I would be a Coyote. My coat would be a blend of ash grey balanced with a shining burnt-red muzzle, forelegs, and paws. Coyotes are intelligent, playful, and resourceful. They have a curious appetite and are comfortable journeying across rural plains or even wandering into populated urban centers. Coyotes are tough, rugged survivors and have endured and will adapt to the World changing around them. Their eyes are sharp and piercing. They think and react quick with speed and strength. And we humans share the coyote's unserious laughter and humorous nature. Coyotes roam around in both the day and night and I can understand that myself; as I'm writing this well past 3:00 in the morning.. Zzz
Part 2.) This blog assignment has really made me think about the significance of animals in the Dine Bahane. Also in general there is definitely a significance of certain animals to the early native cultures such as the Navajo and Maya. Animals are regarded as spirit like and their gods and holy people are given animal traits or have the ability to transform into animals. In the creation stories, animals like coyote were present and had a role in entering the new world. These cultures lived along side coyotes and its interesting to me that they have been incorporated into native rituals and tales. there is a lot of information out there which discusses the significance of certain animals to many indigenous cultures. The significance of animals to the early indeginous cultures has been interpreted in many ways and hopefully some day the unique role of certain animals stories like Dine Bahane will be understood and enlighten people.
Hey Bink,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering how you felt when the coyote was mentioned in the readings? Did you like the part where the coyote gave hair to the boy and girl? Do you think you are a trickster who plays pranks like the coyote? Since you relate yourself to the coyote, I was just wondering how you felt when you heard these things.
That part of the story was interesting to me. I actually used it as textual evidence for my paper, as an example of trickery. I struggle to understand the significance of the coyote's responsibility for this (So, coyote is a trickster/hero character in our world to the Navajo people. Puberty is an awkward and funny phase the body goes through and maybe including coyote in the story was just a funny way for the Navajo to inform their kids about their body and how puberty is just a funny/awkward stage. Also to explain why they grow hair there. It's not easy for parents sometimes to have that puberty/sex talk with their kids so maybe telling a story to the children about how Coyote gave people pubic hair is their cultural way of discussing and informing kids on topics like puberty/sex).
ReplyDeleteI do like to have fun and use my wits to play tricks on friends and have a good laugh. I have a good sense of humor and I can appreciate the humors tales in Dine Bahane that include the coyote. I don't really care too much for the other characters in the story. Reading the story, I just wondered what the coyote might be up to. Hearing about the coyote is like watching cartoons on a Saturday morning. Cartoons are a part of my culture growing up and the tales of coyote were likely a comparable cultural affection to the Navajo.
I agree with you about how Native Americans viewed animals.They played a vital role in many of their rituals and were celebrated for what they provided. The world would be a different place if we cared about animals in the same way as the Natives. As we can see everyday, animals play an important role in our habitats and ecosystems. I sometimes wonder what the ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas would think of how we live today and how we treat animals as a commodity...great job!
ReplyDelete