Bear Woman and Deer Woman is a story from the Lassik tribe in California. I was really intrigued by the fact that all of the characters were animals, but the husband/father who was only mentioned was human. This story was especially violent. The two wives started out presenting as friends, but then the bear wife killed and burned the deer wife. Then, in retaliation, the deer children killed the bear children! Finally, the deer children also indirectly killed the bear wife by tricking her into falling into the river. So, what is the message of this story?
Splinter-Foot Girl is from the Arapaho tribe. Parts of this tribe now live in Oklahoma! In this story, a child is born from a warrior's wound. It mentions that the first wrap for the little girl was made from panther skin. That could be an interesting story perspective! Also, this story reminds me a bit of the classic "Three Men and a Baby" since this little girl is being so dutifully looked after by all the warriors. At the end, the girl is married to a bull. So, animal representations are not exclusive to one gender in these tales!
The Rolling Head is also from a tribe with Oklahoma ties -- the Cheyenne! The story begins when a husband goes away from his family to hunt. The woman's part of the story is quite reminiscent of the Bible's first sin story because the woman is tempted by a snake when she is unclothed. Suddenly, this story becomes much more scandalous though when it is revealed that the wife is having an affair with the snake. When the husband returns, he kills the snake and his wife, then feeds his wife to his children! This was also a theme in the Bear and the Deer Woman story. Eeek!! Later, like in the first story, the children returned the favor and had the father killed. So much violence!
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| A very famous photo of a Cheyenne chief taken in 1904 Image Information |
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