the test-theme in north american mythology - robert h. lowie

7/27/2019 The Test-Theme in North American Mythology - Robert H. Lowie

1/53

The Test-Theme in North American MythologyAuthor(s): Robert H. LowieSource: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 21, No. 81 (Apr. - Sep., 1908), pp. 97-148Published by: American Folklore SocietyAmerican Folklore SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/534632

Accessed: 27/11/2010 08:15

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinois and

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folk.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

University of Illinois Press andAmerican Folklore Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve

and extend access to The Journal of American Folklore.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folkhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/534632?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinoishttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folkhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folkhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=illinoishttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/534632?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folkhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=folk


2/53

THE JOURNAL OFAMERICAN FOLK-LORE.

VOL. XXI. - APRIL-SEPT., 19o8. -Nos. LXXXI-LXXXII.

THE TEST-THEME IN NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY.BY ROBERT H. LOWIE.

I. EHRENREICH'S MYTHOLOGICALTHEORY.UNTILecently wo standpointshad been assumed n the theoreticaldiscussionof Americanmythology. The older theoryof Brintonen-deavoredto explainmythologicalsimilarities n differentpartsof theNew Worldby the principleof the psychicalunity of mankind. Uni-

formitiesof a strikingcharacter even if found among such neigh-boring tribes as the Iroquois and Algonquin were interpretedaspointing "not to a common source in history, but in psychology."(17: 172, 173.) They were derived from the action of the same naturalphenomenaon similarlyconstitutedminds;at the sametime, the phe-nomenaweresupposed o appealto the observerbecauseof their asso-ciationwith such abstractionsas light or life. In 1895 this theorywaschallengedon historicalgrounds. On the basis of North Pacificma-terial,Boas succeeded n establishing he diffusionof complex ales andcharacteristicpisodesoverwideareas. (3: 329 et seq.) Themythologyof each tribewas shownto be a productof historicaldevelopment,tsoriginal ormhavingbeenmodifiedby assimilationand accretionsromvarioussources. Withoutdenyingthe influenceof the celestial bodieson primitive ancy,he challenged he legitimacyof any directinterpre-tation of mythsas expressionsof universal deasbeforeeliminating hechangesconditionedby historicaland geographical auses.The recentpublicationsof Dr. Ehrenreich 33 and 34) introduceanovel, in some respectsintermediate,point of view. Unlike Brinton,Ehrenreichmakes extensiveuse of the principleof transmission.Heaccepts heevidence ortreating asternAsiaand northwesternAmericaas a continuousarea,and directsattention o strikingsimilaritiesn themythologiesof North and South America as suggestiveof an earlyhistoricalconnection. Also in oppositionto Brinton,he rejects un-

I The first number in parentheses refers to the title with corresponding number in thelist at the end of this paper; subsequent numbers refer to pages.


3/53

98 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.equivocally ll attemptsat interpretingmythsas symbolical xpressionsof abstract deas. On the otherhand, Boas'sobjectionsare overruledon the plea that a reliablesystemof interpretations renderedpossibleby comparativeanalysis. The primitivemind is assumedto apper-ceive the celestialbodieseither as themselvespersonified, r as the in-strumentsof personalbeings. This naive apperceptioneads to talesdescribinghe phasesof the sun and moonas the adventures f a humanhero; or--as in the case of star-loreand portionsof solar and lunarmyths--to explanatory legends. The heavenly bodies furnish theprincipal, f not the only, subjectsof primitive myth. Their motion,rise, and disappearance,heirapparent lightor meeting,the terrifyingphenomenaof the eclipses,the growth,death, and restorationof themoon,the influenceof bothbodieson vegetation,hese are all processeswhichmaybe representedn a mythologicalnarrative. (34: 553, 554.)The test-themes developedas an explanationof the sun's sojourninthe lowerworldandits "visit to heaven." Eclipsesandthe settingof thesun aredescribedas theswallowingof the solarheroby a monster, romwhosemaw he reappearswithouthair,that is, withoutrays. The open-ing and closingof the watersor the earthto receive he sinkingsun hasits counterpartn the symplegadesmotive,whilethe captureof the sunrefersto the solstices. The relationof sun and moon to eachother eadto manynew combinations,accordingas they are conceivedas brotherand sister, husband and wife, friendlyor hostile. Manydistinctivelyhumanelementsof folk-loreare thus traceddirectly o the mutual con-nectionsof the celestialtwain. To theseanalogiesof motivesand phe-nomenamust be added a long list of descriptiveraits. The sun'sraysare mentionedas the hero'sarrows,cords,or goldenhair; warts,scales,and snake-hair eferto the spotsin the moon. The crescentappearsasa boat, bow, or sickle; emphasisof the hero'sbrightnessndicatesthesun.Wehave, then,a fairly argeseriesof criteriaby whichcelestialheroesmaybe recognized.Whetherpersonsareexplicitlydentifiedwith sunormoon thus becomes immaterial. "Dass Keri und Kame Sonnen-undMondwesensind,"says Ehrenreich,"schliossenwirnicht daraus,dasssie so heissen,sonderndass sie sich in der mythischenHandlungwieSonnen-und Mondheldenverhalten,deren ZUige ie in seltenerVoll-staindigkeit ereinigen." (34: 575,) In fact, according o Ehrenreich,the celestialnamegenerallydisappearsat an early stage,and is super-sededby an animalor humanname, unless,as frequentlyhappens,thehero is anonymous. The criteria are all-important n revealinghisidentity. In replyto the criticism hatalmostanyhistorical iguremightbe identifiedwith sun and moonby Ehrenreich'sriteria,he insiststhatnot a single, isolatedtrait, but the whole complexof traitsappearingin the contextcharacteristic f solarmythsis required or a safe inter-


4/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. 99pretation. "Es geniigtebendazunicht ein einzelnesMoment,sondernnur der Nachweis eines ganzenKomplexesmythischerZilgeim richti-gen,fUrSonnenmythen harakteristischenusammenhang."(34: 576.)This principle s necessarilymodified n practice,for there are manymyths in which the complete complexis lacking. These cases are ex-plainedby assumingthat the missingfeatures have droppedout, butmay be detectedby comparisonwith the versionsof linguisticallyandculturallyaffiliatedtribes. Thus, in his rejoinderto the euhemeristBreysig,Ehrenreichadmits that the Tlingit Ravenmythdoes not bearthe stampof a nature-mythvery clearly. To establishhis point,he ex-amines herelatedstoriesof theTsimshianandNewettee,findsmentionof the Raven's greed, burnt face, and rapid growth, his brightness,ascent to the sky, and transmutationnto a pine-needle (= waningcrescent),and fromthesecharacteristicsnfersthat the Ravenof theNorth Pacificcoast is a lunarbeing. (34: 568, 569.) Similarly, houghwithoutdetailed proof,he assumesthat a great many folk-tales withindeterminateheroes,e. g. the Boy Hero tales of the Plains,wereori-ginally nature-myths, f which the celestialfeatures have becomeob-scured,and which have been consciouslyremouldedfor pedagogicalinstruction. (34: 599.) That the reverseprocesshas evertakenplace,that human hero tales have everbeen associated with sun and moon,he regardsas a logical possibility,but an unprovableand unnecessaryassumption. (34: 543,575.) Whilenot denyingthat the material n itspresent ormcontainselementsnot derivedfrom observation f nature,he conceives heseas lateradditions,easilyseparable rom the primitiveconstituents, ndsupplyingmerely helocalcoloringorritualistic etting.(34: 552.) Secondaryassociation s recognizedonlyto this extent,thatafter the culture-hero,who has developedfrom a naturalisticsubstra-tum, becomes the national hero, ancestor,or tutelaryspirit, variouslegends are ascribedto him in orderto surroundhim with an addi-tional halo. The Michabazocycleand the innumerableCoyotetalesof the prairieare cited as cases in point. (34: 553.)The fundamentalpropositionhatmythology, o far as it is primitive,is the productof the childlikeapperception f nature, s in Ehrenreich'sopinionan axiom. "Diese Thatsacheist die GrundlageallerMythen-forschung. JederVersuch,andere Grundideenunterzulegen,st bishergescheitert nd aussichtslos."(34: 597, 598.) In orderto justifyan in-terpretativettempt romanotherpointof view, t isnecessaryo winnowat the outsetthe hypotheticalportionof the naturalistic heory rom itsbasis of fact. It must be granted,of course, hat the observationofnaturehasproducedmythological onceptions.Where ightningis con-ceivedas a snake,or wherethunderis explainedas causedbytheflap-pingof an eagle's wings,we obviouslyhave ideasdirectlyderivedfromnatural phenomena. That the lunar women wear bright garments


5/53

00oo ournal of American Folk-Lore.(69: 22), that the Sun's daughterscorches the face of a peepingin-truder(3: 40), or is so hot that her husbandfinds her companyun-bearable(87: 55), aresimpledescriptions f thebrightness nd heat ofthe celestialbodies,such as may,of course,be everywhere ound. Attimesexplanatorytatementsundoubtedly evelopfrom these features.The ThompsonRiver Indians not merelyindicate the sisterof theMan in the Moon, but explainthat she leapedon his face for lack ofroom to sit down during a feast. (87: 91, 92.) The Arapaho accountfor the darkspotsin the moonby the jumpof Moon'soffendedsister-in-law, Frog-Woman. (31: 323.) About none of these, however, is thereany dispute. The moot-pointis whether the narratives old in somecasesof explicitlysolar and lunar heroes bear an essentialrelationto the heavenlybodies,either themselvesreflectingthe successionofobservedphenomena,or furnishingthe explanatory lements of thecelestial tale proper; or whetherthey are human tales which havearisen ndependently f observationof nature.Now, that theseconsistentlydeveloped alesarenature-mythologicalin eitherof thewaysmentioned s nota fundamentalaw of comparativemythology,butanhypothesis.That theyare sinferredrom he criteria.But the criteriaare ambiguous;all are intelligibleas elements of ahumanfolk-tale. Greedandrapidgrowthareas natural n a human asin a celestialhero. Thoughthemoon-spotsaresometimesconceivedaswartsor lice,an ogrewiththesecharacteristicss not necessarily lunarbeing. Magicalbirthspresentno difficulty,f werememberwithWundt(93: 330) that the universeof folk-lore s dominatedby magic. Thebirth of Splinter-Foot-Girlrom a splinterneed not have any furtherpsychologicalbasis in commonwith otherideasof magicalconception.(31: i6I.) That it has anything odo with the fertilizationof the earthby the sun (34: 602) wouldbe an entirelyarbitrary ssumption. Fromthe samepointof viewthe restoration f thedead is intelligiblewithoutresorting o a corresponding henomenon n the heavens. As for theswallowingmotive,Ehrenreichadmitsthat the naturalprocesseswhichgaverise to it arenotnecessarilyhesamethroughout: clipsesas well asthesunsetmayhaveinspired he idea. (33: 53,54.) Butif a pluraloriginis admitted, t is difficulto understandwhy every nstanceof swallowingmustgo back to somecelestialoccurrence. In the Ute tale of Porcupinekillinga fat buffalo that carrieshim across stream in his paunchit isdifficult in spiteof thespeciousanalogyof quillsandthesun'srays-to see morethan a simpleanimal tale. (55: 270.) The observationofanimalsyields examples enough of swallowing,and the grotesquelyunrealistic ransformation f such observations nvolvesnothing psy-chologically improbable.


6/53

The Test-Themen North AmericanMythology. IorII. SOLAR AND LUNAR CRITERIA.

In view of the admissionthat the entire series of criteriamust befound in order o prove he naturalisticheory, t wouldnot be necessaryto dwellon the evidentambiguityof singletraits,were it not advisableto call attention o the occasionaldisregardof this caution,and to indi-cate, howeverbriefly,the standingof the naturalistic heorywhen di-vorced from an interpretationof homologies. Some thirty years agoJ. G. von Hahn attempted o interpretGreekand Teutonicmythologyon the basisof naturalisticprinciples, houghaffirming nhistorical on-nection between them. (45.)1 His fundamental assumption was that thecycle of the seasons,owingto its importance or primitiveman's food-supply,formedthe principalmyth-makingactorof the outsideworld,while the successionof day and night, meteorological onditions,andother natural phenomena,have contributed their share. The inter-preter'sfirstduty was accordingly o detect motivescorrespondingothese phenomena. Balder'sdeath,from this standpoint,was takentoreferto the destructionof vegetationby autumnaldrought. Thor andHercules wereconquerorsof winter-monsters.Eurystheus ymbolizedthe faint new moon,and Giinther'sbent form,suspended roma nail,wasthe crescentof the moon. Withoutenteringnto a discussionof thepopular-psychologicalasisof Hahn'ssystem, t suffices o note that theconstanterrorcommittedby him is the disregardof alternativepossi-bilities,which is perhapsmost strikingly llustratedby his conceptionof Giinther. When Ehrenreich nterpretsthe rolling skull of NorthAmericanmythologyas the settingdisc of the full moon, or the headof Entangled-Manas the apparentlyhollow crescent (33: 82), he isliable to the same criticism. The most plausibleof such analogiesarealways subjectto Von den Steinen'sdoubt,whetherthe notion is notratherthe interpreter'shan the myth-maker's.So far as the assump-tions are concernedfromwhich theseinterpretationslow,they are nolessdogmasof a popularpsychologyhanHahn's. It is justasgratuitousto assumethat the moon,on account of its numerousphases,has beena moreimportant actorof mythology hanthe sun (34: 554),as it is toderivemythology romthe conditionsof man'sfood-supply.There areno objectivemeans of testingthese psychologicalassumptions, r themore or less ingenioushypothesesbuilt on themto explainmythologicalmotives. Withoutdenyingthe abstractpossibility hat any suchhypo-thesesmaybe correct, heconceivabilityf an indefinitenumberof alter-native explanationsmust lead to theirrepudiation.A seriesof criteriawill not be more convincingthan a single trait, if all are equivocal.

1 More recently a similar point of view has been defended by Frobenius (Das Zeitalterdes Sonnengottes, Berlin, 1904, pp. 36, 47-55) and by Stucken (Astralmythen, Leipzig,1896-1907, pp. 189, 190).


7/53

102 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.On the otherhand,it mustbe granted hatif the criteriaare foundoverand overagainin unrelatedareas,sometimesexpressly onnectedwithsolar beings, a solar hypothesisis permissibleeven though the sig-nificanceof the detailsremaindoubtful. Forexample, t maybe doubt-fulwhether hecapture f thesunin Polynesian89: 248; 42: 24-26) andAmericanmythologys a description f thesolstice;but,inasmuch stheproof of an historicalconnectionbetweenPolynesiaand America isunsatisfactory,he naturalistic heoryhas the merit of accounting ora ratherstrikingcoincidence. This recognitionof the legitimacyof thetheoryat the sametimeinvolves herejectionof its claimsto superiorityoverotherpointsof view; for, f its scientificvaluedependson its abilityto accountfor homologies,other theoriesperforminghe same servicestandon an equalfooting. Similaritiesmay be accounted or in otherways: by borrowing,by communityof customs,by convergentevolu-tion. In each case the theoriesmust be triedon theirmerits. If, forexample,so characteristic detailas the arrow-chain ppears n Northand SouthAmericawith fiftydegreesof latitudeintervening, he con-dition on which a sane theoryof borrowinggenerallyrests, diffusionover a continuousregion, is manifestly acking; nevertheless, he pe-culiarityof the motive,joinedto other ndicationsof historicalcontact,seemsto warrantEhrenreich's ssumption f a commonorigin. When,however,exactly he samedetailoccursin Melanesia 21: 375, 398), wearenaturally n doubtas to the applicability f the principleof borrow-ing. In the sameway the specificconditionswill have to decidein allcases of homology.In a generalestimateof thenaturalisticheoryanother ineof investi-gationis essential. Do the heroes of solarand lunarmythsas theyaregivento uscomport hemselvesn accordancewithEhrenreich'scheme,or conform o some otherdefinite ype? Or doesthecomplexof criteriarest on an arbitrary electionof those traitsand actions in which theinterpreterdetects a resemblance o some naturalphenomena? Thisquestion may be answeredin a preliminaryway by examiningandcomparing he attributesand actionsof several heroesidentifiedwiththe sun andthe moon. If thesearefoundto correspondo Ehrenreich'slist or manifest otherresemblances f a pronounced haracter, he es-sential condition orthe legitimacyof the naturalisticheory,as definedabove, is fulfilled. If, on the otherhand, pronouncedhomologiesarelacking,the fact that explicitsolar connectionsn no waydetermineheplot will go far to justify the assumptionthat the solar hero whoseadventuresareno more circumscribedhan thoseof a humancharacteris simplyan anthropomorphiceingwitha solarname.The Sunof the ThompsonRiver Indians s a cannibal,whohangs uphis victims. His son, who is identifiedwith a red beetle, hospitablywelcomesa human hero,and sends him back to the earth with fine


8/53

TheTest-Themen North AmericanMythology. 1o3presents. The gratefulyouthreturns o his friend,bringinga wife bothfor him and his father. This conciliates heSun,who ceases o slaymen.

In another tale the Sun is describedas a being that used to travelaboutnaked,dressingonly at night. On one occasionhe saw a boy'sbeautiful clothes and purchased them. (87: 52-55, Iio.) In Kathlametmythologyhe idea that celestialbeingsfeed on human bodiesalso oc-curs. Here the sun-bearer s an old woman,who hangs up the sunwhen she returnsin the evening with her arrows and garments. Ayoungman begs her for her blanket,which is reluctantly urrendered.The giftcauseshim to losehis sensesandto kill all his friends,untiltheold woman appears and takes it away. (6: 13-15, 29.) The Kootenayspeakof the Sun as a blind man, who is curedby his father-in-law,Coyote. (12: 169.) None of these solarbeingsmanifestsa singletraitmentionedby Ehrenreich, or is thereany resemblancebetweenthem.The characteristicsttributedo them areeithergeneralhuman raitsorthose of folk-talecharacters.Why the Sun should be conceivedas acannibalboth by the ThompsonRiverIndians and the Cherokee 66:440) is not explainedbythenaturalisticheory. His cannibalism annotbe considereda lateradditionto his essentially olartraits, or thesearenon-existent. A solarcriterionmightindeedbe deducedfromthe factthat the Cherokeeexplaineclipses by the swallowingof the sun by afrog. But this unmistakablenature-mythproper s not embodied n atale. (66: 257.) The talesconnectedwiththe Sun- andtheseonlyarethe subjectof thisdiscussion relatethatthe Sun is a transformedirl,belovedby her brother(a story probablyderivedfrom othertribes);and the circumstanceselatingto herdaughter'sdeath. The Sun usedto hate peoplebecausethey couldnot look straight nto her face, andkilled them. Rattlesnakeand the Uktena monsteragreedto bite heras she left her home in themorning. By mistake Rattlesnakeattackedand killed Sun's daughterinstead. To appeasethe Sun'sanger,thedead girl is recoveredfrom ghost-land,but turns into a red bird onthe way back. Sun weeps,threatening o causea deluge,until the In-dians finallysucceed in divertingher mind. (66: 252-254.) The talespresentno solar criterion:the solarname is again joined to an indif-ferentplot.In the Maidu myth the swallowingmotive is incorporatedn thestory. Sun dwells in an insurmountable ouse of ice, to which sheretreatsafter killing people. She kidnaps Frog'schildrenand is pur-sued by the angry mother,who swallowsher. Sun burstsher enemyopen,and transformsher intoa frog. She triestravellingby day,but isannoyedby the attentionsof the Pleiades,andexchanges unctionswithher brother Moon. In another story brother and sister do not rise atfirst, until biting fleas make them ascend to their present habitation.1 This storywill be discussed ater.


9/53

104 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.(24: 76-78.) I have indicatedabovethat theswallowingmotive is am-biguous. In the Maidumyth it does not appearin "the characteristicsolar combination." There is consequentlyno more reason for em-phasizing hiseventthan hat of theabduction fFrog'schildren.Unlessreliances placedon isolatedtraits, he Sunof this tale cannotbe takenas a solarheroine. In an Arapaho ale the Sun is a handsomeyoungman,whoassumes heshapeof a dogto marrya girl. In anotheregendhe argueswith his brotherMoon about the merits of human women,stating his preference or water-animals;he marriesa frog-woman.(31: 26, 321.) The Sun of the Shoshone does not rise in the beginning,and kills people by his heat until Rabbit shootshim with his magicalarrow (fire-drill). (70o:52.) Magical conception, tests, the symplegades,the captureof the hero in a trap,arenot found in a single one of theinstancesmentioned.

Turningto tales in whichthe Sunis caught,we findindeedthiscon-ceivablysolar trait, but in isolation. Amongthe Ponca it is not thecapturedSunthat is swallowed,killsWinter, tc.,buthis captorRabbit.(32: 14.) In the Menomini (50: i8i) and Ojibwa (78: 239) versionsthe solarcycle is also lacking,and the captoris an indeterminate oy.While,therefore,t cannotbe refutedthat thesetalesarenature-mythswhich have beendevelopedntoa simplenarrative,he complex s againlacking,andthe Sunof these talesis not a solarheroin anyusefulsenseof the term. It is interestingo note incidentallyhat in the Northwest-ern plateauareait is the Wind,and not the Sun,that is snared. (76;87: 87; 36: 42.)The argument s strengthenedwhen we comparea numberof lunarmyths. The Eskimo Man in the Moon assistspoorboys, turningthetableson theirabusers. He protectsa womanfrommaltreatmentbyher husbandand raisesher to the sky. His visitorsareobligedto keepa straightface while the sky-womanendeavors o make them laugh.(1: 598; 5: 186, 198.) The Moon of the Thompson River Indians is agreatsmoker,the cloudsrepresentinghe smokefromhis pipe. He isholdinghis pipe in his hand, and wears a basketfor a hat. (87: 91.)The moon-bearer f the Navaho is a veryold man,who lives in a rowof stonehouses. He does not seemto appear n any tale. (61: 80, 86.)The Athapascansspeak of a lunar boy who saves his people fromstarvation. Owingto theirneglectto setasidepartof the foodfor him,he leaves for the moon, wherehe is seen to-day. (69: 66, 194, 395.)This Moon-Boy s not a lunarbeingas definedby Ehrenreich.A de-scriptivetrait, the spots interpretedn this case as the boy's dog andvessel, is not indeed lacking; but the characteristicncidents,rapidgrowth,death and resuscitation,or swallowing,are lacking. In oneversion we are even told emphatically that the lunar boy did not grow atall: "L'enfant ne grandissait pas. Quelques saisons s'6coulrent ainsi,


10/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. 10ol'enfantdemeuraitde tailleexigue."(69: 395,396.) The lunarwomenwhoalso figure n Athapascan olk-loreareordinarilynvisible. One ofthem deceivesher humanhusbandby consortingwith a serpent. Thehusband eavesboth,but is followedby the secondwife,withwhomhebecomes heancestorof theLoucheux. (69: 20, 28.) In-another alethewomenappearas Sein pleinde belettes nd Sein pleinde souris. Theycausetheir overto be swallowedbytheearth. He is rescuedand attacksthe Mouse-Woman,iberatinghe mice,moles,and vipershiddenin herbosom. Beingimmortal, hecannotbe killed. (69:356.) In a Tlatlasi-koala tale the Moon descendsto the earthand preparesa dancing-hatand a rattle. He transformsgulls into humanbeings,who act as hisslaves. Suddenlya man appearsfrom the sea and offers him a largestone. Moon challengesWaqaos,who also owns an immenserock, toa weight-liftingmatch. Moon is defeated; thenceforth he men livetogetherand catch salmon. In anotherstoryMoonabductsgirlsfetch-ing waterand raisesthemto the sky. (3: 191.) In a Bella CoolamythMoon seducesa woman and is decapitatedby her enragedhusband.Sun, Moon's father,descendsto the earth,recognizeshis son's head,and causes a conflagrationn which all but his son's mistressperish.That Moon is restoredto life is not stated. (3: 247.) Thus, in eachcase cited, solar and lunar characteristics re found partlyor, morefrequently,entirelymissing. The beingsnamed Sun and Moon havenothing n commonwithone anotherbut theirnames. Theirattributesand actions,as empirically iven,regardless f a priorispeculations,donot conform o a solaror lunarnorm.' The complex s over and overagain found to be lacking;it must thereforebe assumedto have beenconstructed yan arbitraryelectionof features o which n reality hereis oftennothingto correspond n the availablemythsdealingwith sunand moon. The actionsof solarand lunar heroesare in realitycoter-minouswith those of humanbeings.

III. AN ALTERNATIVE THEORY.The way is thus clearedfor anotherpoint of view. The heroesofmythologicalnarrativesmay be assumedto be human characters.Inthe absenceof positivetestimony, hey cannot indeedbe construedashistoricalfigures. The alternativehere proposed s not naturalismoreuhemerism, utnaturalismor fiction. Wheresun and moonappearasactors n a story,therehas been a secondary oalescenceof theirnature-mythologicalpersonificationwith an independentlydeveloped tale,and the mythologicalconceptsembodied n such tales are not deter-minant factors in the developmentof the plot. Whetherthis theory

1 "Unsere Aufgabe ist, die psychologischen Gesetze aus dem historisch gegebenenMythenmaterial abzuleiten, nicht aber dieses nach aprioristischen Konstruktionen um-zudeutemoder diesen anzupassen." (34: 578.)


11/53

106 7ournalof AmericanFolk-Lore.answersthe facts betterthan its alternatives best decidedby limitingour considerationo a definitegroupof facts. The test-theme,whichEhrenreich onsiders he most interestingepisodeof solar myths,fur-nishes a favorablesubjectfor this inquiry. On the naturalistic heory,the test-themeaccountsfor the sun'ssojournunderground nd its visitto the sky. While the single incidentsare not necessarilyrelated tonaturalphenomena, he symplegadesorma substitute orthe swallow-ing episode.The rivaltheoryendeavors o provethat thetestedheroesarehumancharacters. The trial-themerepresentshuman conditions,and itsuniversal distribution s thus explainedwithout recourseto celestialphenomena. Special homologies may be accounted for eitherin thesame way or by borrowingand convergence. The naturalisticposi-tion is directlyattacked n twoways. In the firstplace,the attemptismadeto provethat,grantingthe establishmentf distinctivelyelestialcriteria,the complexof criteria s lackingor deficientin trial-myths.Even where a union of severalcriteriaoccurs,the doubt may some-times be raisedwhether his uniondoes not resultfroma lateramalga-mation. But, inasmuch as some of the heroes are ostensiblysolarbeings,the absence of commoncriteria n theirmythsstrengthenshecontention alreadymade in a preliminaryway- that the criteriaassumedby the naturalistic chool have been arbitrarilyelectedfromthe totality of characteristics ctually attributed o sun-beings. Theconclusion, however,that no celestialcharacteristicsxist, will resultmostclearly romthe proof hatsecondary ssociation f celestialbeingswith human folk-taleshasrepeatedlyakenplace; for thus the numberof "characteristics," s derived withoutselection,becomesindefinite,and the hard-and-fastine betweensolar and human charactersdis-appears.The materialreferred o in the followingdiscussionhas been sum-marizedat theendof this paper(pp.I34etseq.). FollowingEhrenreich,I haveclassed under the head of test-talesnotmerely toriesof formaltrials,but a numberof typicalhero-tales ontaining hesameorrelatedmotives. The device,so successfullyused by Ehrenreich, f denotingepisodesby brief catch-words,has been adopted,so far as possible,toavoid needless repetition.IV. HUMAN EATURESFTHETEST-THEME;HESYMPLEGADESOTIVE.The first point worth investigating in the consideration of our NorthAmerican material is the extent to which the test-theme is found inconnection with visits to the sky or underworld, of which it furnishes,on the naturalistic theory, the explanatorymotives. (34: 555.) Confiningour attention to the test-tales proper, the descent to the lower regionsplays an important part exclusively in the Quich6 myth. In the Chinook


12/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. Io7(2: 34) and Quinault (35: 114) legends, the journey to the supernaturalpeopleformsmerelyone of the trial-incidents; esides, he travellersnthese tales are particularly acking in celestial traits. Sisemo is anentirely ndeterminatehumanbeing;and the namelessChinookhero ismerelythe youngestof fivebrothers,who has made his escapefrom thepursuingGlutton. The ascentto theskyoccursmorefrequently;never-theless,a majorityof the tales lack bothof thesefeatures. In the Win-tun-Yanamyths the testers are indeed identifiedwith sun and moon,but their heavenlyabode is assignedto them only as a resultof thepole-bendingcontest with the hero. The trials of the Prairiestorieshavea pronouncedly umansetting,and thesameappliesto mostof theEasterntales. In one of the Micmac stories the hero is carriedup toanotherworldby his big bird; but this regionis not identifiedwiththesky, and all the actorsare humanpersonages.The visit to the sky isthus seento be a traitonly of the Northwestern nd the Pueblomyths.The questionarises,whether his featurewasnot originallyextantandhas subsequentlydroppedout. To a limitedextent this theoryis notimprobable.On the Pacificcoast,in particular,wherethe union of thetwo themes is characteristic f the completeNutka,Comox,and FraserRiverversions,his is a likelyhypothesis.We find one Newetteeversionwith the ascent motive, and one without it (3: 70o, 98); the motiveis lacking n therelatedNimkishtale (3: 135) andits Kwakiutlparallel.(14: 96.) In these special instancessecondarydissociationmay havetakenplace. Whether he union of the two themesmay not itself be asecondarydevelopmentwill be consideredpresently.In this connectionthe importantpoint is that the occurrence f the trial-themewithoutatripto the heavens s onlyto a verylimitedextentaccounted orby theassumption f a laterdissociation.Thehighlycharacteristicecognition-tests of the Buffalo-Womanmyth,the desertionof the Algonquinheroon the strange sland,the contestsof the Chinookand Quinault ravel-lerswith theirhosts,arefeaturesnot found in any of the "sky" stories;and the supposition hatavisit to theupperworldwas everjoinedwiththesenarratives s gratuitous.We are thus obligedto acknowledgeheexistenceof a considerablenumberof test-tales o whichthe natural-istic interpretationannotapply. The trial-theme,o faras we areableto judge,has developed ndependentlyn these cases as an elementofhumanfolk-tales; and the only question s whether the tales of trialsin otherworldshavearisennot as humantales,but as explanations fnaturalprocesses.On the otherhand, we finda fairly persistenthumanfeature n ourmaterial,which the naturalistichypothesis ignores. In a majorityofcasesit is the suitoror husbandthat is testedbyhis wife'srelatives, r,more rarely, by the girl herself. This motive, which occurs far morefrequently than the visit to heaven, cannot be disregarded by a theory


13/53

108 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.whichprofesses o accountfor similarities.As an elementof a humantale it requiresno explanation;but it is evidentlynot one of those"apparentlyhuman traits" which lend themselves to a naturalisticinterpretation.(34: 552.) This wasfully recognizedby AndrewLang.(57: 88, 97, 99-o10.) Lang, however, treats the tale of the youth'swooing,the girl'sassistance,the tasks set by her ogre father,and themagic flight,as elementsof one tale. Accordingly,he assumes thatwhere,as in the Algonquin ale, the elementsof the magicalflightandthe girl'scounselare lacking,these featureswereonce extant,and ac-counts for the extraordinaryistribution f the completetale by trans-mission. So far as the magical flightis concerned,Lang'sconclusionshave been generallyacceptedbecauseof the very peculiarcharacterof this episodeandthe specialanalogies oundin the versionsof a con-tinuous, hough mmense rea. The NorthAmericanrial-tales, owever,arenot veryfrequentlyoinedto the magicalflight,and suchpersistentdetailsas theever-recurringmagicalcombarelacking. The Algonquinstoryreferred o has not a singlemotive in commonwith the Ponca orCrowbuffalomyth. The tales of the Northwestare radicallydifferentin typefrom those of the Micmacor the Cree. The generalantagonismbetweenhost and son-in-law s manifestly nsufficientas an indicationof historicalconnection. The distribution f the idea mustbe takenasthereflection f a widespreadocialphenomenon, ust as the impositiorof trialsbythejealousuncleof the HaidaandTlingitresultsundoubtedlyfroma moredefinitelyocalizedcustom,the familiarityof a youthwitIhis maternaluncle'swife. (86: 140, 142, 273, 277, 280, footnoteI.)Turningto the problemwhetherthe tests are ever a characteristicportionof the solarnarrative,we may first considerthose testswhichare supposedto bear an immediaterelation to natural phenomena.Ehrenreichhas united these underthecaption"SymplegadesMotive.""Das Symplegadenmotivst wohl universellverbreitetund gehdrtgewissermassenum eisernenBestand aller Sonnenmythen."(33: 50.)It is believedto represent he sinkingof the sun into the openingandclosingearthorsea,andthusreplacesheswallowingmonster.(34:605.)Its variants in North Americaare innumerable;the most importantbeingthe crushingentrance o heaven,snappingdoors,fallingor strik-ing trees,the wedge-test,and the vaginadentata. Now, thisconceptionof a numberof ideasas fundamentallyelated s manifestlyat the basisof the universalityof the symplegadesmotive, and the question iswhether he classifications warranted.It may be based on either oneof twoconsiderations, r on bothof them: the intrinsic imilarityof the"variants,"or theiroccurrencen the samesolarcontext. So far as thefirst of these reasons is concerned, ts adequacyis subject to doubt.When we hearof the movingentrance o the sky,we areindeeddealingwith a nature-myth,and the only doubt that can remain is whether


14/53

The Test-Theme in North American Mythology. 109this cosmic notion is relatedto the sun's travels. That, however,thesnappingpine-treeof the Californianmyth,or the snappinggate of aNewetteechieftainess,originatedfrom the same observation,s by nomeans certain. The wedge-testand the vagina dentata presentalto-getherpeculiar eatureswiththe flimsiestof resemblanceso each otherand the remainingvariants. It maybe justifiable o denoteall cases ofthe closingof an aperturebya commoncatch-word,but a psychologicalrelationships not demonstratedby the arbitrary election of a super-ficial resemblanceas the basis of the classification. Our doubts areconfirmedwhen,treatingeachof the symplegades ariantsas a distinctmotive,we consider he contextin whichthey occur. In a Yuchimythfourmenwhovisit their deadwivesarearrestedon theirwayby a hugecloudwhichmovesup and down; three of the travellerspassin safety,the last is crushed. (82.) Equally ndifferentpersonagesare connectedwiththe snappingsky-holeby the Ojibwaand Cherokee. (78: 286;66:256.) In a Hare Indian tale a magicianarrives beforethe snappingentranceto the spirit world; by uprootingthe tree that bars ingresshe succeedsin reachingthe interiorof the cave. (69: 131.) Such in-stancesseem to indicatea realnature-mythologicalonception,butonethat is entirelyindependentof a solar narrative,and accordinglyap-pears in the celestial trips of indeterminateheroes as well as of theTsimshian Raven. (3: 274.) To the questionwhetherthe flight toheavenis essentiallya solar characteristic nd originallyappearedassuch,we shall have to returnpresently. The distributionof the snap-pingdoor,granting hat the ideais strictlyhomologouswith thatof thecrushingsky-hole,merelyenforcesthe conclusionhere reached. In aChukcheetraditiona travelling youth arrivesat the house of a richmaidenhe desires o marry. He is obliged o enterby thesnappinggate,but leaps in so swiftly that only his coat is caught. (i5: 666.) Asimilaradventures relatedby the Eskimoof Kiviuq. (5: 184.) TheHeiltsukascribea snappinggate to Thunder-bird'shouse; a similardwelling is constructedby a Newettee chieftainess,and receivedbyO'maxtalatleas a gift fromhis father-in-law.(3: 228, 186, i66.) In aBellaCoolalegendfive brothers scapefromthe pursuingogreby leap-ing throughan eagle'ssnappingbeakinto theirsavior'shut. (3: 253-)Komokoa'ssubmarinemansion s enteredby a sea-monster'snappingmouth. (3: 239.) In a Comoxtale the old man who wishesto keepfire forhimselfbuildsa house with a rapidly-shutting oorto keep offstrangers;Deer managesto jump in and steals the fire. (3: 81.) AShoshoneogre dwellsin an automatically-closingave fromwhichtwobrothers rescue their sister. (60.) In short, the snapping gate is neitheran elementof the visit to heaven,nor is it necessarily oinedto tales ofconceivably celestial beings. It is a perfectly free element of folk-lore,appearing in various combinations. Its distribution is perfectly intel-ligible on the theory of borrowing.


15/53

I10 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.The wedge-testoccurson the westerncoast of North Americaand inJapan. As Ehrenreich imselfassumesan historical onnectionbetween

the trial-talesof theseregions,his naturalistic onception f the motiverests exclusivelyon its analogy to the generalized ymplegades dea.He forgetshis own caution here,that motives cannotbe regardedaspsychologicallyelatedunlesstheyare not merelyanalogous,but iden-tical. (33: 7I.)The table of the NorthPacific rial and transformermyths,givenonp. I35, indicatesthat the wedge-test s found repeatedlywithouttheflightto the sky. If the motivehas been imported romAsia, it is sig-nificantthat this featureis lackingboth in the Japaneseand the twoAlaskantales, and appearspreciselywhere the ascent to the sky is aparticularlyprominentincident, so that a secondaryassociationishighly probable. The falling trees probablyrepresenta modificationof the wedge-test n a Kathlametversion,where Mink is sent to fetchwoodand the testerattempts o kill him with thick trees. Here at leastsomeof the other incidentsarecloselyparallel o the typicaltrialsof thecoastregion,so that substitutionmayhave takenplace. Butthestrikingtobacco-trees hatappear n the transformeryclesof the ChilcotinandShuswapmayhavehad an entirelydifferentorigin,as mayalso be sup-posedfor the bendingtrees of the Crowtwin-myth.At all events,as anaturalistic heoryhas been rejected, he homologyof the fallingtreesto the variantmost closelyrelatedto it is immaterial.There remainsthe vaginadentata, "the most interestingvariantof the symplegadesmotive." In regardto Ehrenreich's nterpretationof this motive,itseems to me that even those not on principleopposedto an ultimateexplanationof mythologicalmotives must find the connection withheavenlyeventsfar-fetched.An explanation rombiologicalconsidera-tions,taking nto account hewidespread lood-superstitionsf primitivetribes,would possess moreA prioriprobability.Waivingthese hypo-theticalconsiderations,we find that thedistribution f the motivedoesnot requirea naturalisticheory,for thoughwidelydisseminated,romeastern Europe1 to the Teton Dakota, this extremelycharacteristicdetail may be tracedwith few gaps from one extremity o the other.So far as the contextis concerned,a connectionwith the Sun'sor Sky-Chief'sdaughteris establishedsolely on the basis of the ComoxandKwakiutlversions.aEvenon the Northwestcoast the incidentappearsdissociatedfrom the trip to heaven,occurring everaltimesas an epi-sode of the transformer's travels (3: 24; 4: 76; 36: 13), in which casethe wanderer s said to cause the loss of teeth in latergenerations.Inthe same way Coyote makes procreation possible in the origin mythof the Shoshone. The Maidu Thunderer is amenable to Ehrenreich's

1 Bogoras traces the idea to Finland.2 It occurs, however, in an unpublished Tsimshian version of the Astiwil myth.


16/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. II Itheory,but in the Arapaho(31: 260) storythe actorsare entirely nde-terminate. Child-of-a-Dog,the Wichita hero, in the course of histravels, alls in with two toothedwomen,who have,as far as we know,no relationsto eithersun or sky. (27: 144.) In the Skidi versionthewoman is indeed descended from the animal deities or the Evening-Star;but the plot developson the earth,and the hero s the character-isticPoorBoyof thePlains,assistedby Morning-Star. 28: 35; 30: 41.)In a Tetontalethewomanon thestrange slandtriesto kill thedesertedboy, not, as in the morefamiliarversionof Riggs, by smotheringhimwithblankets,but withher teeth. (92: 198.) In the Asiatic and Euro-pean versions he case is clearerstill. In a Chukcheevariant the mandestroys he teethand marries he girl;in the Yukaghir alehe enslavesher. In thestoryfromnorthernRussia a girlmarriesa man againstherinclinations, nd terrifiesher husbandby insertingpike'steeth into hervagina. (15: 667, 668.) A verysimilartale wasrecordedby Dr. Kraussamongthe South Slavonians. (53: 250, 253.) In the Ainu storya dis-tant island is peopledwith women whose teeth sproutin spring,butfall off in the autumn. (19: 38.) The vaginadentata thus occurs sofrequentlyn purelyhumantales,that its occasionaloccurrencen nar-ratives of conceivablycelestialbeings must be consideredaccidentaland insignificant.Summingup, my conclusionas to the "symplegadesmotive"is thkathiscaptionunitesa numberof radicallydistinctideas,so thattheuniversality f themotive,resting,as it does,on thehomologyof thesefeatures, s illusory; hat the distributionof eachof the distinctmotives s intelligiblewithouta naturalistichypothesis; hat the combi-nations in which the "variants" appearsuggest human ratherthancelestialcharacters. The motives are neither universal,nor are theycharacteristic f solarmyths.

V. THE ASCENT TO THE SKY.The problemstill confrontsus whether he test-themeof the North-west coast, the Quich6,and the Pueblo,has developed ndependentlyof the human test-stories,or whether the associationhere found be-tweena visit to otherworlds and trialsis secondary.This question s,of course,of theoreticalimportanceonly if the ascent to the sky isitself a solar criterion. This assumptionmay be challenged o far asthe North Pacificregionis concerned, or the ascent occursin all con-ceivable combinations. A Tsimshian hero travels up on the arrow-chain,causesthe sun to standstill, is hospitablyreceivedby the chief,purified,and dismissed with instructionsto his people. In anotherTsimshianstory three hunters are magicallyraised to the stars whileasleep. Two of them endeavor o climbback, but perish. The young-est, counselledby the Sun'sdaughter,praysand reachesthe earthun-hurt. (3: 278, 290o.) In a Haida storya rejected over ascendsto the


17/53

I 12 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.sky by an arrow-chain,s beautifiedby Moon, and on his returnsofascinates he woman once courtedby him that she dies whenrepelledby him. (86:354.) In a tale from the sametribe,a man pursuinghisbirdwife(swan-maid)limbsupapoleinto thesky,andmeetsthewoman,with whom he lives for some time. Becominghomesick,he is takendown,but droppedby Raven, and turns into a gull. (86:264-267.)In a Comoxtale Pitch'ssons scale the ladder to avengetheir father'sdeath, slay the Sun, and themselvesassumethe functionsof sun andmoon. (3:64, 65.) For similarreasons woTillamookboysascend o thesky, kill thechief'swives,andputon theirdress. Posingas the twowo-men,theyslaythechief,reviveandmarryhiswives,andresuscitateheirfather. (8: 136.) In a ThompsonIndian myth the birds climb up tomake war on the sky-inhabitants. (3: T7.) The Nimkish Goose-Boyescapes romfrogsbyflyingto Kantsoump,whosedaughterhepeaceablytakes to wife. (3:147.) In a Quinault tale, Raven's daughter and herfriendare takento theskybya star. Oneof thewomenescapes,butfailstogetbackto the earth. Herpeopleascendbythearrow-ladderorescueher companion,assail the celestial people, but are forcedto retreat.(35: 107.) To wage war on the SouthwestWinds,some Kathlametheroes tilt the sky until it reachesthe earth,and leap up. (6: 67.) ATsetsautis taken to the skyduring he night. The chiefputshiminto asweat-house,hen allowshim to marryhis daughterandreturn o earthon therainbowbridge. (9: 267.) The ascentto theskyis thus seen to bea verycommonanda veryfreeelementof Northwesternolk-lore. In aless specialized ormit is foundall over the continent,often, as in theYuchi,HareIndian,and Cherokeemyths,referred o in connectionwithhumanwanderers.We are thusjustified n assuming hat the flighttothe skyin our Pacificmyths,insteadof beinga characteristicf thesun,has entered he narrativesof allegedlycelestialbeingssimplybecauseofthe popularityof the motive n thisregion. This implies,of course,thateven when joined to the flightto the sky, the test-theme s not the ex-planatoryeatureof a solarnature-myth.

VI. CELESTIAL AND HUMAN TEST-TALES.If this conclusion s rejectedon the (unprovable)hypothesis hat theascent was primarily oinedwith the other solarcriteria, he problemmay be approachedrom a differentpointof view. Are thereany dis-

tinctive raits n thecelestial rial-tales hatdifferentiate hemfromthoseof earthlyplots? We have seen that this propositiondoes not holdfor the symplegadesmotives,but the remaining trial-incidents equireconsideration.On consultingthe tableon p. 135 we find that all thecharacteristic details which are found among the Nutka and Comoxoccur likewise among the Quinault, Thompson River Indians, andChinook. The tales of these tribes cannot be regarded simply as dis-


18/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. I13figurededitionsof the morenorthernversions;for rathercharacteristictrial-episodes,uch as the tripto the supernatural eopleandthe attackof the testerby captured nimals,arefoundwelldevelopedn them. Thesweat-lodgerialoccurs n the Poncabuffalo ale,where he humanherois obligedto competewith hismother-in-law,n the visits of theChinookand Quinaulttravellerso strangevillages,as well as in the ThompsonRiver version. In the familiarBearand Deerstorythe incidentplaysaprominent art 24: 79), anditrecurswith a humanhero n theYukaghirtradition. Tcatcewiqso, n a Tillamookstory, skilled in a sweat-lodgebyhisfather-in-law,ndtransformedntoflint. (8: 136.) The fire-ordealis, if anything,still morewidelydistributed,occurringwith particularfrequencynthe numerouswitchstoriesof theprairies. The onlymotivewhich,as far as I know,does not appearin humantales (thatis, talesin which neither he ascent o thesky nor thedescent o the underworldoccurs), s the spine-seat,but thissinglepeculiarity annotbe consideredsignificant.Findinga considerable umberof test-storieswhich cannothavebeen derived romthe celestialtales, and findingpractically verytraitof the latterduplicatedn the former, t is plausible o assumethatthe celestialsettingis a secondaryaddition. At all events, the trip tothe sky is not to be considered indicativeof a non-human ale. Thissupposition s not refuted by the assumptionthat the myths dealingwithSusanowo ndhis testedson-in-law ormtheprototype f the NorthAmericanmythsof the visit to the sky and the trialsconnectedwithit(33: 8i); for, in the first place, a descent to the underworld s notexactlythe same as an ascent to the sky, and this ascent to the skyEhrenreichn his laterpaper regardsas a part of the oldeststratumofNorth Americantradition.(34: 569.) If, therefore, he trial-incidentshave been adoptedfrom Japanesesources,the union of trialswith avisit to theskyis secondary,a conclusion n accordwithmy argument.But the groundsfor assumingeitheran historicalconnection betweenthe Japaneseand the Americanmyths,or a nature-mythologicalon-text forthe Japanese ests,areinsufficient.That boththe Quich6 winsandthe Japaneseheroarecast into chambersof horrorsprovesnothing,first,on accountof the immensedistancebetween heseregions; econdly,becausethe resemblance s an exceedinglygeneralone. The son-in-law of Susanowo s cast into the House of Snakesand the House ofCentipedes ndWasps;HunahpuandXbalanquearesentto theHouseof Darkness,the House of Lancers,of Cold,of Tigers,of Fire, andofBats. There is nothingcharacteristic boutthe "Glutstein"of Ehren-reich,and as a matterof fact the connectionsn whichit appearsdifferin the Japanese,Comox,and Quich6traditions. In the Japanesetalethe eightyjealousdeitiespretendto drive a red boar towards he hero,but insteadroll a glowing rock down the hill. In the ComoxmythAielen'ssons are obligedto swallowthe heatedstones;in the Central

VOL. XXI. - NOS. 81-82. 8


19/53

114 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.American yclethe hot stoneforms the settee,and thus is analogous othe spine-seat, as Ehrenreich elsewhere recognizes. (33: 50.) The onlycharacteristicpecial analogyof the Kojikiand American est-themesthe wedge-test.This mightbe taken as suggestiveof historicalconnec-tion, but, standing by itself, it is not conclusive. Besides,this featureoccurspreciselynot in the trip to Susanowo,butamongthe earthlyad-venturesof Oho-na-muji.On the otherhand, the trials of the hero nthe underworldmayhave been derivedfromthe Mongolian storyofGeser,who is thrownsuccessivelynto a snake-pit, he den of ants,lice,wasps,andwildbeasts,byorderof the Chinese overeign. At all events,the resemblancehere indicated s far morestrikingthan that betweenthe trials of theKojikiand those of the PopolVuh,and transmissionsmoreprobableamongeasternAsiaticpeoplesthan betweenJapanandCentralAmerica. The lousing ncidentof the Kojiki impliesnothingasto the lunar characterof Susanowo,for it occursfrequently n otherconnectionsamongthe Amur tribes,and is simplythe reflectionof asocialcustom. "Picking ice fromeachother'sheadsis a signof mutualfriendshiporlove. It takesplace,therefore,between pousesorbetweenrelatedwomen." (59: 337.) It is thusclear that evenif Japanese olk-lore has influencedthe Americantales of suitors' tests, the nature-mythological onceptionof the Japanesemythis arbitrary, nd ignoresweightyconsiderationsn favorof borrowing ndan interpretationromhumanconditions.

VII. SOLAR CONTEXT OF TEST-TALES.But in order o test the naturalisticheory roma widerpointof view,irrespectivef Ehrenreich'specialhypotheses,t is desirableo considerwhether he testedheroesof this area,regardlessof visitsto the skyor

underworld,can be safely identifiedwith the heavenlybodies. Thetriedhero of the Northwestmaybe a humanbeing(Chinook,Quinault,Fraser River), sometimesof magicalbirth (Nutka: Anthtine= NasalMucus), the Raven or Raven's father (Tsimshian,Newettee,Tlingit),Salmon-Boy (Bella Coola, Chilcotin), the Transformer (Newettee,Kwakiutl,Thompson River), Mink (Kathlamet),the Sun's son (Co-mox), the son of the man from the sea (Nimkish),or a human boyhero (Nass River, Tsimshian). When we findthat in one Kwakiutlversionthe hero is Gyii (3: 135),while in twootherversionsof closelyrelated tribes the same adventuresare told of Gyii's foe, Kanigyilak,(3: 198; 14: 96), the transformer,we obviously cannot be sure whetherthe trial-motivebelongsto the one or the other,and cannotsafelytreatit as a solar criterionof either character. Ehrenreichrecognizes,ofcourse, that secondary transference of plot from one character to an-other, and secondary combinations, have taken place. His error con-sists in refusing to admit that this concession eliminates a naturalistic


20/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. I 5theory. He recognizeshe difficultyof interpretingertainmythsowingto thefactthat therelationso thenaturalphenomena re"durchandereVorstellungsgruppeniberwuchert;"till the uniformrecurrence f thesamenature-mythological otives n thesamecombinations consideredconclusive. (34: 596.) I havealreadyndicated hat,in spiteof theam-biguouscharacter f thesemotives, his pointof viewis cne of the rela-tively egitimate tandpointsaken o account or similarities fmythology.When,however,Ehrenreichgrantsthat the introduction o the Tsim-shianRavencyclemaybea southernmportationromVancouversland,andat the sametimecontends hatthe Ravenmythas a wholehas beenintroduced from Asia, this is not "fiUrunser Thema . . . nebensaichlich"(34: 569),buta pointof fundamentalmportance.If certain unar raitshave originated n Koryakmythology,while the visit to heavenis anindigenouselement, the complex of celestial criteriahas developedsecondarily, nd allows no conclusionas to the celestial natureof thehero. Similarly,f Mink'sswallowingby a whale s an episodeborrowedfromthe Ravenmyth (3: 338, 339),his solar raitsarereduced o descentfroma beingnamedSunandto the ascentto thesky,theunionof which(disregardingheir equivocalcharacter) s very far from representingthe imposingarrayof solarcriteria numerated ythenaturalisticchool.Whenwe find, n addition, hat the predominantharacteristic f Minkis his amorousness, human trait(3: 338), the assumption hat Minkis a solarbeingappearsentirelyunjustifiedby the facts. (34: 568.) Inexaminingone by one the heroes of the test-stories,he solar contextisfoundnoticeably acking n the majorityof instances. This is of courseparticularlyclear in the case of the ostensiblyhuman heroes. Themagicalbirth of Anthtine fromhis mother'stears and mucus, beingfound in human connections,serves rather to show that the magicalbirth of a hero is a simpleelementof folk-lore(cf. Splinter-Foot-Girl,Blood-Clot) han to support he naturalistic onception. (3: 117.) Ra-ven,so faras I know,appearsn thepartof thetestedonlyin theTlingitversionof Krause,and there the visit to the sky is not joinedwith thetrials. The closestparallel o the Tlingittale,thatof the KadiakEskimo,relatesthe sameadventuresof a human hero. In thoseTsimshianandNewettee versions in which the part is assumed by Raven's father,the test-themeis quite rudimentary, o that the connectionwith theRavencyclemust be considered econdary.Whether Ravenreallyre-presents hemoon,thusbecomes mmaterialorthe immediate ubject ndiscussion.Turningto the probablehomeof thefully developedNorth-western ypeof trial-tales3: 334),the Nutkahero,Anthtine,hasalreadybeen discussed. The Nimkishjoin the tests to an ancestor ale. Afterthe deluge a sea-monster appears from the depths of the ocean, carryinga human being, who is set down on the earth with his son Gyii. Theyare met by the transformer Kanigyilak, who fails to overcome them in a


21/53

I 16 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.trial of strength. At length the father, who has assumed the nameGuanalalis, is, in accordance with his own wish, transformed into ariver. Gyii wooes a chief's daughter, is tested, and becomes the ancestorof a tribal division. In the entire myth there is hardly the suggestion ofa solar feature, let alone the entirecomplex.The Comox, a Kwakiutl, and a Newettee version seem at first sight tobe more favorable illustrationsof the nature-mythological theory: for theComox heroes are sons of Aielen, the Sun; and Kanigyilak, the hero ofthe other tales, is the transformer, whom Ehrenreich persistently iden-tifies with a celestial being. It is therefore necessary to determine thetraits of these heroes with special reference to conceivably solar char-acteristics.

VIII. THE TRANSFORMER CYCLE.What seems to have impressed Ehrenreich in the wanderer cycle isthe occurrence of twin brothers representing the "natural duality of sunand moon" and their descent from the sky. (33: 45, 56.) An unpre-

judiced survey of the facts eliminates these grounds for conceiving thetransformersas solar heroes. It is true that in the "Indianische Sagen"there are two instances of brothers descending from the sky; but Pro-fessor Boas has informed me that additional material from the Nutkaand Newettee makes it, in the former case, highly probable that thedescent from heaven is a secondary feature, and that his recording itamong the Newettee resulted from a misunderstanding. As for theduality of the culture-hero, the Tillamook and Hupa have a single wan-derer,while among the Chilcotin and nearly all the Salish there are fourtransformers. The assumption that in the latter case the extra pairrepresent the morning and evening star derives no confirmation from astudy of the mythology of these tribes. They are nowhere expresslyidentified with these bodies, and it is difficult to imagine what actionsof theirs could possibly lend countenance to such a theory. It is inter-esting to note that in the Comox version the hero's companions haveanimal names. The celestial nature of the transformer must thereforebe defended on other grounds. Combining the common characteristicof all wanderer tales, i. e. the hero's ability to transform his enemiesinto stone, with the most widely distributed traits tabulated on p. 140,we find only one feature which fits into the naturalistic scheme. Thehighly characteristic trials of strength, the adventure with the enemypreparing against the heroes and turned into a deer, the breaking ofthe spear-point, and the final transformation of the transformers intostone, are all inexplicable on the naturalistic theory. There remainsthe restoration of the dead brother with its allegedly lunar significance.The artificiality of such a construction can, however, be easily demon-strated. An isolated feature of this sort would at best be merely sug-


22/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. I 17gestive. But the lunar hypothesis involves a solar interpretation ofthe other brother or brothers; and solar traits, as already mentioned,are not to be detected in the typical adventures of the cycle. The factthat in all cases but one the resuscitated wanderer, together with hiscompanions, is ultimately transformedinto stone, instead of being trans-lated to the heavens, is an additional difficulty in the way of a lunarhypothesis. The artificiality of such celestial interpretations is sim-ilarly brought out in Hill-Tout's Skqomic myth. Here the Sun, whoappears as an enemy of the four Qais, abducts and beheads the young-est brother; but the head is retrieved, and the youth revives. Now, fol-lowing the traditional school of hermeneutic mythology, the oppositionof the four brothers to the Sun might be treated as a sure indication oftheir lunar nature, which would be further illustrated by the deadQais's resuscitation. The arbitrarinessof this standpoint hardly requiresproof. It suffices to point out that it is not the oldest and most importantQais that is killed and revived, that the antagonism of the four brothersto the Sun is confined to the single Skqomic myth (Hill-Tout), whilethe various Salish transformer myths go back to a common origin, andthat on this lunar hypothesis the solar theory otherwise held with re-spect to this cycle is abandoned. Thus, the plot of the wanderer talesin no case justifies the naturalistic theory so confidently propounded.There remains, however, one tale, Boas's version of the Skqomic myth,in which the transformer is a single hero identified with the sun. Thequestion arises, whether in this test-case the hero is a solar being, orwhether the solar name is merely a later addition. The evidence for thelatter assumption is really overwhelming. In the first place, the facthas been sufficiently dwelt upon that the incidents of the cycle shownothing resembling the solar complex. Secondly, we have every reasonto believe that this form of the story is not primitive. Not only is thestory extremely fragmentary, but the term Qais, which the Salish, aswe now know, applied only to a group of brothers,refers, in the versiondiscussed, to a single being. In the much fuller version of Hill-Tout(47: 518) the usual quadrumvirate bears no relation to the sun, whilethe strictly homologous and far more elaborate variants from the FraserRiver and the Stseelis emphasize the descent of Qa*lsrom a woodpecker(magpie) and a bear. (3: 56; 49: 360.) Thus, the case most favorablefor testing the pretensions of the naturalistic theory furnishes an idealinstance of the secondary association of a solar name with the hero ofa non-solar folk-tale. The celestial conception of the transformer isuniformly untenable.To return to the main subject, the connection of the trial-tale withthe transformer cycle in the Kanigyilak myth in no way supports thesolar interpretation of the test-theme: first, because that connectionitself is exceptional and secondary, as a glance at the table shows;


23/53

I 18 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.secondly,because hetransformer,s justproved, s not a celestialbeingin his actions.Thereremainthe solar connectionsof the Comoxversion,the fullestof all. Here we have two brothers, he sons of Aielen,the Sun,whoascendto the sky, are testedby Tlaik, the chief of theupperworld,andwin his daughters. As soon as it is clearlyunderstood hat a solarorlunar name,or descent,may signifyabsolutelynothingas to the tale,but simplyimpliesthat the sun and moon are conceivedas personalbeings,the naturalisticheoryagain osesground. The actionconnectedwiththe heroesconsistsexclusivelyof the visit to the sky and the trialsundergone.The ascentto the sky has been shown to be a free and in-different lementof Northwesternolk-lore. In the absenceof the com-plete chain of solar criteria,especiallyof those traits which, like theswallowing pisodeandthecaptureof thesun,seemmost amenable o asolar interpretation,Aielen's sons cannot be consideredanythingbutthe heroes of a folk-tale. Thus not a singlehero of Northwestern rial-tales can be safely identifiedas a solar character.The conclusionshithertoreachedmay be summarized s follows:--i. Thereare numerous tories of testsconnectedwith humanheroesand not relatedto a visit to the sky.2. The mostfrequent eatureof trial-myths efers o a social,not to acelestialphenomenon.3. The test-incidentsdo not assume a specificcharacterin talesrelatinga visit to the sky.4. The tripto the sky is not a characteristicallyolartrait.5. Tested by the solar norm,the heroesof the Northwestern oastare not solarbeings.6. Hence a characterwith explicitsolarconnections Aielen'ssons)is not in its originnecessarilya solar being.7. A characterxplicitly dentifiedwith the sun(Qais) mayhavebeensecondarilyassociatedwith indifferent pisodes.

IX. SOUTHWESTERN TEST-TALES; SECONDARY COMBINATION OFCELESTIAL CRITERIA.

Turningourattention othePueblomyths,wefindagainthat,withtheexceptionof thespikeson whichtheheroesarecast,all the test-incidentsoccurin othercombinations.The spine-seat, t should be noted,doesnot occur n all thePueblotales,butonlyin theNavahoversion; n viewof thegeneralsimilarity f the Cherokeeradition, herecurrence f themotive in that tribe may be accounted for by borrowing.The sameexplanationmaybe givenfor its occurrencen boththe Northwestandthe Pueblo region. (13: 373.) On the other hand, the motive whichappears in the three Pueblo versions, as well as in the Cherokee variant,the heat-test in the form of the sweat-lodge or boiling, has been shown


24/53

The Test-Themen North American Mythology. i 19to be a very widely distributed eature. The smoking-test s equallyprominentamongthe Wintunand Yana, and appearsas a smoking-matchamongtheShoshoneand Kitkehahki. (30: 77, 78.) The concili-ation of guardianbeasts by means of medicine and magic formulasrepresents,romthenaturalistic ointof view,a later ritualistic lement.The dangersencounteredby the Navahotwins arequite intelligibleasthe adventuresof the errantboy heroesof human folk-tales. So far asthe firstpartof the Southwesternmythsis concerned,magicalbirth,avisit to the Sun, and the descent from a celestialbeing,are theonlysolarcriteria oinedwiththe test-theme.The secondpartof thestories,in which the war-godscombatevil beingsand redresswrongs,can bediscussedonly in connectionwith the Prairiehero-tales,which,in thetablesgivenon pp. 139 et seq.,haveaccordinglybeensimilarlydividedinto the accountof the hero'sbirthandyouthandhis lateradventures.The most strikingpoint, in lookingoverthe completeBlood-Clot,StarBoy,and Lodge-Boycycles, s the remarkableimilarityof the firstpor-tion, whichmay easilybe broughtundera singleformula,andthe con-siderabledifferentiation f thesequel. Forexample, heeSsentialeaturesof thebirthof Lodge-Boyand Spring-Boy reidentical n nearlyall thetribes;whilethe persistence f indifferentdetails,suchas the stranger'sinsistenceon havingthefood servedon thewoman'sbody,clearly ndi-cates which versionsaremostcloselyrelated. In thesequelit is indeedalso clear that the amalgamation f the Found-in-GrasshemeamongtheBlackfoot,GrosVentre,andArapahogoesback to a commonorigin.On the whole,however, here is decidedly ess similarityn the secondpartof our twelveversions. This is due not merely o the accretionofspecificogre-conceptionsnd the like, but also to a considerable lter-ation of the heroes'character. While in severalversions hetwinshavethe obvious missionof conquering vil, this trait becomesobscured nothers,and disappearsamongthePoncaandSauk,wheretheemphasisis on the mischievousness f the boys,while in the Saukand Cherokeeversions heantagonismbetweenparentandboys is distinctive. Never-theless,thoughfew of thetales arebodilyderived romotherversions, tis impossible o deny that therehas been a certaindegreeof historicalconnectionnot only among the versionsof the Lodge-Boycycle, butwith the Pueblotwinmythand otherhero-talesas well. The mischiev-ousnessof the Poncaheroes,forexample, s quitein keepingwith thecharacterof the Zuffiwar-gods 85: 57), and the pretended lightfroma dead monster n orderto frightenhe parentis so characteristichatwe cannotassumea distinctoriginforthe episodeamongthe Tusayan,Skidi,and Sauk,or the analogous ncidentsof the Ponca version. Wemust postulate a common origin for the Roc motive; and the hoop motiveof the Jicarilla is beyond doubt related to that of the Prairie myths,especially as found in the Blackfoot variant. The Pittheus motive


25/53

120 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.occurs n nearlyall the herocyclesdiscussed,and the frequentmentionof the cliff-ogrefeeding his relativesor pet animalson the travellershurledbelowindicatesthat this conceptionalso has been widelybor-rowed. Still moreimportant,on account of its allegednature-mytho-logicalcharacter,s the distribution f the sucking-monster;orit mustbe noted that, although swallowing s an incidenteverywhereound,the formin whichthis incident occursin these talesis a highlyspecial-ized one. That the peopleof the Northwest,of the Prairie,of Greeceand westernAsia,have all developedtales of heroes swallowedby amonster, is conceivablyexplicable by a naturalistictheory; but thespecialanalogiesof Tlesea's and Tlendixtcux'sswallowingby an elkor moose(3: 3; 36: io), or that of the ComoxMinkand of the TlingitRaven by a whale, can be accounted for only by borrowing.In theMenomini, Ponca, Osage, Crow,Dakota, and Tusayan swallowing-tales the herois drawnin by a sucking-monster,indsmanypeople n-side, piercesthe monster'sheart,and liberatesthe victims. (26: 42.)The occurrence f the same specialtraits in the samecontinuousarea,in which borrowings known to have taken place, can again be ex-plained only by assuminga commonorigin. The killingof the giganticruminantwith the aid of a burrowinganimal occursnot only in theSouthwest,butamongthe DogribIndiansof the North,andin thesamecharacteristic combination with the Roc episode. (69: 324, 325.) Asboth arefoundamongthe JicarillaandNavaho,they maybeconsideredelementsof Athapascanfolk-lore which have been incorporatedbyotherPueblotribes.The separationof the firstand secondportionsof the Pueblo twinmyththusappears ustified. The test-themedevelopedbythis groupoftribes snot indeed sharplyseparatedfrom that of other tribes in thesingle incidents,butrepresents distincttypeowingto theuniquerela-tionsof the actors. The second portionof the mythcannot be con-sideredanythingbut a compilationof elementsderivedfrom distinctsources,andsecondarily malgamatedwith the taleof the twins'trials.A similar conclusionholds for the Blood-Clot,Star-Boy,and Lodge-Boy cycles. The first parts are well-defined,sharplydifferentiatedtypesof folk-tales; hesecondpartsareinfinitely ariable,because heyhave developedindependentlyand by accretions romvariouscentresof distribution.

The fact of dissemination,as usual, is not immaterialn testingthelegitimacyof the naturalistichypothesis,but of fundamental mpor-tance, becauseit illustrateshow the complexof solar criteriamay de-velopsecondarily. Comparative nalysis,here as elsewhere,provestobe a double-edged word. If we selectedthe Blood-Clotmyth of theGrosVentre orinterpretationroma naturalisticpointof view,wecoulddiscover a fairly completeseriesof celestial traits:developmentof a


26/53

The Test-Themein North American Mythology. 121child from blood (magicalbirth), rapidgrowth(lunarfeature),fallingtrees (symplegadesmotive),sucking-monsterswallowing), ests. Ourcomparative nalysisshows that the test-incidents rederived romthesamesourceas the correspondingpisodesof theArapahoor Cheyenne,wherethe trialsform a distinct tale withan anonymous,ndeterminatehero. The sucking-monsters identical with that treatedabove, i. e.has been derivedfrom the same source as that of the indeterminateOsage boy, the Menomini Michabazo, Ponca Rabbit, Crow twins,Dakota Star-Boy, and Hopi war-gods. (26: 42.) The origin from bloodand the details connectedwith it arebeyond any doubt bodilyderivedfromthe same source as the Arapaho,Blackfoot,Pawnee,and Dakotavariants,n all of whichthe test-motives lacking,while theswallowing-monsters foundonly in the Blackfootmyth.The point is equallywell broughtout bythe Star-Boy ycle. If weselectedtheDakotastar-hero,we couldagainfindsatisfactory videnceof a celestialbeing. The hero s explicitlyconnectedwitha star,is swal-lowed,and combatsthe spirit of evil weather. Severalpointsare to benotedhere. In the firstplace,the mostprominentepisodeof the Skidi,Arapaho,and GrosVentrelegends,the attackof the rectum-snake e-pulsed with the celestialfather'said, is, from a nature-mythologicalpoint of view, indifferent. If Ehrenreicheallydisregardsorrespond-ence of mythological iguresas comparedwithcorrespondencef mo-tives,'he mustrecognize hat the Star-Boysof these talesare notat allidenticalwith the Star-Boyof the Dakota. Neitherdo theyrepresenta degenerateversionof the Dakota myth,for the incidentsarewell-developedamongthe Gros Ventreand Arapaho,and forman entirelydifferentplot. Folk-talesof a widelydivergent enorare thus narratedof a hero of celestial descent. Thus,theprinciple ecognizedbyEhren-reich in the abstract,but nowhereemployedby him as a checkin hisinterpretations, he principle that a hero's name is insignificant,sagainexemplified. Secondly, he descent romastarmustbeconsidereda secondary rait of the wanderingknight-errant'sale, not only be-cause the most significant trait, the sucking incident,is found intotally diversetales, but becausethe birth of a Star'schild is itself asecondarydevelopmentof the characteristictar-marriagepisodewithwhichallthemythsopen. In the two Micmacversionsthe two womenraisedby the starsescapewith Badger'said after promising o marryhim. Their flightfromBadger s describedn detail; there is no men-tion of a Star-Boy. (71: i6o, 308.)2 In the Wichitastorythe womandescendsby a rope, and is finallycarrieddownby buzzards;in the

1 "Stucken betont mit Recht, dass es nicht auf (0bereinstimmung der Gestaltensondern der Motive ankommt," etc. (33: 7.)2 A similar version, told by an Assiniboine at Morley, Alberta, is in the writer's pos-session.


27/53

122 Yournal of American Folk-Lore.CoastSalish and Quinaultversions he boyhero is alsolacking, houghthe latteris amalgamatedwith a long descriptionof an ascent to thesky. (27: 298; 3: 62; 35: 10o7.)What has taken place in the Dakotamyth is fairlyclear. The typicalboy hero of thePlainshasbeengivena celestialgenealogyby amalgamation f his tale with the star-marriagetheme. Finally,the Kitkehahkiand Kiowamythsclearly ndicate hatthe twin motivemay developsecondarily. Star-Boy s in all otherin-stancesa singlehero; in these two instances,evidentlyowing to theinfluence of Pueblo mythologyor the Lodge-Boy cycle, the hero isdoubled by splitting in two (cf. 70: 49), or by associationwith hisbrotherby adoption.Comparative nalysisno moresupportsthe naturalistic xplanationof the cycle of Lodge-BoyandThrown-Away.Ehrenreich egards heoriginof one boy from the afterbirthas a lunartrait. Upon whatthisinterpretation34: 602) rests is not clearto me. At all events,a glanceat the table on p. 141 shows that this is a specificallyCaddoannotion,whichhasprobably ofundamentalignificance.The deathandrestora-tion of thetwins'mothermayalso be a special,thoughmorecommon,developmentof the tale. Against these faint suggestionsof celestialfeatures alwaysdisregardingheirequivocalcharacter wehavetheessentiallyhumansettingof the storiesand the indeterminate arents.Even in the Cherokeeversionthe parents'appearancen the sky is alater evolution romtheiroriginallyhumancondition. The secondpartof thecycle havingevolved ndependentlyf thebeginning, hecombina-tion of quasisolar andlunartraits,where t occurs,mustaccordingly econsideredinconclusive. For this reason the fact that the Cherokeetwins are subsequentlydentifiedwith the Thunder-Boyss not to thepoint. Moreover,t will presentlybe shown that suchfinaltransforma-tions arenotto be consideredn interpretinghe character f thepreced-ing narrative.For the Pueblomyth,however,his lineof argumentsnot conclusive.A definiterefutationof the naturalisticheorydependson the availablematerial. It is demonstrable hat all the trial-incidentsound in thePuebloversionsare also foundin othercombinations.It hasalsobeenshown that none of the adventuresrelatedin the secondpart can beused to enforcethe naturalisticargumentbasedon the initialportion.Nevertheless,we are still confrontedby the combinationof the test-themewith the visit to thesky,descent romthe sun,andmagicalbirth.In Pueblomythologyherearenot,as on theNorth Pacificcoast,humanheroesundergoingprecisely he sameadventuresas the Sun'schildren;nor can it be directlyproved,as in the caseof the Star-Boyand Blood-Clotcycle,thatso-calledcriteriahavecombined econdarily.Myobjec-tion to the naturalistic nterpretation f this case rests on the generalprinciplethat no criteriadistinguishingcelestial from human heroes


28/53

The Test-Theme n North American Mythology. 123exist,that explicitsolarconnectionsare accordinglynsignificant.Thisprinciple,already llustratedby a limited numberof examples, s mostconclusively stablishedby the proofthatan indifferentale may,as inthe mythof Qais,acquirea celestialaspect. In the samewayit is pos-sible to dispose of the theorythat in some cases the plot has a solelyexplanatoryunction. Whenit is shownthatcelestialnamesandexpla-nations of naturalphenomenaare joined to independentlydevelopedtales, the naturalistictheory becomesuntenable. I shall accordinglyfurnish additionalexamplesof secondaryassociation.

X. EXPLANATORYYTHS.Accordingto the naturalistictheory,constellationsare apperceivedby primitiveman as objectsor personsaccording o the characteristicsthat appealto him, and an explanatoryale is added. The phenomenaare broughtinto relationswith each other, and a storydevelops,oneconceptionnaturally eadingto another. If theearthhappensto be thescene of the plot thus evolved,the actorsare simplytransferredo thestars. (33: 38.) This conceptionof astralmythsis essentially elated othe theorygenerallyheld as to the developmentof explanatorymyths

in a widersense. That explanations f biologicalandotherphenomenahave developedcannotbe doubted. The questionis whetherthe talesunitedwiththe explanations re theoutgrowth f an explanation rhavedevelopedseparately nd becomesecondarily dded. Vonden Steinen,has takenthe formerpointof view,and tried to show in detailhow thedevelopmentmaybe conceived. In a SouthAmerican toryTurtleandVulturehave a flyingraceto thesky. Turtlehidesin Vulture'shamper,greetshim at the goal,and claimsthe victory. They agreetoraceback,Vulture liesdown,butTurtlejustdrops o theground. In consequencehis backis cleft,as maybe seento-day. According o Von den Steinen,the tale originatedas follows:The native observes he cleft and infersthat it must have been causedby a fall from a greatheight, such asthe sky. To explainhow Turtle everascendedso far, he supposesthathe was carriedupbyVulture. The particularsf theflightareaccountedforbyassuminga trialof swiftness. (83:356,357.) Thoughthisexplana-tion cannot n the absenceof comparativematerialbe definitely efuted,it is veryartificial.It would be extraordinaryf a chain of reasoningwererequired or the production f a simpleanimal ale. The principleon which this interpretations based,the principle hat the perceptionof a fact to be explainedmusthavepreceded hestory,provesuntenablein its generalizedorm.' In the firstplace,we do not knowwhether heexplanation, nstead of being the basis of the tale, is not merelytheproofof the story. Just as the definite scene of the plot is often indicated

1 ".. . es ist ja klar, dass die zu erklirende Thatsache nicht zu der Geschichtegekommen sein kann, sondern nur die Geschichte zu der Thatsache." (83 : 356.)


29/53

124 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.by the narrator to prove that he has given the historical facts, just so thepeculiarity of the animal in question may be used to verify its action inearly times. This theory seems plausible for such incidents as the scorch-ing of an animal during the theft of fire. Ehrenreich,in his interpretationof Michabazo, insists that the Great Hare is in no way connected withthe animal, but represents the moon; his getting spotted in capturingthe fire merely describes the lunar spots. (34: 570.) But in a Shoshonetale recorded by myself, the Cottontail (Rabbit) is delegated to shootthe Sun, and is scorched by it, whence his yellow spots. There is noreason for denying that the explanation of the Cottontail's spots as dueto scorching has developed independently; but the appearance of theexplanatory element in the story is simply a secondary matter, and in itspresent combination it is probably the demonstration of what precedes.There is nothing more likely than that the same interpretationholds forMichabazo; at all events, it is less artificial in accepting the name of thehero as given, instead of explaining it away as referringto the hare in themoon (Mondhase). Returning to Von den Steinen, we must note sec-ondly that the application of his principle frequently leads to contradic-tions. In a Navaho legend Coyote learns the trick of sending his eyesaway and recalling them. He is warned not to try the trick too often, butdisobeys, and fails to recover them. He subsequently secures orbs ofpine-gum, hence his yellow eyes to-day. Exactly the same story is toldby the Arapaho, but with a different explanatory feature. The heroborrows Mole's eyes, hence Mole is blind nowadays. In a Shuswapvariant the explanatoryfeature is entirely lacking. (61 : 90; 31 :51 ; 3: 8.)Were either of the other versions lacking, the Shuswap form might beaccounted for by the loss of the explanatory features. As it is, the sametale obviously cannot have arisen independently from two entirelydifferent facts. Explanatory statements have simply been tacked on toa previously existing tale.1Professor Boas has kindly called my attention to another unexcep-tionable instance of the same process. In a Shuswap tale recorded byMr. Teit,2 Grasshopper refuses to help his people in storing up salmonfor the winter, preferringto dance and eat grass. Famished in the win-ter, when the grass is covered with snow, he asks for food, but is toldto play and eat grass. When nearly starved to death, he is transformedinto the animal. "Henceforth," he is told, "you will be the grasshop-per, and, as you were too lazy and thoughtless to catch salmon, youshall live on grass, and spend your time jumping around making muchnoise." This story is obviouslya duplicate of the AEsopian able retold byLa Fontaine under the title of "La Cigale et la Fourmi." Knowing that

1 Since writing the above, I have found a similar criticism of Von den Steinen's rea-soning in Frobenius's Das Zeitalter des Sonnengottes,pp. 20-24.2 Teit, The Shuswap (Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. ii, p. 655).


30/53

The Test-Theme n Nortk American Mythology. 125the Canadianvoyageursparticipatedn the story-telling f the Indians,"we may be quite certain that the fable reachedthe Shuswap hroughthis medium.As the Shuswaphave a considerablenumberof similarorigin tales,it illustrates he tendencyof a borrowed tory to becomeadapted o a prevalentiterary ast. The explanatorylose is thusagainan acquired eature.

XI. STAR-MYTHS.Applyingthe principlethus gained to the study of star-mythology,we ask: Are the nature-mythologicalonceptionswhich undoubtedlyhave developed romobservation f the firmament he starting-point fthe talesconnectedwiththem,or have thesetalesdevelopedindepend-entlyand becomesecondarilyoinedwiththenature-myth roper ThePleiadestales have been pointedout as classicalexamplesof nature-myths, and the occurrenceof such tales in all partsof the globe hasbeen said to exemplifythe psychicalunityof mankind. Now, it neednot be denied that the nature-mythologicalpersonificationof thisconstellationhas led to simple explanatorystatements. The FraserRiver myth reads as follows: "Qals went on and found a groupof

childrenwho were crying because their parentshad left them. Hetransferredhem to the sky, and they becamethe Pleiades." (3: 21.)Heretheapperception f thePleiadesas a groupofchildren s,of course,the nature-myth, heir transference o the sky by the transformermaybe justly consideredan "explanatorischeHinzudichtung."But it isdoubtfulwhether ull-fledgedalesdevelop n this way. In a Cheyennestorya youngwoman s marriedby a dog andgivesbirth to sevenpup-pies. Herhusband eaveswith hechildren, ndisfollowedbythewoman.Suddenlythe tracksstop. "She looked up, and there she saw sevenpups; theywerestars." (54: 181.) The numerousvariantsof the storyamong the Eskimo,Athapascan,Northwestern, nd Plains tribes acktheastralfeatureat theclose. At thesametime, thenumberof puppiesin the severalversionsvariesconsiderably,rom two to ten. What hastakenplace amongthe Cheyenne s perfectlyclear. The condition forthedevelopment f a Pleiades aleis thepresence f sevenactors orminga group. In a regionin whichastraltransformations recommon thepresenceof a groupof beingstendsto amalgamatewith the independ-entlydeveloped personificationf the Pleiades,and this accounts forthe Cheyenne orm. The Cheyennestorywell illustrates he principlethat the type of association oundin a given case is to a considerabledegreeconditionedby the specific ype,or formalsetting,of plotsfoundin a culturalarea. For example,Eskimofolk-lore,as Boashas shown(Io), is essentially human in setting. There are no complex animal tales;the strictly indigenous portion of Eskimo mythology is made up of

I Teit, The Shuswap, p. 621.


31/53

126 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.hero-tales bearing a very general resemblance to those of eastern Asia.On the other hand, among several Plains tribes, notably those of Cad-doan stock, folk-lore tends to assume an astral aspect, while the Kwa-kiutl and kindred tribes most frequently relate the meeting of an ancestorwith a supernatural being and the consequent acquisition of a dance orcharm. (14: 7, 25, 36, 107, 247, 255, 382, 403.) We might thereforeexpect that in the case of widespread narratives the same tale mightappear among the Eskimo in human connections, while the Pawneeversion would be joined with an astral milieu, and the Kwakiutl variantwith a tale of ritualistic acquisitions. This is actually the case. Amongthe Eskimo the story of the dog-husband is either joined with the Sednamyth, or accounts for the origin of alien tribes. In the Heiltsuk version(14: 401-403) the dog's offspring meet spirits from whom they learnthe winter dance. In the Cheyenne version we found a Pleiades ending.Differently from all these, the Chilcotin variant is combined with one ofthe typical Pacific traditions, the transformercycle. Under the circum-stances, it would obviously be a monstrous assumption that the tale ofthe dog-childrenoriginated among the Cheyenne as an explanation of thePleiades. We may safely assert that the story of the dog marrying a girlis the primaryelement in all the versions, and has in each tribe becomeassimilated to the conventional mould, or united with some importanttribal myth.The secondary assumptionof a nature-mythological aspect is also veryclear in a Pawnee tradition. Here the rattling skull, one of the common-est features of North American mythology, is the pursuer; the heroinebegs a number of animals for assistance in a series of characteristicdialogues, and creates obstacles by means of magical objects. She issaved by severalbrothers, with whom she finally constitutes the Pleiades.(30: 119.) The widely diffused elements making up the substance ofthis story occur in such a variety of different combinations that anyexplanatory function in connection with the observation of the stars isinconceivable. Neither can the Shoshone tale of Coyote and his daugh-ters, which ends with a Pleiades transformation (6o), have originatedin this way, for this element at the close, and the prerequisite conditionthat a number of characters be united in a group of six or seven, areboth lacking in the Maidu, Ute, Navaho, and Pawnee versions. (25:270; 55: 268; 62: 271; 30: 430.) In other cases, however, the nature-mythological view may, at first sight, appear equally plausible. Ina familiar Pl

the test-theme in north american mythology - robert h. lowie

Documents