BiblioVault - Books about Coyote (Mythological character)

Coyote Steals Fire

A Shoshone Tale

Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation

Utah State University Press, 2005

"Coyote was tired of being cold," begins this traditional Shoshone tale about the arrival of fire in the northern Wasatch region. Members of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation developed the concept for this retelling, in collaboration with book arts teacher, Tamara Zollinger. Together, they wrote and illustrated the book.

Bright watercolor-and-salt techniques provide a winning background to the hand-cut silhouettes of the characters. The lively, humorous story about Coyote and his friends is complemented perfectly by later pages written by Northwestern Shoshone elders on the historical background and cultural heritage of the Shoshone nation. An audio CD with the voice of Helen Timbimboo telling the story in Shoshone and singing two traditional songs makes this book not only good entertainment but an important historical document, too.

Sure to delight readers of all ages, Coyote Steals Fire will be a valuable addition to the family bookshelf, the elementary classroom, the school or public library.

[more]

Coyote Stories

Edited by William Bright

University of Chicago Press Journals, 1978

This volume includes 20 stories from a variety of languages spoken in the natural range of the coyote (Canis latrens). Each of the stories in this collection is presented in interlinearized format with full morpheme-by-morpheme glosses and English translations. This format makes explicit the structure of the language and illustrates the richness of grammar as it is used in context. This collection will be of interest to anthropologists, linguists, typologists, and aficionados of oral narrative, as well as to speakers and learners of Native American languages.

[more]

Coyote Stories II

Edited by Martha B. Kendall

University of Chicago Press Journals, 1980

This volume includes 12 stories from languages of the American southwest presented in numbered parallel format. Each of the stories in this collection is accompanied by morphological analyses and grammatical notes. This format makes explicit the structure of the language and illustrates the richness of grammar as it is used in context. These texts will be of interest to anthropologists, linguists, typologists, and aficionados of oral narrative, as well as to speakers and learners of Native American languages.

[more]

Zuñi Coyote Tales

Frank Hamilton Cushing

University of Arizona Press, 1998

Coyote tales are among the best loved in Native American folklore, and those recorded by anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing at the end of the nineteenth century have well survived the test of time. This collection of authentic stories extracted from his classic Zuñi Folk Tales offers modern readers of all ages a new appreciation of magic and myth as celebrated by the Zuñi Indians of western New Mexico.

These tales pit the wily Coyote against various demons and other creatures in order to convey simple lessons or explain animal characteristics or behavior. They tell how the tip of the coyote's tail became black after dancing with blackbirds and how coyotes learned never to insult horned-toads—and to keep clear of burrowing-owls. Through these tales, we learn why Coyote meddles with everything that does not concern him, makes a universal nuisance of himself, and is ready to jump into any trap laid for him.

[more]