There are two stories that exemplify the indigenous mythology surrounding the introduction of death into the mortal world.
Death is a part of life—it is the end product of life, actually. In Native American mythology, death is a concept brought to the human world by the actions of inherently flawed individuals (supernatural entities like tricksters and cultural heroes, who are often given human attributes and emotions). By and large, death and the next world, or afterlife, were alien constructs until man was made aware of them by the actions of various cultural figures—tricksters and humans who travelled into the next world. Once introduced to the human world, death and the concept of a life hereafter became an integral part of indigenous religious and social development. While it would be a daunting task to outline the origins of death in the cultural mythos of all tribal groups, the key elements of those mythologies do have striking similarities. There are two such stories that can be explored as a template for the concept of death in relation to man’s development.
At the heart of the mythos surrounding the intertwined concepts of death and the afterlife is the flawed motivations of principal figures. Regardless of tribal affiliation or religious interpretation, death mythology carries with it the common theme of altruistic motivations producing negative and long lasting consequences. According to Chinook mythology, the trickster spirit Coyote is responsible for the introduction of death into the human world. In an effort to retrieve their wives, Coyote and Eagle traveled to the land of the dead and through a series of misadventures inadvertently unleashed it. According to the legend, the dead are only visible in the darkness that occurs when a mysterious woman consumes the moon. Realizing this would be the only way to reunite with his wife, Coyote killed the woman and proceeded to swallow the moon. The two quickly gathered the souls of the dead in a box and started back for the natural realm. Eager to see his beloved, Coyote opened the box and accidentally released the souls of the dead as well as death itself onto the world.
The Modoc of northern California tell of a chief named Kumokums, who proposed a unique solution to the overpopulation that had plagued his community. Fearing a population explosion that would eventually endanger the village food supply, the chief consented to let his people travel to the land of the dead. By doing this, however, the chief was consigning his people to the reality of death. Like Coyote, Kumokums meant well; unfortunately, his actions had negative consequences for his people. In each story lies a moral tale, where an individual’s good intentions produce negative results. Within the context of religious and social development, these mythologies served to warn the people of the consequences of their actions. Throughout indigenous mythology there are a plethora of similar stories that tell of how death was brought to the mortal world by the actions of such individuals.
David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux, Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Hermes House, 2006).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s Educational Services, Inc., 1995)
Peter Matthiessen, ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Group, 1989).
Mark St. Pierre and Tilda Long Soldier, Walking in the Sacred Manner: Healers, Dreamers, and Pipe Carriers—Medicine Women of the Plains. (New York: Simon and Schuster,1995).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000).
Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006).
