American Indians The Coyote Clown example essay topic

A lecher an outlaw the creator and teacher of men, often called a clown and a trickster, the coyote clown plays an important pragmatic and ceremonial role in the lives of the Native American people. Among the South Western Indian tribes the coyote stories stands as a mirror for their own lives, pointing out the petty foible and the most magnificent strengths. To the North American Indians the Coyote Clown is mischievous and causes havoc. The coyote is a supernatural figure that creates and destroys who cheats and is ultimately cheated, who surpasses all others in intelligence but finally outsmarts himself. Throughout the Indian Tribes across America, the reputation of this being changes. For instance, the Pueblo Indians have more tolerance for the coyote and his mischievous ways.

Like the Pueblos the Laguna Indians tolerate his ways and even celebrate his presence, by having a clan that forbids the killing of any coyotes in the land. Unlike the Laguna or Pueblo Indians the Z unis tribe sees him as a hero who set forth laws by which men may live in peace. Among the Indians of the western North American and among the tribes the Coyote Clown or the "trickster" as called by them is semi-heroic, noble yet mischievous, is the one who transforms, changes and creates. The Eskimos see the Coyote Clown as a raven that takes on purely human characteristics who is both evil and good. The Coyote Clown keeps changing shape and experimenting with a thousand identities, including shifts in sex, in a seemingly never-ending search for himself.

During all this he inflicts great damage on those around him and also suffers innumerable blows, defeats, indignities, and dangers resulting from his thoughtless, reckless forays. On entering upon existence he is first seen as a blurred, chaotic, hardly unified being, having no self-knowledge or life-knowledge, despite his divine parenthood. It is only later on in that the coyote clown emerges as a culture hero, demigod, and savior of peoples. But this occurs only after his transformation or self-integration takes place.

The Coyote Clown contains within itself the promise of differentiation, the promise of god and man. For this reason every generation occupies itself with interpreting the "Trickster". No tribe fully understand him, but no tribe can do without him, and so he became and remains everything to every man, god, animal, human being, hero, buffoon, he who was before good and evil, denier, affirmer, destroyer and creator. If we laugh at him, he grins at us. Whatever happens to him happens to us. The Coyote Clown represents what every human can be, if were not civilized.

He represents the potency of nothingness, of chaos, but of freedom. There is great power in such a being and it will always be dully recognized and honored by the Indian People. The coyote clown while yet evil is also good. In all the coyote clown is a symbol, a symbol of our culture without civilization.