Myths and Legends Series: North American Indians by Lewis Spence, with Illustrations from Drawings and Famous Paintings.
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DESCRIPTION: Hardback with Dust Jacket: 319 pages. Publisher: Collector's Library of Myth & Legend (2005). In countless tepees, across the wide expanse of the North American continent, the Indian storytellers filled the hours of darkness with tales of myth and magic that held their audiences spellbound. Before the arrival of the Europeans, more than three hundred tribal groups lived in the forests, mountains, and plains of North America. For these Indians, the stories were more than mere entertainment, they were an essential part of a culture based upon a common understanding of mankind’s place in nature.
As such the mythology was inseparable from the ceremonies and beliefs of the tribes. In many, such as the Navajo, the mythology was inextricably bound with tribal ceremony and beliefs. Dancers who donned masks to represent gods thereby assumed the spiritual strengths associated with them. The stories that were told varied according to tribe, but they were united by many common themes. Trusting yet superstitious, the American Indian lived close to nature, at one with his surroundings.
The mountains, forests, and plains are the settings for these charming stories, which center on hunting, trapping, and other pastoral pursuits. In all of them, the elements play an important part, just as they did in the lives of the Indians themselves. The open air, the wind, the sun, the trees, the stones and the hills were all believed to be living things; even the night and the day. Presiding over all was the Great Spirit, the supreme Indian deity.
Many stories tell of a time when the earth was different than it is today, before the coming of the tribes, when animals were considered to be human too. Totemism, the belief that animals had inhabited the land before man and were this better equipped by nature and cunning to survive than primitive mankind, is the prevalent characteristic of the Indian mythologies. The Indians had come to believe that the animals shared their spirit, being at the same time animal and human, thus retaining the ability to assume human form.
Animals had souls, spirits, and supernatural powers; while the latecomer, man, was different. Man was merely of flesh and bone. However animals could help him if they chose to. Wild animals, therefore, play a significant role in North American mythology, and include a menagerie of animal-gods, from birds – most notably the eagle, which was venerated by almost every tribe, to serpents, bears, even coyotes.
Sine the advent of the white man, the vast majority of the tribes have been all but wiped out, leaving little to remain except memories, many of which are distorted by Hollywood. Nearer to the truth are these stories, the cultural legacy of many races and tribes over thousands of years. “North American Indians” presents a balanced account of their narrative traditions. A fascinating, brief history of the tribes, their cultures, and beliefs prefaces the stories that the Algonquin, the Iroquois, Sioux, Pawnee, and others loved to hear.
Included also is a useful glossary that will guide the reader through the tales, for many of the stories existed in a variety of different forms. A map illustrates the distribution of the tribes, and there are thirty full color illustrations of the characters and events described in the myths.
CONDITION: NEW. New hardcover w/dustjacket (and sewn-in silk ribbon place-marker) and quarter-cloth printed/decorated laminate covers. Collector's Library of Myth & Legend (2005) 319 pages. Inside the pages are pristine; clean, crisp, unmarked, unmutilated, tightly bound, unambiguously unread. From the outside the book is is clean and without immediately apparent blemish. However the dustjacket and covers do evidence very mild edge and corner shelfwear. The shelfwear to the dustjacket is principally in the form of mild "crinkling" and faint abrasive rubbing to the dustjacket spine head and and heel, and faint crinkling/abrasive rubbing to the dustjacket "tips" (the open corners of the dustjacket, top and bottom, front and back). There is also faint crinkling to the bottom edges of the dustjacket (front and back). If you hold the book up to a light source and scrutinize the dustjacket, you'll also see it evidences very faint rubbing (the dustjacket is a high gloss, photo-finish dark blue and so shows rub marks very easily, even merely from being shelved between other books). Beneath the dustjacket are laminate, decorated covers bearing the same design and artwork as the overlying dustjacket (except that the covers are quarter-cloth). They likewise evidence only very mild crinkling at the four open cover corners (or "tips"). Condition is entirely consistent with new stock from a traditional, shelved book store environment (such as Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Borders/Waldenbooks, for example) wherein new books might show faint signs of shelfwear, consequence of routine handling and simply the ordeal of constantly be being shelved and re-shelved. Satisfaction unconditionally guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship. No disappointments, no excuses. PROMPT SHIPPING! HEAVILY PADDED, DAMAGE-FREE PACKAGING! Selling rare and out-of-print ancient history books on-line since 1997. We accept returns for any reason within 14 days! #2029.1d.
PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.
PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.
REVIEW: James Lewis Thomas Chalmers Spence was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, in 1874. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and became Vice-President of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society. He is perhaps best known for his comprehensive “Encyclopedia of Occultism” (1920) that was the first work of its kind and, like this book, is still useful today. He is also known for “The Myths of Mexico and Peru” (1913), “The Myths of Ancient Egypt” (1915), and “The History of Atlantis” (1926). Spence was awarded a Royal pension in 1951 for Services to Literature, and died in 1955.
REVIEW: In “The Myths of the North American Indians”, Lewis Spence offers insight into what is unique and distinctive about the Native-American cultures and peoples. Part ethnography, part history, and part literary study, this collection is accessible to academic scholars and mainstream readers alike. Spence presents the distinct cultural and social differences between tribal groups as he examines hunting, costumes, and the afterlife. Spence explores native identity, life, and environment, and at the same time draws connections to similar European motifs and ideologies.
REVIEW: Rich anthology of the myths and legends of the Algonquins, Iroquois, Pawnees and Sioux, prefaced by an extensive historical and ethnological commentary. Simply written tales of warrior rivalries, steadfast love and victory over powerful forces are suitable reading for youngsters and entertaining enough for adults.
REVIEW: This book is a collection of Native American myths and legends from all over North America. There are stories from many different tribes, like the Pawnees, the Chinooks, and the Haida. One of my favorites is from the Algonquin tribe. The story is about how Glooskap, the Algonquin Sun god, conquered all the evil spirits to be found. Then he met his match at the hands of a baby. He was trying to get the baby to come to him, but the baby refused to move. Finally, Glooskap ran away in frustration, and that myth ended. This book has a section for myths and legends, and a section for information about the legends.
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