Tlingit Myths and Texts John R. Swanton Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 39 [1909]

This is a massive study of the myths and legends of the Tlingit, Native Americans of southern Alaska. These texts include a lengthly cycle of stories about Raven, the trickster figure of the Northwest, the equivalent of the better known Coyote of the Southwest. Another major thread that runs through these stories is the typical Northwestern preoccupation with wealth and status. The land was abundant with marine life, wildlife and other resources. The Tlingit, along with other cultures in the region, had developed a very high level of material wealth, as well as levels of social inequality not found elsewhere in North America. For this reason, many of the stories are parallel to European folklore (without being derivative in the slightest way), in which a low-status person achieves wealth and respect by supernatural intervention or a series of epic trials.

On the other hand, the Tlingit were also avid believers in the Potlatch system, by which wealth was distributed by the rich at festivals, in order to reinforce their status. Hence there are also stories in this collection in which altruism and sharing wealth are rewarded.

Usually in 19th century ethnographies the texts are presented without any clue as to the cultural context in which they were told. This collection diverges from this sometimes maddening practice. The function of stories is often described in an footnote by the informant, for instance, as fables for young people. In another instance at the end of the book the myth cycle is retold, woven into a grieving ceremony.

--J.B. Hare

Myths Recorded in English at Sitka

Myths Recorded in English at Wrangell

Texts

Abstracts of Myths