I really like the simplistic, oral telling of these stories.
It's cool to see how creation stories, no matter where they are from, have to deal with the question of nothingness.
The Coyote is interesting because he doesn't want men to live forever, but he also doesn't want them to suffer.
Another flood story!
I wonder what a modernized Coyote-god would look like. He could be saving people from a lot of modern situations like credit card debt or heroin or something. I dunno.
The Creation of the World
I really like how the Earth Doctor creates various things. The way that they explain the rotations of the sun and moon was pretty cool.
Spider's Creation
I like how each people is given some sort of designation.
The Great Fire; The Origin of Light
What a guy! Can't marry two women so he decides to set the world on fire.
In a lot of these stories, there is talk of a world existing without light. I wonder how difficult that would be. If our world suddenly had no light (I know we need the sun's light for warmth, but imagine if we could live without it), what would happen?
Creation of Man
Great story! It's interesting because a lot of creation done by humans is also done in their own image, maybe not physically but we usually create something that we really connect with.
Old Man Above and the Grizzlies
I don't think that punishment was fair! The grizzlies helped raise his daughter and gave her a good life, it seems.
The Creation of Man-kind and the Flood
I hope we don't have to eat each other when we run out of room....
I wonder why the coyote is such a strong character in these stories.
The Great Flood
The Fable of the Animals
Hmm, so coyotes are friendly to man. I guess this is a common idea, because it would explain the creation stories involving coyote as the "god."
The Course of the Sun
The Theft of Fire
Man, those Karok people really know how to tell a story. I didn't see the ending coming, about fire being kept in dry wood. If I could write a story similar to this one, that would be great. It would be tough to come up with the thing to explain though.
Coyote, Tortillas, and Mesquite Beans
Wow, the cunning coyote got out-foxed this time!
Coyote, god of creation, via Pixabay
Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson. Source.
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