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

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

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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