Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache

by Grenville Goodwin, Ronnie Lupe (Preface by), Elizabeth A. Brandt (Foreword by), Bonnie Lavender-Lewis (Foreword by), Philip J. Greenfeld

Overview

“This volume contains translations of Apache stories that reflect our distinct view of the world and our approach to life. These myths and fables have survived through untold generations because the truth contained in them is eternal and the moral lessons that they teach are still valid. . . . You can read these stories and catch a glimpse of how our ancestors observed nature, drew metaphors from everyday observations and happenings, and applied the lessons learned to everyday life. Read them and you will see how harmony with nature and the natural world is the goal of every Apache.” —Ronnie Lupe, Tribal Chairman, White Mountain Apache Tribe
 
These fifty-seven tales (with seven variants) gathered between 1931 and 1936 include major cycles dealing with Creation and Coyote, minor tales, and additional stories derived from Spanish and Mexican tradition. The tales are of two classes: holy tales said by some to explain the origin of ceremonies and holy powers, and tales which have to do with the creation of the earth, the emergence, the flood, the slaying of monsters, and the origin of customs. As Grenville Goodwin was the first anthropologist to work with the White Mountain Apache, his insights remain a primary source on this people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816533503
Publisher:	University of Arizona Press
Publication date:	11/27/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	223
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Grenville Goodwin’s authorship in the late 1930s of The Social Organization of the Western Apache made him a major figure in North American ethnology by only scratched the surface of his profound knowledge of the Apache. A New Yorker by birth, Goodwin’s understanding of Apache ways came not from schooling but from living over a period of eight years with the Apaches on the San Carlos Reservation. The keenness of his perceptions and his empathy with his subjects made him an authority and friend respected by both Apache tribal members and leading anthropologists the world over. In 1940, death interrupted Goodwin’s plan to write a series of additional monographs on other aspects of Western Apache life.

Table of Contents

Contents

Preface to the New Edition by Ronnie Lupe

Foreword, by Elizabeth A. Brandt, Bonnie Lavender-Lewis, and Philip K. Greenfeld

A Note on Written Apache, by Elizabeth A. Brandt and Philip J. Greenfeld

Preface

Chapter 1. The Earth is set up

Variant

Chapter 2. He goes to his father: Slaying of monsters

Chapter 3. Obtaining bow and arrows

Chapter 4. He goes to his father: Obtaining bow and arrows: Vulva Woman: Slaying of monsters: How Gila Monster got his name: Turtle saves his comrade: na•ye'nezyane wins his wife back: na•ye'nezyane obtains horses

Variant (Vulva Woman)

Chapter 5. They kill girls asleep

Chapter 6. The emergence

Chapter 7. The flood: Turkey makes the corn: How Coyote showed the way to make a living

Chapter 8. Turkey makes the corn: Coyote plants cooked corn

Chapter 9. Lost with Turkey

Chapter 10. Turkey teaches farming

Chapter 11. How the squash plant was obtained

Chapter 12. He who became an antelope

Chapter 13. He fell down on Bear

Chapter 14. The talking horse

Chapter 15. He releases the deer

Chapter 16. She who became a deer

Chapter 17. A ga•n becomes Raven Old Man's son-in-law

Chapter 18. The ga•n people move away

Chapter 19. The ga•n becomes Raven Old Man's son-in-law; The ga•n disappear from tse-gots'uk

Chapter 20. The maiden from whom they disappeared into the water: Inside Elk's belly

Chapter 21. The man who became a ga•n

Chapter 22. Making a chief: Sun and Thunder: Sun and Darkness

Chapter 23. Road Runner Youth makes Mulberry Man

Chapter 24. The man who pursued mountain sheep

Chapter 25. Wolf and Mountain Lion hunt together: White-tailed Deer and Mescal talk together: Sack and Pot talk together

Variant 2: (When everything talked: White-tailed Deer and Mescal talk together)

Chapter 26. Grasshopper loses his leg: How Gila Monster got his name

Chapter 27. Captured

Variant

Chapter 28. The old woman and baby who were abandoned

Chapter 29. The abandoned children

Chapter 30. Her brother becomes her husband

Chapter 32. Origin of curing ceremonies

Chapter 33. Coyote steals Abert Squirrel's fire

Chapter 34. The winning of dawn

Variant

Chapter 35. Coyote steal Sun's tobacco

Chapter 36. Coyote's daughter (becomes) his wife

Chapter 37. Coyote kills his children

Chapter 38. The berdache Coyote story

Chapter 39. The Jack Rabbit girls toss their eyes up

Chapter 40. Coyote hunts with Bobcat

Chapter 41. Badger carries darkness: Coyote and Bobcat scratch each other

Chapter 42. Coyote and Bobcat trick each other: Coyote carries off Beaver

Chapter 43. Coyote trots along

Chapter 44. Coyote races with Frog

Chapter 45. Coyote and Bear cripple and cure each other

Chapter 47. How deer horns became hard

Chapter 48. Coyote brings in Big Owl's cap: How deer horns became hard: The Bear Woman: Coyote determines death

Chapter 49. Big Owl chops off his penis

Chapter 50. Two hills in line

Chapter 51. Big Owl hunts "Rats": People turn themselves to Ground Heat: Big Owl eats his own children: Big Owl and Turkey meet each other

Chapter 52. Coyote steals wheat: Coyote's faeces under his hat

Variant (Gray Fox steals wheat)

Chapter 53. Coyote herds sheep for a white man

Chapter 54. The two thieves

Chapter 55. The good and the bad brothers

Chapter 56. The magic ring

Chapter 57. Magic flight

Editorial Reviews

“With the publication of this Memoir our knowledge of Western Apache folklore is significantly supplemented and extended. . . . In addition to its importance as a contribution to Southern Athabascan mythology, this volume is valuable for the general information it provides concerning the life of the people.”—American Anthropologist

 

“Embod[ies] high standards of scholarship, presenting the tales in translation which seems as close as possible to the original. Songs, difficult terms and many personal and place-names remain the native languages in the text, with translations in brackets, and footnotes are also provided. . . . Goodwin’s original introduction is invaluable, and it is written with an admirable blend of objective scholarship and warm identification.”—Folklore

 

“This is a highly readable book accessible to anyone—historian or buff—interested in the folkways of the Apaches.”—Tombstone Epitaph

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From the Publisher

Originally published by the American Folklore Society, New York, 1939, in the series Memoirs of the American Folklore Society, v.33, with a new preface and foreword. Includes 57 myths and tales, recounted with footnotes. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews