Mythology and Folklore

Arctic Hare ( Wikimedia ) The Hare and the Lynx (and the Beast)              Some days ago, in a forest much like any other, a little white hare lived in a warm den with her Grandmother. They lived a happy life together tending their crops and harvesting from the forest. When the young hare had nearly reached adulthood, her Grandmother told her that she must make a pilgrimage to her native land. She was too old to accompany the young hare, but assured Hare she would be with her on her journey.             As Hare traveled down the trail she was invigorated by the exploration of new lands. Having never traveled far from her home, the new sights and smells were almost too much. But as Hare reveled in adventure, a sinister shadow lurked close behind. Hare continued to soak in her surroundings until she was lost in thought. The shadow had waited for just this moment. At once, Lynx leapt from the trees and blocked Hare’...

Lynx ( Wikimedia ) Reading Notes Week 11: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, Part B Two More Rabbit Stories: · First story is an interesting and powerful way to deliver the message not to boast. I am curious what they mean when they say that the rabbit “shot” at his wife and she did too. I wonder if this may have gotten jumbled in translation. I am also interested in the character Panther. · A quick google search revealed that Panther is a word that has been used to describe many different big cats and even a legendary creature with a multi-colored hide. This suggests to me that the Panther here is some almost archetypal big cat. · Second Story: Really interesting plot development here with a good flow and balance of description, dialogue, and action, up until the end. The end seems to just kind of happen and almost leaves out some of the ending. Good retelling potential to rewrite and extend the end to give the story a more complete feeling. Why Deer Neve...

Tortoise ( Wikimedia ) Reading Notes Week 11: Mississippi Valley and the Great Lakes, Part A The Earth-Maker: · I like the setup of this origin story, similar to Christianity’s version of the origin story where there was nothing, and then at once the original being was. Might be interesting to try and merge this with some of the bible’s origin stories. · Interesting employment of tortoise and hare. Would not have expected Tortoise to be the original man, nor one that would cause war and wrath on earth. · Really interesting how the origin of death is also weaved into the origin story. But I guess this is also true for the Bible. Really interesting to note also their explanation for why people die. In this story, death is a means of preventing overcrowding and a lack of food and resources. This suggests to me that these tribes valued resources like food greatly, but also that their understanding of death as an essential aspect of the circle of life. The Bible’s o...