Native American Oral Traditons
What is the function of Myth?
The Function of a Myth
The function of a myth explains how humanity was created and to remember historical events. They teach moral lessons and give verbal cultural lessons, and they take you on a journey of the past. They also use personification of animals and exaggerations.
Types of Myths
There are two types of myths, Creation and Origin. Some stories contain both creation and origin myths. Creation myths tell how humans and the world came to existence. Origin myths explain how stars and the moon came to be and why certain customs and beliefs are in societies.
Hero
Hero is one example of what an archetype is. Its an example character. An Archetype is a symbol of character found in many cultures.
Life & Death
Life and Death is an example of a archetype symbol. The tree is used in many different native literatures as a symbol of life because the tree provided all of the food for the people.
Trickster
The trickster is another example of an archetype character. The trickster is known in many cultures as the coyote that tricked many people and also created the earth.
What is Oral Traditon?
Oral Tradition started approximately 40,000 years ago. It was the only way to record historical events that happened. Each culture had its own mythology type stories and a unique heritage to it. Each time a story was told it was changed a little bit. The stories were passed down from generation to generation in households and tribal ceremonies. These stories told of the tribe's past and its close relationship with the natural world. The stories didn't have one single author, they were created by the whole tribe or family.