Traveling back to Native American Times

This week in Dr. Esa’s ‘Folk and Fairy Tale Class’, we focused on two different types of tales, unlike many traditional types. We learned more about the influence of religion (Judaism) and culture (Native American).

 

Perhaps what is most interesting about the Native American tales is how different they are than the traditional European, while also being much more like African tales. The reasoning for this could be the influence of the necessity of community among the culture. For example, ‘How Mosquitoes Came to Be’- this story tells how, as the title states, how mosquitoes came to be (video seen to the right). Both African and Native American stories use silly stories as an explanation for how everyday occurrences came to be. 

One of the things that I as a female, appreciated the most about the Native American tales is the treatment of females. Of the stories we read, the females were always depicted as equals to men or tricksters- such as the young mother in the story, ‘The Flying Head’. Women are always able to be on the same level as men, which is rare-to-none occurrence in many European tales. 

There is also a heavy focus on the council in these stories. If there was an important decision to be made, no single person made it alone, they had to refer to the council of elders to help. It was a democracy before the term even existed.