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Ινδιάνοι - Φυλές, Έθιμα και Ιστορία
Originally published in 1914, under title: Myths of the North American Indians
161 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1913
32 people are currently reading
419 people want to read
About the author
Lewis Spence
308books47followersJames Lewis Thomas Chalmers Spence was a Scottish journalist, poet, author, folklorist and student of the occult.
After graduating from Edinburgh University he pursued a career in journalism. He was an editor at The Scotsman 1899-1906, editor of The Edinburgh Magazine for a year, 1904�05, then an editor at The British Weekly, 1906-09. In this time his interest was sparked in the myth and folklore of Mexico and Central America, resulting in his popularisation of the Mayan Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Mayas (1908). He compiled A Dictionary of Mythology (1910 and numerous additional volumes).
Spence was an ardent Scottish nationalist, He was the founder of the Scottish National Movement which later merged to form the National Party of Scotland and which in turn merged to form the Scottish National Party. He unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat for Midlothian and Peebles Northern at a by-election in 1929.
He also wrote poetry in English and Scots. His Collected Poems were published in 1953. He investigated Scottish folklore and wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in Mysteries of Celtic Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques.
Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together with his examination of the cultures of western Europe and north-west Africa, led him almost inevitably to the question of Atlantis. During the 1920s he published a series of books which sought to rescue the topic from the occultists who had more or less brought it into disrepute. These works, amongst which were The Problem of Atlantis (1924) and History of Atlantis (1927), continued the line of research inaugurated by Ignatius Donnelly and looked at the lost island as a Bronze Age civilization, that formed a cultural link with the New World, which he invoked through examples he found of striking parallels between the early civilizations of the Old and New Worlds.
Spence's erudition and the width of his reading, his industry and imagination were all impressive; yet the conclusions he reached, avoiding peer-reviewed journals, have been almost universally rejected by mainstream scholarship. His popularisations met stiff criticism in professional journals, but his continued appeal among theory hobbyists is summed up by a reviewer of The Problem of Atlantis (1924) in The Geographical Journal: "Mr. Spence is an industrious writer, and, even if he fails to convince, has done service in marshalling the evidence and has produced an entertaining volume which is well worth reading." Nevertheless, he seems to have had some influence upon the ideas of controversial author Immanuel Velikovsky, and as his books have come into the public domain, they have been successfully reprinted and some have been scanned for the Internet.
Spence's 1940 book Occult Causes of the Present War seems to have been the first book in the field of Nazi occultism.
Over his long career, he published more than forty books, many of which remain in print to this day.
After graduating from Edinburgh University he pursued a career in journalism. He was an editor at The Scotsman 1899-1906, editor of The Edinburgh Magazine for a year, 1904�05, then an editor at The British Weekly, 1906-09. In this time his interest was sparked in the myth and folklore of Mexico and Central America, resulting in his popularisation of the Mayan Popul Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiché Mayas (1908). He compiled A Dictionary of Mythology (1910 and numerous additional volumes).
Spence was an ardent Scottish nationalist, He was the founder of the Scottish National Movement which later merged to form the National Party of Scotland and which in turn merged to form the Scottish National Party. He unsuccessfully contested a parliamentary seat for Midlothian and Peebles Northern at a by-election in 1929.
He also wrote poetry in English and Scots. His Collected Poems were published in 1953. He investigated Scottish folklore and wrote about Brythonic rites and traditions in Mysteries of Celtic Britain (1905). In this book, Spence theorized that the original Britons were descendants of a people that migrated from Northwest Africa and were probably related to the Berbers and the Basques.
Spence's researches into the mythology and culture of the New World, together with his examination of the cultures of western Europe and north-west Africa, led him almost inevitably to the question of Atlantis. During the 1920s he published a series of books which sought to rescue the topic from the occultists who had more or less brought it into disrepute. These works, amongst which were The Problem of Atlantis (1924) and History of Atlantis (1927), continued the line of research inaugurated by Ignatius Donnelly and looked at the lost island as a Bronze Age civilization, that formed a cultural link with the New World, which he invoked through examples he found of striking parallels between the early civilizations of the Old and New Worlds.
Spence's erudition and the width of his reading, his industry and imagination were all impressive; yet the conclusions he reached, avoiding peer-reviewed journals, have been almost universally rejected by mainstream scholarship. His popularisations met stiff criticism in professional journals, but his continued appeal among theory hobbyists is summed up by a reviewer of The Problem of Atlantis (1924) in The Geographical Journal: "Mr. Spence is an industrious writer, and, even if he fails to convince, has done service in marshalling the evidence and has produced an entertaining volume which is well worth reading." Nevertheless, he seems to have had some influence upon the ideas of controversial author Immanuel Velikovsky, and as his books have come into the public domain, they have been successfully reprinted and some have been scanned for the Internet.
Spence's 1940 book Occult Causes of the Present War seems to have been the first book in the field of Nazi occultism.
Over his long career, he published more than forty books, many of which remain in print to this day.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 21, 2019
DNF'd around 28% because the racism became too hard to stomach.
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I initially approached this book with a healthy level of caution, knowing it was written by a white guy in 1914, but even that wasn't enough for me to find anything redeemable. Even with a book as racist as , you can easily skip the titular Remus scenes and just read the stories (and pretend, with varying degrees of success, that the awful pidgin speech is just a Southern dialect). With this, the racism was heavily sprinkled throughout and virtually unavoidable. Spence kept interrupting his own narration with comments on how "primitive" these religions are, how the "savage man" doesn't have the cognition to tell the difference between living things and non-living things, about how "the red man" has no sense of good or evil, etc.
I would grudge this a two-star rating if this was one of a few Native American mythology collections, but there are more and better ones out there. Read those instead. /list/show/1...
-------------------
I initially approached this book with a healthy level of caution, knowing it was written by a white guy in 1914, but even that wasn't enough for me to find anything redeemable. Even with a book as racist as , you can easily skip the titular Remus scenes and just read the stories (and pretend, with varying degrees of success, that the awful pidgin speech is just a Southern dialect). With this, the racism was heavily sprinkled throughout and virtually unavoidable. Spence kept interrupting his own narration with comments on how "primitive" these religions are, how the "savage man" doesn't have the cognition to tell the difference between living things and non-living things, about how "the red man" has no sense of good or evil, etc.
I would grudge this a two-star rating if this was one of a few Native American mythology collections, but there are more and better ones out there. Read those instead. /list/show/1...
March 10, 2012
In the past I've been a huge fan of the myths and legends series re-published by Senate House but on starting this one I realised in the past I must have only read books about Europeans and Egyptians. Written in 1914 this had some of the worst racist descriptions of Native Americans I'd read in a long time. There were countless uses of the words "red skinned savages" and the fact that they were an inferior race, cultural, intellectualy and religiously. It was a little sickening! And this from a guy who at the end tried to say that we shouldn't judge the "savages" as harshly as they had been judged. If this was meant to be a fair anaylisis I'm horrified.
Thankfully only the first half is full of this crap "anthropological" approach. When the legends actually begin they are very enjoyable. The myths at least aren't all jumbled together but are broken up into different myths from different areas and different tribes so you can get some sense of the different beliefs and the different world views. I really liked the Iroquois legends they were very much about people using magic and had many less animal stories. They had a wonderful story about a boy who was helped by a skeleton who saved his life several times. In the end the boy came back and was able to resurrect the skeleton and the other skeletons in the area. I just really liked the idea that not all skeletons were evil.
My favourites though were the Chinook legends from the Northwest. They had a wonderful trickster character called Blue Jay and his sister Ioi who married into the land of the dead. She was more clever and resourceful than Blue Jay and ended up fooling him into betraying himself a few times. I went in search of more legends of them online and found several websites that had very similar versions of the stories to the ones I'd been reading. This made me think that despite the anthropological racism in the book the mythology itself was quite accurate. If you can ignore those parts and just read the stories it makes for a good book.
Thankfully only the first half is full of this crap "anthropological" approach. When the legends actually begin they are very enjoyable. The myths at least aren't all jumbled together but are broken up into different myths from different areas and different tribes so you can get some sense of the different beliefs and the different world views. I really liked the Iroquois legends they were very much about people using magic and had many less animal stories. They had a wonderful story about a boy who was helped by a skeleton who saved his life several times. In the end the boy came back and was able to resurrect the skeleton and the other skeletons in the area. I just really liked the idea that not all skeletons were evil.
My favourites though were the Chinook legends from the Northwest. They had a wonderful trickster character called Blue Jay and his sister Ioi who married into the land of the dead. She was more clever and resourceful than Blue Jay and ended up fooling him into betraying himself a few times. I went in search of more legends of them online and found several websites that had very similar versions of the stories to the ones I'd been reading. This made me think that despite the anthropological racism in the book the mythology itself was quite accurate. If you can ignore those parts and just read the stories it makes for a good book.
May 25, 2011
My favorites are those from the Lakota, most especially the "Blackfoot Day & Night Myth", which is very close to how it was told in my family.
October 18, 2017
I didn't like the use of the racial slur of "Red Man" throughout the first two chapters. Spence used "aboriginies" a few times and other less offensive terms but I abhor racism; and the term (along with 'redskin'; stressed 'redskin' not used in this book) was used as a slur at least by the 1850s. The term "Red Race" is also used, to be more blunt. This book was published in 1914, and for a researcher and historian writing about myths and such, should have at least known that, even if from Scotland where the terminology could be different but their histories are about those in the Americas. I know for the time, some would note, "It wasn't racist to say" but actually it was because they are differentiating one people from another people by the color of their skin. I know there's debate whether it was on their skin color or because some tribes wore red a lot, and that's why but it became disparaging by the 1850s, this book was published in 1914. We're all human; call them by their tribal names, if necessary. Perhaps redundant but less offensive, I feel. Don't get me wrong: Spence does use different tribal names but as a whole it's the "Red Man" and/or the "Red Race".
I can't ignore that. Yes, "whites" and "blacks" (or 'white man' or 'black man') are infrequently used but it's not the same. They're primarily called "African" or "European" origin, even Asians are referred to as Asians; though also infrequently 'Oriental' though the term 'Oriental' (from the French 'orientale') only became derogatory during the 1970s and afterward. I could go deeper but my rantesque point has been made.
I read it all (with a few minor breaks) in about six hours. At times very detailed on the different tribes, origins, living, etc., and other times lacked somewhat; perhaps the information not available at the time or just not pertinent enough; I don't know. Except for the above, I quite enjoyed the read. The intrinsic detail of what each tribe (not each but a page worth) wore was a bit too much for me. Spence could have easily just made a glossary of that in another book, or at the end of this one. I found it redundant, especially since it really wasn't expanded on; not a contradiction on my part because if you're going to go to the trouble might as well go all the way. The inclusions of war-songs was also good. I enjoy poetry, lyricals, and the such. It has its negatives, of course such as "As with most barbarian people, the main burden of the work of the community falls upon them." [in concern to tribal women - page 73] That was true for civilised women of the time, as well. Even up to the mid 20th cent. and in some civilised socities in the 21st cent.; Spence's usage of 'savage' throughout made me laugh silently. In all do course: Europeans who came to the Americas were the 'savages', if the term were to be used; which it shouldn't be because it was always used incorrectly. Yes, their meaning was 'uncivilised' but who were the uncivilised peoples: ones apparently fleeing oppression to come to a place where they end up oppressing the population or those who live in a society of rudimentary life? Think about it.
I like how Chapter II basically started: "Savage man, unable to distinguish between the animate and inanimate," [page 80] -- um, that was true for many people during that time period; and since Christianity is spoken a lot throughout this book (especially of those considered the 'civilised' during the time period(s) he references) they too, it could be said, had a difficult time doing such things as pertained to their own faith and religion. That's the ultimate hypocrisy of that line; and, Spence knew that being who he was, in my opinion. To be fair to Spence, he does mention such from Scottish history and other histories of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., back in the olden days when they too had similar beliefs of the tribes of the Americas but seems to fail in the connection of current (his time and even now) religions who hold such similarities, as well. As stated: hypocrisy.
I found the fetish section, in Chapter II to also be kind of hypocritical. All I could think of while reading it was "Christians drink the blood of Christ and eat his flesh" (metaphorically speaking) "as bread (wafers) and wine (or juice)" and "they display a crucifix" (sometimes with Jesus attached to it) "on their buildings, homes, around their necks" etc., How is that different? I really don't see the difference. That's the ultimate problem in referencing people as "savages" in the same tongue. Typically Protestants tend to just wear Jesus around their necks but Catholics sometimes, in addition to or instead of, wear material dedicated to Saints and/or the mother of Jesus. And beads, have no idea what that signifies but let's not forget about the beads. Again: That's the ultimate problem in referencing people as "savages" in the same tongue.
Personally, I have no problem with the varying descriptions; that's fine, one of the reasons to read this book to learn the facts from the fiction but inserting words such as "savage" in concern to the differences of the 'civilised' and the 'uncivilised' is just moronic if one does not point to current practices of 'civilised' peoples practicing similar things. Even in 1914 when this was first published, prior to that during the time periods in reference because while in a sense you do get a separation of fact and fiction you end up getting more fiction in the end with things left unsaid.
Sometimes the passages Spence quotes from other books are more harsh with words in concern to the tribes of the Americas than Spence ever is. Then you get to read more hypocrisy; perhaps that's the ultimate 'myth' Spence is laying out? Sadly, if that were only true. When you get to page 103 it speaks of tribes in the Americas seeing their god as nothing but good. They do no wrong. As if Christians, Jews, Muslims etc., see their god (the same god) as ever doing wrong. The fact that Spence doesn't make this obvious connection is baffling to me. But, in defense of Spence he does point out by quoting another how Christians inserted their own views on god(s), demons, hell and the like, into tribal religions. But it took over 100 pages for him to get there. Still, in his defense�
Page 112 is when he truly lost me; in the sense that he thought the tribes of the Americas were not even intellectual. Too 'primitive' as he put it "Some writers think that the serpent symbolized the Indian idea of eternity, but it is unlikely that such a recondite conception would appeal to a primitive folk." And why not? Many American tribes used Mathematics and/or a number system,and Astronomy as the basis of their religion and lives. Evidence is there. Apparently Spence forgot about that…or perhaps not. Of course by the end of the chapter, Spence refers to tribes of the Americas (by implication) as "savage barbarians". To be more specific: 'untamed primitive'. Now, one could say he was speaking of early tribes and not more recent ones (as of 1914) but no, he even mentions of recent (as of 1914) tribes. Chapter III finally gets to the mythologies of the tribes. Perhaps skipping the rest and going there would have been more apropos.
Chapter III: Recommend: "The Story of Kutoyis"
Chapter IV: Recommend: "The Friendly Skeleton", "The Lost Sister", "The Healing Waters", "The Pity of the Trees", "The Finding of the Waters"
I can't ignore that. Yes, "whites" and "blacks" (or 'white man' or 'black man') are infrequently used but it's not the same. They're primarily called "African" or "European" origin, even Asians are referred to as Asians; though also infrequently 'Oriental' though the term 'Oriental' (from the French 'orientale') only became derogatory during the 1970s and afterward. I could go deeper but my rantesque point has been made.
I read it all (with a few minor breaks) in about six hours. At times very detailed on the different tribes, origins, living, etc., and other times lacked somewhat; perhaps the information not available at the time or just not pertinent enough; I don't know. Except for the above, I quite enjoyed the read. The intrinsic detail of what each tribe (not each but a page worth) wore was a bit too much for me. Spence could have easily just made a glossary of that in another book, or at the end of this one. I found it redundant, especially since it really wasn't expanded on; not a contradiction on my part because if you're going to go to the trouble might as well go all the way. The inclusions of war-songs was also good. I enjoy poetry, lyricals, and the such. It has its negatives, of course such as "As with most barbarian people, the main burden of the work of the community falls upon them." [in concern to tribal women - page 73] That was true for civilised women of the time, as well. Even up to the mid 20th cent. and in some civilised socities in the 21st cent.; Spence's usage of 'savage' throughout made me laugh silently. In all do course: Europeans who came to the Americas were the 'savages', if the term were to be used; which it shouldn't be because it was always used incorrectly. Yes, their meaning was 'uncivilised' but who were the uncivilised peoples: ones apparently fleeing oppression to come to a place where they end up oppressing the population or those who live in a society of rudimentary life? Think about it.
I like how Chapter II basically started: "Savage man, unable to distinguish between the animate and inanimate," [page 80] -- um, that was true for many people during that time period; and since Christianity is spoken a lot throughout this book (especially of those considered the 'civilised' during the time period(s) he references) they too, it could be said, had a difficult time doing such things as pertained to their own faith and religion. That's the ultimate hypocrisy of that line; and, Spence knew that being who he was, in my opinion. To be fair to Spence, he does mention such from Scottish history and other histories of ancient China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc., back in the olden days when they too had similar beliefs of the tribes of the Americas but seems to fail in the connection of current (his time and even now) religions who hold such similarities, as well. As stated: hypocrisy.
I found the fetish section, in Chapter II to also be kind of hypocritical. All I could think of while reading it was "Christians drink the blood of Christ and eat his flesh" (metaphorically speaking) "as bread (wafers) and wine (or juice)" and "they display a crucifix" (sometimes with Jesus attached to it) "on their buildings, homes, around their necks" etc., How is that different? I really don't see the difference. That's the ultimate problem in referencing people as "savages" in the same tongue. Typically Protestants tend to just wear Jesus around their necks but Catholics sometimes, in addition to or instead of, wear material dedicated to Saints and/or the mother of Jesus. And beads, have no idea what that signifies but let's not forget about the beads. Again: That's the ultimate problem in referencing people as "savages" in the same tongue.
Personally, I have no problem with the varying descriptions; that's fine, one of the reasons to read this book to learn the facts from the fiction but inserting words such as "savage" in concern to the differences of the 'civilised' and the 'uncivilised' is just moronic if one does not point to current practices of 'civilised' peoples practicing similar things. Even in 1914 when this was first published, prior to that during the time periods in reference because while in a sense you do get a separation of fact and fiction you end up getting more fiction in the end with things left unsaid.
Sometimes the passages Spence quotes from other books are more harsh with words in concern to the tribes of the Americas than Spence ever is. Then you get to read more hypocrisy; perhaps that's the ultimate 'myth' Spence is laying out? Sadly, if that were only true. When you get to page 103 it speaks of tribes in the Americas seeing their god as nothing but good. They do no wrong. As if Christians, Jews, Muslims etc., see their god (the same god) as ever doing wrong. The fact that Spence doesn't make this obvious connection is baffling to me. But, in defense of Spence he does point out by quoting another how Christians inserted their own views on god(s), demons, hell and the like, into tribal religions. But it took over 100 pages for him to get there. Still, in his defense�
Page 112 is when he truly lost me; in the sense that he thought the tribes of the Americas were not even intellectual. Too 'primitive' as he put it "Some writers think that the serpent symbolized the Indian idea of eternity, but it is unlikely that such a recondite conception would appeal to a primitive folk." And why not? Many American tribes used Mathematics and/or a number system,and Astronomy as the basis of their religion and lives. Evidence is there. Apparently Spence forgot about that…or perhaps not. Of course by the end of the chapter, Spence refers to tribes of the Americas (by implication) as "savage barbarians". To be more specific: 'untamed primitive'. Now, one could say he was speaking of early tribes and not more recent ones (as of 1914) but no, he even mentions of recent (as of 1914) tribes. Chapter III finally gets to the mythologies of the tribes. Perhaps skipping the rest and going there would have been more apropos.
Chapter III: Recommend: "The Story of Kutoyis"
Chapter IV: Recommend: "The Friendly Skeleton", "The Lost Sister", "The Healing Waters", "The Pity of the Trees", "The Finding of the Waters"
July 20, 2018
Something to keep in mind when you pick this book up is the fact that it was written in 1914. That means it is racist as all get out. The really annoying thing about this book is that the guy writing it thinks he, himself, and his contemporary researches into Native American cultures are not racist so there's a lot of "look at how much credit I'm giving these obviously inferior people!" in the tone of the book.
And, again, because it was written in 1914, I think its fair to assume that Native American cultural research and anthropology have come quite a long way since then, so a good chunk of the info in this book is probably grotesquely out of date.
The stories themselves are serviceably written. Stuff is skipped because the writer felt like it a lot, and while the stories are good, the style with which they're told is pretty dry. Also, there is an excessive amount of "this story reminds me of this story from this culture..." I don't care about that. Let readers draw that conclusion if they want too. Yes, you are a terribly learned man, now tell the freaking story.
I'm not that into the topic of Native American culture, but there have to be better books about it than this. Look for one of those.
And, again, because it was written in 1914, I think its fair to assume that Native American cultural research and anthropology have come quite a long way since then, so a good chunk of the info in this book is probably grotesquely out of date.
The stories themselves are serviceably written. Stuff is skipped because the writer felt like it a lot, and while the stories are good, the style with which they're told is pretty dry. Also, there is an excessive amount of "this story reminds me of this story from this culture..." I don't care about that. Let readers draw that conclusion if they want too. Yes, you are a terribly learned man, now tell the freaking story.
I'm not that into the topic of Native American culture, but there have to be better books about it than this. Look for one of those.
Read
August 17, 2021REMEMBER THIS IS A 100 yrs old
Growing up in a Native Community on the Lewis and Clark trail I feel I have learned a lot by watching and learning from their celebrations and customs. I love taking a deep dive into the Indigenous people and their leaders, what happened to them and where their descents are now. But there is so much I do not know and that makes me believe there are areas of the United States that have no clue how Natives live now, let alone lived back when.
The Myths and Legends of any culture are amazing to discover. And this body-of-work proves that.
Read this and then ask for more recommendations. Embracing what makes everyone unique is as important as ever.
A book for students of human curiosity.
Growing up in a Native Community on the Lewis and Clark trail I feel I have learned a lot by watching and learning from their celebrations and customs. I love taking a deep dive into the Indigenous people and their leaders, what happened to them and where their descents are now. But there is so much I do not know and that makes me believe there are areas of the United States that have no clue how Natives live now, let alone lived back when.
The Myths and Legends of any culture are amazing to discover. And this body-of-work proves that.
Read this and then ask for more recommendations. Embracing what makes everyone unique is as important as ever.
A book for students of human curiosity.
March 16, 2018
I have mixed feelings regarding this book. The first third or so and the last 15-20 pages is often quite racist or uses anthropologically racist terms. However, the actual myths are related as you would expect stories to be told without any racist terms. I enjoy reading myths of all cultures, but I don’t want to read someone’s racist viewpoint on a culture.
September 27, 2020
Comments claiming this book was “too racist to stomach� were assuredly written by double-standard liberals who hate the British Empire’s naval expansion period, and if I were to guess, such commentators assuredly hate and despise early European academia also. No matter how illuminating the content is, no matter how many folk-lore examples are cross-analyzed, or multiple citations are provided for author’s train of thought, they will still unjustly spit on this book.
Ah, yes, I can see them now. Sitting in their 21st century domicile made possible by Western civilization’s technology and prosperity which we (perhaps foolishly) shared with these anti-white ingrates who have dedicated their lives to undermining the very foundation of academia in Western thought, fueled by their spiteful hatred of the evolution of the White race. Someone should tell these people that Native Indians owned slaves too. Africans owned slaves. Asians owned slaves. Genocide and slavery isn’t exclusively a 19th century European enterprise, though granted, the Anglosphere was the most efficient and ruthless. But that’s not what this book’s about, and more’s the pity it’s all they see. This book, actually has a lot of great mythological and folk-lore content, but try explaining that to the anti-white communists. Yeah, right. Ha.
To them, the entire scholastic subject of exploring the mythology and meaning of the Native American tribe’s polytheistic traditions, and North American paganism, is overshadowed and eclipsed by their pre-programmed petty criticism of manifest destiny spoon-fed guilt, to the point where they’re not even participating in any learning process but rather a hating process to further kick an already dead and kicked horse. In truth, for them to reduce this (wide and rich) subject and stray away from the entire purpose, which is to study Native folk-lore, but instead to veer toward their old-record white-guilt tik-for-tak mind-game actually reveals such modernistic readers as the dim-witted ingrates they are. I say this because if they actually cared about the subject of Native folk-lore then their comment would be at least be about the book itself, instead of their sour disposition about what they believe to be an otherwise good book but oh no! It’s tainted because it was written by a mean ole� intelligent White male academic, whoops, I guess there isn’t any redeeming content to learn from despite the fact that the author is smarter than any of us probably. Hell, the author (Lewis Spence) might even have partial Native American heritage, yet assuredly the contemporary leftist reader will refuse to acknowledge this good book for what it actually is; a good book.
All they see is another chance to condemn and ridicule 20th century academics! These people, my god. But in any case, yes, it’s a great book. I keep a copy in my office, and I return to it a couple times each year, where I can jump to a particular section to read about a folk-lore legend, or a superstitious practice of say, the Huron, or the inhabitants of the Algonquin dominant regions (of the time). Only criticism that I have on the book itself is that there’s a lacking of information on the wendigo, Bigfoot, and other cryptids, which you can bet were indeed a part of their cultural traditions of the boundaries between normal vs. abnormal life.
Ah, yes, I can see them now. Sitting in their 21st century domicile made possible by Western civilization’s technology and prosperity which we (perhaps foolishly) shared with these anti-white ingrates who have dedicated their lives to undermining the very foundation of academia in Western thought, fueled by their spiteful hatred of the evolution of the White race. Someone should tell these people that Native Indians owned slaves too. Africans owned slaves. Asians owned slaves. Genocide and slavery isn’t exclusively a 19th century European enterprise, though granted, the Anglosphere was the most efficient and ruthless. But that’s not what this book’s about, and more’s the pity it’s all they see. This book, actually has a lot of great mythological and folk-lore content, but try explaining that to the anti-white communists. Yeah, right. Ha.
To them, the entire scholastic subject of exploring the mythology and meaning of the Native American tribe’s polytheistic traditions, and North American paganism, is overshadowed and eclipsed by their pre-programmed petty criticism of manifest destiny spoon-fed guilt, to the point where they’re not even participating in any learning process but rather a hating process to further kick an already dead and kicked horse. In truth, for them to reduce this (wide and rich) subject and stray away from the entire purpose, which is to study Native folk-lore, but instead to veer toward their old-record white-guilt tik-for-tak mind-game actually reveals such modernistic readers as the dim-witted ingrates they are. I say this because if they actually cared about the subject of Native folk-lore then their comment would be at least be about the book itself, instead of their sour disposition about what they believe to be an otherwise good book but oh no! It’s tainted because it was written by a mean ole� intelligent White male academic, whoops, I guess there isn’t any redeeming content to learn from despite the fact that the author is smarter than any of us probably. Hell, the author (Lewis Spence) might even have partial Native American heritage, yet assuredly the contemporary leftist reader will refuse to acknowledge this good book for what it actually is; a good book.
All they see is another chance to condemn and ridicule 20th century academics! These people, my god. But in any case, yes, it’s a great book. I keep a copy in my office, and I return to it a couple times each year, where I can jump to a particular section to read about a folk-lore legend, or a superstitious practice of say, the Huron, or the inhabitants of the Algonquin dominant regions (of the time). Only criticism that I have on the book itself is that there’s a lacking of information on the wendigo, Bigfoot, and other cryptids, which you can bet were indeed a part of their cultural traditions of the boundaries between normal vs. abnormal life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2023
The people who knock this for being racist clearly have no concept of the idea that people used different words in the past. On multiple occasions the author specifically pleads on behalf of American Indians that the white man acknowledge their skill, intellect, and uniqueness (yes he refers to people by the color of their skin, but does so only to reference a group of people, not to distinguish a quality or value based upon that color). I understand that modern people would prefer the message be delivered to meet their personal sensitivities but that doesn't change the fact that they do in fact share the same values as the author.
As for the stories and their presentation, they are much like the stories of ancient European gods. They fight, get into trouble, and they on occasion come to the aid of people. They have a unique quality that I am not personally familiar with in other mythologies as far as how much humans interact with/become animals, but that might just be my own personal ignorance. I would have liked more observations/analysis from the author. However, my goal in reading this book was to gain a familiarity with a people/region/time period that I am rather unfamiliar with. I feel that I have gained a deeper appreciation for them and their mythologies.
As for the stories and their presentation, they are much like the stories of ancient European gods. They fight, get into trouble, and they on occasion come to the aid of people. They have a unique quality that I am not personally familiar with in other mythologies as far as how much humans interact with/become animals, but that might just be my own personal ignorance. I would have liked more observations/analysis from the author. However, my goal in reading this book was to gain a familiarity with a people/region/time period that I am rather unfamiliar with. I feel that I have gained a deeper appreciation for them and their mythologies.
March 23, 2020
The fact that this book was written in 1914 makes it a bit boring to read at times and borderline racist at other times.
I feel like it lacks a lot of information, but again, can be because of the time when it was written.
I enjoyed some of the stories and stuck with it to the very end.
Hope I'll find a better (and recently published) book about myths and natives in North America, would love to know more about them.
I feel like it lacks a lot of information, but again, can be because of the time when it was written.
I enjoyed some of the stories and stuck with it to the very end.
Hope I'll find a better (and recently published) book about myths and natives in North America, would love to know more about them.
May 18, 2023
Interesting. I enjoyed it. People who are claiming it is racist will also find plain oatmeal to be wild and offensive. Grow skin thicker than tissue paper and you will find some great American Indian myths.
December 10, 2024
I hate to shit on a piece of work that was published more than a century ago, but the reality of the situation is that this book should only exist as a reference. It's ideas are archaic and inaccurate, serves best as a lens into the mind of White anthropologists in the late 19th century.
March 18, 2019
This book is very in-depth where research is concerned. Everything is covered about North American Indians which I loved. If you are interested in History this book's for you.
December 30, 2023
Its an enjoyable book on America Indian mythology
December 16, 2022
Native American Myths and Legends is a reprint of a book originally published in 1914. The writing endeavors to record the stories and religious practices of a variety of cultural groups found across indigenous North America. One of the things the book quite clearly points out is that the term "Native American" is about as broad as you can get. With hundreds (if not thousands) of languages and dialects and a huge assortment of religious and social practices, it is practically impossible to assign a particular description to what constitutes a "Native American."
Historically speaking, some were nomadic and clan-based, some more urban and sedentary; some were matriarchal, some were patriarchal; some held great respect for life, and some practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism (more on that later). That the book was written in the early 20th century is not lost on the reader, and anyone who reads it should approach it with that mindset.
Yet despite the innate bias of the writer, it does endeavor to approach the topic of indigenous culture fairly, and the commentary at the end notes that its original purpose was both to preserve cultures that were quickly dying out thanks to the rapid expansion of white European colonizers and to argue for the dignity and importance of the indigenous people within society at that time. I imagine that for the time in which the original book was published, it was quite progressive. There are also additions by a more modern writer that help smooth over some of the older understandings and concepts that are represented in the original manuscript.
I have always been fascinated by anthropology, what makes people groups what they are and where cultural and religious behaviors stem from. Understanding a culture group's mythology is a major key to understanding who they are as people, and there are plenty of stories in this collection that caught my attention both from the perspective of a storyteller and from the perspective of a person who really, truly does want to understand and appreciate the diversity that makes the world and its people so beautiful.
The writing is, on the whole, accessible and understandable for the average reader despite being over 100 years old, and there are elements within many of the stories that struck me as familiar from the perspective of a fantasy writer. I found many characters and stories in this book to be interesting potential source material for ideas I might use in my fantasy writing later down the road.
The first thing that made this book a bit difficult to get through for me was the verbiage that makes it clear early on that this is a manuscript written during a time when racism and white superiority were the norm. Every time I read words like "heathen," "barbarian," and "savage," I very physically could do nothing but cringe and wonder why I was continuing to read the book. And while there are several stories that are well-written and interesting, the vast majority of the writing is dry and academic. Unless you're committed to reading to the end, it is one of those books that quickly becomes an example of how not to write about myth and legend.
Also, there should be a clear trigger warning on this book, as there is a segment toward the end that goes into detail about a ritual in which a young girl is kidnapped, manipulated, and brutally murdered as a part of a regular religious ceremony. That was the one part of the book I could not read in its entirety. So...yeah. If you're into Criminal Minds, you'd probably be fine. I am not that person. I have very clear limits on the amount of cruelty and violence I can stomach reading about.
From the perspective of someone who acknowledges that ideas and understandings of the world change, and believes that it is only in understanding the past that we can build a better future, I don't regret reading this book. I did learn quite a bit about the indigenous cultures of North America, something that extends far beyond feather headdresses and flint arrowheads. I appreciated, too, that in the end of the book it's made clear that the author's intent was to earn understanding and respect for the indigenous people who were, at that time in particular, very poorly treated.
Do I think it could have been done better? Absolutely. And I'm still looking for something along this vein that maybe has a more accurate (and more interesting), less biased approach to portraying the content. Still, it did what I intended for it to do. It gave me a better appreciation for (and understanding of) a way of thinking I am trying to understand and fairly portray in my writing. So in that, it was a book worth reading.
Historically speaking, some were nomadic and clan-based, some more urban and sedentary; some were matriarchal, some were patriarchal; some held great respect for life, and some practiced human sacrifice and cannibalism (more on that later). That the book was written in the early 20th century is not lost on the reader, and anyone who reads it should approach it with that mindset.
Yet despite the innate bias of the writer, it does endeavor to approach the topic of indigenous culture fairly, and the commentary at the end notes that its original purpose was both to preserve cultures that were quickly dying out thanks to the rapid expansion of white European colonizers and to argue for the dignity and importance of the indigenous people within society at that time. I imagine that for the time in which the original book was published, it was quite progressive. There are also additions by a more modern writer that help smooth over some of the older understandings and concepts that are represented in the original manuscript.
I have always been fascinated by anthropology, what makes people groups what they are and where cultural and religious behaviors stem from. Understanding a culture group's mythology is a major key to understanding who they are as people, and there are plenty of stories in this collection that caught my attention both from the perspective of a storyteller and from the perspective of a person who really, truly does want to understand and appreciate the diversity that makes the world and its people so beautiful.
The writing is, on the whole, accessible and understandable for the average reader despite being over 100 years old, and there are elements within many of the stories that struck me as familiar from the perspective of a fantasy writer. I found many characters and stories in this book to be interesting potential source material for ideas I might use in my fantasy writing later down the road.
The first thing that made this book a bit difficult to get through for me was the verbiage that makes it clear early on that this is a manuscript written during a time when racism and white superiority were the norm. Every time I read words like "heathen," "barbarian," and "savage," I very physically could do nothing but cringe and wonder why I was continuing to read the book. And while there are several stories that are well-written and interesting, the vast majority of the writing is dry and academic. Unless you're committed to reading to the end, it is one of those books that quickly becomes an example of how not to write about myth and legend.
Also, there should be a clear trigger warning on this book, as there is a segment toward the end that goes into detail about a ritual in which a young girl is kidnapped, manipulated, and brutally murdered as a part of a regular religious ceremony. That was the one part of the book I could not read in its entirety. So...yeah. If you're into Criminal Minds, you'd probably be fine. I am not that person. I have very clear limits on the amount of cruelty and violence I can stomach reading about.
From the perspective of someone who acknowledges that ideas and understandings of the world change, and believes that it is only in understanding the past that we can build a better future, I don't regret reading this book. I did learn quite a bit about the indigenous cultures of North America, something that extends far beyond feather headdresses and flint arrowheads. I appreciated, too, that in the end of the book it's made clear that the author's intent was to earn understanding and respect for the indigenous people who were, at that time in particular, very poorly treated.
Do I think it could have been done better? Absolutely. And I'm still looking for something along this vein that maybe has a more accurate (and more interesting), less biased approach to portraying the content. Still, it did what I intended for it to do. It gave me a better appreciation for (and understanding of) a way of thinking I am trying to understand and fairly portray in my writing. So in that, it was a book worth reading.
March 27, 2011
The "Peace Queen," "Ten Brothers," and "The Legend of Poia (Scarface)," are just a few of an amazing collection of myriad myths and lore loosely organized by region. Myths range from [East of the Mississippi] The Muskogean Race (including 4 of the 5 "C's" (Choctaw, Chippewa....) to the Story of Pocahontas to Fettishism, Totemism, Medicine Men & Supernatural Peoples.
Peace is a loftier goal than continual battling or quarreling, especially among family members. The Iroquois and Five Nations took this concept to heart and in the past established a Mediator by appointing a “Peace Queen,� who could be sought out to settle disputes.
This Native American myth gives us a glimpse at some common sense and survival skills of the Iroquois peoples. Like the poetic imagining that dreamt up an office they named “Peace Queen,� this Iroquois myth lends poetry in its descriptions of her thoughts and dreams, “Her thoughts went out to him [Oneida] as birds fly southward to seek the sun…For she could not forget the young Oneida brave, so tall, so strong, and so gentle.�
Peace is a loftier goal than continual battling or quarreling, especially among family members. The Iroquois and Five Nations took this concept to heart and in the past established a Mediator by appointing a “Peace Queen,� who could be sought out to settle disputes.
This Native American myth gives us a glimpse at some common sense and survival skills of the Iroquois peoples. Like the poetic imagining that dreamt up an office they named “Peace Queen,� this Iroquois myth lends poetry in its descriptions of her thoughts and dreams, “Her thoughts went out to him [Oneida] as birds fly southward to seek the sun…For she could not forget the young Oneida brave, so tall, so strong, and so gentle.�
February 27, 2013
very detailed and intricut, with many native stories, broken down toward region
September 27, 2011
A interesting insight in traibs belives in the first culture in North America.
April 15, 2017
Well structured. History, context, and organized material covering entire nation.
March 1, 2020
Old [1914], but still a good book to dip into when you want some inspiration.
June 5, 2023
These myths and legends are so different from what I'm used to, there is so much randomness going on, or what seems random to someone like me.
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