Indian Why Stories: Sparks from War Eagle's Lodge-Fire

by Frank Bird Linderman, Sarah Waller Hatfield (Introduction)

Old-man, or Napa, as he was called by the Blackfeet, is an extraordinary character in Indian stories. Both powerful and fallible, he appears in different god or creator, fool, thief, clown. The world he made is marvelous but filled with mistakes. As a result, tensions between the haves and have-nots explode with cosmic consequences in Indian Why Stories . Elders of the Blackfeet, Cree, and Chippewa (Ojibwa) people shared these wonderful tales with Frank B. Linderman in the late nineteenth century and early years of the twentieth century. War Eagle (the fictional name of Linderman’s friend and Chippewa medicine man Pah-nah-to, or Full-of-dew), tells these stories to attentive youngsters after the first frost in the fall. He speaks of animal people, including a deer and an antelope in a footrace, a dancing fox who convulses a buffalo with laughter, a white beaver and ghost people, a huge snake in love with the moon, a sparrow hawk of conscience, and many others. These sparkling tales reveal a reverence for life, honesty, and the unity of creation. This expanded edition features thirteen previously unpublished verse stories along with an introduction to those stories by Sarah Waller Hatfield, granddaughter of Linderman.

Genres: Folklore, History, Short Stories

290 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1915

Reviews

[وائل المنعم · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصص تعليمية ممتعة بطلها شخصية الشيخ، هذا الخالق العابث، الشيخ خالق الأشياء الذي يتصف في نفس الوقت بالجبن والغدر والشره والغباء، منظره وهو يحاول أكل التوت من على صفحة الماء ثم غضبته من التوت نفسه وهو على الأغصان يلخص شخصيته. استمتعت للغاية بهذه الحكايات وهي لحسن حظي أول كتاب أقرأه في سلسلة ثقافات الشعوب.
لم أعرف الفرق بين الشيخ والمانيتو الذي يبدو أكثر حكمة وصلاحا ومقدرة.

[Mahmoud · Rating 3 out of 5]

مجموعة حكايات الشعوب
ممتعة للغاية ده اول كتاب فى المجموعة بيتكلم عن الحكايات الشعبية للهنود الحمر

اكثر ما اثر فى و اسرني معتقدهم فى طوفان الله و سفينة نوح

مجموعة للقراءة و لكنها خياليه كعادة القصص الشعبية

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is from 1915 and has charming illustrations by Charles Russell. I especially loved the drawing of a beaver drumming while a skunk, a porcupine, a badger, and something I couldn't identify, danced. Another charming drawing was of a Native American man and a bear smoking a pipe together.
The stories involve "Old Man" who is a trickster character often seen as Coyote in other Native American stories. Old Man is really an asshole, and the chief who tells the stories makes that clear, but in a more polite way than I just did. He warns the children not to be uncaring and insensitive as Old Man is.
The book made me wish some things were still the same. The narrator of the book talks about hearing a wolf howl from the hillside while the stories were being told. At night, I mainly hear sirens and loud mufflers. It would be nice to have things like modern medicine, but still have nature and wildlife in plentitude.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting set of stories that definitely ignores the breadth of experiences in the Americas and romanticizes. Still this set of tales shows a group of tales that created the image that the public consciousness carries today. Not very well referenced but often really magical and inspiring.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than expected. But by a white guy, though.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember being infatuated with the title of this book when I was very young. Amazing how something's just never leave your memory.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are wonderful, sometimes surprisingly odd just-so teaching stories told by elders of the Blackfeet, Cree and Ojibwa peoples. They put a real twist on the notion of "intelligent design."