Reading Notes: Southwestern and California Legends, Part A

I didn't really know what I wanted to read this week so I asked the Crystal Ball and that's what I read. These stories were very short and really cute. A lot of the stories were creation stories and it was really interesting how many different versions there were for the creation of one thing. 

Creation and Longevity

This was my favorite of the three coyote creation stories! I liked how all the animals worked together to create the earth and I loved that Coyote carried the fire from the west back to the Indians in his ears. I could just picture it and it was so cute! If I were to rewrite this story, I would probably tell it as a bedtime story. That way the kids can learn to work together and think Coyote bringing fire back in his ears is cute too.

(Photo from Deviant Art)

The Creation of the World

I enjoyed how this story described how a lot of the basic things came to be like the earth, the sun, and the stars. I liked how they all had a different component to them and I would like to use that if I rewrite this story. I would probably have a planet making factory and as you follow the assembly down, you would learn about how the basic planet was made and then you add water and mountains, and then the sun, and so on. There would also be a room for trying to build new planets, like how the Earth Doctor tried a few different ways to get the earth to stay steady.

The Origin of Light

I thought it was so funny that the animals used to just bump into each other before there was light. In a retelling of this story I would write about Hawk and Coyote planning on how to create the sun and then having to regroup when they realize they also have to make the moon.

Bibliography. Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912). Link to readings