Art, Prehistoric; Folk literature -- History and criticism
Equally instructive are the transformations of biblical stories in
the mouths of the natives. Dr. Benedict and Dr. Parsons have recorded
a nativity story of the Zuni in which Jesus appears as a girl, the
daughter of the sun. After the child is born the domestic animals lick
it, only the mule refuses to do so and is punished with sterility. The
whole story has been given a new aspect. It is made to account for
the fertility of animals, and tells how fertility may be increased, a
thought uppermost in the minds of the Pueblos.
European fairy tales differ in this respect from those of primitive
tribes, for in contents and form they embrace many survivals of past
times. It is quite evident that the modern European fairy tale does not
reflect the conditions of the State of our times, nor the conditions of
our daily life, but that they give us an imaginative picture of rural
life in semifeudal times, and that, owing to the contradictions between
modern intellectualism and the ancient rural tradition, conflicts of
viewpoints occur that may be interpreted as survivals. In the tales
of primitive people it is otherwise. A detailed analysis of the
traditional tales of a number of Indian tribes shows complete agreement
of the conditions of life with those that may be abstracted from the
tales. Beliefs and customs in life and in tales are in full accord.
This is true not only of old native material but also of imported
stories that have been borrowed some time ago. They are quickly
adapted to the prevailing mode of life. The analysis of tales from the
Northwest coast and from the Pueblos gives the same result. Only during
the period of transition to new modes of life, such as are brought
about by contact with Europeans, contradictions develop. Thus it
happens that in the tales of Laguna, one of the Pueblos of New Mexico,
the visitor always enters through the roof of the house, although the
modern houses have doors. The headman of the ceremonial organization
plays an important role in many tales, although the organization itself
has largely disappeared. The tales of the Plains Indians still tell of
buffalo hunts although the game has disappeared and the people have
become tillers of the soil and laborers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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