"Koasati"

This blog post is comprised of my notes about the background information headnote given on the Koasati as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Koasati people are a branch of Muskogean speakers who originally lived in Southwestern Louisiana and Eastern Texas. 
• The trickster character in Koasati tales is called Rabbit or Cokfi.
• All Koasati tales must be told in their specific, prescribed orders; however, outside of order, story-tellers have the leeway to embellish or condense, add or omit parts of the stories as suits their style and purpose.
• The tales of the Koasati are meant to reiterate and solidify cultural norms and culturally acceptable behavior.

"Ikto Conquers Iya, The Eater"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes and reactions to the Sioux trickster tale, "Ikto Conquers Iya, The Eater" as it is printed in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• This story begins with Iktomi wandering the world.  He reaches the top of a hill at the same time as Iya, and expects that he will die; despite the thought of his impending death, Iktomi wonders which of the two is the eldest.
• Iktomi asks Iya when Iya was created before recalling that he himself created Iya just after he created the sky and the earth.
• The two are heading for the same village, so they decide to go together.  They stop for the night, and while Iya sleeps, Iktomi looks inside him (through his mouth) and sees all the villages he has already eaten all living happily within him as they did before they were consumed.
• Iktomi is frightened by Iya nd wants to capture him, so he devises a plan.
• When Iya wakes up, Iktomis asks him what he fears.  Iya confides that he fears "the sound of rattles, and drums, the hooting of owls, and the shouts of men" (85).  Iktomi claims to fear those exact same things.
• Next, Iktomi makes a deal with Iyo to each eat half of the village beginning at either end.  The winner (i.e. he who gets to the middle of the village first) will be rewarded by being able to eat his brother.  Iyo agrees to the contest.
• When Iktomi heads to the village in order to mark the center tipi, he warns all the people that Iya is close at hand and tells them what Iya is afraid of.  He then instructs them to go to where Iya is and frighten him.
• The people, accompanied by Iktomi go to Iya and scare him.  Iktomi tears Iya open from the inside out, thus releasing all the people trapped inside.  For masterminding this, Iktomi is praised, but also blamed for the world being full of people and for causing land to become more scarce.

My Thoughts:

It is clear just from reading this one story that the Sioux do, in fact, give a lot more credit to Iktomi for his role in the beginning of the world than the Winnebago give to their trickster, Wakjankaga. 

I think that it is fun that the role of the trickster as a wanderer is present in both Winnebago and Sioux cultures.  The similarities do not seem to extend much farther than that, though.  Where Wakjankaga was a foolish sort of being who did more harm to himself than to injure others (and, from the reading at least, caused more shame to people than permanent physical harm). 

The idea of self-gain that Wakjankaga seems to have in the excerpts of Winnebago stories does not seem to carry over to the Sioux Iktomi either.  In contrast to Wakjankaga's desire to get ahead by marrying a chief's son so he may eat through though the winter, Iktomi has a much less frivolous desire to ensure that people remain on the earth rather than being eaten up by Iya.  Nevertheless, both tricksters create a bad situation for those he leaves behind after his trick is over.  In Wakjankaga's case, he brings shame upon the family of the chief's son.  Iktomi, on the otherhand, creates a much more wide-spread effect.  By destroying Iya, he keeps people from continuing to be consumed; however, he also releases the people who have already been eaten thus populating the world far more than it was.  In short, Wakjankaga brings shame on one family; Iktomi brings hardship on all people by limiting the land available.

"Sioux"

This blog post is comprised of my notes on the headnote about the Sioux people and culture (and their trickster tales) as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Sioux make up a large group of Native Americans who speak the Nakota, Dakota, and Lakota languages; The Sioux are comprised of seven different nations and their territory originally spanned from Minnesota to South Dakota.  They were originally a plains-dwelling people.
• Hunter cultures (like the Sioux) emphasize the transformer/culture-maker aspects of the trickster character and also focus on both his foolish and his dangerous aspects.
• Trickster is called Iktomi, and there is also a Coyote trickster mentioned in Sioux stories.
• Iktomi is presented as a danger to the welfare of people.
• He is one of the first beings that was created; he is the one who named animals, created language, and discovered color.
• Iktomi is often thought of and referred to as being 'spider-like;' however, he does not have the ability to take the shape of a spider.
• In Sioux tradition, Iktomi has an adversary called Iya who attempts to drive him to further evil (eating people).

"From 'The Winnebago Trickster Cycle'"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes and thoughts on The Winnebago Trickster Cycle as it is presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes on Story 19:

• This story opens with Trickster wandering about the world.  As the tale progresses, he encounters (one at a time) a little fox, a jay, and a nit.  Each in turn agrees that they should all live together because separately, each was looking for a place to settle down.
• The group decides that a patch of land where a river forks and red oaks grow is a good place to live, so they build their home there.
• In the autumn, food is plentiful, but when winter and snow come, the group becomes very hungry.  To solve this problem, the Trickster proposes a plan to take the form of a woman in order to marry a nearby single man who happens to be a chief's son.  Thus, he proposes, the group will be able to eat what the chief's son hunts until Springtime.  The tale ends with all four agreeing that this plan is a good one.

Text Notes on Story 20:

• Trickster begins this story by creating female parts for himself and becoming a woman.  Upon doing so, he allows the fox, the jay, and the nit each to impregnate him before finally donning female apparal and going to the village to court the chief's son.
• When the Trickster arrives in the village, there is an emphasis placed on the inappropriate roles and the incorrect order in which things are done (i.e. a woman courting a man).  Nevertheless, they are married and a traditional wedding meal is consumed.
• The Trickster proceeds to be impregnated by the chief's son and give birth to a son on three separate occasions. 

Reactions to Story 20:

It is only the footnotes provided by the anthology that explicitly state that the order of things is wrong.  The old woman who points out that a woman has clearly come to court the chief's son appears to play a pivotal role in this role-reversal humor, though.  

I am disturbed by the absence of follow-through with the Trickster's having been impregnated six times (once each by the fox, the jay, and the nit  and three times by the chief's son) but only bearing three children.  Perhaps in a different version of the story there is some sort of allowance for the other three pregnancies, but in this translation, I find it a bit confusing.

Text Notes on Story 21:

• The third son that Trickster bears to the chief's son cries incessantly.  Finally, the crying son asks for a white cloud (and recieves snow), a piece of the blue sky (and receives blue grass), a green leaf (which he also gets), and finally for a roasting ear (of corn).  All of these items are obtained and given because it is the chief's son who is requesting them.
• While roasting the corn, the Trickster's 'sister-in-law' teases the Trickster and chases him around until he jumps over the fire pit and drops "something very rotten" (the liver-vagina he made himself in story 20) (80).  
• Immediately, all know that it is the Trickster, so he and his three friends must flee the village immediately (because what they have done is an exceptionally bad thing).

Reactions to Story 21:

Again, there are footnotes about how very bizarre the interactions between Trickster and his mother/sister-in-law is.  The absurdity evidently stems from the Trickster's true gender being male.  Because no man's mother-in-law would ever be permitted to tease him, the story instead calls her a sister-in-law; however, without the technically inappropriate teasing, the fact that it was inappropriate (because the Trickster is a son-in-law) would not have been discovered.  When one thinks about it in this way, the absurdity of the tale becomes a bit more obvious.

It is also important to note that Trickster has shamed the chief's son mightily by making him unwittingly perform homosexual acts.  This is why he must flee so quickly.

Text Notes on Story 22:

• Trickster thinks on his actions towards the chief's son and decides that it is time he should return to his true wife and son and get his life in order there.  He does so and is a good father until his son is grown.  Then, Trickster decides to travel once again.

Reaction to Story 22:

Trickster's doing things outside of the traditional normal way is much more evident to the modern reader than the occurrences in the previous stories.  The father leaving home upon his son's adulthood is clearly backwards; even today it is generally accepted that a child grows up and leaves his/her parents' home.  

Text Notes on Story 23:

• This story is primarily scatalogical humor.  Trickster hears a bulb on a bus repeatedly saying, "He who chews me, he will defecate; he will defecate" (80), so he eats it in order to prove it wrong.
• As Trickster continues on his travels, he begins "to break wind again and again" (81).  He continues to do so with such force that he lifts himself off the ground repeatedly (and higher each time) until it gets to the point that he hurts himself from the fall.  At this point, he must secure himself to the earth by holding onto a tree and finally by being buried under a dissembled lodge upon which people sit.
• After he scatters the lodging and people on it, Trickster finally feels that he must defecate, and once he does, he is unable to stop.  He winds up having to climb a very tall tree in order to stay out of his own feces; however the story ends with the pile of excrement slowly reaching him on his high branch.

Reaction to Story 23:

Apparently poop humor has been around forever.

Text Notes on Story 24:

• This is an extremely short story.
• Trickster falls off his tree and into a pile of his own excrement, thus becoming filthy.  Even the box in which he keeps his penis is very dirty, so he empties it and continues on.

 Text Notes on Story 25:

• The Trickster makes his way to water with the help of trees that guide him (by talking to him).  Once in the water, he takes an extremely long time to clean all the filth off of himself and his possessions.
• It is noted that without the help of the trees, Trickster would probably have died because the excrement had blinded him.

Reaction to Story 25:

This story kind of strays away from the poop-humor of the previous two stories and forces the reader to see that Trickster's humorous ways are actually very detrimental to his well-being.  By wanting to prove a bush wrong, he eats a fruit that leads to him severely injuring himself after falling from a severe fart.  This isn't the only ill thing to happen to him though!  He also falls into the excrement and gets it in his eyes, thus blinding him and leaving him helpless and vulnerable.

I think that there is something to be said for the trees helping him though.  After all, Trickster is the "first son" of the Earth, so he is not simply left to die.  It also illustrates that Trickster has some extraordinary help keeping him alive and in the position of a trickster.  If anything, the closing of these excerpts suggests that Trickster is an integral part of human life and that he cannot simply die and leave people in peace.  Thus, the trials he puts people through are also an integral part of life.

"Felix White Sr.'s Introduction to Wakjankaga"

This blog is comprised of my notes, reactions, and comments to Felix White Sr.'s "Introduction to Wakjankaga" as it is printed in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• "Stories about Wakjankaga"
• This opening tells the reader (or listener) that there will be four stories told in the story-telling session to come.
• The use of "ah" throughout this selection indicates that this is a literal transcripion ofstorytelling that creates a highly authentic feeling for the reader.
• "His Name"
• Wakjankaga earns his name by failing to save people from evil being (lines 35-38). 
• Remember that the literal translation of his name is "The Foolish One."
• Prior to this, Wakjankaga has been called Kununa, which means "the first son" (line 12).
• "His Duties"
• This tale explains a bit more specifically what Wakjankaga is supposed to have done when he came to Earth (his purpose as originally referenced in "His Name").
• "His Folly and His Travels"
• This again expounds on the original reference to Wakjankaga's job in "His Name."
• In this story, there is an explanation of how he becomes "fascinated by" people and "started to tease them" which led to his forgetting the original purpose of saving them from the evil beings (lines 8-9).
• This story ends with Wakjankaga beginning to travel.
• "His Longing"
• Wakjankaga's longing is for people and people's company. Specifically, he longs for the Winnebago people.  
• It is this longing that leads Wakjankaga to always return from his travels to the Winnebago people.

"Winnebago"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes on the headnote about the Winnebago people and their trickster tales as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Winnebago people are also known as the Ho-Chunks.  They are a Siovan-speaking group of people who were originally located in Wisconsin.
• They lived by hunting; fishing; planting squash, corn, and beans; and by gathering rice and berries.
• Trickster tales are very popular with the group and include two different tricksters.  
• First, there is Wakjankaga ('The Foolish One').
• There is also the Hare trickster.  

"Native American Trickster Tales"

This blog is comprised of my notes on the headnote for trickster tales as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• "trickster" - a term of somewhat vague origins used to describe a character who is "wandering, bawdy, gluttonous, and obscene" (72).  A trickster is usually male and sexually alligned, and though he is "selfish, amoral, foolish, destrcutive, and [...] given to duping others," his attitude against order is often 'new' because he is often one who helped to establish the original world order (72).  
• Trickster tales are some of the most ancient stories in Native American culture and have probably survived becasue they both instruct and please the listeners/readers.
• Culteral context enhances the enjoyment from trickster tales because they are not merely etiological.
• Like any tale in oral tradition, trickster tales may be different from one telling to another.
• The Norton editors encourage readers to try not to let their modern ideas of tricksters or the tricksters present in other cultural tales influence their readings of the Native American ones.