Extra Reading Diary: Sioux Legends

Sioux Legends

The Rabbit and the Bear

The ending came out of nowhere. At no time while reading this story did I anticipate the rabbit killing all of the bears in the village. I thought the rabbit was going to just go home and sob to his mom. Anyways, I do not think the rabbit was at fault for splitting the bear chief in half. The bear chief was getting annoyed at how long it was taking the rabbit to break off flint from his body and pushed him to hit him so hard that he broke in half. If I were the rabbit, then I probably would have done the same thing and run away, since the bears in the village probably would have killed him. As expected, the bears chased after him and he sang a song to cause a lot of snow to fall. There was so much snow that the bears were stuck, unable to move, while the rabbit could easily run over it. Instead of running away like his personality would suggest, he ran back and killed all of the helpless bears with his club. 

The Mysterious Butte

I really enjoyed this story and it made me think of a time when everything had not already been discovered. It would be the coolest thing to see something nobody has seen or be somewhere nobody else has been. There is not really anywhere that can be a "secret place" anymore, so I am jealous of the young man in the story who found the opening. One thing I could not help wonder was why the most daring warriors that were sent into the mysterious opening did not have torches or something so that they could see in the pitch black chambers inside of the opening. Another part of the story I liked was how the young man who took one of the bracelets was not killed for his actions, but was only hurt. I would say a good portion of folk tales that I have read this semester have unreasonable punishments, typically death.

(Buffalo Hunt, George Catlin)

Storytelling for Week 10: Why the Dog's Ears Flop

Why the Dog's Ears Flop

The dog has always been different than his wild cousin the wolf, but his urge to please and fit in prevented him from being himself. Thanks to their very similar appearance, he hid it very well. His ears stood up straight and his tail held high just like the wolf. 

Struggling to find food, the dog wandered into the camp of a tribe of Indians. He was attracted to the camp by the sweet and savory smell of deer and bear meat. Salivating uncontrollably, the dog was astonished at how much food there was. The men, women, and children of the tribe pleasantly greeted him. The dog was in heaven as they rubbed his back, head, and belly. He had never experienced such a feeling while living with the wolf. The petting felt so good that he nearly forgot about his hunger. It was then he realized that he was where he was supposed to be. 

Making his way through all of the rubs, he reached a man that was skinning some of the meat. The dog politely said to the Indian that he would fight off all other animals for some food. Protecting their food was difficult for the tribe, so the Indian gladly agreed and gave some meat to the dog. Their agreement went on for many days, as the dog fought off bears and wildcats. He even began to assist the Indian in hunting for rabbits. The relationship between the dog and Indian quickly blossomed into a great friendship.

One night some of his wild cousins, the wolves approached the camp. He was growling and refused to let them pass. Asking what they wanted, the wolves responded by telling him that they just wanted to see how he liked his new friends, the Indians. Thinking they were telling the truth, the dog put his guard down and the wolves sprinted after some of the hanging meat. 

He began barking as loud as he could to wake up the tribe and ran after the deceitful wolves. He attacked the wolves, scratching, clawing, and biting with all of his might. The wolves were forced to forget about the meat and defend themselves, or surely face death. 

The wolves were now angry and began to surround the dog. Although a few were badly injured, there were still a good number left. Once he was surrounded, the wolves pounced on him and bit him repeatedly until the Indian ran out with a spear. The wolves fled, having got none of the meat. If the Indian came out any later, the dog may not have survived. As he stood up he realized that his ears no longer stood straight up on their own. One of the bites severed part of the muscles that held his ears upright. He was consoled by the Indian and explained what had happened. The Indian was so impressed by his bravery and loyalty that he told the whole tribe what had happened. Everyone was joyful and made him a permanent home at the camp. This is the story of why the dog’s ears flop.

(Golden Retriever)

Author's Note

I chose this story because I really like dogs and thought I could retell it in a way that makes the dog look better. In the original, the dog first lives with his cousin, the wolf, until he became very hungry after not finding food for a few days. He then walks into the camp of an Indian tribe after seeing strips of deer and bear meet hanging from a pole. There was an Indian turning the poles so the meat would dry. The dog approached him and made an agreement to protect his food in exchange for some food. Everything was going well until some of his wolf cousins came one night and misled him. The wolves told him that they just wanted to see how he was liking his knew friends, the Indians, but they ended up raiding the food. He became so ashamed that his ears flopped down and his tail then went between his legs every time men shouted at him.

Bibliography

Title: Why the Dog's Ears Flop
Author: Florence Stratton
Year Published: 1936
Web Site Source: Mythology and Folklore Un-Textbook

Reading Diary B: Tejas Legends Part II

Tejas Legends Part II

The Maiden Who Loved a Star

This story had a pretty bittersweet ending and reminded me of the phrase, "anything for love." The maiden could not bear to live without the star youth and decided to go to an old witch woman. All she wanted was to die in a way that she could join the youth in the star, but the witch woman could not do such a thing. Instead, the old witch woman had a way to allow the maiden to live in the desert under the smiles of the star youth. I was not surprised the maiden quickly agreed because she was willing to die so that she could be with her love. After agreeing, the maiden transformed into a shrub in the desert. Becoming a shrub would be a pretty terrible transformation, but at least she became a type of shrub that was never seen before. The star youth realized what had happened and broke through the edge of the star and fell down on the shrub in the form of starry bits of dust. This caused the shrub to blossom into the purple sage. The maiden and star youth were finally together, but now they were plants and could not move. I can't help but wonder why the star youth didn't try leaving his home before. 

(Purple Sage)

How Sickness Entered the World

I enjoyed this story, but I think the punishment was unfair. Trying to gather all of the wisdom from an old medicine man, the Great Spirit sent down a messenger. You would think that the Great Spirit would send a messenger in the form of a person or at least something immortal, but no. The Great Spirit sends a messenger in the form of a snake, but fails to say who or what the messenger is. Two young boys were sent to meet the messenger in the forest because the medicine man was too weak. I believe that the boys assumed the messenger would be a person, so when they saw a large snake looking at them they became scared and killed it. Fearing the repercussions of killing the Great Spirit's messenger, the boys passed the snake throughout. The snake's mate was angry and laid eggs outside of each wigwam that had the dead snake. These eggs hatched different sicknesses, and that was how sickness entered the world. I can't blame the boys for killing the snake or the people from moving the snake once it was dead. I would be pretty terrified if I saw a giant snake looking at me too.

(Python Killed, J. Headland)

Reading Diary A: Tejas Legends Part I

Tejas Legends

The Plant That Grows in Trees

I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a cool way to explain how mistletoe ended up in trees. Honestly, I have never seen mistletoe outside and did not know that it grew in trees or was green year round. The thunder bird has a bad reputation for scaring the Indians, so I liked how its softer side was shown in this story.

Why the Woodpecker Pecks

This was not the happiest of stories, but I think it teaches a good lesson and shows the effects of parents that struggle with substance abuse. These parents care a lot about their children, however, they become selfish and forget about them when they are hallucinating on the mescal buttons. I know they care about their children because they accepted the offer from the god Manitou to become birds so they could search for them. They became woodpeckers and their children are supposedly still trapped in trees. Since there are still woodpeckers, I am assuming that they never found their children.

A Tribe That Left Its Shoes

Although a sad story, this one had a little bright ending. A tribe lived happily on an island until a volcano destroyed their home and forced them to leave. Similar to Hansel and Gretel, the tribe's medicine man left painted moccasins so that they could find their island whenever it came back. The moccasins ended up turning into orchids, pointing towards the island, so they would always be able to find it.

The Swift Blue One

I was really interested in this story because of the sculpture at the University of Oklahoma. Before reading this, I was not aware that the Spaniards brought horses to North America. For some reason, I thought that horses have always been here and that the Indians rode them before foreigners came to their land.  

(Blue Horse)

Reading Diary A: California and the Old Southwest

California and the Old Southwest

Creation of Man

I really enjoyed this story and think that it is funny how each animal wants man to be just like them. They all seem to think that what they have is the best. Thankfully the Coyote stayed up all night and finished creating man before everyone else because I could not imagine if one of the other animals had finished first. The Coyote seems to be the most creative one and aware of his own flaws.   

Old Man Above and the Grizzlies

This story was sad for the Grizzlies. They never did anything wrong, but were punished as if they did. It was the Wind that pulled the Little Daughter's hair and dragged her to the land of the Grizzlies. Not only were they not responsible for it, they took care of and fed her as if she was their own. I could not help but think of Yogi Bear when I pictured the bears standing with clubs in their hands. The Old Man Above is like a grumpy father who does not approve of his daughter's relationship. He unfairly punishes the Grizzlies for something that his daughter had an equal part in doing. 

The Fable of the Animals

The Coyote in Native America folktales are very similar to the fox in others. They are both cunning, smart, and have similar appearances. Although the Coyote in this story has a good idea for becoming the most powerful animal, he has poor execution. He should have just woken up earlier, rather than trying to stay up all night. Also, being as smart as he is, why would he make the edges of the sticks that are holding his eyes open sharp? Fortunately for the Coyote, he is not really weaker than a frog. 

(Coyote)

Commenting Review Week

I think the commenting in this class has been very helpful. The comments I receive are constructive and help tell me when I have something to work on. By reading and commenting on other student's posts, I feel like it has improved my writing and how I complete the assignments. It can feel weird to comment on someone's work without ever meeting them, so I just do my best to not be too personal or harsh in the posts. Connecting with people over blog is definitely not as easy as in person, however I think I can connect as much as I need to for this class. I am also more conscious of my own work when commenting and try to make sure I am not being a hypocrite. 

(R. Lee Ermy, Full Metal Jacket)

 

Reading Review Week

Reading Review

I have really enjoyed reading all of the different stories. Also, I like how we have been assigned two different modules every two weeks because it has forced me to read stories from different cultures. The differences in the writing from one area to another are interesting and keep the reading exciting. Whenever I write my diary, I make sure to choose a story that I would like to do my storytelling assignment over. My thinking is if I would not write about it in my reading diary, then why would I tell a story about it?

Although I have liked all of the units I have read, a few come to mind when thinking about my favorites. My favorites so far have been Homer's Iliad, Ovid's Metamorphoses III, and Arabian Nights. I think the reason I have enjoyed these the most is because I was already familiar with their stories and could relate them to movies I had seen. These movies are Troy, Hercules, and Aladdin.

(Achilles and Hector, by Rubens)

The folktales have been very interesting as well. My favorite part about them is that they most often have a lesson to be learned from each story. I have found that a lot of these stories involve murder, especially for the animal tales.

Before this class, it had been a long time since I read for pleasure. I have wanted to start reading, but just couldn't get myself to start. This class has forced me to read and I am really glad it did. Even though the readings are for assignments, I would consider the reading for pleasure because I enjoy them so much.