian
“Kinaalda,” 140
3
Index Kiowa Apaches
Mide Society Ojibwa Creation myth and, 64, 65, 66 Mishongovi, 38 Moenkopi, 37-38
peyote and, 154-56, 161-62, 169 religious culture of,
299
169
Kluckhohn, Clyde, 123 Kochampanaskin, Ralph, 159
Mohawk
Indians
Confederacy 99-100, 102
in Iroquois
Lagon Lagon
36 cult, 38 Lang, Andrew, 12-13 Leach, Edmund, 16-17 Legends, compared to myths and folktales, 22 chief,
as leaders in the Iroquois Confed-
eracy,
69
Life
emerging from
earth,
82
existing in natural objects, Life after death,
82
Hopi concept
of,
97
Mortality, Navajo
Leighton, Dorothea, 123 Levi-Strauss, Claude,
stories,
45—
146-147
of,
Mother Earth, 206, 207, 222 Mother of Nations, 100 Motif-Index 18 Motsni, 36 Mudhead clowns, 55 Muller, F. Max, 1 1-12, 13 Muskogee Indians creation myths of, 222, 226 sweat lodge
46
concept
212-213
ritual of,
Myth-analysis
Lifeways
Navajo Indian theories regarding cause and cure of disease,
124-125 Lipan Apaches and peyote,
1
58
Longhouse as symbol of Iroquois Confederacy, 105 Lord, Albert, 20
etymologicaI-semantic-“solar”
11-12 see also Mythography school
My themes,
of,
17
Mythography functional school of,
15-16
psychoanalytic approaches
to, 1 3—
15
approach
structuralist
Malinowski, Bronislaw, 15-16
symbolist school
Mythological corpus, 2
Ojibwa Creation myth, 66, 7577 Marau chief, 36 Marau cult, 38
Mythology “cubist” view as essential life,
16-18
of, 1
Manitos in
to,
30 element of of,
religious
25
Marx, Karl, 7 Masau’u (the Skeleton), 36 as deity of death, 45—46
form, content, and function
Master of Breath, 222, 227 Mescalero Apaches and peyote,
ritual
nature
types
of,
158
19-
26 life-and-death content of, of,
26-33
22-23
8-19
see also Myths
Mexico
Myths
as origin of peyote mythology,
168-169 peyote use
of,
in,
as allegories of nature, 3 as allegories of philosophical argu-
176, 177
ments, 2-3
300
Index
Myths {continued)
supernatural content
as ancestor veneration carried to deification,
4
24
Christian beliefs intertwined with,
to falsehood,
and
to legends
folktales,
19-26 cultural reflections
in,
15
1
12-13 descriptions of nature and natural cycles, 12-13
as deification of the dead,
during the Renaissance, 5
examined by Greek
scholars,
3-5
human
as guide to relations with
and nonhuman environment,
24-25 as
medieval world, 5
model
for societal version of
reality,
as oral tradition,
19-20
as part of religion,
9 as performances, 20 problem-solving and ities of,
cathartic qual-
14
thought, 14—15
compared to Gluskabe, 65 and death of hunting companion, 73-74 and deluge, earth divers, and creation of new earth, 77—9 and his brothers, 70-72 as Ojibwa culture-hero and trickster, 64 as originator of death, 79-80 stump episode and, 75-76 and theft of fire, 69—71 and Toad Woman, 76-77 as transformer, 91
described as suprasocial, 141 of,
142
as paradigms of vitality
and model
of life-seeking force in the face
psychological cause and function
3-4
as reflection of evolution of
thought, 10—11
26 representing community’s sophical ideas, 24
religious functions of,
philo-
as a response to environment, 10
16
form of symbolic expression, 13
as a special
Nahaya, 122-123 Nanabozho
overassertion
as projections of subconscious
social-scientific study of,
18-19 used to describe celestial phenomena, 12-13
and the wolves, 72-73 Nasomta Chuku, 53 Native American Church, 198 Natural History of Religion, 8 Navajo heros
25
as nature-devotion, 10
of,
as universal natural
cate-
and analyzing,
criteria for defining
in the
14—15 phenomenon,
as universal archetypes,
universal structure of,
1
gories, 17
as
from vernacular into
14-15
22 as conveyances of cognitive
defined,
26-27
written English, 21
as anchors to meaningful past,
5—6 compared compared
translating
of,
of death,
1
39
and symbolic mediation of death and eternality, 146 Navajo Indians belief in ghosts among, 121-122 and belief in universal rules, 123— 124 Blessingways of, 1 24 Chantways of, 124 curing rituals
of,
124—127
diagnosticians among, 125
301
Index and emphasis on own power and control over events, 122-123 fear of dead among, 121—122 health and disease concerns of, 125 mythology as groundwork for medical beliefs and ceremonial cures, 127 peyotism among, 152, 160 preoccupation with details of travel in
myths
144—145
of,
prevalence of mediation in curing
39 relation of people to gods, 123 ritual classification among, 124 sandpainting of, 126-127 rites of,
1
and the story of the Beggar’s Son,
128-138 sweat lodge therapy as
ritual of,
ritual
210
norm
of,
125
use of ceremonials to actualize heroic quests,
148-149
Ne Gailhwiyo, 114 Ne Gashedenza, 114 Ne Skenno, 113—114
New
Fire ceremonial, 55,
Newhouse,
57-58
98
Seth, 97,
changes to Iroquois Con-
editorial
federacy stories, 107 Nietzsche, Friedrich,
way
85 Ojibwa Creation myth birth of
as heuristic device, 81 historical uses of,
86
hunting depicted
in,
modern analyses of, 64 Nanabozho and his brothers, 70-72 Nanabozho’s killing of the underwater manito(s) Toad Woman episode, 76-77 Nanbozho and the wolves, 72—73
—
pictographs
in,
compared
to
65
death of Nanbozho’s hunting companion,
73-74
deluge, earth divers, creation of
new
77—79 different versions of, 91—92 examples of suspicion in, 85 earth,
65
64 showing communication gap between humans and animals, 80-81 struggle between factional “families” in, 79 stump episode, 75—76 theft of fire, 69-70 Ojibwa Indians atomism of society, 66 Creation myth expressing world view of, 80-81 individualism among, 85—87 of,
physical survival as primary con-
cern
81, 86-87,
of,
92
89 suspicion among, 87
Omaha
of,
Indians and peyote,
Oneida Indians
in Iroquois
164—165 Confeder-
acy stories, 102
Onondaga
symbol of Iroquois Confederacy, 105
Hopi emergence
myth, 81-82
in,
seasonal retelling
Nanabozho, 68-69
categories
87-89
importance of death in, 79—81 judgement of reality in, 83-84 metamorphosis in, 83
sky imagery
to judge reality,
world ordered for
hunting, 81
9
Nokosi, Judge, 225
Observation as
as expression of
Oraibi,
as
38-39
factionalism
in,
40
Orenda, 98
Orpheus
tradition
among Creek compared 147
Indians,
226
to Navajo myth,
145-
302
Index
Orpheus
{continued)
tradition
118-119 one of most common myths worldNavajo versions
of,
wide, 119
paradigm for shamanism, 119 as source of religious revelation, 119 Osinoh the Witch, 101 as
153 similarities among, 165 see also Peyotism Peyote rattle, 196 Peyote road, 194, 196 Peyotism as origin myths,
brotherly love as all-encompassing ethic
of,
185-186
cleansing rituals associated with,
PaiyakyamUy
53,
Palatkwapi, 37,
176
55
communal
38-39
peyotism as expression
of,
188-
192 reflected in sweat house ritual,
230-231 Sundance as expression Parker, Cynthia Ann, 166
of,
197
202 as crisis cult, 1 52, 203 early history of, 150-152
compassion
Pan-lndianism
of,
emotionalism of contrasted to
tra-
ditional Plains ceremonies, of,
189
ethics
193
184-188
of,
as expression of Pan-lndianism,
Parker, Quanah, 166-67, 172,
175-
188-192 200-201
76, 183, 184, 187, 188, 191,
as a full-fledged religion,
202
Confederacy, 112—113
importance of personal contact with power of peyote, 173— 174 and nativism, 191 as “new” religion, 1 52 ordeal and exhilaration in, 175
Woman
as parallel to vision quest of Plains
Parrot clan, 38
Peace as central ethic of peyotism,
187-188 Peacemaking Peace
aspects
as basis for Iroquois
in Iroquois
Confedera-
cy stories, 106—107 Perryman, Louis, 225
ritual of,
Peyote, 150
sacramental aspects
chemical composition currative
powers
of,
175 180—181 of,
God, 174-175 effects of ingesting, 175 moral transformation wrought by, 185 nourishing powers of, 181 power of, to be use for group benas direct access to
efit,
182-183
165—173
hero separated, emptied, initiated and reunited in, 197
165-170
theology
in
17S)-180 and wearing of symbolic Indian of,
dress,
190-191
see also Peyote narratives Phillips,
George, 164
Pictographs, in Ojibwa Creation
Piptuku, 55 Plains Indians
peyotism among, 152
Peyote narratives
historicity of,
symbols used 196
197—198 practice of, 194— of,
myth, 65
and shamanistic patterns of Indian religiousness, 182 Christian influence on,
177 192-193
Indians,
169-170 vision quest among, 1 77 Plato, 3-4 religiousness of,
Polytheism, Greek, 3
1
1
Index
303
Powak-mana, 37, 38-39
Singer chief, 36
Pow-wow
Singer of Tales, 20
189-190 Way, 1 28, 1 38
religion,
Prostitution
Singer-physician {hatali), 125
as medicinal ritual, 121
Sioux Indian sweat lodge
Purification rituals of Navajos,
1
26-
127
Rave, John, 179,
184-185
Society of Faces, 108
Indian patterns
of,
as part of, 9,
peyotism
Soul
169
28-29
of animated entity, 84
8-9
origins of,
as,
distinguished from
169-70, 200-1 81
Ritual ability to transform individuals
societies,
and
107—108
Roundhouses, among Creek Indians,
215-217
126-127 in Iroquois
Confedera-
102 Serpents associated with meat by
Stewart,
Omer
C.,
1
52,
1
59
Beggar’s Son. See Beggar’s Son,
Stump episode, in Ojibwa Creation myth, 75-76 as expression of Pan-Indian-
ism,
189
Superego, expression of in myths of Jesus Christ, 14
Sweat lodge
Ojibwas, 92 Sexual powers linked with hunting,
138 Shaalako kachinas, 38 as animating force of living
84
to peyotism,
Woman, 37
Sundance
stories,
Shamanism compared
with Bear clan, 40—4
Story of
Sahagun, Bernardo, 177, 180
entities,
Spider
rivalry
“Story of San'hode'di begaeye, the
conquest, 138
Seneca Indains
in living
84 Southern Cult, 230—231 Soyal ceremony, 38 Soyal chief, 36 Spence, Lewis, 22 Spider clan, 37-38 and
interdependence with myth, 22 Rivalry and revenge linked to sexual
Sandpainting,
shadow
entity,
Revenge raids, Revenge warfare, 113 Rites of Passage, 1 4
206-208 shape of, compared to Mother Earth, 206, 210 ritual of,
Sweat lodge
ritual
contemporary appeal of, 208 as widespread Indian custom, 209,
183-184
democratized through vision quests, 120
Orpheus tradition, 1 19-120 to combat disease and disharmony, 120 Shongopovi, 38 in
45—46
Snake ceremony, 38 Snake clan, 38-39 Snake cult, 38
Religion
Shadow
Sipapu (place of emergence), 52 as deity of death,
Rattlesnake chief, 36
cy
210
Skeleton
Pythagoras, 3
myths
ritual,
210-211
Tabatcamowin {Tibadjimowin) stories, 65 Taboo violation as cause of disease, 126 Tachuktu, 55
Index
304
Wampum
Tadadaho 100
as cannibal,
as “he
obstructs the road,” 109
who
Confederacy
in Iroquois
as
106
as historical person,
invention of by Hiawatha, 102 as symbolic asssurance of truth, 110
symbol of peace agreement,
109-110
stories,
Wampum
101-104 straightening of
mind and body
of,
as reminders of Iroquois foundations,
112
and struggle with Hiawatha, 108 Tangik kachinas, 38 Tarenyawagon (Master of Life), 99, 108, 113 Tawiskaron, 108 Thales, 3
Theagenes of Rhegium, 3 The Golden Bough, 12 The Sacred Record, 4
Thompson, Stith, 18 Tihadjimowin stories, 66 Titiev, Mischa, 45 Tonkawa Indians and peyote, 16438
kachinas,
Tuscarora Indians, 97
Twisted Face, 108 Tyler, Hamilton,
Tylor, E.
as
110
symbol of Iroquois Confederacy, 105
“Wanderings of the Hopi, The,” 35-
39 Warrior chief, 36, 37 “Waterworks” societies, 50 Whawiki kachinas, 38 “White Brother” in Hopi myth, 37,
38-39 White
Butterfly, 128, 136, 137, 143,
144 “White Men.” See “White Brother” Willfulness as Navajo trait, 122 Windigos, 87
165
Tulwunang
belts
46
Witchcraft
10-11
B.,
Windway, 125 Winnebago Indians and peyote, 169170 Wilson, John, 201—202 coherent cause for evil, 44 and peyote, 182 as way to assign blame, 43—44 Witchcraft, in Navajo myth, 128 as
Underhill, Ruth,
22
Vansina, Jan, 19
Witches
Vapor baths as continent-wide
phenomena, 208,
as kahopi,
210, 211 see also Sweat lodge ritual Vico, Giovanni Battista, 8-9, 13, 30
Vision quest
and democratization of shamanism, 120 Visions obtained by use of peyote,
177-180 Voltaire as opponent of mythology and
religion, 6,
Wallace, Paul,
Walpi, 38, 39
as cause of societal sickness,
7
107-108
44
44
Witherspoon, Gary, 123
Wolves in Ojibwa Creation myth, 72-74 Wuwuchim ceremony, 51 Wuwuchim chief, 36
Xenophanes of Colophon, 3 Youths and Elders Conference, 208 Yuchi Indians creation myths of, 222, 223 purification among, 217
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the heart of the grand corpus of Indian stories the author finds a triple declaration of depen-
dence: of the individual on the community, of the
community on
nature,
and of nature on the
ultimately powerful world of
spirit.
CHRISTOPHER VECSEY is associate professor of religion and Native American studies at Colgate University.
He
is
the author of Traditional
Ojibwa Religion and Its
Changes and editor of several books, including The Study of American Indian Religions by Ake Hultkrantz. Historical
Jacket design by Vikki Sheatsley
The Crossroad Publishing Company 370 Lexington Avenue
New
York,
NY
10017 0 - 8245 - 0878-5
"Indian stories can help us'expand our concept of who
Too
readily
we
we are.
think of ourselves as white Western moderns,
belonging to a Judeo-Christlah religion and a Greco-Roman polity. However, by/seeing our humanity reflected and revealed
In Indian, stories,
repressed images of our
we
can release ourselves from the
humanity. Indian traditions have something to offer us non-Indians: values we have repressed or
never
known
full
regarding environment, society, and the spiritual
world. Their texts offer us insights concerning the possibility of human systems that \ve might recover or attain. The siudyV
American
Indians,
I
have found, challenges us
in
our American-
ness-and enriches N. Scott
Morpaday
us— as h.
richly.'"
22
..
CROSSROAD
•
NEW YORK
/