John Bierhorst

Folklorist and author John Bierhorst and illustrator Wendy Watson, who previously collaborated on Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop's Fables, here present seven traditional tales from the Hopi pueblos of Arizona. The interconnected tales all revolve around a group of animal friends, and are presented in the same style as they would be if being told around the fire, with a short introduction and conclusion, and an ask-and-answer refrain between teller and listener opening each selection. Here we find:

Roasted Ears, in which Badger tricks Coyote, pretending he has cut off his own ears to serve his guest a meal. When Coyote returns the favor, his ears don't grow back, explaining why they are short to this day.

Why Mouse Walks Softly, in which Mouse steals food from all the nearby houses in order to feed her guests, Coyote and Beetle. These two decide to shame her with a song, and realizing that the whole village knows what she has done, Mouse decides to be quiet in her activities, from then on.

Beetle's New Life, in which Beetle is not feeling well (mostly from the cold), but is aided by his friends, Badger and Mole, who believe he is dead or dying.

Winter Story, in which Coyote becomes resentful of his friend Snake, after allowing him to curl up in his home as a guest, leaving him cold outside. Determining to repay the favor, he visits Snake with a long fake tail of his own, leaving Snake out in the cold. That serpentine fellow however, is revenged by burning Coyote's tail and scorching his fur, leading to a permanent end to their friendship.

The Racer, in which Mouse is the only one who can reach the cicadas and convince them to visit the other animals, thereby melting the terrible snow and bringing the warmth. This tale explains why people throw cicada wings on the fire in winter.

Why Peaches Are Sweet, in which Dove and Bee become friends, with Bee providing medicine to make the peaches sweet, and Dove giving Bee some of her feathers for wings.

Coyote Breaks His Leg, in which Coyote breaks his leg while hunting with Badger, and is nursed back to health by a family of mice. In repayment, he leaves crumbs by his fire for their meals.

I enjoyed the stories in Is My Friend at Home?: Pueblo Fireside Tales, appreciating their sense of humor, and the ways in which the animals trick one another, but also help one another. These are indeed tales (mostly) of friends. I also appreciated the brief note on the colophon, in which Bierhorst listed his sources. The artwork from Wendy Watson was cute, in a somewhat cartoonish style, and I thought it captured the humor of the text. I wasn't as sold on Watson's illustrations in Doctor Coyote, but I think that was because I was hoping for something more Aztec in style. In any case, this is one I would recommend to young folklore lovers, and to anyone looking for Hopi folktales.… (more)

Twenty-five Lenape/Delaware folktales are presented in this engaging volume, edited by John Bierhorst. The tales themselves were retold and recorded at various times throughout the twentieth century from Lenape storytellers in Oklahoma, upstate New York and Ontario. Photographs of some of these storytellers are interspersed throughout, with biographical details accompanying them. The book opens with an introduction about the Lenape people and their history, as well as a discussion of their lore, and the sources—both written and oral/recorded—that we have for it. The tales are divided into six thematic sub-sections, and are followed by a glossary and pronunciation guide, notes and a list of references. Selections include:

Origins:

How the First Stories Came Out of the Earth, in which a man discovers a hole in the ground, and is told by the "grandfather" inside that those wishing to hear stories should gather round.

Snow Boy, a pourquoi tale about an odd little boy who would suck other people's fingers, making them stiff and black and cold. Eventually he told the people that his name was snow and ice, and that his coming would help them to hunt, by revealing the animals' tracks in winter.

The Giant Squirrel, a tale about that ancient time when all the animals were huge, and how the squirrel angered the Creator by killing a man. Shrunk down to his current size, the squirrel became food for man.

How the Big House Got Started, which tells of how the traditional Lenape religion, the Big House, came to be. Set in a time when the Lenape were moving west due to the encroachment of European settlers, it tells of a witch hunt and craze, followed by a period or repentance and renewal, after an old man went into the woods and had a vision.

Lost Children:

The Sun and the Corn Bread, in which the sun visits a woman and asks for bread, eventually carving away something (some kind of life energy) that should have gone to her unborn children. As a result, her subsequent children die.

The Boy Who Became a Flock of Quail, which explains how a little boy, left on his own, sings himself into a quail. As a result, the Lenape do not like to hunt quail.

The Lost Boy, in which a young boy is swept away in a river, and his grieving parents, aided by a wise man with mysterious powers, learn that he now lives with a mermaid under the water.

The Girl Who Joined the Thunders, about a young girl who marries a snake man and lives with him underwater until she grows afraid and escapes. After briefly returning to her people, she goes to live with the Thunders, who helped to cleanse her when she first escaped.

Rock-shut-up, about a young boy who is abandoned by his aunt and uncle, left in a hole in the ground that the uncle covers with a rock. Rescued and raised by a bear, he grows older, until eventually human hunters discover his existence.

Boy Heroes:

The Big Fish and the Sun, in which a terrible fish, born of a young girl, begins to prey on the people. Eventually, when the chiefs offer a reward to whomever can slay the fish, two poor young boys visit the Sun and ask his help in accomplishing this task. He instructs them to use the ash from his fire—his fire itself being far too powerful—to defeat this foe.

Ball Player, in which the youngest of a series of brothers, who likes nothing better than to play with his ball—the skull of a bobcat—and who must rescue his brothers and sister-in-law, kidnapped and slain by Red-Feather-on-the-Head and his terrible yakwahe (the great naked bear).

The White Deer, in which a young boy has a series of adventures involving the white deer—a ganyo gowa, or master of game, which controls the other deer and animals.

Three Boys on a Vision Quest, a cautionary tale in which three youths, sent on a vision quest, are granted wishes by a manëtu, a spirit or spirit power. The different outcomes of the three wishes offer a teaching tale. As notes in the introduction to this tale, some Lenape stories have explicit morals, although they are described as "corrections."

The Trickster:

Jack Babysits, in which the eponymous Jack (sometimes called Crazy Jack) accidentally kills the baby he is meant to be watching.

Crazy Jack Puts His Nose to the Ground, in which Crazy Jack interprets instructions given to him in a literal sense, rather than in the correct figurative one, digging a little hole in the ground, in which to insert his nose.

Wehixamukes Story, in which Wehixamukes (the traditional Lenape name for their trickster), has a series of misadventures due to his literal interpretation of everything said to him. He is a figure of great power, and able to do extraordinary things, but must be directed correctly.

More Wehixamukes, in which Wehixamukes has more misadventures due to his literalism, and is eventually killed, to the grief of his companions.

Six Stories About Wehixamukes, a cycle of tales in which Wehixamukes alerts the enemy to the Lenape's presence, but then defeats them single-handedly. This cycle also includes the story of how he killed two of his own people, due to his literalism, and offers another version of his death story, hammered into the ground by a tree.

Tales of Prophecy:

The Twelve Little Women, in which twelve little women, who made their home in the caves located in the cliffs at the mouth of the Delaware River, were driven away by one insolent young man, who taunted them and then slew their serpent and burned their house. Leaving, they warned the people the people that they would have taught them many things, things that would have helped them in a hundred years, when invaders would arrive to drive them from their land. This story can also be found in Bierhorst's 1998 collection, The Deetkatoo: Native American Stories About Little People.

The First Land Sale, which details the first time the Lenape sold land, and how the were cheated and deceived in the process by the European settlers.

Why the World Doesn't End, in which the world is fated to cone to an end when a certain old woman completes making her basket, and how that end is continually delayed by the mice who make a hole in it every night.

Dog Stories:

The Wolves and the Dogs, in which wolves and dogs become estranged from one another after a dog sets out to fetch fire for all from the Lenape, only to be subverted by affection, and become a pet instead.

The Boy Who Had Dog Power, in which an abandoned boy and the dog he rescues become great friends, and the boy is given the power to turn into a dog as a result of that friendship. Eventually reuniting with his people, the boy becomes a great hunter, but is brought low by the envy of other men, who discover his secret and kill his dog companion.

Why Dogs Sniff Each Other, a humorous tale in which all the dogs attending a dog's council must leave their kukunëmëwoo (testicles) in basket at the door. When the council is interrupted and everyone must flee, some dogs take the wrong kukunëmëwoo. This is why dogs sniff each other: they are trying to figure out who has their kukunëmëwoo.

How a Dog Earned the Right to Eat from the Table, in which a dog saves his man from a rattlesnake, and earns the right to eat at the table with him.

I enjoyed reading the twenty-five tales in The White Deer and Other Stories Told by the Lenape. I haven't read much folklore from this Native American people, who were the indigenous inhabits of my current home state of New Jersey, so most of these stories were new to me. The only one which was familiar to me was The Twelve Little Women, and only because I had read the subsequent Bierhorst collection. In any case, I found these stories very interesting and appreciated the back matter. I already have another, more recent collection of Lenape tales, The Grandfathers Speak: Native American Folk Tales of the Lenape People on request at the library! Recommended to folklore enthusiasts, and to anyone interested in the Lenape/Delaware people.… (more)

Prolific folklorist and anthologist John Bierhorst, who has produced many volumes of Native American folklore, presents twenty-two stories about Little People in this collection, taken from fifteen different tribal nations. His text is accompanied by the artwork of Ron Hilbert Coy, a member of the Tulalip nation of western Washington state. Selections include:

Weaker and Weaker, an Inuit tale from Baffin Island, in which a grandmother and grandson are the only survivors of an island flood, and are saved from starvation when a little couple stop by their home one night.

Three Wishes, a Mohawk tale from New York, which tells of Gathering Flowers, a young girl who spends a visit with the little people, and who is rewarded for keeping the secret of their presence with three wishes. Her wishes—a magic soup pot so her family will never go hungry, and will always have food to share; the wisdom to never hurts others with her words; the ability to see something good in everyone she meets—prove very wise.

Proud-Woman and All-Kinds-of-Trees, a Seneca tale from New York, in which an unlucky hunter gains luck, after stealing and then agreeing to return the baby of a little man.

The Girl Who Married the Little Man, an Inuit tale from Greenland, in which a young woman and her family anger the men in their village by their refusal to accept any marriage proposal for the young woman. When the young woman marries one of the little people, their prosperity allows the family to help their one-time enemies, who are now starving.

The Little Ones and the Mouse Helpers, a Zuni tale from New Mexico, in which a priest's daughter marries two little men from Thunder Mountain, after they perform a task she sets them, with the help of the local mice.

All Are My Friends, a Yurok tale from California, in which a young man has a vision of Megwomets, a little person who considered everyone his friend, and who always helped people in need of food.

The Little House in the Deep Water, a Cherokee tale from North Carolina, in which a young boy spends an afternoon and night visiting the little people whose home lies in the deep river, transformed into a road of grass, when he and his host walk along it.

The Boy Who Married the Little Woman, a Maliseet tale from New Brunswick, in which two brothers are abandoned by both father and mother, and are eventually adopted by Raven. After a trip along a forbidden trail, and a voyage by sea, one of the brothers wins a little woman as his wife, bringing prosperity to his family.

Two Bad Friends, an Inuit tale from Greenland, in which two widows' sons who were once friends become enemies, until the little people take them in hand and effect a reconciliation.

The Little People Who Built the Temples, a Mayan tale from Yucatán which tells of the little peoples who built the great temples, and who managed to feast on a single grain of corn, in the days before sunlight came to the world.

How the Dead Came Back, a Cherokee tale from North Carolina, in which people who died journeyed to the Dark Land, but could return to the land of the living after seven days. This state of affairs came to end however, after two little men, sent to retrieve one young girl who had died, did not follow instructions, making a tiny hole in the box in which they carried her, thereby causing her to disappear and return to the Dark Land permanently.

The Little Man Who Married the Whirlwind, a Seneca tale from New York, in which a little man who marries a whirlwind must contend with his mother-in-law's dangerous tasks, intended to kill him. Triumphing in the end, he returns with his wife to the uncle who raised him.

The Rainmaker's Apprentice, a Nahua (Aztec) tale from Mexico, which tells of a boy named José, who was briefly the apprentice of the rainmakers, until he interfered with the weather, creating a terrible storm. Despite his banishment, the rainmakers made sure José always had plenty of good rain for his crops.

Thunder's Two Sisters, a Cherokee tale from North Carolina, in which the beautiful sisters of Thunder come to a human dance, only to slip away when one of the Cherokee men pursues them. Eventually, aided by an incantation given to him by a medicine man, the hunter succeeds in following the sisters, but loses his chance to take one as a bride, through his fear.

The Smallest Bow, a Seneca tale from New York, in which a young hunter misses the chance of great good fortune, when he refuses to trade bows with two little men he meets one morning.

The Little Woman Who Taught Pottery, a Toba tale from Argentina, which tells of Kopilitára, a very old little woman, so small she looked like a five-year-old child, who taught the people how to make pots.

How the Dark Dance Began, a Seneca tale from New York, in which a young boy named Snow spends time with the little people, bringing back their ceremony, the Dark Dance, to his people. I have not yet read the source for this tale, Arthur C. Parker's Seneca Myths and Folktales, but I have read and enjoyed Edmund Wilson's Apologies to the Iroqouis, which describes a modern Dark Dance, still performed by the Seneca today.

The Hunter Who Lost His Luck, a Seneca/Cayuga tale from New York and Ontario, in which a hunter marries a little woman and gains great fortune, until he disregards her warning about speaking to anyone while he hunts, thereby losing everything.

Star Husbands, a Passamaquoddy tale from Maine, in which Marten wins a bride from the little people by stealing one of their maidens' clothing, while she is bathing. When his friend Moose fails to do the same, and then Marten wins a second bride, the two become enemies. But the two brides, eventually disenchanted with their husband, leave Marten and take stars as husbands.

The Twelve Little Women, a Lenape story from New York, in which twelve little women, who made their home in the caves located in the cliffs at the mouth of the Delaware River, were driven away by one insolent young man, who taunted them and then slew their serpent and burned their house. Leaving, they warned the people the people that they would have taught them many things, things that would have helped them in a hundred years, when invaders would arrive to drive them from their land.

The Talking Tree, a Yaqui story from Mexico, which tells of the little people known as the Surem, who gained their knowledge and wisdom from a giant talking tree that told them how to live. Learning of conquerors who would soon come, many of them departed to live under the earth or in the sea, while some remained and became the people of today.

The Deetkato, a Tillamook story from Oregon, in which a woman who had been abandoned by her husband finds good fortune when she discovers a little person known as a Deetkatoo. Burying him in sand, the woman fasts and waits, and after ten days the little man had turned into money beads and buffalo-horn dishes, making her very wealthy and winning back her husband.

I greatly enjoyed reading the tales in The Deetkatoo: Native American Stories About Little People, some of which were familiar to me, and some of which were not. Familiar or not, all were fascinating, and I appreciated Bierhorst's introduction, as well as the most informative back matter, which included a guide to the tribes and cultures from which the stories came; a guide to the lore of the little people, which identified different themes and the stories in which they were to be found; notes for each tale included; and a list of references. I feel as if I barely scratched the surface here, and look forward to tracking down some of the titles found in the list of references. Highly recommended to all folklore enthusiasts, particularly those who enjoy stories about little people, or who are interested in Native American lore.… (more)