Seneca myths and folk tales

by Arthur C. Parker

Buffalo Consistory,

A. A. S. R.

Nov. 26, 1922.

CONTENTS

			Page
Foreword			[ix]
Introduction			[xvii]
I.	FUNDAMENTAL FACTORS IN SENECA FOLK LORE		[1]
	Basic Premises		[3]
	Gods, Major Spirits and Folk-Beasts		[5]
	Nature Beings		[10]
	Magic Beasts and Birds		[16]
	Magical Man-like Beings		[18]
II.	THEMES AND MATERIALS		[23]
	Stereotyped Objects and Incidents		[27]
	Components of the Cosmological Myth		[33]
III.	THE ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH THE LEGENDS WERE TOLD		[37]
IV.	WHEN THE WORLD WAS NEW		[57]
	1.	How the World Began	[59]
	2.	The Brothers who Climbed into the Sky	[74]
	3.	The Death Panther	[78]
	4.	The Great Bear Constellation	[81]
	5.	The Seven Brothers of the Star Cluster	[83]
	6.	The Seven Star Dancers	[86]
	7.	The Coming of Spring	[88]
	8.	The Coming of Death	[92]
V.	BOYS WHO DEFIED MAGIC AND OVERCAME IT		[95]
	9.	Origin of Folk Stories	[97]
	10.	The Forbidden Arrow and the Quilt of Men’s Eyes	[101]
	11.	Corn Grinder, the Grandson	[108]
	12.	He-Goes-to-Listen	[116]
	13.	Hatondas, the Listener, Finds a Wife	[122]
	14.	The Origin of the Chestnut Tree	[128]
	15.	Divided Body Rescues a Girl	[133]
	16.	The Origin of the Buffalo Society	[137]
	17.	The Boy who could not Understand	[142]
	18.	The Boy who Lived with the Bears	[147]
	19.	The Seventh Son	[154]
	20.	The Boy who Overcame all Magic by Laughter	[159]
VI.	TALES OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE		[171]
	21.	Two Feathers and Turkey Brother	[173]
	22.	Two Feathers and Woodchuck Leggings	[184]
	23.	Turkey Boy Squeezed the Hearts of Sorcerers	[200]
	24.	Corn Rains into Empty Barrels	[205]
	25.	Twentgowa and the Mischief Maker	[208]
	26.	The Horned Serpent Runs Away with a Girl	[218]
	27.	The Great Serpent and the Young Wife	[223]
	28.	Bushy Head the Bewitched Warrior	[228]
	29.	The Flint Chip Thrower	[235]
VII.	HORROR TALES OF CANNIBALS AND SORCERERS:		[239]
	30.	The Duel of the Dream Test	[241]
	31.	The Vampire Sirens	[253]
	32.	Younger Brother Eludes His Sister-in-Law	[262]
	33.	The Island of the Cannibal	[269]
	34.	The Twelve Brothers and the Wraith	[278]
	35.	The Cannibal and His Nephew	[284]
	36.	A Youth’s Double Abuses His Sister	[290]
	37.	Murdered Double Speaks Through Fire	[293]
	38.	The Vampire Corpse	[298]
VIII.	TALES OF TALKING ANIMALS:		[301]
	39.	The Man who Exhaled Fire	[303]
	40.	The Turtle’s War Party	[305]
	41.	The Race of the Turtle and the Beaver	[309]
	42.	The Wolf and the Raccoon	[312]
	43.	The Chipmunk’s Stripes	[314]
	44.	The Rabbit Song	[315]
	45.	The Rabbit Gambler	[317]
	46.	The Raccoon and the Crabs	[319]
	47.	The Crab’s Eyes	[321]
	48.	How the Squirrel Gave a Blanket, etc.	[322]
	49.	The Chickadee’s Song	[325]
	50.	The Bird Woman	[326]
	51.	The Partridge’s Song	[328]
IX.	TALES OF GIANTS, PYGMIES AND MONSTER BEARS:		[329]
	52.	A Tale of the Djogeon or Pygmies	[331]
	53.	Beyond-the-Rapids and the Stone Giant	[334]
	54.	The Animated Finger	[337]
	55.	The Stone Giant’s Battle	[340]
	56.	The Boy and the False Face	[342]
	57.	How a Boy Outwitted a Nia’´gwahe	[344]
	58.	Nia’´gwahe, the Mammoth Bear	[349]
	59.	The Boy and the Nia’´gwahe	[358]
X.	TRADITIONS:		[363]
		Seneca Belief in Witchcraft	[365]
	60.	Contents of a Charm Holder’s Bundle	[368]
	61.	Contents of a Witch Bundle	[369]
	62.	Overcoming a Witch	[370]
	63.	The Scorned Witch Woman	[372]
	64.	Catching a Witch Bundle	[376]
	65.	Witch with a Dog Transformation	[378]
	66.	Witch Steals Children’s Hearts	[380]
	67.	Hotciwaho (Hammer in His Belt)	[382]
	68.	How America was Discovered	[383]
	69.	Origin of the Charm Holder’s Medicine Society	[386]
	70.	Origin of the False Face Company	[394]
	71.	Origin of the Long House	[403]
	72.	Dead Timber, a Tradition of Albany	[407]
XI.	APPENDIX:		[409]
	A.	Origin of the World	[411]
	B.	The Wyandot Creation Myth	[417]
	C.	An Interview with “Esq.” Johnson by Mrs. Asher Wright	[421]
	D.	Emblematic Trees in Iroquoian Mythology	[431]
	E.	The Society that Guards the Mystic Potence	[445]

ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES:
	The Atmosphere in which Legends were Told.—From painting by R. J. Tucker	[Front.]
	Edward Cornplanter—Sosondowa	Op. p. [4]
	Delos Big Kittle—Sainowa	〃 〃 [58]
	The Seven Dancing Brothers—From painting by R. J. Tucker	〃 〃 [82]
	Mrs. John Big Kittle.—Photo by E. C. Winnegar	〃 〃 [172]
	Hadui Mask of the False Face Company	〃 〃 [240]
	Emily Tallchief.—Photo by E. C. Winnegar	〃 〃 [364]
DRAWINGS BY JESSE CORNPLANTER:
	The Thunder Serpent	[7]
	The Spirit of Dionhekon	[11]
	The Flying Head of the Wind	[13]
	The Spirit of the Frost	[14]
	The Snow Snake Game	[39]
	A Bark Communal House	[47]
	The Bear Dance	[151]
	The Horned Serpent	Op. p. [218]
	Magic Whistle	[255]
	Figure of Dancing Warrior	[273]
	Restoration of Red Hand	[386]
ILLUSTRATING EMBLEMATIC TREES:
	Pictograph of the Sky-Dome	[432]
	A False Face Leader	[435]
	Symbolism of Legging Strips	[437]
	Sky-Dome Symbols	[438]
	Embroidered Borders	[441]
	Embroidered Pouch: Seneca Work before 1850	Op. p. [442]
	Forms of the Celestial Tree	[443]
	“Big Tree in Middle of the Earth”	[444]
Arrangement of the Little Water Lodge		[451]
Bibliography		[459]
Index		[461]

INTRODUCTION

In presenting this collection of Seneca myths and legends, the collator feels that he should explain to the general reader that he does not offer a series of tales that can be judged by present day literary standards. These Indian stories are not published for the mere entertainment of general readers, though there is much that is entertaining in them, neither are they designed as children’s fables, or for supplementary reading in schools, though it is true that some of the material may be suited for the child mind. It must be understood that if readings from this book are to be made for children, a wise selection must be made.

This collection is presented as an exposition of the unwritten literature of the Seneca Indians who still live in their ancestral domain in western New York. It is primarily a collection of folk-lore and is to be looked at in no other light. The professional anthropologist and historian will not need to be reminded of this. He will study these tales for their ethnological significance, and use them in making comparisons with similar collections from other tribes and stocks. In this manner he will determine the similarities or differences in theme, in episode and character. He will trace myth diffusion thereby and be able to chart the elements of the Seneca story.