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Passed down from generation to generation, the myths and rituals of Native Americans form a rich religious and cultural base from which all members of each society can create and maintain a sense of community, physical and emotional health, identity, family, and self. Such traditions, handed down through stories and rites, stand as the lifeblood of every Native American culture. This thoroughly illustrated and carefully researched guide explores the amazing array of mythical beasts, heroic humans, and nurturing spirits that make up the fascinating spectrum of Native American mythology. With over one thousand alphabetically arranged entries, representing over one hundred different Native American cultures, readers can quickly explore the meaning of hundreds of elements of Native lore--from names, phrases, and symbols, to images, motifs, and themes. Accompanying essays take a closer look at other issues related to the origin, development, and perpetuation of Native American mythology, such as the Christian influence on myth, varying mythology between tribes, storytelling, and more. We learn about such mythical creatures as Apotamkin of the Maliseet-Passamaquoddy tribe of the Southeast (a bogey monster with long hair and huge teeth who, through the fear he generates, keeps small children from straying onto thin, newly frozen ice in the winter and unguarded beaches in the summer), ritual healing ceremonials such as the Southwestern Navajo's Uglyway ceremony (a ceremony to remove and protect against the forces of chaos and disorder that give rise to illness), and the Marau ceremony of the Hopi Indians of the Southeast (a complex ceremony concerned with rain, the ripening of corn, and the fertility of women, as well as rites of initiating new members into the society). This compelling volume honors the richness of the beliefs and values of the many peoples of native North America, from northern Mexico to the Artic Circle. In addition, a complete bibliography of primary sources and secondary sources points the way to further research, making this the perfect reference for anyone interested in the mythical history of America's original inhabitants.
A system of myths, symbols, and rituals, dating back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic, survives in present-day imagery. In exploring this system, special attention is drawn to the linkage between ancient and contemporary civilizations of Eurasia and Mesoamerica, as seen in their cosmology, and expressed in common mythological and iconographic themes. The author examines contemporary Middle American and eastern European textiles, especially women’s garments, that contain an elaborated sacred code of symbols, and include remnants of the four horizontal directions, and the three vertical worlds that portray the structure of the universe. The cosmology contained in patterns around the world denotes striking parallels that attest to internal connections between different cultures, beyond time and place.
At the heart of American studies is the idea of America itself. Here, Buck looks at the religious significance of America by examining those religions that have attached some kind of spiritual meaning to America. The author explores how American Protestantism-and nine minority faiths-have projected America into the mainstream of world history by defining-and by redefining-America's world role. Surveying the religious myths and visions of America of ten religions, Buck shows how minority faiths have redefined America's sense of national purpose. This book invites serious reflection on what it means to be an American, particularly from a religious perspective. Religious myths of America are thought-orienting narratives that serve as vehicles of spiritual and social truths about the United States itself. Religious visions of America are action-oriented agendas that articulate the goals to which America should aspire and the role it should play in the community of nations. Buck examines the distinctive perspectives held by ten religious traditions that inform and expand on the notion of America, and its place in the world. He covers Native American, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Christian Identity, Black Muslim, Islamic, Buddhist, and Baha'i beliefs and invites serious reflection on what it means to be an American, particularly from a religious perspective.
Folklorist Gary R. Varner takes a lengthy look at various myths, legends and beliefs of Native Americans in this book. Included are stories and archaeological finds from various lands that suggest cultural contacts between explorers from China, Japan, the Mediterranean and Europe with Native Americans in pre-Columbian times. Native American folklore and myths are examined including the universal legends of the flood and stories of the mysterious god-men such as Quetzalcoatl, Votan and Chinigchinix, who brought the arts, technology and civilization to indigenous cultures. Mysteries of Native American Myth and Religion is a fact-filled, yet fascinating story of the original inhabitants of North and South America. Varner has written several books on folklore and mythology and is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.