Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Kamila Hüblová

The Roles of Coyote in Native American Oral Traditions

Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.

2018

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

……………………………………

Kamila Hüblová

I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A. for his guidance and insightful observations through the work on my thesis, my mother for believing in me, and my family - Libor, Liborek and Emička, for their day-to-day support and patience.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction...... 5

2. Understanding Native American Culture...... 8

3. Coyote in Native Oral Traditions...... 19

4. The Roles of Coyote...... 25

5. Conclusion...... 42

6. Bibliography...... 45

English Resumé ...... 49

Czech Resumé ...... 50

1. Introduction

Coyote, Coyote, Please tell me

What is a shaman?

A shaman I don’t know

anything about.

I’m a doctor, myself.

When I use medicine,

it’s between me,

my patient,

and the Creation. (Peter Blue Cloud)

Coyote is a complex mythological figure in Native American mythology based on the animal coyote Canis Latrans, also called "prairie wolf", which is native to North and Central America. The origin of this name comes from the Aztecs who called this animal coyotl. Later, Spanish-speaking Mexicans borrowed this word from the Aztecs as coyote. (collinsdictionary.com) This animal is considered to be one of the most adaptable species in the wild as it managed to survive countless threats to its population and adapted to changes of the modern world in culture and technology.

Therefore, such qualities seen in this animal have earned coyote a central role in

Native American stories. As William Bright states: "Few protagonists from the oral literature of native North America have achieved lasting importance in the folklore or the written literature of Anglo-America ... A more important American Indian contribution to present and future literature may be found in Old Man Coyote" (Bright

339). Coyote is a mythic figure which has also been described as the creator of the 5

world as it was known to North American Indians during the centuries before the

European colonization. Although Coyote has diverse roles in different Native American stories, his common traits remain the same as he is traditionally represented as a trickster. He is notorious for fooling other animals "he is an insatiable glutton, a gross lecher, an inveterate thief, liar, and outlaw, a prankster whose scheme regularly backfire" (Bright 340). However, Coyote the trickster does not simply mean evil, the trickster can also be a culture hero who acts as a benefactor of humans or a healer whose power can be used as a restorative and preventive remedy.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze the roles of Coyote in Native American oral traditions. The thesis consists of three main chapters. The first chapter will provide a general overview of oral traditions in Native American culture. It will explain the importance and the main functions of storytelling and as well as the role of storytellers.

The first chapter will also deal with the definition of a trickster figure and the traits which tricksters around the world share most frequently.

The second chapter is focused on Coyote figure in Native American myths.

Since the character of Coyote is the trickster for the largest number of American Indian cultures, this chapter will describe how Coyote's role varies from tribe to tribe. Also, this chapter will explore the relationship between the Coyote figure and the biological coyote - Canis Latrans on which is the character of Coyote is based.

The last chapter is dedicated to the three most important roles of Coyote according to their functions - Coyote as a trickster, Coyote as a culture hero and Coyote as a healer. The three subchapters in this part will describe Coyote in each of this role and analyze him through the stories.

The first part will focus on Coyote as a trickster. It will describe the main features which can be found in Coyote trickster tales across various Native American 6

cultures. Also, specific examples of the stories will be provided and analyzed to demonstrate the most important aspects of meaning. This chapter will also discuss the entertainment and moral functions of Coyote stories.

The following subchapter will present Coyote as a culture hero as in Native creation myths Coyote lacks the typical traits of the trickster, and he acts as a benefactor of humans. He is also credited for the emergence of the world and people. The chapter will explain the main differences between the character of Coyote in creation myths and

Coyote in trickster tales.

The last part of this chapter will deal with a complicated phenomenon of medicinal uses of Coyote stories in healing rituals. Although this phenomenon has been a subject of various studies and it has already received a good deal of attention, it still remains an area not fully explored. The final subchapter will analyze selected Coyote stories and explain their meaning in connection with medicinal uses. The focus will be on the Native perception of health and the power of language to deal with disorders.

The thesis uses descriptive as well as analytical methods of research. Primary sources are the Coyote stories from various Native American cultures. Secondary sources provide information for the analysis of these stories and their functions, and they help to contribute to support these analyses.

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2. Understanding Native American Culture

Stories, legends, myths and folk tales have always been powerful sources of meaning that shape and transform humankind. Moreover, for indigenous peoples, they are an essential aspect of the history and culture as they serve as vehicles to preserve, carry and teach historical events, religious beliefs, ethics and values to future generations. For others, non-Natives, stories, myths and folktales might be a powerful source which can provide spiritual empowerment, personal and spiritual growth and inspiration that can lead to transformation. Through stories, we are provided with experiences that can help us understand, honour and respect different cultures around the world.

For all Native American peoples, storytelling has always meant a way of relating history, transmitting cultural knowledge, mythological, spiritual and historical understanding of themselves and the land which they had inhabited long before the first white colonists appeared on the American continent. This chapter provides information on the storytelling traditions of Native Americans in general because to understand

Coyote figure one must understand the way Native Americans view the world. It focuses on the importance of Native American storytelling traditions, the role it plays in the everyday lives of Native Americans and how these stories reflect their spiritual and metaphysical knowledge, and perception of the world.

Oral Traditions in Native American Culture

There are hundreds of American Indian nations, each with their own language, customs and culture inhabiting the North American continent. However, there is one thing that these nations share in common, and that is a rich oral tradition. In other

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words, they all have stories which were passed down from generation to generation through spoken language. Geary Hobson in his article "Native American Literature:

Remembrance, Renewal" states: "Native Americans have been accustomed to recounting their histories and their ways of life through the intricate time-proven process of storytelling." According to Scott Momaday, the term "oral tradition" is used to "designate a rich body of preliterate storytelling in and among the indigenous cultures of North America" (89). In fact, in the times of absence of the written word, oral storytelling was the only way that guaranteed that members of each Indian nation would never forget their roots or lose sight of important knowledge that allowed these nations to continue to exist in harmony and cooperation with the natural world.

In addition, in his essay "The Man Made of Words", Momaday tries to answer a basic question about the purposes and possibility of storytelling. He views this act as

"imaginative and creative in nature" (88). According to Momaday, storytelling is a process "by which man strives to realize his capacity for wonder, meaning and delight.

... Man tells stories in order to understand his experience, whatever it may be. The possibilities of storytelling are precisely those of understanding the human experience"

(88).

Explaining Through Stories

Native American stories always intended to explain. Like many other cultures around the world, Native Americans used to make sense of their world through stories.

Explanations of natural phenomena, natural disasters or events that seemed random, they are all reflected in these stories. Momaday offers an interesting example of this imaginative and creative thinking on a story of Kiowa people, a Native American tribe, who in 1833 experienced an explosion of meteors over North America. For the Kiowas 9

this event, "the year the stars fell" is permanent in their mind and marks a turning point in the tribe's history. Over the following years after this event, the Kiowa people suffered a good deal of misfortune, such as four major epidemics of smallpox and

Asiatic cholera or destruction of the herds of buffalo which contributed to the fact that this culture gradually began to decline. For the Kiowas, this explosion of meteors had a symbolic meaning. As they did not have any knowledge of this natural phenomenon, they had to make sense of this experience using their imagination. Momaday suggests that the Kiowas "did indeed imagine that the falling stars were symbolic of their being and their destiny. They accounted for themselves with reference to that awful memory.

They appropriated it, recreated it, fashioned it into an image of themselves - imagined it" (89). This example of falling stars and the Kiowas demonstrates how Native

Americans used stories to explain natural phenomena and how creating and telling stories helped them to deal with occurrences they were not able to interpret. As

Momaday concludes "Do you see what happens when the imagination is superimposed upon historical event? It becomes a story" (89).

Storytelling in the Concept of Being

Another important aspect of the oral tradition is its function of creating a sense of community and wholeness through shared stories. Paula Gunn Allen defines these concepts: "At base, every story, every song, every ceremony tells the Indian that each creature is part of a living whole and that all parts of that whole are related to one another by virtue of their participation in the whole of being" (8). Since non-indigenous people tend to distinguish between the natural and the supernatural world, they often view the supernatural world as if they were apart from it. For Native Americans, such

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isolation does not exist. In Native American concept of being, all things are related, all things are part of one circular, dynamic universe. As Paula Gunn Allen states, "The

Indian does not regard awareness of being as an abnormality peculiar to one species, but, because of relatedness to (instead of isolation from) what exists, the Indian assumes that this awareness is a natural by-product of existence itself" (9). This is the reason why Native American stories are deeply based in Nature, and they are rich with the symbolism of animals, weather, plants, earth, sky, ice and fire. These elements are very often combined in Native American stories, and together they form a complex system which was not restricted only to animals or humans. An example of this can be found in

American Indian creationism and especially in Creation myths where Coyote is often the main protagonist. Although Native American Creation myths vary from tribe to tribe, they often share these natural elements, human-like figures or animals which transform easily.

Transmission of Educational Message

Storytelling was also a sacred and vital part of Native American youth's education as "oral tales were often used to educate youngsters, validating experiences by providing mythical explanations for existing realities" (Haslam 1028). A story served as an effective tool for tribe elders to teach the youth about morals, so they would be able to distinguish between right and wrong. Barre Toelken, who is known worldwide for his Navajo folklore research, asked a Navajo storyteller Hugh Yellowman about the purpose of telling stories. Yellowman responded to this question: "If my children hear the stories, they will grow up to be good people; if they don´t hear them, they will turn out to be bad" (Toelken and Scott 80). Although Yellowman's response might seem

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simple, his answer conveys a great sense of responsibility for his nation. The elders of each tribe felt responsible for preparing each individual to be a useful member of society. Passing down good norms and societal values enabled Native Americans to live happily in their social groups. Paula Franklin states: "The cardinal goals of Native

American education were to develop the individual’s latent physical skills and character, inculcate respect for elders and those in authority in the individual, and help the individual acquire specific vocational training" (16). Knowledge of nature, the wisdom of the elders and history of the nation were "passed down orally, crafted into stories that would instruct, inspire, provoke, question, challenge and entertain" (Mould

XLI). Although Native American stories provide entertainment, their primary purpose was to educate. Coyote tales are a perfect example of how Native Americans used these stories as an effective tool to teach about core values in their society. Through Coyote's escapades and his foolish behaviour, they were able to demonstrate good and bad qualities of human as well as consequences of impetuous, reckless and calculating behaviour. Considering the fact that these stories were transmitted for centuries from generation to generation with the absence of the written word, oral histories and other kinds of stories can be considered the basis of children's education.

The Role of Storytellers

While many scholars focus on oral traditions through the process of storytelling and analysing the stories themselves, there is a vital role of the storytellers that must be taken into consideration. Storytellers were the vehicles that transported origin stories, religious motifs, beliefs, knowledge and wisdom of their ancestor to next generations as

"they remind the people of who and what they are, why they are in this particular place, and how they should continue to live" (Evers and Pavich 12). Storytellers were essential 12

to the continuation of the tribal culture and the establishment of community identity.

Not only did they pass down the stories, but they also shaped these tales through their perception, adding a new layer to each of them, based on their new experiences and memories. Storytellers were usually the elders of the tribe who ensured to preserve a nation's heritage. "Elders are important in the process of recovery and resistance to colonial realities and in reinsertion of the importance of remembering our past and remaking our futures. Elders mentor and provide support and have systematically gathered wisdom, histories, skills, and expertise in cultural knowledge" (Smith 85).

Barry Lopez says that "the storyteller was not necessarily an old man; it might have been a woman or anyone who could tell the stories well" (XVIII). However, Shannon

Smith argues that "although both men and women could be storytellers, grandmothers were often the main source of this learning due to the distribution of roles within the tribe" (Smith). Grandmothers were usually in charge of children while the other members of the tribe were occupied with more demanding tasks. Therefore, grandmother would tell the stories and "educate the children about core values to maintain order and to encourage safety from an early age, ensuring that the children knew how to critically analyze dangerous situations and connect with the culture’s spiritual essence" (Smith).

In addition, the oldest members of the community were held in high regard for their wisdom and knowledge. They connected the youth both to the past and future.

Momaday offers a portrait of such a grandmother figure Ko-sahn of the Kiowa people,

"This landscape in which she had lived for a hundred years, was the common denominator of everything she knew and would ever know-and her knowledge was profound. Her roots ran deep into the earth, and from those depths she drew strength enough to hold still against all the forces of chance and disorder" (Momaday 86). For 13

Momaday, Ko-sahn represents "living memory" and "the verbal traditions which transcend it" (86). Thanks to women like Ko-sahn, the Native stories could still continue to serve its main purposes such as the preservation of culture and passing down traditional beliefs and values.

So far, the meaning and the functions of the oral tradition have been discussed. It outlined the importance of using stories as a way of remembering the history and heritage of one´s cultures and as a system of communal support. However, one very important aspect of the oral traditions which this thesis deals with is the theme of the

Trickster. In Native American storytelling, the Trickster is the most popular and omnipresent character. Next chapter aims to provide a general overview of the figure of the Trickster which is so dynamically central to Native American culture. The chapter will explain what the Trickster figure is and its most commonly shared traits.

Defining the Trickster

The term "trickster" has not been around as long as the figures in mythology, and the identification of the character archetype is even more contemporary. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a word "trickster" was first used in 1711, and it is defined as "one who practises trickery; a rogue, cheat, knave." However, in mythology, the function of the trickster has much larger cultural significance. In other words, to state that the purpose of the trickster´s action is only being deceitful and cheat would be a gross oversimplification of trickster's qualities.

The trickster figure has appeared in most oral and written cultures across the world, both in mythology and works of fiction. Paul Radin views the Trickster as

"a figure and a theme of themes which have had a special and permanent appeal and an unusual attraction for mankind from the very beginnings of civilization" (XXIII). 14

Kathleen Roberts sees the trickster “at once primordial and adaptable, timeless and timely” (172). Indeed, the trickster figure, which is spread among the cultures of the world, is undeniably important for comic relief, discussing difficult social taboos and restraints, and works well as a cultural hero. However, due to the complexity of the trickster, it might be difficult to define what the trickster is, and therefore this figure is often greatly misunderstood. As Kathleen Robert states, "The Trickster narrative type is often misunderstood or misappropriated. Any remotely ambiguous or complex figure, it seems, has lately been labelled a Trickster" (172). Since the individual tricksters vary so much from culture to culture, this figure cannot be interpreted unilaterally. Paul Radin in the “Prefatory Note” of his famous cultural study The Trickster: A Study in American

Indian Mythology tries to answer the same question. He states, "On the basis of the very extensive data which we have today from aboriginal tribes it is not only a reasonable but indeed, almost a verifiable hypothesis that we are here actually in the presence of ... an archaic speculum mentis" (XXIV). By the term speculum mentis, Radin refers to a

British historian and philosopher R.G.Collingwood and his major work Speculum

Mentis (1924), which "proposed a philosophy of culture stressing the unity of the mind.

Structured around five forms of experience—art, religion, science, history and philosophy—the work sought a synthesis of levels of knowledge" ( Encyclopædia

Britannica).

Radin concludes that problem to interpret this figure is "basically a psychological one" (XXIV). The figure of Trickster "become intelligible and meaningful only if we view it as primarily such, as an attempt by man to solve his problems inward and outward" (XXIV). Radin believes that "we cannot properly understand the natures of these problems or the manner in which they have been

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formulated in the various Trickster myths unless we study these myths in their specific cultural environments and in their historical settings" (XXIV).

In Native American myths, the Tricksters are mythical creatures who are often identified with specific animals, such as raven, hare, ram, spider, tortoise or coyote.

Trickster´s Traits

Although it might be very complicated to define a single trickster, there are many traits which these figures have in common. Joseph Campbell states:

Almost all non-literate mythology has a trickster hero of some kind. American

Indians had the great rabbit and coyote, the raven, and blue jay. And there's a

very special property in the trickster: he always breaks in, just as the

unconscious does, to trip up the rational situation. He's both a fool and someone

who's beyond the system. And the trickster hero represents alt those possibilities

of life that your mind hasn't decided it wants to deal with. The mind structures a

lifestyle, and the fool or trickster represents another whole range of possibilities.

He doesn't respect the values that you 've set up for yourself, and smashes them.

(34)

William J. Hynes and William G. Doty in their book Mythical Trickster Figures:

Contours, Contexts, and Criticisms highlight the wide range of features of the trickster.

They describe the trickster as "Animal-Person (particularly Blue Jay, Coyote, Crow,

Fox, Hare, Mink, Rabbit, Raven, Spider, Tortoise), Anti-Hero, Boundary Figure,

Bungling Host, Clever Hero, Clown, Culture Hero, Demiurge, Lord of the Animals,

Numskull, Old Man, Selfish Buffoon, Selfish Deceiver, Swindler, Transformer" (Hynes and Doty 24). However, this type of description might be very confusing as the

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trickster itself. Rather than creating a matrix of commonality that links all tricksters together, Hynes and Doty both agree that in order to understand and differentiate the figure of the trickster from the other character types, there should be a system of criteria which would "serve as a modest map, heuristic guide, and common language for the more complex individual studies of particular tricksters within specific belief systems that follow" (33). They established the characteristics after analyzing tricksters across cultures and noticed shared characteristics in the description, action, and role they play in the story. According to their analyses there are six similarities or characteristics which manifest the trickster´s traits: 1)Ambiguous and Anomalous, 2)Deceiver and

Trick-Player, 3)Shape-Shifter, 4)Situation-Invertor, 5)Messenger/ Imitator of the Gods, and finally, 6)Sacred and Lewd Bricoleur (33). However, as Hynes and Doty state,

"Not every trickster necessarily has all of these characteristics. Still, more times than not, a specific trickster will exhibit many of these similarities" (33). Regarding ambiguity, trickster undoubtedly represents the most paradoxical figure. Radin states,

"Trickster is at one and the same time creator and destroyer, giver and negator, he who dupes others and who is always duped himself. He wills nothing consciously ... He possesses no values, moral or social, is at the mercy of his passions and appetites, yet through his actions all values come into being" (Radin XXIII).

Lewis Hyde in his book Trickster Makes This World also attempts to define the trickster. Similarly to Hynes and Doty, Hyde ventured into many different cultures, with the aim to assign criteria for this figure. Hyde views the trickster primarily as "a boundary- crosser". He explains that in the world where "we constantly distinguish - right and wrong, sacred and profane, clean and dirty, male and female, young and old, living and dead - and in every case trickster will cross the line and confuse distinction"

(Hyde 7). However, the trickster is also the one who creates boundaries as this is the 17

case of mythologies in which trickster himself created boundaries between heaven and earth. (Hyde) In this case, the trickster is forced to act as " the messenger of the gods as if he has been enlisted to solve a problem he himself created" (Hyde 7.) It is important to note that in Native American mythology, tricksters almost never act as the messengers of the gods, unlike for example the Greek god Hermes, African trickster figure Esu or Legba. Although in many Native creation stories Coyote operates alongside gods, he never reaches the level of divinity like Hermes, Esu or Legba and therefore he cannot take on this role. However, Native American tricksters cross boundaries very often. Rather than crossing the boundaries between heaven and earth, they cross physical and social boundaries. Since they are often depicted as travellers or aimless wanderers, they cross geographical boundaries represented by rivers, oceans, towns and settlements. Also, tricksters in Native myth cross boundaries between genders, life and death and many others. As Hyde concludes, "the best way to describe trickster is to say simply that the boundary is where he will be found - sometimes drawing the line, sometimes crossing it, sometimes erasing it or moving it, but always there, the god of the threshold in all its forms" ( 8). From Hyde´s, Radin´s and Hynes and Doty´s characteristics of the trickster can be seen that he is a figure of great complexity and to understand him fully, one must immerse into his stories and contemplate his actions. Since this thesis focuses on Coyote, the following chapters are going to provide an insight into this fascinating character of Native American oral traditions.

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3. Coyote in Native Oral Traditions

"Tales of Coyote's wild and wicked adventures are told from the Arctic down to

Mexico, and across the continent ... There are probably more tales about Coyote than there are about all the other Native American Tricksters put together, and probably all the other characters, too" write Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz in the "Introduction" of their book of selected American Indian Trickster Tales (XI) about the character of

Coyote, one of the most famous American Tricksters. Indeed, Coyote plays an important role in native oral literature in cultural areas of California, the Southwest, the Great Basin, the Plateau area and the Southern Plains. However, the role of Coyote as a figure of narrative varies significantly over this area.

William Bright in his essay "The Natural History of Old Man Coyote" poses a question why is it that the character of Coyote happened to become the most important figure and symbol of Native American oral tradition and why is it that Coyote has captured the imagination of so many scholars, writers and audiences? (341) The answers to these questions can be very difficult to find. Possible reasons for this fact might be perhaps found in the main area of Canis latrans distribution or behaviour of the biological coyote as many Native Americans consider coyote to be one of the smartest animals on earth. Although Bright claims that "the nature of the data and discussion is such that we will not be able to reach anything like a specific proof or a predictive statement"(342), it is important to introduce at least some of the features of the biological coyote that can help to understand why Coyote has the reputation of being one of the best known and the most inspiring Native American tricksters.

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Canis latrans

There is an Indian saying: "A feather fell from the sky ... the eagle saw it, the deer heard it, the bear smelled it, the coyote did all three" (Leydet 56). Indeed, the biological Canis latrans possesses some attributes which make him stand out from other animals. "Coyotes are well adapted for hunting by the combined use of sight, hearing, and smell ... the design of the coyote eye allows the animal to be active both by night and by day" (Bekoff 118). Also, coyotes are known for their "unsleeping desire to investigate anything unusual" (Leydet 44) as well as a species that "not inherited a fixed repertory or behaviour, but must learn how to survive ... coyote meets change by learning new responses and is therefore capable of developing a whole new lifestyle"

(Ryden 251). Indeed, one of the important characteristics of the coyote is his capacity to survive under all circumstances, "he can hunt either by day or by night, dine on fresh meat or survive off carrion, he is able to run in packs or operate as a loner" (Ryden

251). In comparison with the wolf, which progressively declines through competition with man, the coyote has managed to adapt to urban environments.

There are numerous stories from white sheep farmers and trappers who reported on the intelligence of these animals. Lewis Hyde shows it on a story from old times when "sheep farmers tried to get rid of wolves and coyotes by putting out animal carcasses laced with strychnine. The wolves, they say, were killed in great numbers, but the coyotes wised up and avoided these traps" (Hyde 21). Hyde also points out to the fact that not only were the coyotes able to avoid the metal leg traps set by trappers, but they were also able to dig them up, turn them over, and urinate or defecate on them.

This example clearly demonstrates coyote's intelligence which helps him to survive even under unfavourable conditions. Hyde's point of view is that the coyote's behaviour is extraordinary, "when coyote defecates on a trap he is neither predator nor prey but 20

some third thing" (Hyde 21). In making the comment about coyote being "some third thing", Hyde also implies that coyote is in many respects unique. In fact, this example of coyote's behaviour best illustrates the connection between biological coyote and

Coyote the trickster. As well as sheep farmers and trappers, Native American Indians must have been aware of coyote's extraordinary behaviour due to their close observation of nature and animal behaviour for millennia. As a result, this behaviour provided the inspiration for their stories which are mainly based on animals. Therefore, the unique characteristics which coyote displays might be accounted for the fact that this animal became the main protagonist of so many Native American legends and myths.

Apart from coyote's behaviour, there are also some interesting features of his body which make him so comprehensible to humans. François Leydet in his book The

Coyote: Defiant Songdog of the West summarizes the most important features of coyote:

Coyote´s faces and bodies are marvellously expressive of their moods and

intentions. There is a semaphoric code, involving the attitude of the ears, the curl

of the lips or the gape of the mouth, the port of the head and of the tail, the

character of walk- stiff-legged, relaxed, slouching - immediately intelligible to

all coyotes and almost as much so to the empathetic human. (Leydet 58)

Leydet also claims that coyote voice might be understandable to humans, "Many men have claimed to understand coyote talk, believing a certain vocalization signals the approach of enemies, or warns of impending death, or gives notice of forthcoming change in the weather (58). It can be assumed that all these unique qualities of the biological coyote played an important role in the formation of Coyote the trickster.

Dennis Kelley agrees with this assertion when he writes, "If you have ever seen Canis latrans in the wild, the skulking, wary, curious nature of this remarkably adaptive animal would be a testament to the choice of coyotes to represent this aspect of Native 21

storytelling. Coyote always seems to be smiling, even while holding a dead housecat in his mouth" (17). Indeed, only through reading and listening Coyote's stories it can be understood how much is biological Canis latrans reflected in the character of Coyote in

Native myths. Therefore, it is obvious why among all the animals available to them,

Native Americans selected the coyote as a central figure of their legends, tales and myths.

The Character of Coyote

In Native American oral traditions, the symbolism of Coyote remains enigmatic.

Coyote is often viewed as a trickster, a joker, a transformer or a shape-shifter, but also for many Native tribes, Coyote represents a revered culture hero or an important messenger of personal transformation. Also, because of many languages, the character of Coyote in translated text can be found under many names. For example, Yelis is

Coyote, the culture hero of the Coos, Alsea, and other tribes of the Oregon coast. In the

Chinook language Coyote is called Talapus, Sinawava is Coyote of Ute and

Chemehuevi mythology, the Blackfoot tribe call Coyote Napi and the Navaho's name for Coyote is Ma'i. In addition, many tribes refer to Coyote as "Old Man". According to website Native Languages of Americas "In some versions of the Crow creation myth there were actually two Coyotes, the Old Man Coyote who created people, animals, and the earth, and a regular Coyote who had adventures and got into trouble."

In addition, Coyote's role also varies greatly from culture to culture and therefore his position is somewhat difficult to define uniformly. For example, In Plains Indian mythology, Coyote is one of the two major trickster figures. The second figure is Iktomi or Spider, and these two are very often interchanged in the same stories in the tribes of this area. Coyote stories here are usually humorous in nature and very often tell about 22

consequences of Coyote's socially inappropriate behaviour. On the other hand, Coyote on the West Coast, the Great Basin and the northwest Plateau plays a more serious role.

Although he is still viewed as the trickster, he also plays a role of a benefactor of humans and together with other divine animal spirits he figures as the creator of humanity or the world. In Mescalero and Navajo Apache cultures "Coyote is holy, especially in emergence myths, and also plays the wandering trickster in many tales"

(Meléndez 218). Also, among the Navajos, Coyote is associated with health and healing ceremonies "since most illness among humanity is attributed to transgressions against the Holy People" (Meléndez 218). In short, Coyote is a paradoxical figure of double character. In Native American stories, he figures as a cultural hero, yet also as a destructive force. According to Theresa Meléndez "Coyote existed in two modes: the sacred myths in which Coyote was cultural deity who inhabited pre-human world of spirit-animals and the secular tales where Coyote lived a more profane and often ribald existence as a trickster-dupe animal and human attributes" (214). Although Coyote is traditionally considered to be a trickster, his role in Native American folktales as a deity is no less important.

However, it is also important to note that for Native Americans there is no difference between the biological coyote and Coyote the trickster. As Barre Toelken claims, referring to the Navajos:

There is no possible distinction between Ma'i, the animal we recognize in the

fields, and Ma'i, the personification of Coyote power in all coyotes, and Ma'i,

the character (trickster, creator, and buffoon) in legends and tales, and Ma'i, the

symbolic characters of disorder in the myths. Ma'i is not a composite but

complex; a Navajo would see no reason to distinguish separate aspects. (204)

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The reason for this can be found in Native American legends and Creation myths where

Coyote figures as one of the First people who occupied the world before humans.

Therefore, for many Native tribes such as the Navajo people , the boundary between coyote the animals and Coyote the character in their myths and legends simply do not exist. In other words, in Native American culture, the natural world and the mythological world of Coyote is intertwined.

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4. The Roles of Coyote

As previously mentioned, Coyote stories vary greatly from tribe to tribe and therefore Coyote figure is hard to categorize. Although he often symbolizes a trickster or a joker, he is also associated with a deep magic of life and creation. The following chapter will analyse the character of Coyote from three different points of view, which are the most prominent in Native oral traditions - Coyote as a trickster, Coyote as a culture hero and Coyote as a healer.

Coyote as a Trickster

Trickster figures are part of the tradition in native North America but as William

Bright states, "Coyote is the trickster par excellence for the largest number of American

Indian cultures" (341). Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz believe that Coyote displays characteristics which are very much similar to us, "Coyote, part human and part animal, taking whichever shape he pleases, combines in his nature the sacredness and sinfulness, grand gestures and pettiness, strength and weakness, joy and misery, heroism and cowardice that together form the human character" (XI). Indeed, Coyote ultimately represents the primordial creativity that exists in all of us. Coyote as a trickster "serves to test the bounds of possibilities an orders" (Cooper 185). Despite the fact that "the

Trickster characteristics of Coyote are to be found in an extensive body of Trickster tales" (Cooper 184), and therefore they often differ from tribe to tribe in many respects,

Coyote's characteristics remain the same. As Cooper states, "Coyote's characteristics here are thus of the typical Trickster figure: greedy, vain, foolish, cunning and, occasionally, displaying a high degree of power" (184). In Native American Trickster tales Coyote figures as an anti-hero and his actions are related to foolish, mischievous 25

behaviour. Rather than focusing on tribal differences, following subchapters will present Coyote's features which are commonly found in all Trickster tales.

Coyote's Appetites

Firstly, Coyote is always driven by his appetite. "As a typical trickster, Coyote is widely depicted as voracious, omnivorous; he may promise to restrain his appetite, he always gives in" (Bright 354). There are many stories about Coyote beginning with words such as "Coyote was going along and he was very hungry" or "Coyote was going along, as usual, looking for some food". As Lewis Hyde states, "The Trickster myth derives creative intelligence from appetite ... Trickster starts out hungry, but before long he is master of the kind of creative deception that, according to a long tradition is a prerequisite of art" (Hyde 17). In order to satisfy his hunger, Coyote will do anything to obtain food. As a result, he must cheat, play tricks, built traps or break the rules.

However as Lewis Hyde states, "In many a Coyote story the phrase 'he longed to eat meat' would lead willy-nilly to some sort of disaster" (Hyde 32). In many stories,

Coyote very often ends up empty handed, he is fooled by other animals, or due to his greed, he loses everything. For example, in the Colville story, recounted by Barry

Lopez "Coyote and Buffalo", Coyote gives Buffalo Bull shiny black horns. In order to express his gratitude, Buffalo Bull gives Coyote one of his cows, telling him that he must never kill her. Whenever hungry, Coyote can just cut off a little of her fat, rub ashes on the wound and the cut will heal. This way, he will never be hungry, and he will have meat forever. Since Coyote often breaks the rules, he cannot resist and kills the cow once he is out of Buffalo Bull's country. The dead cow draws crows and magpies who eat her all and the remaining bones are stolen by an old woman. Coyote is left with

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nothing. (Lopez 40) According to Hyde, this is typical of the trickster to violate the condition as a result of his hunger. "There seem to be only two options: limited food or limited appetite. Coyote unable to choose the latter has the former forced upon him"

(Hyde 28). In other words, Coyote's appetite is a causative factor which often makes him interact with other animals such as Lizard, Bear, Fox or Rattlesnake. These encounters often revolve around food but very often finish with Coyote being tricked because his insatiable hunger often prevents him from being caution, he is often gullible and therefore in many stories easily defeated by many of the animals he interacts with.

Secondly, Coyote's sexual appetite is another very common characteristic.

There are many stories of Coyote´s sexual adventures in which "he copulates with married women, with virgins at their puberty rites, with his own daughter, and with crones" (Bright 356). In "Coyote´s Amorous Adventures", which are part of American

Indian Trickster Tales by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz, Coyote actions are very often driven by greediness and lust. For example, in the Karok and Yurok story "Coyote and the Girls" Coyote notices two girls, walking along the road. He wants to have intercourse with both of them. In order to get them, he turns into a salmon and enters their bodies. Later, he turns back and laughs at them how he fooled them. Later that day he sees other two girls digging plants near the river. Again he wants to have sex with them, so he turns his penis into a stalk, which goes under the river to enter those two girls. (Erdoes and Ortiz 65-66) In many stories, Coyote often transforms himself to achieve want he wants, he tricks others or violates the rules. In another story "Coyote

Sleeps With His Own Daughter", Coyote transgress the most formidable taboo and has sex with his own daughter. In this story, Coyote cannot resist after having seen his daughter´s vulvas, so he pretends to be dead to get her. After what he did, his humiliated daughter becomes a star. (Erdoes and Ortiz 58-61) However, there are also stories in 27

which Coyote insatiable sexual appetite brings some changes. For example, "Coyote makes a woman valuable by breaking the teeth in her vagina" is the tale of the

Chiricahua Apache Indians in which Coyote meets a beautiful woman. As always, he wants to have sex with her. Unfortunately, when he is almost about to do so, he notices teeth in her vagina. Although Coyote is afraid, this does not discourage him from having sex with her. Before having intercourse with her, he manages to knock off the teeth with rock, so the vagina became just as a woman's is now. The woman says,

"Hereafter I shall be worth a lot. I am worth horses and many things now". As the conclusion of the story explains, "That is why men give horses and different things when they marry women today" (Opler and French 70). Coyote's erotic exploits offer an interesting insight into Native Americans perception of sexuality. Indeed, Coyote is amorous, but these tales are not. They cannot be considered "what white Americans would call pornographic. An earthy innocence surrounds these kinds of stories. Women and children enjoy them as well as men" (Erdoes and Ortiz XXI). From Coyote's amorous stories, it is evident that Native Americans viewed sexuality differently from white Europeans, and they probably did not distinguish them from any other stories. In others words, the motif of sexuality did not seem to be treated differently in these tales as it formed an essential part in the lives of Native American Indians.

Coyote's Way

Coyote as the trickster is also an imitator of others as he very often does not have his own way, no knowledge of doing things. On the other hand, he has the ability to copy others. In the story "The Bungling Host", recounted by Barry Lopez, Coyote tries to imitate other animals like Bear and Kingfisher who take hungry coyote to their homes. They show him their ways to make food. Coyote invites them to his house in 28

return and tries to feed them imitating their ways of making food as he previously saw.

Unfortunately, in Coyote´s case things do not work the same and after each visit both,

Bear and Kingfisher tell Coyote the same "This is my way, Coyote, not yours" (Lopez

30) In another story "Coyote Imitates Mountain Lion", Coyote tries to imitate Mountain

Lion watching him tricking deer with a rolling rock. Mountain Lion uses this trick in order to catch the deer and eat it. Coyote likes this way to get deer, so he imitates

Mountain Lion´s action, but instead of getting the deer, he gets hurt. (Lopez 116)

Although in both of these stories, Coyote does not succeed in imitating other animals, he demonstrates in them the great ability to adapt very quickly. In fact, this can be viewed as one of Coyote´s biggest strengths. This ability helps Coyote survive under unfavourable circumstances. Lewis Hyde also believes that "having no way" might be considered as an advantage, because "whoever has no way but is a successful imitator will have, in the end, a repertoire of ways ... And although in "The Bugling host" trickster fails as an imitator, elsewhere imitation is part of his power" (Hyde 43). Hyde explains that "having no way, trickster can have many ways ... he is dependent on others whose manner he exploits, but he is not confined to their manner and therefore in another sense he is more independent ... he is free of the trap of instinct" (Hyde 103).

For example in the tale "The Dead Whale" Coyote successfully imitates a raven and flies over the people who found a big dead whale on the beach. Hungry Coyote changes into a raven and manages to scare people away from the whale as they believe that this raven is a sign of disease. Thus Coyote gets the whale for himself, and he has plenty of meat and fat. (Lopez 102,103) In this story, Coyote as an imitator succeeds. This means that Coyote as the trickster is clever and the fact that he duplicates techniques or abilities of other animals can put him at an advantage. However, Coyote can also be incredibly foolish. 29

In other types of stories, he often meets somebody whose power or trick he admires. Coyote - "imitator" cannot resist and always wishes to be able to perform it as well, so he asks the person "to give him some of his power or to teach him how to do the tricks" ( Rickett 337). For example, in the tale "The Eye-juggler" he asks a man to teach him his trick to throw his eyes un into the tree so he can see get a good view of the country. (Lopez 59,60) In the tale "Sharpened Leg" Coyote meets a man whose leg is pointed, and he can run and jump and stick himself in the side of the tree so on a hot day can stay in the shade and a good breeze of the tree. (Lopez 106,107) In both cases

Coyote is taught how to do these tricks, he even has his leg sharpened. However, he is always told only to do this trick four times a day. Since Coyote always violates the rule, he performs the trick more times which leads to a bad result. In the case of "The Eye- juggler" Coyote loses both of his eyes and must take one eye from a buffalo and one eye from a mouse so cannot walk straight (Lopez 59). In the case of "Sharpened Leg",

Coyote stays stuck in the tree until he starves to death. (Lopez 106) Both of these stories demonstrate the fact that abusing power you were taught or given must inevitably lead to disastrous consequences.

Coyote's Immortality

Another very notable characteristics of Coyote figure in Native oral tradition is his immortality. Regardless of the outcome of each individual story, in several of which

Coyote does indeed die, Coyote as the trickster figure is always resurrected for the next story in order to rise up and set out for another adventure. Gary Snyder sums up this motif which can be found in many Native American tales, "Coyote never dies, he gets killed plenty of times, but he always comes back to life again, and then he just goes right on travelling" (Snyder 258). Mac Linscott Ricketts explains why Coyote must stay 30

immortal, "Of course, the trickster of the myth never dies; or more precisely, whenever he dies he rises up again. This is because he is a symbol of mankind, the race, which according to this mythic vision, is unconquerable and immortal" (Ricketts 349). In other words, Coyote´s immortality makes Native people more aware of their own mortality.

That is to say that the function of resurrecting Coyote after each failure might illustrate that life is full of second chances and it is always possible to recover from a mistake.

"He gives us a purpose for living this life. He says that this life is good, that it is to be grasped with enthusiasm and enjoyed to the hilt" (Rickett 350). While Coyote may make mistakes like a human, he rises up to fight another day in the next tale.

Functions of Coyote Trickster Tales

From all Coyote's characteristics discussed previously, it can be assumed that

"the trickster himself is something of a 'chaos', with his uncontrollable appetites, his enormous sexual apparatus, his unsociability, his amorality, his ability to change shape at will, etc." (Ricketts 340). However, only out of chaos a new understanding, new order and new connections can be made. So what kind of understanding can be made from Coyote Trickster tales? What are their primary functions and how shall we approach them? According to Mac Linscott Ricketts, the trickster reflects human nature:

The trickster may be best understood as the personification of all the traits of

man raised to the highest degree. Man is sexual; the trickster is grossly erotic.

Man is driven by hunger; the trickster will do anything to obtain a meal. Man is

slow to learn from his mistakes; the trickster repeats the same blunders again and

again. Man´s lot is hard in this world, yet life has its pleasures and joys also; the

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trickster is continually being buffeted about, but he also has his fun and he

always comes up laughing. (347)

The essence of Ricketts' argument is that in Coyote stories we can find dark sides of human nature. Coyote the trickster steals, lies, lusts, deceives and trick others for his own benefit and in most respects, he is not different from people. If we accept Ricketts' view and perceive Coyote the trickster as the personification of man, it means that

Coyote is timeless. This is probably one of the main reasons why Coyote can never die, and he still remains a source of inspiration for many scholars, artists, poets as well as contemporary writers.

Regarding the functions of Coyote tales, the prevailing view is that their purpose is mainly to entertain and amuse audiences. As William Bright states,

"Appeal of Coyote´s adventures is frequently in their humour ... our laughter is at

Coyote´s expense when his tricks backfire on him ... we laugh not only at Coyote but also with him - his tricks, whether successful or not, are clearly designed in many cases both to secure some goal and for the sheer joy of prankishness" (369) Ricketts also views the trickster as "the embodiment of humour - all kinds of humour" and "for the religious viewpoint which the trickster represents, laughter has a religious value and functions" (347). However, Barre Toelken rejects the common view that Coyote stories serve essentially to entertain and amuse audiences. He came to this conclusion while collecting Navajo Coyote stories - principally from the Navajo Hugh Yellowman telling Coyote stories to his family. When asked about humour in Coyote stories,

Yellowman said: "They are not funny stories ... They are laughing at the way Ma'i does things, and at the way the story is told. Many things about the story are funny, but the story is not funny" (Toelken 155). When asked about Coyote´s contradictory deeds, the

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Navajo Yellowman said: "If he did not do all those things, then those things would not be possible in the world" (Toelken 155). Toelken interprets these remarks to mean that

"Yellowman thus sees Coyote less as a Trickster per se and more as an enabler, whose actions, bring certain ideas and actions into the field of possibility, a model who symbolizes abstractions in terms of real entities" (155,156). Toelken concludes his observation "it became increasingly clear to me that Yelloman sees the Coyote stories not as narratives (in our sense of the term) but as dramatic presentations performed within certain cultural contexts for moral and philosophical reasons" (158). This means that Coyote as a trickster has much deeper meaning than provide entertainment. In fact, the humour is provided by the storytellers whose presentations is vital for the story to be entertaining. This way they can engage their audiences and make them reflect on

Coyote's behaviour. However, the role of Coyote is taken much more seriously as he serves as a teacher, as a tool to emphasize a worldview thought to be the correct one and he dramatizes the value of proper behaviour.

Coyote as a Culture Hero

While Coyote as a trickster creates disorders, and therefore he serves as a reminder of the right way to do things, Coyote in the Creation Myths "appears as an essential being to the process of creating and ordering the world" (Cooper 183). Rather than a trickster, Coyote in the Creation myths is viewed as a culture hero as "the demiurge who made the world as it was known to thousands of North American Indians during the centuries before the arrival of Europeans" (Bright 340). The story of the

Okanagon people "Coyote Keeps His Name" tells the story of Coyote at the beginning of time during the naming of the Animal People. This tale begins the Coyote´s creation

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stories, explains the beginning of the human race, and describes Coyote´s relationship with The Great Spirit. At the end of the story, Coyote is told by the Great Spirit what his role in the lives of New People will be:

I have important work for you to do. The New People are coming, you will be their chief. “There are many bad creatures on the earth. You will have to kill them. Otherwise they will eat the New People. When you do this, the New People will honor you. They will say you are a great chief. Even the ones who come after them will remember what you have done, and they will honor you for killing the People-devouring monsters and for teaching the New People all the ways of living. “The New People will not know anything when they come, not how to dress, how to sing, how to shoot an arrow. You will show them how to do all these things. And put the buffalo out for them and show them how to catch salmon. “But you will do foolish things too, and for this the New People will laugh at you. You cannot help it. This will be your way. “To make your work easier, I will give you a special power. You will be able to change yourself into anything. You will be able to talk to anything and hear anything talk except the water. “If you die, you will come back to life. This will be your way. Changing Person, do your work well!” Coyote was glad. He went right out and began his work. This is the way it was with him. He went out to make things right. (Lopez 1-3)

This story can be seen as a summary of Coyote's role in Native American mythology. It says what type of figure Coyote will be and what kind of deeds he will do for the benefit of people. Despite the fact that the characteristics of a trickster are established here as well, Coyote is ultimately given the recognition that he will be held in the eyes of the people as a heroic icon, associated closely with the Great Spirit himself.

For many Native tribes, Coyote in their Creation myths acts as a hero because he is responsible for the creations of their tribes and lands. For example, the myth "Coyote

Makes The Human Beings" tells a legend about the creation of the Nez Perce and their land. In this legend, Coyote challenges a monster which eats all the animals living on the earth. Coyote, who is the last one left, uses his wits to make friends with the monster which later lets Coyote go inside his belly to see his eaten friends. Inside the monster's 34

stomach, Coyote builds a huge fire and cuts the monster's heart so that all the animals can escape. In honour of the event, Coyote creates a new animal, a human being.

Coyote cuts the monster up in pieces and scatters each piece to different sides. From each piece, a tribe is born. However, he forgets to put a piece of the dead monster on a spot where he is standing. Therefore he washes the blood from his hands with water and sprinkles the drops on the ground saying: "Here on this ground I make Nez Perce. They will be few in number, but they will be strong and pure" (Lopez 7,8) This story must undoubtedly be of great significance for the Nez Perce as it explains the emergence of their tribe. It illustrates the role of Coyote as a creator. Such myths distinguish Coyote from traditional trickster tales. In this story, Coyote does not act like a foolish, greedy character. He is brave, and although he uses his wits to trick the monster, he does not act for his own sake. He is a godlike creator whose actions bring something useful to the world.

In addition, Coyote in the Creation myths is credited for the creation of many other things. For example, in the Crow legend "Coyote Creates the Earth", recounted by

Barry Lopez, Coyote is responsible for creating the earth from the mud taken from the bottom of the water. He also makes some mountains, hills and trees. Another example is a Shoshone legend "The Creation of the Shoshone" in which Coyote meets Ocean Old

Woman and her daughter -Young Woman. He sleeps with both of them, and consequently, they give birth to many children. They put all of these children in the water jug and Coyote carries them on his back and travels across the country. On his way he stops on different places such as Saline Valley, Death Valley, Tin Mountains and Ash Meadows and every time he stops, he pulls the stopper out of the bottle and let some children out. This is how people on these places came into being. (Lopez 9,10) In this story, Coyote is again portrayed as a creator, as "the father of everyone". 35

In other tales, Coyote acts as a benefactor of humans. In the Karok legend,

Coyote steals fire for the animal people and shows them how to get the fire out of

Wood. In the Caddo legend, Coyote makes death eternal because he believes that people should die forever as the world is not large enough to hold all of the people and also one day there will not be food for all. (Lopez) Guy H. Cooper lists some of Coyote's deeds in the Navajo myths:

He sanctifies Sun, Moon, corn and plants and in his capacity as a wise

philosopher is responsible for the ordering of what are now regarded by Navajos

as proper and necessary life patterns, even to the extent of insisting on patterns

of life, such as crop growing, which will ensure the people's survival. He is

himself designated a Holy Person, with his own offerings and is responsible for

providing warnings and signs to travellers. (Cooper 183)

In the Crow legends, Coyote´s creative power is also spread to words as he names buffalo, deer, elk, antelopes, and bear. That is how all these animals came into being.

The Apache believed that Coyote had a role in the origin of Europeans.

To sum up, all these Creation myths and Coyote's deeds mentioned above illustrate that Native American Indians needed and conceived theories that explained the origins of their world and their people. Much like our creation stories which stem from

Christianity, Native American people based their belief system on a Creator or events which explained how their world was created. Coyote in the Creation stories acts as a

Creator, messenger, protector, guardian and advisor.

Some scholars may challenge the view that character of Coyote in Trickster tales differs from Coyote in Creation myths. After all, many believe that these two roles of

Coyote are very often mixed. For example, Barry Lopez argues that hero/trickster dichotomy " is an artificial one, a creation of the Western mind" (XVII). Also, many 36

Native American tribes do not distinguish from Coyote as a trickster and Coyote as a creator. For example, the Navajos, as previously discussed, view Coyote as a complex figure regardless of his deeds. It is true that in some stories Coyote is responsible for things which came into being due to his appetite and curiosity. For example, in a Zuni legend, Coyote is responsible for the origin of winter because cannot resist and opens a box in which the Sun and Moon were kept. (Erdoes and Ortiz) However, the overall impression of Coyote in Creation myths is much more of a culture hero than a trickster because Coyote here lacks his appetite and foolishness. He is wise and powerful, and his relationship with The Great Spirit also supports the idea of Coyote being a culture hero. Moreover, things which he does are not intended to be for his own benefits but for the benefits of people whom he protects and helps.

Coyote as a Healer

The third role of Coyote figure in Native American myths is the role of a healer.

While Coyote as a trickster serves as a tool to teach morals and entertain, and Coyote as a culture hero serves as a tool to explain the emergence of the world and people, Coyote as a healer also possesses a restorative power. This fact is especially true in the Navajo culture where Coyote stories are associated with healing rituals. Barre Toelken states:

The stories about Coyote are themselves considered so powerful, their

articulation so magical, their recitation in winter so deeply connected to the

normal powers of natural cycles, their episodes so reminiscent of central myths,

their imagery so tightly connected with reality, that elliptical reference to them

in a ritual can invoke all the powers inherent in their original dramatic

constellations. (390)

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In others words, the Navajos use Coyote stories in healing rituals believing that their power can create conditions which enable them to deal with disorders related to health.

"In a ritual, an allusion to a well-known line, or speech, or action of Coyote will summon forth the power of the entire tale and apply it to the healing process under way"

(Toelken 390). This demonstrates that the stories themselves are not only intended to describe reality but in fact, they are able to create a new reality which can contribute to promoting health and well-being for Native people.

The example of all Coyote's functions can be best demonstrated on the story of

"The Eye- juggler" in which Coyote takes out his eyes and throws them up into a tree.

Later, he loses them because he performs this trick more than four times, but he is able to restore his eyesight by taking eyes from a mouse and a buffalo. (Lopez 60,61)

Toelken explains that the Navajo Coyote tales have several levels of meaning through which the story of "The Eye-juggler" can be analysed. Level I - called "Entertainment level" is connected with Coyote´s selfish and humorous behaviour. (390) The entertainment function has already been discussed in the previous subchapter which analysed Coyote as a trickster. In the case of "The Eye- juggler" the Navajos laugh at

Coyote foolishness because the idea of throwing eyes up in tree carries the humorous element. It can be agreed that apart from fool Coyote nobody would ever try to do such a foolish thing. This is one of the reasons which makes the audience laugh.

The second level - "Level II can be called the moral level or evaluative level, where each of Coyote´s actions will be registered and responded to according to how it reflects or flaunts Navajos values and morality" (Toelken 390). In other words, the function of this level is to teach about proper behaviour, which has also been discussed in the chapter focused on Coyote, the trickster. "The Eye-juggler" story illustrates

Coyote's defective behaviour and a tendency to break the rules as he performs the trick 38

with his eyes more than four times although he is warned not to do so. It teaches us that breaking the rules always has bad consequences. Level I and Level II can be found in the everyday life of Native Americans. However, it is also important to mention that the

Coyote storytelling has some rules. The stories were usually told at night during the winter months when attention was not needed for agriculture.

Level III is associated with healing ceremonies and manipulative therapies.

"The function of Level III is, then, medicinal: the conscious application of the story and its imagery to specific ailments and their treatments during healing rituals" (Toelken

391). This means that the story of "The Eye-juggler" used in healing rituals is intended to cure diseases of eyes. The story is actively connected to the transformative social forms of healing rituals."The force here is that of replacement and regeneration. If

Coyote can replace his eyesight ... then humans, using herbal medicines, words, and rituals can restore their eyesight as well" (Toelken 392). In addition, it is obvious that different stories provide different sources of healing imagery. For example, the story

"Beaver and Coyote", in which Coyote loses his skin as a result of a betting game, can be referred to in rituals connected with skin diseases. The story "Coyote Swallows

Horned Toad", in which swallowed Horned Toad travels through Coyote ' s stomach and intestines, can be mentioned in rituals which are intended to treat stomach disorders. (Toelken) These examples illustrate that Coyote stories do not only intend to teach, explain and entertain. Their power also can bring changes. When applied in healing rituals they are meant to bring restorative remedy.

However, the power of language can also be used to inflict physical or psychological harm on people. As Toelken notes, apart from Level I, Level II and Level

III, there is also Level IV which is associated with witchcraft. "Since words and narratives have the power to heal, they may also be used to injure and kill. Thus, when 39

witches wish to damage the health of others, they use selected parts of the same Coyote stories in their rituals" (Toelken 396). In this case, stories are also powerful means how to bring some changes, but as Toelken explains "the difference is that instead of integrating the story with a model of order and restoration, their idea of deployment is to use images, symbols, and allusions separately, divisively, analytically, in order to attack certain part of the victim's body, or family or livestock" (396). In other words,

Level IV, which is related to death and destruction, in effect is an inversion of Level III.

Besides, it is important to note that Toelken himself while doing this research decided not to carry on in the deep inquiry into this complicated phenomenon as "it is considered dangerous by those in whose world it functions"(Toelken 400).

Another fascinating example of Coyote used in rituals is a Navajo curing ceremony called Coyoteway. Although this ceremony was long considered to be extinct,

Karl W. Luckert, in his work, Coyoteway: A Navajo Holyway Healing Ceremonial, published in 1979, described a detailed performance of it. In Luckert´s view, this nine- night curing ritual is rooted in the early hunting tradition. "In this ceremony, instead of appearing in fragmentary allusions, Coyote provides central generating power for entire healing ritual"(Toelken 401). This ceremonial is also associated with witchcraft because it cures illnesses which are caused by the Holy Person, Coyote. When Coyote is offended, he responds by sending illness and consequently Coyoteway ceremonial is needed to be performed in order to cleanse illness-producing evil from person´s heart and mind.

To sum up, all the examples mentioned above provide strong evidence for powerful forces in the Coyote figure and Coyote stories. Indeed, the stories might create a reality through which everything is possible. They are a dominant force in indigenous cultures where language, rituals and symbolism play a central role. Leaving aside a 40

negative view of Coyote associated with witchcraft, Coyote in healing rituals serves as a powerful agent who can produce a particular effect or change. Therefore, in indigenous medicine, Coyote functions as a healer whose energy can be incorporated into traditional healing processes.

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Conclusion

This thesis deals with the roles and functions of Coyote figure in Native oral traditions. In Native American culture, the character of Coyote is the embodiment of ambiguity, contradiction and paradox. There have been collected thousands of Coyote stories which give us an insight into the various meanings of this figure. However, in order to understand the meanings of Coyote, it is necessary to understand Native

American society and the importance of native oral traditions through which this society was shaped and preserved. Although Coyote tales vary widely from culture to culture, their functions remain the same. It is largely through these tales that Native cultures transmitted their wisdom, worldview, knowledge and values to the next generations.

This thesis analyzed the character of Coyote with reference to his functions in

Native American oral tradition. First, the thesis outlined essential information needed for understanding the Native American oral traditions. It explained the reason why

Native American Indians created stories. These processes were mainly inspired by nature as the stories were intended to explain natural phenomena or create a sense of community which is part of one circular, dynamic universe. Therefore, Native

American tales are deeply based in nature and rich in symbolism of animals and natural elements.

The thesis also focused on the educational function of the stories as they served as a tool to teach the youth about morals, societal values and ethical norms in order to prepare them to be valuable members of society. However, the transmission of educational message would not be possible to achieve without a role of storytellers who were essential to the continuation of the tribal culture and the establishment of

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community identity. The storytellers contributed significantly to shape the stories, adding to them new layers based on their new experiences and memories.

In Native American oral traditions, Coyote is an important character for the largest number of Native American cultures. He dominates native oral literatures of the

West Coast, the Great Basin area, and the Northwest Plateau. In Native American tales,

Coyote is usually depicted as the archetypal trickster because he possesses typical traits which tricksters across the mythologies of the world share most frequently. As a trickster, Coyote is always driven by his appetite or lust, tricking other animals or people in order to achieve his aims. He is also a shape-shifter, an imitator of others and he cannot resist breaking the rules. In Native cultures, Coyote trickster tales serve as a tool to dramatize the value of proper behaviour and emphasize a correct worldview.

Moreover, Coyote trickster tales provide a humorous element which contributes to relieve social tensions.

In Creation stories, Coyote is featured as a culture hero, lacking the typical trickster´s traits. He is depicted as a godlike creator who is responsible for the creation of people and lands. He is also credited for creating conditions that allowed for the development of human civilization. In Creation stories Coyote functions as an agent who participates actively in shaping the world, using his wits for the benefit of humanity. Rather than dramatizing proper behaviour like in the case of Trickster tales,

Coyote´s deeds in Creation myths account for the emergence of the people and world as it is today.

The last area in which Coyote is prominent is the medicinal use of tales. For

Native people, the conscious application of Coyote stories and their imagery can provide the central generating power which is applied to the healing process. In healing

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rituals, Coyote stories have the power to unite narrative reality and ritual orders into a powerful healing force.

This thesis analysed the character of Coyote through selected stories which come from various Native American cultures. However, the role of Coyote in Native

American myths varies greatly, and therefore the conclusion of this thesis cannot be viewed as universal for all Native American cultures and their mythologies.

Nevertheless, this thesis shows that Coyote fills a central role in Native American oral traditions and that Coyote's natural world and mythological world are inextricably intertwined.

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Works Cited

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Resumé

This bachelor thesis focuses on the role of Coyote figure in Native American oral tradition. Coyote is a well-known character of Native American stories who is traditionally represented as a trickster who is always driven by his appetite and tricks others to achieve his aims. However, Coyote´s role varies greatly from culture to culture. In some Native American stories, Coyote is viewed as a culture hero who serves as a benefactor of humans. In Native American cultures, Coyote stories are primarily intended to teach, explain, provide entertainment and transmit traditional cultural values and worldview from one generation to the next. This thesis focuses on the three most significant roles of Coyote figure. Through an analysis of Coyote stories from various cultures, this thesis presents Coyote as a mythical trickster, a revered culture hero and as a powerful healer.

The first chapter provides essential information needed for understanding

Native American oral tradition. It explains the origin of the stories, their functions in everyday life of people and the important role of storytellers. It also defines what the trickster figure is and how this figure functions in mythology.

The second chapter deals with relationships between Coyote figure and the biological coyote Canis latrans on which this character is based. The last part of the thesis introduces Coyote as a trickster. It describes the characteristics which Coyote as a trickster in different Native American cultures shares most frequently. It also discusses the educational and entertainment functions of the Trickster stories. Furthermore, the thesis analyses Coyote figure in Creation myths and his role as a culture hero who is responsible for the creation of the world and people. The last subchapter describes

Coyote as a healer since the power of language in Coyote stories can provide a powerful healing force which can be applied in traditional healing processes. 49

Czech Resumé

Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá postavou kojota v mytologii národů Severní

Ameriky. Kojot je jednou z nejznámějších postav severoamerických příběhů a tradičně je představován v roli šibala neboli trickstera, který je ovládán hladem a chtíčem. Snaží se obelstít jiné, aby dosáhl svých cílů. Přesto se jeho role v různých kulturách značně liší. V některých příbězích Kojot figuruje nejen jako šibal, ale i jako kulturní hrdina, stvořitel světa a lidí, který také mnohdy jedná ve prospěch lidstva. Primárním účelem příběhů o Kojotovi je předávat odkaz správných norem chování, společenských hodnot a pohledu na svět budoucím generacím. Tato bakalářská práce se zaměřuje na tři významné role, které Kojot v severoamerické mytologii představuje - roli mytického

šibala, roli uctívaného hrdiny a roli léčitele.

První část práce se soustředí na význam ústní lidové slovesnosti v severoamerické kultuře. Vysvětluje, jakým způsobem příběhy vznikaly a co bylo jejich prvotním účelem. Objasňuje také velmi významnou roli vypravěčů těchto příběhů, kteří zajišťovali jejich kontinuitu. Tato část práce také vysvětluje, jaké charakteristické vlastnosti jsou typické po mytickou postavu šibala a v čem spočívá jeho význam. Druhá kapitola se zabývá spojitostmi mezi postavou Kojota a biologického druhu kojota

(Canis latrans), na jehož základě tato postava vznikla. Třetí kapitola představuje Kojota v roli šibala. Na základě vybraných příběhů popisuje jeho typické charakterové vlastnosti a vysvětluje, k jakému účelu tyto příběhy sloužily. Dále pak popisuje Kojota jako kulturního hrdinu a vysvětluje, jak se v příbězích role šibala a role hrdiny od sebe liší. Poslední část práce se zabývá léčebnou funkcí příběhů, neboť severoameričtí

Indiáni využívají spirituální síly příběhů při tradičních léčebných rituálech. Práce studuje jednotlivé příběhy a vysvětluje, jakou roli mohou hrát v léčebném procesu.

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