Influences Of Trickster Tales And Creation Myths

Influences of Trickster Tales and Creation Myths

In Native American literature, both creation myths and trickster tales were frequently told and passed down through generations upon generations orally, and then eventually written down. A creation myth is a tale that tells of how the world began or how people first came to live here, while a trickster tale is a short story that tells of a “trickster” with vacuous behavior, whose actions are meant to teach a lesson. Both types of literature are still relevant in modern society, whether it’s through pop-culture or re-told stories, and continue to guide individuals through their life, teach lessons about life on earth, morals, and human nature.

Creation myths are meant to explain how the world

Often, the trickster finds his antics to come back and hurt him, due to greedy, conceited, or boastful behavior. These tales are told in a humorous manner, meant to entertain the reader, but are specifically designed to teach a lesson about human behavior or morals. One trickster tale, “The Coyote and the Buffalo,” is the quintessential trickster story, and uses a coyote as a main character, very popular for early Native American literature. It tells of a coyote that has gotten himself into trouble with Buffalo Bull, his enemy, and has made a deal to give the Buffalo new horns. To express his gratitude, Buffalo Bull gives Coyote a young cow on the condition that he does not kill it, but only cuts off the fat. Soon Coyote gets greedy, and kills the cow for the better meat. However, he is quickly outsmarted by a woman who offered to cook the bones. She ends up stealing them, and the coyote is left with nothing. He pleads to the buffalo for another, but the buffalo will not give it to him, “and that is why there are no buffalo along the Swah-netk’-qhu.”(Allen et. al. 52) The moral of this story is that having too much greed can leave you hungry, instead of full of the riches of life you can gain by listening and following the

Robert Thompson says, “Bugs Bunny defies authority, he goes against the rules. But he does it in a way that's often lovable, and that often results in good things for the culture at large.”(Sutherland 1). Bugs Bunny displays cleverness, wit, and a “rules don’t apply to me” attitude, all qualities that were present in Coyote, when he says “Now i will have some fun, I will have revenge for the times Buffalo made me run,”(Allen et al. 48) and proceeds to pick up Buffalo’s skull and throw it in the air. As Native American authors conveyed their tales in a humorous way aimed at children, Bugs Bunny’s creators did the same, making a funny television show about a silly rabbit that is a modern example of the Native American archetype, the