Coyote (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
cultures, based on the coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
(Canis latrans) animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic although he may have some coyote-like physical features such as fur, pointed ears, yellow eyes, a tail and claws. The myths and legends which include Coyote vary widely from culture to culture.
Coyote shares many traits with the mythological figure Raven.
By culture
Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas
Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas is based upon cultural regions, geography, and linguistics. Anthropologists have named various cultural regions, with fluid boundaries, that are generally agreed upon with some variation...
of the Americas, as commonly defined by ethnographers:
California
Coyote is featured in the culture of the following groups who live in the area covered by the state of California: the KarukKaruk
Karuk is an indigenous people of California in the United States.The tribal headquarters, located off State Route 96, is in the town of Happy Camp, California. Currently the tribe has three tribal board meeting places, in Yreka, Happy Camp, and Orleans...
, the Maidu
Maidu
The Maidu are a group of Native Americans who live in Northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada, in the drainage area of the Feather and American Rivers...
of Northern California, the Tongva of Southern California, the Ohlone mythology
Ohlone mythology
The mythology of the Ohlone Native American people of Northern California include creation myths as well as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their conception of the world order...
of Northern California, the Miwok mythology
Miwok mythology
The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order, their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created. Miwok myths suggest their spiritual and philosophical world view...
of Northern California, and the Pomo mythology
Pomo mythology
The indigenous religion of the Pomo people, Native Americans from Northwestern California, centered on belief in the powerful entities of the 'Kunula', a Coyote, and 'Guksu', a spirit healer from the south.-Creation stories:...
of Northern California
Great Plains
Coyote is seen in the cultural heritage of these people of the Great Plains area: the Crow mythologyCrow mythology
Crow religion is the indigenous religion of the Crow tribe, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States.The medicine people of the tribe are known as Akbaalia ....
(Crow Nation
Crow Nation
The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a Siouan people of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota. They now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana and in several...
), the Ho-Chunk mythology
Ho-Chunk mythology
The Hocągara or Hocąks are a Siouan-speaking Indian Nation originally from Wisconsin and northern Illinois, but due to forced emigration, they are also found in Nebraska, where about half the nation now lives...
(Ho-Chunk
Ho-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
, Winnebago), and the Menominee
Menominee
Some placenames use other spellings, see also Menomonee and Menomonie.The Menominee are a nation of Native Americans living in Wisconsin. The Menominee, along with the Ho-Chunk, are the only tribes that are indigenous to what is now Wisconsin...
.
Plateau
Myths and stories of Coyote are also found in the cultures of the Plateau area: the ChinookanChinookan
Chinook refers to several native amercain groups of in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, speaking the Chinookan languages. In the early 19th century, the Chinookan-speaking peoples lived along the lower and middle Columbia River in present-day Oregon and Washington...
(including the Wishram people and the Multnomah
Multnomah (tribe)
The Multnomah were a tribe of Chinookan people who lived in the area of Portland, Oregon, more specifically Sauvie Island, in the United States through the early 19th century. Multnomah villages were located throughout the Portland basin and on both sides of the Columbia River...
), the Flathead
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
, the Nez Perce, the Nlaka'pamux
Nlaka'pamux
The Nlaka'pamux , commonly called "the Thompson", and also Thompson River Salish, Thompson Salish, Thompson River Indians or Thompson River people) are an indigenous First Nations/Native American people of the Interior Salish language group in southern British Columbia...
, the Syilx (Okanagan)
Okanagan people
The Okanagan people, also spelled Okanogan, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the U.S.-Canada boundary in Washington state and British Columbia...
, the St'at'imc
St'at'imc
The St'át'imc are an Interior Salish people located in the southern Coast Mountains and Fraser Canyon region of the Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia.St'át'imc culture displayed many features typical of Northwest Coast peoples: the...
, the Tsilhqot'in
Tsilhqot'in
The Tsilhqot'in are a Northern Athabaskan First Nations people that live in British Columbia, Canada...
, and the Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
.
Functional cognates
Coyote has been compared to both the Scandinavian LokiLoki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
, and also Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
, who shared with Coyote the trick of having stolen fire from the gods as a gift for mankind, and Anansi
Anansi
Anansi the trickster is a spider, and is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore.He is also known as Ananse, Kwaku Ananse, and Anancy; and in the Southern United States he has evolved into Aunt Nancy. He is a spider, but often acts and appears as a man...
, a mythological culture hero
Culture hero
A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group who changes the world through invention or discovery...
from Western African mythology. In Eurasia, rather than a coyote, a fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
is often featured as a trickster hero, ranging from kitsune
Kitsune
is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume...
(fox) tales in Japan to the Reynard cycle in Western Europe. Similarities can also be drawn with another trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
, the Polynesian demigod Māui
Maui (mythology)
Māui is the great hero of Polynesian mythology. Stories about his exploits are told in nearly every Polynesian land. Maui in most cases is regarded as a demi-god, or as fully divine; in some places, he is regarded as merely human ....
, who also stole fire for mankind and introduced death to the world.
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
, French anthropologist proposed a structuralist
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
theory that suggests that Coyote and Crow obtained mythic status because they are mediator animals between life and death.
Coyote in the modern world
Coyote figures prominently in current efforts to educate young people about Western Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
languages and cultures. For example, the Secwepemc
Secwepemc
The Secwepemc , known in English as the Shuswap people, are a First Nations people residing in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their traditional territory ranges from the eastern Chilcotin Plateau and the Cariboo Plateau southeast through the Thompson Country to Kamloops and the Shuswap...
people of the Kamloops Indian Band
Kamloops Indian Band
The Kamloops Indian Band, also known as the Tk’umlups Indian Band, is one of the largest of the 17 groups into which the Secwepemc nation was divided when the Colony of British Columbia established an Indian reserve system in the 1860s...
in Kamloops, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, have designated their recently opened native elementary school the Sk'elep
Sk'elep
Sk'elep or Coyote is the traditional trickster figure in the pantheon of Secwepemc mythology. He is featured in many legends and has many powers, including the ability to die and come back to life. Like the animal his character is enjoined to, he is very clever...
(Coyote) School of Excellence, while educational websites such as one co-sponsored by the Neskonlith Indian Band
Neskonlith Indian Band
The Neskonlith Indian Band is First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia located in the Shuswap district east of Kamloops. It is a member of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, one of two main governmental bodies of the Secwepemc people...
of Chase, British Columbia prominently feature stories about Sk'elep.
Peter Blue Cloud (Aroniawenrate) is a member of the Turtle clan of the Mohawk Nation. His books include two collections of contemporary Coyote tales, Elderberry Flute Song and The Other Side of Nowhere, which place Coyote in a number of different guises—showing Coyote to be funny, wise, sad, and sexual. William Bright's collection, A Coyote Reader, also shows the continuing importance of Coyote in today's world.
Coyote in popular culture
The coyote is a popular figure in folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. Modern references may invoke either the animal or the mythological figure. Traits commonly described in pop culture appearances include inventiveness, mischievousness, and evasiveness.
Coyote's mythological role as a trickster is the basis for American sex workers' modern adoption of the coyote in service to advocacy in their industry – "COYOTE
COYOTE
COYOTE, or Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics, is an American sex worker activist organization. COYOTE's goals include the decriminalization of prostitution, pimping and pandering, as well as the elimination of social stigma concerning sex work as an occupation.Though it is frequently described as a...
" ("Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics") is the name of a group established in 1973 in San Francisco to advocate for sex workers in political issues and to help prostitutes who want to leave the business.