LITR 4326 Early American Literature Research Posts 2016 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Michael Bradshaw

It’s Just a Trick

In my last post, I compared many common tropes from various Native American mythologies. Now I wish to expand some of those tropes beyond the Americas, to the people who first landed on the New World. While reading the Native American myths, I couldn’t help but notice similarities to other myths around the world. Specifically, I drew many parallels between the Native American myths we read in class with facets of Norse mythology. One of the most popular tropes shared by Native Americans and the first people to meet them is the trickster.

Tricksters can range from the mischievous, playing relatively harmless pranks on people, animals, and other gods, to agents of chaos, sowing discord and strife on catastrophic levels (gsvu). The various Native American tribes naturally had many trickster characters, but one that appears in myths of many tribes is Coyote. He has been portrayed as both a creator and trickster, a hero and a villain. According to the myths of the Crow people, Coyote was the one who actually created mankind. “Old Man Coyote took up a handful of mud, and out of it made people” (new).  In other stories, Coyote plays the same role as the Greek Titan Prometheus, giving fire to the people. (new). Still others show Coyote as a protector: “According to Wasco tradition, Coyote was the hero to fight and kill Thunderbird, the killer of people” (new). These stories are told right alongside stories of Coyote acting as a selfish, petty trickster in Native American morality tales. According to Arikara myth, Coyote tried to steal a magic windpipe that could call buffalo and summon a war party (first). He stole the windpipe three times, and three times the woman’s brothers brought Coyote back while he slept. The fourth time he stole it, he went to a village and was attacked. He tried to use the windpipe to summon the war party to defend him. “He turned the windpipe upside down, when, instead of a war-party, out burst a whole swarm of Bumblebees, millions of them, buzzing with rage. They settled all over Coyote, and stung him so hard that he ran howling into the forest. And they kept on stinging him until he was well punished for his lying and stealing,” (first). In his trickster role, Coyotes antics are usually punished to serve as a moral for the consequences of bad behavior.

The trickster of the Norse pantheon, and possibly the most notorious trickster in mythology, is of course Loki. His antics were many things, but they could never be called benevolent. At best, Loki’s sense of self-preservation prompted him to occasionally ally with the other gods. When a wright offered to build for the gods “a citadel in three seasons so good that it should be staunch and proof against the Hill-Giants and Rime-Giants though they should come in over Midgard,” Loki advised them to take his offer, though he wanted the goddess Freyja as payment (prose, 53). The wright was allowed only to use his horse Svadilfari, and only given one winter to complete the task. However, “the horse did more rough work by half than did the wright” (prose, 54). The other gods saw the progress the wright was making and confronted Loki “and they declared him deserving of an ill death, if he could not hit upon a way of losing the wright his wages; and the threatened Loki with violence. But when he [Loki} became frightened, then he swore oaths, the he would contrive the the wright should lose his wages, cost him what it might,” (prose, 55). And it did cost him dearly and in as bizarre a way as possible. Loki shapeshifted into a mare and lured Svadilfari away from the wright. In doing so Loki became pregnant, and gave birth to an eight-legged horse named Sleipnir, whom Odin claimed as his mount. Loki’s tricks are usually much more malicious. He orchestrated the death of Baldr the Good, the second son of Odin. (prose, 71). “Neither weapons nor trees may hurt Baldr,” because his mother had “taken oaths from them all,” (prose, 71). Loki shapeshifted into a woman, and found out that she hadn’t taken an oath from mistletoe, so he made an arrow of it. He convinced a blind man to shoot the arrow at Baldr, killing him. When the gods found out that Baldr can be revived if everything in the world weeps for him, Loki shapeshifted into a giant and refusesd(prose, 77). When the gods dicovered that Loki was behind Baldr’s death, they tied him down with the entrails of his son, and held a venomous snake over his face (prose, 77). When he eventually escaped, he began Ragnarok, the apocalypse of Norse mythology (norse). Many gods are slain including Odin, Thor, and Tyr. Loki himself slew Heimdall who in turn killed Loki.

Both of these gods can be considered tricksters, however the tricks they play are vastly different in both scope and tone. Coyote is portrayed as both benevolent and petty. At his best, he creates mankind and tricks the other gods into giving them tools to survive. At his worst, he is a nuisance, causing mischief and getting appropriately punished in order to reinforce values in the audience hearing the tales. Loki, on the other hand, does not have a benevolent bone in his body. He is purely an agent of chaos, whose motives could not even be guessed at by any but himself. When Coyote makes mischief, people and gods may be inconvenienced. Some may even benefit from his machinations. When Loki becomes involved in a situation, often times someone ends up dead. Loki is also punished for his actions, but the punishments are more severe, ultimately leading to Loki’s death. Both gods have the ability to shapeshift, though Coyote seems to only shift between animal and man. Loki shapeshifts into various forms, both animal and other sentient beings. He has been a horse, a fish, a falcon, and other animals as well as various human and giant forms. Another contrast between the two is Loki’s penchant for gender bending. When Loki is implementing his schemes, he almost always approaches his mark in the form of a woman.

The trickster gods of the Native Americans, and the Vikings offer glimpse into each culture. While Coyote can be mischievous, he can also be a hero in many Native American folk tales. Loki is always the villain, helping the gods only when it suits him, and ultimately betraying them to cause the end of the world. Native Americans use Coyotes antics to teach morals, yet also celebrate his cleverness in overcoming those who may be stronger than himself. Loki on the other hand embodies all that the Vikings found as dishonorable. Instead of accomplishing his goals through strength, he must resort to trickery and deceit. Native Americans, especially after European colonization could relate to the stories of Coyote using his guile to trick those stronger than him and help his people. As a very war like culture, Vikings prided strength and directness; trickery was seen as dishonorable. As such, their trickster god was a symbol of everything they despised. The gods, and how they are perceived by their respective cultures, are two sides of the same coin.

Works Cited

McCoy, Dan. "Ragnarok - Norse Mythology for Smart People." Norse Mythology for Smart People. Dan McCoy, 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2016

"The Magic Windpipe: An Arikara Legend." Http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/The_Magic_Windpipe-Arikara.html. First People of America, n.d. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.

New World Encyclopedia. "Trickster." - New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 27 July 2014. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

Webster, Michael. "Tricksters." Tricksters. Grand Valley State University, Jan. 2005. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

Snorri, Sturluson. The Prose Edda By Snorri Sturluson: Translated from the Icelandic with an Introduction by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. New York, London: American - Scandinarian Foundation Humphrey Milford, 1916. Print.