Kachinas: spirit beings of the Hopi by
The Hopi Indians have had Kachinas in their religion for probably more than 1000 years. The Kachinas are a prominent part of the religion and daily life of the Hopi. Over the years many works have been published about the Kachinas. Most of these have discussed them from the white man's interpretation of what the Hopi have told him. 'This book gives readers the perspective of the Hopi themselves. The 79 Kachinas depicted in this book were painted by Neil David Sr., a Hopi-Tewa from First Mesa. The paintings show both the front and the back of each Kachina, that is, the entire costume of the Kachina. The descriptions of the Kachinas have come from the mouths of various Hopi. They discuss differences in the Kachinas as they appear on each of the three mesas where the Hopi make their home. The Kachinas which appear in this book are, in general, rare and unusual Kachinas and will enlighten those who wish to learn about and appreciate the Kachinas, Spirit Beings of the Hopi.
The Medicine Is Sacred by
Literary Nonfiction. Native American Studies. Spirituality. Anyone seeking to understand the deeper meaning of the Sioux Nation Sundance—which centers on the most sacred piercing ritual in the Native world—will find revelation and guidance here. Henry Niese, who is entering his ninetieth year, provides a soulful testimony to the rigors and rewards of this sacred practice. He escorts the reader through a host of healing ceremonies, where the supernatural occurs as readily as the natural, including the miraculous revival of a dying newborn child, and a cancer cure through a Sundancer's sacrifice. The work concludes with observations on the role of the sacred path in everyday life, and how a non- linear perspective—a Native American way of seeing the world—may shake our very foundations. Henry Niese brings to the reader a unique experience, an insider's view of the sacred as well as the ordinary day-to-day life in Indian country. "This is the most powerful piece on the Native Americans I have ever read and deserves the widest circulation it can get. One of the encouraging signs of our times is mainline medicine's recognition that it does not have all the answers, and, as a corollary, its willingness to pay serious attention to alternative modes of healing. It is in this spirit that I welcome Henry Niese's book, THE MEDICINE IS SACRED."—Huston Smith "A powerful journey into deep tradition. It opens door to ceremony which binds us together and bonds us to the Earth. It helps us to shed the idea of separateness and to recognize our one-ness with the universe. Honored Ancient Ones!! Our spirits soar as we walk in your shadow!"—Grandmother Red Leaf "In the 1980s American Indian spirituality, especially the Sundance, blossomed on the Lakota reservations in western South Dakota. Henry Niese in THE MEDICINE IS SACRED describes first-hand, his personal participation in numerous Sundance ceremonies over many years. He describes Lakota rituals in great detail, displaying his great love and devotion to Lakota religious tradition and the Lakota people, especially on the Rosebud reservation. His close personal association with Lakota medicine men and religious leaders like Chief Eagle Feather Schweigman, Moses Big Crow, Arthur Running Horse, Elmer Running, and others is described with great personal affection and openness. His down-to-earth descriptions, comments and insights will give the reader a true, in-depth, and at times chilling insight into the great sacrifices and spiritual powers found in the Lakota Sundance and spirituality."—William Stolzman
Medicine Wheels: ancient teachings for modern times by
This illuminating guide to the Native American ritual of the Medicine Wheel makes an ancient spiritual practice available to everyone. Roy Wilson, Cowlitz Chief and Spiritual Leader in Washington, combines Sun Bear's Zodiac (outer circle) and his own vision. The Four Pathways are used to experience the God within. It is important to note that all Pathways go through the Creator. which includes the Creator in the center, surrounded by seven Spirit Messengers: Cougar, Hawk, Coyote, Wolf, Bear, Raven, and Owl; the four Gatekeepers: Buffalo in the East, Bear in the South; Eagle in the West; and Cougar in the North; the twelve Spirit Helpers: Turkey, Turtle, and Owl on the East Pathway; Beaver, Ant, and Squirrel on the South Pathway; Butterfly, Bat, and Grouse on the West Pathway; and, Hawk, Goose, and Wolf on the North Pathway.
The Mountain Chant: a Navajo ceremony by
The Mountain Chant is a nine-day Navajo healing ceremony, one of several major rites undertaken only in winter. Aside from curing disease, it brings rain and invokes the unseen powers for general benefit. Though perhaps practiced less often now than better-known ceremonies such as the Night Chant, it is by no means forgotten. Fully faithful to the original book published by Washington Matthews over a century ago, this edition contains the story of the wandering hero upon whose exploits the Mountain Chant is based, a description of each of the nine ceremonial days, and original song text and translations. ""Each Navajo ceremony builds on a specific story, which in turn contributes to a network of interlocking narratives as poetically rich as the Homeric epics or the Arthurian cycle. Non-Navajos are only now beginning to fathom the extent of that poetic richness as we learn more about the nature of ceremonial Navajo, with its formulaic virtuosity, its rhythmic cadences, its deep allusiveness to enduring human values, and the spellbinding thrust of its stories."" - Paul Zolbrod, from the foreword
The Native American Sweat Lodge: history and legends by
The sweat lodge is a holy place where Native Americans can renew their connection to the cosmos and God. Joseph Bruchac tells the history and meaning of the sweat lodge as it was and still is practiced by Native people.
The Night Chant: a Navaho ceremony by
The Night Chant is one of the great nine-day, Navajo winter healing ceremonies. During its course, nearly all the important characters of the Navajo pantheon are mentioned in legends, depicted in sand paintings, and impersonated with the use of masks and other ritual objects. Originally published in 1902, Washington Matthews's The Night Chant contains one of the few extensive descriptions of this important ceremony. Washington Matthews studied Navajo language and lifeways as an ethnologist and linguistics expert in the late-nineteenth century. His unique opportunities to observe ceremonies and record the roles of participants resulted in landmark studies of Navajo ritual and tradition. Matthews spent more than twenty years working with hatathli, or singers, to record the many songs and rites that comprise the intricate Night Chant. provides a detailed description of healing rites, songs, myths, and prayers for the ceremony, which is performed only during 'frosty weather.' This edition includes powerful contemporary observations in a foreword by John Farella.
Ojibway Ceremonies by
The Ojibway Indians were first encountered by the French early in the seventeenth century along the northern shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. By the time Henry Wadsworth Longfellow immortalized them in The Song of Hiawatha, they had dispersed over large areas of Canada and the United States, becoming known as the Chippewas in the latter. A rare and fascinating glimpse of Ojibway culture before its disruption by the Europeans is provided in Ojibway Ceremonies by Basil Johnston, himself an Ojibway who was born on the Parry Island Indian Reserve. Johnston focuses on a young member of the tribe and his development through participation in the many rituals so important to the Ojibway way of life, from the Naming Ceremony and the Vision Quest to the War Path, and from the Marriage Ceremony to the Ritual of the Dead. In the style of a tribal storyteller, Johnston preserves the attitudes and beliefs of forest dwellers and hunters whose lives were vitalized by a sense of the supernatural and of mystery.
S'abadeb, the Gifts: Pacific Coast Salish art and artists by
S'abadeb, The Gifts captures the essence of Coast Salish culture through its artistry, oral traditions, and history. Developed in conjunction with the first extensive exhibition of the art and culture of the Coast Salish peoples of Washington State and British Columbia, the book traces the development of Salish art from prehistory to the present. Sculpture in wood, stone, and bone--including monumental house posts--as well as expertly crafted basketry, woven regalia, and contemporary works in glass, print media, and painting showcase a sweeping artistic tradition and its contemporary vibrant manifestations. S'abadeb is the Lushootseed term for "gifts" and invokes a principle at the heart of Salish sculpture: reciprocity, both in the public and spiritual domains. This richly symbolic word expresses the importance of giving gifts at potlatches, of giving thanks during first food ceremonies, of the creativity bestowed upon artists and other leaders, and of the roles of the master artists, oral historians, and cultural leaders in passing vital cultural information to the next generations. The theme of S'abadeb and practices of reciprocal exchange in Salish society are illuminated here through the intersection of art with ceremony, oral traditions, the land, and contemporary realities.
The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's account of the seven rites of the Oglala Sioux by
Black Elk of the Sioux has been recognized as one of the truly remarkable men of his time in the matter of religious belief and practice. Shortly before his death in August, 1950, when he was the "keeper of the sacred pipe," he said, "It is my prayer that, through our sacred pipe, and through this book in which I shall explain what our pipe really is, peace may come to those peoples who can understand, and understanding which must be of the heart and not of the head alone. Then they will realize that we Indians know the One true God, and that we pray to Him continually." Black Elk was the only qualified priest of the older Oglala Sioux still living when The Sacred Pipe was written. This is his book: he gave it orally to Joseph Epes Brown during the latter's eight month's residence on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, where Black Elk lived. Beginning with the story of White Buffalo Cow Woman's first visit to the Sioux to give them the sacred pip~, Black Elk describes and discusses the details and meanings of the seven rites, which were disclosed, one by one, to the Sioux through visions. He takes the reader through the sun dance, the purification rite, the "keeping of the soul," and other rites, showing how the Sioux have come to terms with God and nature and their fellow men through a rare spirit of sacrifice and determination. The wakan Mysteries of the Siouan peoples have been a subject of interest and study by explorers and scholars from the period of earliest contact between whites and Indians in North America, but Black Elk's account is without doubt the most highly developed on this religion and cosmography. The Sacred Pipe, published as volume thirty-six in the Civilization of the American Indian Series, will be greeted enthusiastically by students of comparative religion, ethnologists, historians, philosophers, and everyone interested in American Indian life.
Sandpaintings of the Navajo Shooting Chant by
A classic of ethnology, reproducing in full color 35 sandpaintings from this important Navajo healing ceremony and analyzing their composition and artistic devices. The rites are described and explained and the symbolism and myth they express thoroughly explored.
American Indian Myth and Legends by
Indian (Native American) myths and legends of creation, sun, moon, stars, heroes, monsters, warriors, love, lust, Coyote the trickster, animals, ghosts, and the end of the world. More than 160 tales from eighty tribal groups gives us a rich and lively panorama of the Native American mythic heritage. From across the continent comes tales of creation and love; heroes and war; animals, tricksters, and the end of the world. In addition to mining the best folkloric sources of the nineteenth century, the editors have also included a broad selection of contemporary Native American voices.
The Book of the Hopi by
In this unique collection, some thirty Hopi elders reveal for the first time in written form the Hopi world-view.
The Codex Borgia: a full-color restoration of the ancient Mexican manuscript by
First publication of remarkable repainting of outstanding Mexican codex -- priceless original is in Vatican Library -- thought to have originated in the Cholula area, ca. AD 1400. 76 large full-color plates show an astounding array of gods, kings, warriors, mythical creatures, and abstract designs. A work of rare power and beauty. Introduction.
Codex Chimalpopoca: the text in Nahuatl with a glossary and grammatical notes by 
Cuentos Folkloricos Latinoamericanos: fábulas de las tradiciones hispanas e indígenas by
Extendiendo a veinte países y quinientos años, desde los mitos coloniales más tempranos hasta los cuentos orales coleccionados en el siglo veinte desde el sur de California, Florida, Texas y Nuevo México, EE.UU., Cuentos Folklóricos Latinoamericanos es la primera antología publicada en español representante de la tradición folklórico de América hispanohablante en su totalidad. Incluido en ésta colección panorámica, hay relatos con origen en la Europa medieval, el Medio Oriente anciano, y la América precolombina. Los personajes esenciales del mundo de antigüedad son el hombre tranquilo cuya esposa conoce el diablo y las tres hijas que roban la tumba de su padre. También se encuentra el trágico informe Mexicano desde el siglo diez y seis sobre Moctezuma, el rey Azteca destinado a confrontar y ser destruido por la conquista, y un cuento moderno desde Los Angeles, sobre un esposo que realiza su promesa ser sepultado en vivo con su esposa. Colocado en forma de un velorio, el más común foro público de contar cuentos, Cuentos Folklóricos Latinoamericanos conserva los matices y expresivos idiomáticos de esos narradores originales cuando nos proveen unos de los más provocativos e emotivos cuentos desde la tradición oral. Traducción de José Lucas Badué
Diné Bahane': the Navajo creation story by
This is the most complete version of the Navajo creation story to appear in English since Washington Matthews' Navajo Legends of 1847. Zolbrod's new translation renders the power and delicacy of the oral storytelling performance on the page through a poetic idiom appropriate to the Navajo oral tradition. Zolbrod's book offers the general reader a vivid introduction to Navajo culture. For students of literature this book proposes a new way of looking at our literary heritage.
The Fourth World of the Hopis by
Here the noted folklorist brings together traditional accounts of epic events and adventures in the life of Hopi clans and villages, from legendary to historical times. The setting of these various adventures and events is not the Southwest as we know it today, but a vast and largely unpeopled wilderness in which clans and families wandered in search of a final living place, and in search of their collective identity. Notes, a pronunciation guide, and a glossary enhance the reader's appreciation of the text.
James Mooney's History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees by 
Living Stories of the Cherokee by
This remarkable book, the first major new collection of Cherokee stories published in nearly a hundred years, presents seventy-two traditional and contemporary tales from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. It features stories told by Davey Arch, Robert Bushyhead, Edna Chekelelee, Marie Junaluska, Kathi Smith Littlejohn, and Freeman Owle--six Cherokee storytellers who learned their art and their stories from family and community. The tales gathered here include animal stories, creation myths, legends, and ghost stories as well as family tales and stories about such events in Cherokee history as the Trail of Tears. Taken together, they demonstrate that storytelling is a living, vital tradition. As new stories are added and old stories are changed or forgotten, Cherokee storytelling grows and evolves. In an introductory essay, Barbara Duncan writes about the Cherokee storytelling tradition and explains the "oral poetics" style in which the stories are presented. This format effectively conveys the rhythmic, oral quality of the living storytelling tradition, allowing the reader to "hear" the voice of the storyteller.
Native American Legends of the Southeast: Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations by
The study of legends has long been a critical component of cultural anthropological analysis. In Native American Legends of the Southeast, George E. Lankford has compiled and analyzed a collection of unique and rare legends that will continue to appeal to scholars and students of Native American culture and the study of legends in general.
Native Meso-American Spirituality: ancient myths, discourses, stories, doctrines, hymns, poems from the Aztec, Yucatec, Quiche-Maya and other sacred traditions by
A collection of pre-Columbian ancient spiritual texts, the majority of which were conceived in the 950-1521 A.D. period, these sacred writings are attributed to the indigenous peoples of Central America, especially Mexico.
Ojibway Heritage by
Rarely accessible to the general public, Ojibway mythology is as rich in meaning, as broad, as deep, and as innately appealing as the mythologies of Greece, Rome, and other Western civilizations. In Ojibway Heritage Basil Johnston introduces his people's ceremonies, rituals, songs, dances, prayers, arid legends. Conveying the sense of wonder and mystery at the heart of the Ojibway experience, Johnston describes the creation of the universe, followed by that of plants and animals and human beings, and the paths taken by the latter. These stories are to be read, enjoyed, and freely interpreted. Their authorship is perhaps most properly attributed to the tribal storytellers who have carried on the oral tradition that Johnston records and preserves in this book.
Popol Vuh: the Mayan book of the dawn of life by
Popol Vuh, the Quiché Mayan book of creation, is not only the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, it is also an extraordinary document of the human imagination. It begins with the deeds of Mayan gods in the darkness of a primeval sea and ends with the radiant splendor of the Mayan lords who founded the Quiché kingdom in the Guatemalan highlands. Originally written in Mayan hieroglyphs, it was transcribed into the Roman alphabet in the sixteenth century. This new edition of Dennis Tedlock's unabridged, widely praised translation includes new notes and commentary, newly translated passages, newly deciphered hieroglyphs, and over forty new illustrations.
Raven and First People: Legends of the Northwest Coast by
Below the mist-shrouded mountains of the West Coast lie the stories of how we came to be. It is through the myths of the people who have lived with this spirit of place for thousands of years that we uncover the mystery of our homeland. The mythical creatures Raven, Thunderbird, Bear and the Great Spirit become a path to rediscovering the spiritual landscape of culture. These are the stories of the Pacific Coast that tell of gods and demons, good and evil; things unimaginable brought to life. More than just tales of magic and the supernatural, the legends follow the traditions of the peoples of the Pacific Northwest and illustrate their profound relationship to the natural environment. The legacy of a vibrant and prosperous culture, these stories reveal the essence of their collective wisdom. The legends of the creation of The People emerging from the ocean depths, the formation of the landscape and the origins of fire, thunderstorms and the wind affirm the harmony with which our ancestors lived with nature.
Salish Myths and Legends: one people's stories by
Salish Myths and Legends features an array of Trickster stories centered on Coyote, Mink, and other memorable characters, as well as stories of the frightening Basket Ogress, accounts of otherworldly journeys, classic epic cycles such as South WindOCOs Journeys and the Bluejay Cycle, tales of such legendary animals as Beaver and Lady Louse from the beginning of time, and stories that explain why things are the way they are. The anthology also includes humorous traditional tales, speeches, and fascinating stories of encounters with whites, including OC Circling Raven and the Jesuits.OCO"
Sons of the Wind: the sacred stories of the Lakota by
The Sons of the Wind presents the mythology and sacred spirits of the Lakota. Based on information given to Dr. James Walker a century ago by Lakota Holy Men, this compilation includes the cycle of creation, the appearance of spirits and animals, the making of the four directions, and the coming of the Real People.
The Sound of Flutes and Other Indian Legends by
Legends from various North American Plains Indian tribes. Included are "The Legend of the Flute," "The Ghostly Lover," and "The Snake Brothers."
White Roots of Peace: the Iroquois book of life by
The epic of Deganawidah, the Peacemaker is an extraordinary story of a charismatic spiritual master whose vision and practical political genius brought order and peace in a time of chaos. It was through the efforts of the Peacemaker that the warring tribes of the Northeast joined together to form the Iroquois Confederacy over 500 years ago. The Peacemaker's work is preserved in the legend and history retold here and in the Confederacy's traditional constitution, which now influences many Native American governing systems throughout the United States. It also has had a major -- and rarely acknowledged -- impact in shaping the American Bill of Rights and the U. S. Constitution. The Iroquois Confederacy itself remains united under Deganawidah's unbroken spiritual lineage -- today represented by Chief Sidney I Hill, the Tadodaho, who is the temporal and spiritual leader of the Six Nations. Chief Hill has provided a message for this edition. The late Chief Leon Shenandoah, former Tadodaho, wrote the foreword. In an epilogue, historian John Mohawk takes up the story where Paul Wallace left off, chronicling the Confederacy's struggles to preserve its lands and sovereign dignity since the eighteenth century. The teachings of the Peacemaker remain vital today, offering an inspired model for consensus-building among nations and peoples throughout the world.
