Beschreibung
This excellent collection of myths and legends in the "oral history" style - either from the mouths of storytellers, or from documents where their words were first captured - presents a wonderful insight into the American Indian spiritual philosophy. The book is neatly organized into chapters from the genesis of the planet and people, through myths and legends emphasizing the social structure, to love stories, warrior myths and on to the final death and afterlife stories. Stories from tribes across the North American continent show both the divergent philsophies, as well as the common ground. The editors have wonderfully resisted any urge to edit these stories. Each chapter opens with an overview provided by Erdoes and Ortiz. There are occasional editorial explanations at the ends of stories. They should expecially be applauded for including stories with humor. As someone with Indian ancestry, but not a traditional Indian upbringing, I enjoyed the experience of spiritual concordance with the basic philosophies, no matter which tribe or region of the country was being presented. The book is easily readable by most age groups; parents of younger children could read these as entertainment and even bed-tiime stories.