1. Mythology and Native Americans Objectives: 1.To become familiar with the definition of and the elements of mythology 2.To become familiar with elements and vocabulary of NA mythology

2. Meaning of Mythology: Greek Roots – Mythos: word, story + – Logos: logic, word of truth = mythology

3. Characteristics of myths: A religious story, a sacred text, it involves the existence of a supernatural being, such as a god or goddess

4. It will seek to explain some aspect of the origin of something, such as where people came from, or as in the creation of the universe

5. It connects to other similar stories within a culture

6. Its authorship is communally shared, not attributable to any single person, it came into existence through oral tradition, and may have more than one version

7. It is believed to be essentially true for those in the society for which it is part of their cultural mythology

8. What questions may myths answer? Who are we? How was the world made? What is appropriate behavior? What happens to us at the moment of death, and after?

9. How does a myth differ from a legend or folktale? Legend: a story from the past about a person or event that is believed to have been historical, i.e. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

10. Folktale: a story that is pure fiction, and a symbolic way of presenting how humans cope with the world. Folktales use people, or animals who speak and act like people, i.e. Paul Bunyan

11. Who is a mythographer? A mythographer, or a mythologist, is a compiler of myths. The word derives from Greek mythografia, "writing of fables” from mythos "speech, word, fact, story, narrative + graphο, "to write, to inscribe”

12. Who is Joseph Campbell? Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience, and he was a good friend to George Lucas of “Star Wars” fame!

13. Mythology as Culture Mythology is often an entire body of myths of a given culture, as in Greek mythology. They contain a large number of stories involving a pantheon of gods and goddesses, who may be said to even live today and to inhabit a sacred location or to be embodied by certain objects or animals.

14. Elements of Native American Mythology The sense of the sacredness of nature Behind all there is a single life force, “The Great Mystery” An animistic tradition, in which all nature, animate and inanimate, is permeated by spirit

15. Animal characters, who often speak to humans and assist them The four directions, which are a central point of balance, often represented by colors and animals

16. Types of myths Creation myths Primal parents (Earth Mother) Hero’s quest Immigration myths Trickster myths

17. Literary Devices in Native American Mythology A. Elements of myths: 1. Repetition 2. Enumeration, often in 4’s or 7’s 3. Incremental development, step by step 4. Ritual beginnings and endings (not “Once upon a time”, but culturally similar)

18. B.. Specific Structure 5.Harmony-balance 6.Disruption-one or more events disrupts harmony 7.Reaction-measures used to overcome disruption 8.Conclusion-restored harmony C. Terse style, short sentences (in the writing down of previously oral stories, some of this is lost)