Legends of the Delaware Indians and Picture Writing

by Richard C. Adams

This collection of twenty-two Delaware Indian stories has long been sought out both by scholars and individuals. Beyond the lessons, the book introduces the richness of the original Delaware language to an English-speaking audience: four of these legends have been retranslated into the Delaware language by native Delaware speakers. Readers will find line-by-line translations that reveal the eventual transformation of a transliterated Delaware text into an English-language story.

168 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1997

Reviews

[Mark Isaak]

This book has four parts. First, a long (34-page) preface gives a history of Richard C. Adams. Next comes about 60 pages of stories, including folklore, legend, a little ethnographic description (how braves were taught), and two one-page poems. Then comes the "picture writing": ten pictures showing the autobiography of John Hill, with enough commentary with each to explain what they show. Finally, four of the stories are repeated in Lenape with interlinear literal and free translations. The whole appears to be extremely valuable to students of the history and culture of Delaware Indians, but only about half of the book appealed to my interest in the folklore itself.

[Pat]

An excellent collection of stories, with discussion of the Lenape language and of the translation of several stories.