Seneca Indian Myths

Seneca Indian Myths PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Indians of North America
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Seneca Indian Myths

Seneca Indian Myths PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Indians of North America
Languages : en
Pages : 310

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Book Description


Seneca Indian Myths

Seneca Indian Myths PDF Author: Jeremiah Curtin
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
ISBN: 1465604332
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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ÊThe boy hung his bundle in the crotch of a tree, then went on, and soon, not far ahead, he saw something of enormous size. When nearer, he found it was a great bear and that it sat up on the trail with its back toward him. He crept close and looked at the creature. It had no hair on its body except a little at the end of its tail. He sent an arrow. The bear sprang forward, then turned and ran after him., It got so near that he could feel its breath. The boy dodged from tree to tree, then darted off and ran swiftly, the bear close behind. He came to a stream that was deep but narrow. He jumped across it; the bear followed him. The boy sprang back and the bear sprang back. The boy jumped across the stream a number of times; the bear always just behind him. The boy felt his strength increasing; the bearÕs strength was failing. To tire the bear the boy made a great circle before he sprang. At last the bear fell behind; as it sprang across, the boy passed it coming back. Soon the bear had to scramble to get a footing on the bank. The boy shot and the arrow entered the middle of one of the bearÕs forefeet. The bear scrambled on to the bank, reeled from tree to tree, staggered, fell, rose again, struggled for a time, then rolled over and died. The boy took three hairs from the bearÕs whiskers and one tooth from its jaw; went back to where he had left his bundle; took it; followed the trail of the twenty men; ran fast; overtook them, and said, ÒI have killed the NYAGWAIHE you were so afraid of.Ó

Seneca Myths and Folk Tales

Seneca Myths and Folk Tales PDF Author: Arthur Caswell Parker
Publisher: Buffalo, N.Y. : Buffalo Historical Society
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Seneca Myths and Folk Tales: Complete with Classic Illustrations

Seneca Myths and Folk Tales: Complete with Classic Illustrations PDF Author: Arthur C. Parker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Seneca myths and folk tales by Arthur C. Parker, 1923.In presenting this collection of Seneca myths and legends, the collator feels that he should explain to the general reader that he does not offer a series of tales that can be judged by present day literary standards. These Indian stories are not published for the mere entertainment of general readers, though there is much that is entertaining in them, neither are they designed as children's fables, or for supplementary reading in schools, though it is true that some of the material may be suited for the child mind. It must be understood that if readings from this book are to be made for children, a wise selection must be made.This collection is presented as an exposition of the unwritten literature of the Seneca Indians who still live in their ancestral domain in western New York. It is primarily a collection of folk-lore and is to be looked at in no other light. The professional anthropologist and historian will not need to be reminded of this. He will study these tales for their ethnological significance, and use them in making comparisons with similar collections from other tribes and stocks. In this manner he will determine the similarities or differences in theme, in episode and character. He will trace myth diffusion thereby and be able to chart the elements of the Seneca story.There is an amazing lack of authentic material on Iroquois folk-lore, though much that arrogates this name to itself has been written. The writers, however, have in general so glossed the native themes with poetic and literary interpretations that the material has shrunken in value and can scarcely be considered without many reservations.We do not pretend to have made a complete collection of all available material, but we have given a fairly representative series of myths, legends, fiction and traditions. One may examine this collection and find representative types of nearly every class of Seneca folk-lore. Multiplication is scarcely necessary.The value of this collection is not a literary one but a scientific one. It reveals the type of tale that held the interest and attention of the Seneca; it reveals certain mental traits and tendencies; it reveals many customs and incidents in native life, and finally, it serves as an index of native psychology.The enlightened mind will not be arrogant in its judgment of this material, but will see in it the attempts of a race still in mental childhood to give play to imagination and to explain by symbols what it otherwise could not express.While there is much value in this collection explaining indirectly the folk-ways and the folk-thought of the Seneca and their allied kinsmen, the whole life of the people may not be judged from these legends. Much more must be presented before such a judgment is formed. Just as we gain some knowledge of present day religions, governmental methods, social organization and political economy from the general literature of the day, but only a portion, and this unsystematized, so do we catch only a glimpse of the life story of the Seneca from their folk-tales.To complete our knowledge we must have before us works on Seneca history, ethnology, archæology, religion, government and language. Finally, we must personally know the descendents of the mighty Seneca nation of old. We must enter into the life of the people in a sympathetic way, for only then can we get at the soul of the race.While all this is true, these folk-tales are not to be despised, for they conserve many references to themes and things that otherwise would be forgotten. Folk-lore is one of the most important mines of information that the ethnologist and historian may tap. We can never understand a race until we understand what it is thinking about, and we can never know this until we know its literature, written or unwritten. The folk-tale therefore has a special value and significance, if honestly recorded.

Seneca Fiction, Legends, and Myths ...

Seneca Fiction, Legends, and Myths ... PDF Author: Jeremiah Curtin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Seneca Indians
Languages : en
Pages : 836

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Seneca Indian Myths

Seneca Indian Myths PDF Author: Anonymous
Publisher: Franklin Classics Trade Press
ISBN: 9780353210721
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Skunny Wundy and Other Indian Tales

Skunny Wundy and Other Indian Tales PDF Author: Arthur Caswell Parker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Indians of North America
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Legends, Customs and Social Life of the Seneca Indians

Legends, Customs and Social Life of the Seneca Indians PDF Author: John Wentworth Sanborn
Publisher: [Gowanda, N.Y.? : s.n.], 1878 (Gowanda, N.Y. : Horton & Deming)
ISBN:
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Seneca Possessed

Seneca Possessed PDF Author: Matthew Dennis
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812207084
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Seneca Possessed examines the ordeal of a Native people in the wake of the American Revolution. As part of the once-formidable Iroquois Six Nations in western New York, Senecas occupied a significant if ambivalent place within the newly established United States. They found themselves the object of missionaries' conversion efforts while also confronting land speculators, poachers, squatters, timber-cutters, and officials from state and federal governments. In response, Seneca communities sought to preserve their territories and culture amid a maelstrom of economic, social, religious, and political change. They succeeded through a remarkable course of cultural innovation and conservation, skillful calculation and luck, and the guidance of both a Native prophet and unusual Quakers. Through the prophecies of Handsome Lake and the message of Quaker missionaries, this process advanced fitfully, incorporating elements of Christianity and white society and economy, along with older Seneca ideas and practices. But cultural reinvention did not come easily. Episodes of Seneca witch-hunting reflected the wider crises the Senecas were experiencing. Ironically, as with so much of their experience in this period, such episodes also allowed for the preservation of Seneca sovereignty, as in the case of Tommy Jemmy, a Seneca chief tried by New York in 1821 for executing a Seneca "witch." Here Senecas improbably but successfully defended their right to self-government. Through the stories of Tommy Jemmy, Handsome Lake, and others, Seneca Possessed explores how the Seneca people and their homeland were "possessed"—culturally, spiritually, materially, and legally—in the era of early American independence.

American Indian Myths and Legends

American Indian Myths and Legends PDF Author: Richard Erdoes
Publisher: Pantheon
ISBN: 080415175X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 546

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Book Description
More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups present a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. “This fine, valuable new gathering of ... tales is truly alive, mysterious, and wonderful—overflowing, that is, with wonder, mystery and life" (National Book Award Winner Peter Matthiessen). In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.