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A review by bupdaddy
American Indian Fairy Tales by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, William Trowbridge Larned
4.0
I'm not much of a sociologist, but these enchanting tales fascinated me. Like European fairy tales (but unlike, for instance, Japanese Fairy Tales), these tend to have clear morals, reward good, and act as cautionary tales.
Also like European mythology, the 'spirit' or 'soul' appears as a puff of white smoke when it's visible. Is that common to all of humanity - that the 'ghost in the machine' is an ethereal substance, and white?
Less surprisingly, lots of talking animals, and tales about when the world was new, and tales that personify things like "spring" and "the north wind."
Oh yeah - there are even a couple of tales where the bad guy is vulnerable only in one part of his body - the leg and foot.
These were obviously collected after Europeans had interacted with the New World*, so I don't know how much corruption had occurred to these tales (a powder horn is mentioned in one), but if there's not much, I'd love to hear theories about the commonalities of the tales from various cultures that had been out of touch for millennia.
Also, they're good - it's a short audiobook (about two hours), and the stories do have that 'magic' about them that makes for a tale that stays with you for a long time. The seductive feeling of each story lingers.
This would be a great thing for kids on a car trip, too - entertaining and world-expanding.
*originally collected by a guy in the 1830's sent by the government - sort of a Neil Lomax for the 1800's. Then this version was written in the 1920's.
Also like European mythology, the 'spirit' or 'soul' appears as a puff of white smoke when it's visible. Is that common to all of humanity - that the 'ghost in the machine' is an ethereal substance, and white?
Less surprisingly, lots of talking animals, and tales about when the world was new, and tales that personify things like "spring" and "the north wind."
Oh yeah - there are even a couple of tales where the bad guy is vulnerable only in one part of his body - the leg and foot.
These were obviously collected after Europeans had interacted with the New World*, so I don't know how much corruption had occurred to these tales (a powder horn is mentioned in one), but if there's not much, I'd love to hear theories about the commonalities of the tales from various cultures that had been out of touch for millennia.
Also, they're good - it's a short audiobook (about two hours), and the stories do have that 'magic' about them that makes for a tale that stays with you for a long time. The seductive feeling of each story lingers.
This would be a great thing for kids on a car trip, too - entertaining and world-expanding.
*originally collected by a guy in the 1830's sent by the government - sort of a Neil Lomax for the 1800's. Then this version was written in the 1920's.