Native+American+Pantheons



Background of Native American Society


The Native American pantheon is rather different from the pantheons we have learned about thus far. First of all, every tribe has different myths and different gods. This is due to the fact that every tribe within the Native American society lived in different places and had to face different hardships everyday. For example, tribes who hunted for a living tended to have more trickster gods. This is because they were more aware of the uncertainty of nature and the tricks nature could play upon a person4 .

It can also be seen that gods are many times represented by objects of nature. This is because the Native American society respected nature very much. It was a blessing to the people when they were able to eat animal meat for dinner. This is why their gods are viewed as animals and other pieces of nature9 .

Also, Native American myth was passed down for many generations without record. The majority of it was not written down before the 19th century. Other mythology is more well known, such as Greek, because it has been written and interpreted by several different authors. Since the stories were told for years without actually having been written down, they can vary greatly 4 . This shows how the Native American people used little technology, they typically lived off the wild. Native American society doesn't represent change. The people stuck to their native ways rather than constantly trying to upgrade society, like the white man.

Characteristics
The Native American gods do not have immortality. However, they live long lives and age slowly, much like the Norse gods. They live in "Shipololo", a world adjacent to Earth in the mist (Zuni)7. Other accounts have called their home "Olelpanti"  (Wintun)3. Four pillars at cardinal points hold the home up in the sky3. This heaven is connected to Earth by the bridge, Ekutsihimmiyo, which is also refered to as 'The Milky Way' or 'The Hanging Road'  <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">(Cheyenne)<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7. Wooden bowls represent the heavens (Menominee)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. The gods are often times represented by animals. The Native people had a huge respect for them and made them into their gods<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">9.

"The Great Spirit"
The Great Spirit is the primary god of most of the tribes. He/She is perceived as the creator of all things and the giver of life<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. The name of this god often varies, but the concept remains the same. The different names of the god typically mean "The Great Spirit/Mystery/Maker". Often, the Great Spirit is responsible for creation, but little else. He/She disappears after the world comes into existence and leaves other gods to oversee the daily proceedings of the world. The Great Spirit did not have any set rules which the people were required to follow, he/she simply represented a cultural and spirtual lifestyle the Native American people strived for. This god was very personal to the different tribes and he/she varied as the people needed him/her to 6.

The Great Spirit<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> was sometimes percieved as an old man who personally instructed his people about obtaining spiritual wisdom <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> (Blackfoot) 6. He/She was also known to others as "Ababinili" who taught people how to live long and healthy lives (Chickasaw)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. "Wakonda" was believed to have all things existing in his mind before they came to be. Men and animals later became disembodied spirits who wandered around searching for a home where they could take on a bodily form. Once they took on a real form on Earth, "Wakonda" was worshipped as their creator (Omaha)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. "Tirawa" was said to want to help his followers the best he could. Before he created mankind, he appointed gods to different positions in which they could help him help the people. He gave each of them some of his own powers (Pawnee and Delaware)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. The Great Spirit was also called "Kitshi Manitou" by some people (Chippewa)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3.

Trickster s
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Nearly every tribe has trickster gods. They are often represented by male animals. Such gods are more common in hunter-gatherer peoples than in settled peoples. This is because tribes who lived on the food of the wild were more aware of the uncertainty of nature and the tricks nature can play on a person<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">4 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. Trickster gods are often times responsible for parts of creation, but they also have evil sides. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">One trickster is Coyote (Navajo). Some other names: "Sedit" (Wintun), "Napi" (Blackfoot), "Old Man"<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. Coyote may have been the god of Earth and fire<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7. He loved to juggle his eyeballs to impress the girls<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">2. Among some Native Americans, he is respected, others hate him. Tricksters can be very different in every myth, including changing their form <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">5 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. For example, in one myth Coyote is portrayed as the creator of Earth. Silver Fox was wandering around singing about how she wanted to meet someone. Then, she ran into Coyote who wanted to create the world. Together, they danced and sang and threw sod down. The Earth came about from this (Miwok)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">1 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. In this myth, Coyote is credited as a creator. Coyote was also said to have accompanied a nameless creator who came from a cloud (Achowami)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. In another myth, Coyote is given the privilege of being the moon. He shines brightly and happily up in the sky. Coyote was able to see everything going on within the Earth from such a height. He would yell out everytime he saw someone did something wrong. The people started to hate him for it and he was replaced (Unknown)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">8 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. Other accounts of Coyote say that he was often exiled from the heavens <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. As you can see, tricksters can be seen as creators and as menacing.



<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Another common trickster is Hare (Algonquian). Some other names: "Glooscap" (Micmac), "Manabusch" (Menominee), "Manabozho" (Chippewa)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. He was possibly god of Heaven and sky<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7. "Manabusch" was born to the daughter of Nokomis. He was a twin. During childbirth, the mother and the other twin died. Nokomis put a wooden bowl, a symbol of heaven, over Manabusch. When she later removed the bowl, Manabusch was a hare. This hare grew up and wanted to take care of his grandmother, so he stole fire to keep them warm. His great speed allows him to outrun the man he took it from. Later, Manabusch tricked two bears to death. As payback, the world was flooded. Manabusch survived the flood and then had to recreate the Earth with a single grain of soil (Menominee)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3. Other accounts tell the myth differently. Hare and Coyote are twins and their mother dies during childbirth. However in this version, Coyote, the other twin, does not die. He blames Hare for the death of their mother and thus causes the flood<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7. It doesn't matter exactly how the myth goes. It can be seen in both versions that tricksters bring about both creation and evilness.



<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Raven was another trickster. He was probably best known as "Yetl" (Tlingit) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. He is credited with the creation of many things. First, he brought about winds. Next, he created the dog. He saw a man who ran fast and gave him four legs rather than two. He also turned another man into a celery plant. Yetl stole water from Petrel and gave it to the Earth as streams and rivers. Petrel tried to burn Yetl as a punishment, turning his white feathers into their current black color. Through deception, Yetl lured all but one of the killer whales to their death and boiled them for their oil. A man helped Yetl do this, but once they finished, Yetl would not share the oil. He kept all of it for himself. Yetl later killed Bear and his wife, thus bringing death to the world (Tlingit)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. Raven is a creator and an evil character.



<span style="color: #ff00ff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Opposing Characters
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> The Native American pantheon has several sets of opposing twins who are the worst of enemies<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">9.

In one place, Hare and Coyote are said to be twins of Ga-oh, the wind giant, and Awehai (Iroquois) <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">7 <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">. They hated eachother from the start, as Coyote blamed Hare for the death of their mother.

Good twin and Bad twin were twins birthed by Earth Woman (Iroquois)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">9.

Xbalanque and Hunahpu were twins birthed by Xquiq and Hunhun Ahpu. They were born magicians and their older brothers were jealous of them. This set is little different because the enemies were not the twins, but the older brothers (Maya)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3.

Taswiscana, meaning flint, and Yoskeha, meaning sapling, were twins birthed by Gusts of Wind and Wind ruler. The two fought in the womb and ended up killing their mother. (Onondaga)<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; vertical-align: super;">3.