*Crickets chirping and campfire crackling*
Trickster.
Sage.
Fool.
Hero.
All of these are aspects of the coyote.
Now, many different cultures across North
America have legends of Coyote,
each giving him
adventures and stories related to their own way of life,
and each casting him in a different light.
Today, we're
bringing you a few of his misadventures from the
Nlaka'pamux tribe. (how does he pronounce that!?)
♪ "Extra Mythology Theme" by Big Giant Circles ♪
Coyote traveled through a land of lakes and swamps.
And his journey made him hungry,
but he had brought
no food.
Stomach growling,
he looked up.
There, above
him, was a flight of geese.
He licked his lips.
They would
make a fine meal.
So he went to the woods and carved
himself a club.
Then, he whistled to the geese.
*Whistle*
And they paused and circled above him,
wondering who
had whistled.
Then
he clapped.
*👏*
But Coyote's clap was no ordinary clap.
It was mighty
and knocked the geese out of the sky.
When the geese
tumbled to the ground,
Coyote rushed out and began
trying to hit them with his club.
But they just laughed
and laughed
and continued to flap their wings. Amongst
all of the confusion, he couldn't see what he was aiming
at. No matter how many times he tried to strike them, he
could not hit the wiggling birds.
So, they righted
themselves and started to take off into the sky.
As they
did so, they beat their wings
so the wind from them
would carry Coyote with them.
As his feet lifted off the ground,
he grabbed at the marsh grass.
Then the shrubs
then the top of the trees.
But they just kept lifting him
higher and higher.
Finally,
they dropped him head-down
in a marsh (Splat) where the fox had to come help him
out. Lesson:
Don't mess with geese.
They are some
ornery avians.
That is a true fact.
Later, Coyote went to
visit his friend, the kingfisher.
They sat together, and the
kingfisher explained that he had no food,
so he asked
Coyote to excuse him for a moment.
He then went out,
stripped a branch to put fish on,
climbed a tree, and with
a mighty cry,
dove off
through a hole in the nearby ice,
*Splash* and returned with a fish.
He did this four times.
And then, they cooked the fish and ate their fill.
Then, one day, Kingfisher went to visit Coyote.
Coyote had to
tell Kingfisher that he, too, had no food in the house,
but said that if Kingfisher would excuse him for a moment,
he would go get some.
So he went outside,
stripped a
branch to put fish on,
and then strapped a piece of
wood to his nose as a beak.
He climbed a tree,
issued the kingfisher's cry,
and then dove towards a hole in the
ice nearby.
And with a crash,
like the forest had never
heard before,
he smashed *Crash* headfirst into the ice.
When Kingfisher was done laughing,
he went out and
got both of them dinner. Lesson: Doing someone else's
job is NEVER as easy as it looks. Then, there was a time
when Coyote stumbled across a sweat lodge covered by
a lovely blanket. Coyote looked around and didn't see
anybody nearby. He poked his head into the lodge and
didn't see anyone in it either. So, with one more sly look
around, he took the blanket and ran off. As he was
walking through the forest, wearing the blanket around
his shoulders, he started to hear a noise. *Flap noise?*
Again, he looked around, but saw nothing. So he walked
on. Then he felt something tickle his leg. Then,
something started to buffet him. He started to run, but
still saw no one. And all of a sudden, his legs were
swept out from under him, and he was picked up into
the air. Hammered with a thousand blows, and then
tossed, unceremoniously, facedown into the marsh
again. *Splat* He had stolen the blanket off of the
wind's sweat lodge. Lesson: Don't Steal! But that wasn't
the only time that Coyote's swift fingers got him into
trouble. Once, he found a hidden dwelling, buried
underground. In it were all manner of wonders. And as
he rifled through them, he found a comb that he liked.
So, he took it. But as he was climbing out of the place,
the comb started to scratch him. So he cried out,
"All right, I'll put you back!" and deposited the comb in its
former place. But has he put it back, an awl caught his
eye. So he took that with him instead. But as he was
climbing again, the awl started to stab him and he threw
it down in surprise. Not learning his lesson, he then
picked up two fine stones used for smoothing
arrowheads. But as he climbed yet again, they began to
beat him. So now, REALLY not learning his lesson, he
got rid of those and picked up a hammer. I think you see
where this is going. With one mighty wallop, the
hammer laid him out. And when he came to, everything
was back in its place. As he ran away without anything,
he cursed the tools, shouting that, from now on, they
would be slaves to people and no longer be sentient.
And that is why we can use tools so easily today. But
perhaps Coyote's greatest gift was fire. One day, from
the top of a mountain, he saw a light in the distance and
made it known that he planned to go and fetch it. Fox,
Wolf, and Antelope all offered to join him on his quest.
And so, they set off together. After a great journey, they
reached the lodge of the Fire People. Coyote told them
that they were travelers who came to share their dance.
So for the dance, he made a headdress of pine and
cedar. That night, the Fire People danced around a low
fire. Complaining that they couldn't see in the dim light,
Coyote and his companions got the Fire People to make
the fire larger. Then, they joined the dance. One by one
though, Fox, Wolf, and Antelope all begged off, saying
they were hot and needed to go out to cool themselves.
But this was all part of Coyote's plan, for then, Coyote
alone danced a wild, thrashing dance, and in doing so,
his headdress caught on fire. And when it was ablaze,
he ran out of the lodge, and tossed it to Antelope, who
put it on his antlers and began to run. The fire people
The Fire People chased them, and one by one, caught
and killed Coyote's companions. But never before, they
passed the fire along. Don't worry, these characters
seem to die a lot, and they will totally be back later.
But at last, Coyote alone was running. He heard the Fire
People draw near, so he tossed the headdress into a
tree and transformed himself into dung. The Fire People
couldn't find him, but they summoned the wind to blow,
and the blaze from the trees spread out across the
plain. Many died in that fire, but not Coyote. He escaped
in the smoke, and summoned rain to douse the worst of
the blaze. The cost had been great, but now, the people
had fire. Hence, here we all are, able to this tale next to a
cozy fire. *Coyote howl*
Thanks, buddy.
♪ Outro music: "Extra Mythology Theme" ♪