Excerpt from Tales of the Cochiti Indians This collection of Cochiti tales was recorded in the summer of 1924. Besides these, which were obtained through interpreters, Prof. Franz Boas has generously added tales recorded in text and here given in close translation. These tales are indicated in the footnotes and in the table of contents. They give the literary style to which all the stories in Cochiti conform but which can never be completely reproduced without recording the text. Professor Boas will publish the accompanying texts and grammatical analysis at another time. The informants were all of the older generation, for in Cochiti the first age group to be systematically sent to Government boarding school is now about 35 years old, and below that age even the com monest tales are known only by hearsay. Informants 1, 2, 7, and 8 (7 and 8 Professor Boas's informants) were women, all of them well known native narrators. Informant 2 held an important ceremonial position. The other informants were men. Informant 3 was a priest of importance, and except for the taboo against imparting esoteric in formation to the whites, which both Professor Boas and I found very strong in Cochiti, both he. And informant 2 could, I think, have given a great body of such lore. As it is, such references are slurred or appear in obviously abbreviated accounts. Informant 4 was a very different individual from the others, as can be seen in the material recorded from him. He spoke Spanish fairly, and had been an adventurer all his life. He is very old now, but a leading member of the principales, in great demand in those acculturated Mexican ceremonies in which repartee must be carried on in what is considered to be Spanish. He liked best to give true stories - accounts of old hunting parties, Cochiti versions of Cortez, Montezuma, and the spanish-american War. His tales of the mythological heroes always emphasized their supernatural exploits in deer and rabbit hunting, and their success in turning the mockery that had been directed against them against those who had mocked them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

One of the most constant symbols of North American Indian mythology is coyote, a figure that has not only persisted but successfully crossed cultural barriers. Coyote survives both as an animal and a myth in literature and art. These stories illustrate the many roles and adventures of coyote. The Western Writers of America selected this book as a Spur Award winner for cover art. Readers will also want to read “Kachina Tales,” also published by Sunstone press.

This collection of American Indian legends was gathered by Gene Meany Hodge from authentic sources in the 1930s and centers around the sacred supernatural personages of the American Pueblo Indians called Kachinas (pronounced Kah-chee-nahs). Mrs. Hodge wrote: “All in all the Kachinas are lovable and kindly supernaturals who bring rain and other blessings to the people.” The legends of the Kachinas are a unifying and cohesive force in the continuance of Native American social history. In these stories, you discover why Kachinas wear feathers, how Tihkuyi created the game animals, why the war chiefs abandoned latiku, how the rattlesnakes came to be what they are and other events from the past. This book makes an ideal companion to “Coyote Tales from the Indian Pueblos,” also published by Sunstone Press.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.