Myths & More

The Uktena Link to story. Title: The Uktena and the Ulûñsû'tï Publication: Myths of the Cherokee, 1900 Author: James Mooney Notes: James Mooney (February 10, 1861–December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer and author who studied Native American groups, particularly Cherokee. He published Myths of the Cherokee during Ghost Dance, a 19-century religious movement that incorporated Native American belief systems. Cherokee IPA: Uktena [noun]: “ook-teh-nah” Ulûñsû'tî [noun]: “oo-lune-soo-tee” Agän-uni'tsï [noun]: “ah-gen-oo-neat-see” Gälûñ'lätï [noun]: “gah-lune-lah-tee” Characters: Sun, who plagues the earth after seeing people’s misdeeds Little Men, vengeful of Sun’s actions Uktena, “The Keen-Eyed” monster snake (with a diamond crest called a Ulûñsû'tî) Rattlesnake, who was sent to bring vengeance instead of Uktena Agän-uni'tsï, a Cherokee warrior Places: North America Events: Sun becomes angry with the people and sends a plague Little Men is mad at Sun...

Whooping Crane Ruby Throated Hummingbird Link to story. Title: The Crane and the Hummingbird Publication: Myths of the Cherokee, 1900 Author: James Mooney Notes: James Mooney (February 10, 1861–December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer and author who studied Native American groups, particularly Cherokee. He published Myths of the Cherokee during Ghost Dance, a 19-century religious movement that incorporated Native American belief systems. Characters: Crane Hummingbird The woman Places: North America Events: A Crane and a Hummingbird love the same woman The woman preferred the Hummingbird for his looks The Crane challenges the Hummingbird to a race to win over the woman For seven days the birds race around the woman’s house Despite the Hummingbird’s swiftness, the Crane is able to fly for long hours The Crane wins the race on the seventh day The woman says she will never marry the ugly crane and remains single

A red dragon as seen in D&D Fantasy (n): The faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable. Fantasy Fiction: A popular genre that involves fantasy universes, world building, myths, magic, and other-worldly creatures. Typically the story will follow the protagonist as they progress through the main quest. Sub-genres of Fantasy: Children’s Fantasy: children’s literature with fantasy elements. Comic Fantasy: focuses on humor and comedic tone in fantasy. Fairy Tale Retellings: fairy tales retold with the same structure, different elements. Fantasy Romance: focuses on relationships (social, political, romantic) in fantasy. Gothic Fantasy/Dark Fantasy: incorporates darker or frightening themes in fantasy. Grimdark Fantasy: incorporates a dystopian, amoral or violent tone in fantasy. High Fantasy/Epic Fantasy: focuses on the epic nature of a fictional world in fantasy. Historical Fantasy: represents fictitious versions of an era. ...

Purple sage in Texas Link to story. Title: The Maiden Who Loved a Star Publication: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends, 1936 Author: Florence Stratton Illustrator: Berniece Burrough Notes: Florence Stratton (1883—January 28, 1938) was an American journalist and writer Having returned to Texas for her career in journalism, she published the Tejas Indian folklore anthology “When the Storm God Rides” in 1936. Characters: Young girl Sky dweller Old woman Great Spirit Places: Texas Events: A young girl forages for prickly pear fruit in the desert The girl catches a glimpse of a winking star The girl dreams about the sky dweller living in the stars The girl goes out to the desert to see the star for a week She continues to dream of the sky dweller, but they can’t be together The girl asks the old woman how to die to join the star The old woman suggests another option in order to live The girl drinks the old woman’s potion and turns into a desert shrub The sky d...

A rainbow hanging over a cactus Link to story. Title: When the Rainbow Was Torn Publication: When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends, 1936 Author: Florence Stratton Illustrator: Berniece Burrough Notes: Florence Stratton (1883—January 28, 1938) was an American journalist and writer Having returned to Texas for her career in journalism, she published the Tejas Indian folklore anthology “When the Storm God Rides” in 1936. Characters: Rainbow Cactus flowers Places: Texas Events: There are flowers with every color of the rainbow The white cactus flowers looked to the rainbow for their colors The rainbow stays away from the cactus’ sharp thorns The rainbow is trodden after a heavy rainfall The red, orange and yellow bands get caught on the cactus The cactus flowers remain colorful to this day

Having reached the peak of the cavern’s entrance,  Kweku Tsin turned to face the beast. Once there was a man named Kweku Tsin, a brave hunter and the provider of his village. He was as strong as he was clever, being the son of the quick-witted Anansi. Everyone admired Kweku Tsin and felt safe in his presence. One day, the people in the village began to go missing. Every day that passed, more of the villagers disappeared. Concerned, Kweku Tsin gathered his hunting gear and left the village to investigate. Reaching the lush forests, Kweku Tsin walked deftly through the trees, looking for any sign of the missing villagers. In his wake he spotted something weaving through the foliage. Kweku Tsin reached for his bow when suddenly, the large figure arose. A dragon, unlike anything he had ever seen before, reached out to grab him. The beast flew off with Kweku Tsin and dropped him in a dark den on the highest mountain. Gathering his surroundings, Kweku Tsin saw the missing villagers...

Kweku Tsin flees from the dragon Link to story.   Title:   The Moon and the Stars Publication: West African Folk-Tales, 1917 Author: William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair Notes: William H. Barker (1882-1929) was an American missionary who collected stories from the west coast of Africa to compile into his book, “West African Folk-Tales,” published in 1917. Cecilia Sinclair was the coauthor and the illustrator of the novel. Characters: Anansi Kweku Tsin, Anansi’s son Dragon Rooster Anansi’s friends Places: Ghana Events: Kweku Tsin supplies food for his family Kweku Tsin spots a dragon while out hunting Kweku Tsin and his father Anansi go to see the dragon The dragon captures them and holds them hostage in his castle Kweku Tsin devises an escape plan for the captives Kweku Tsin collects rice for the dragon’s servant, the rooster Kweku Tsin makes a rope ladder Kweku Tsin gathers leftover bones and the dragon’s fiddle The captives begin to climb the ladder with the dragon...

Anansi Link to story. Title: How We Got the Name “Spider Tales” Publication: West African Folk-Tales, 1917 Author: William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair Notes: William H. Barker (1882-1929) was an American missionary who collected stories from the west coast of Africa to compile into his book, “West African Folk-Tales,” published in 1917. Cecilia Sinclair was the coauthor and the illustrator of the novel. Characters: Nyankupon, chief of the gods Spider/Anansi, the trickster Bees Boa Tiger Places:  Ghana Events: Anansi envies Nyankupon’s fame Anansi asks to be written into future stories Nyankupon sends Anansi on a quest to fetch three things Anansi tricks the bees to fly into a jar Anansi tricks the boa to hang from a stick Anansi tricks the tiger into following him Nyankupon, impressed, calls the old tales Anansi tales References: http://www.loyalbooks.com/book/west-african-folk-tales-by-william-h-barker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansi

GIF from Spirited Away , 2001 Looking back on the first half of the semester, I’m quite proud of the work I’ve done. It’s been hard keeping up the momentum during the middle—it’s tempting to slack off after midterms—but I want to continue coming up with new ideas and writing more stories as I have been for the past eight weeks. So far, my routine involves going to the library and sitting there for hours until I finish working. I’ll look over my notes for my weekly story prompt, and usually I’ll tweak it or take out a plot point that I didn’t care for until I’ve written a new story outline. From that point, the writing takes care of itself. It’s a pretty good system, so long as I stick to it. Building my blog was easy because it already had various layouts to choose from. My website for the storybook project is alright for now, though I hope to refine it throughout the rest of the semester. I’ve been looking at different website layouts for inspiration, plus I’ve been working on inc...

Image Source I really enjoy talking to the other students in this class, and I hope to do so more often. There are a lot of creative people here this semester, and I love reading their stories! I’ve also had a lot of good feedback from my peers, some of which helps me to review my writing in a way that I wouldn’t even think of. It definitely helps to have a fresh pair of eyes to look over your work, and the advice that I have received has been a great help. I would say that I give good feedback as well—I hope that my critiques are positive and forward thinking. I do hope to read more comments in my future blog posts, especially for the storybook project. I think that would be beneficial in terms of reviewing my work and improving as a writer.

GIF Loop from Only Yesterday , 1991 So we’re eight weeks into this class, which means we’re about halfway through the semester, give or take. It always boggles my mind how fast time passes, yet here we are. I can say with confidence that this is one of my favorite courses that I’ve taken at OU outside of my major, and that’s saying a lot. I truly do enjoy the coursework and feel that I’ve grown more as a writer. To me, the online stories are easy to navigate and fun to read. I stated a while ago that I like to study the origins of a story or a series through different resources. It’s fun to read about the authors and see how they’ve drawn influences from their culture or time period, and how their stories have made an impact around the world. I believe it was Wilde who said that “life imitates art” and vice versa. The same can be said about mythology and folklore. As far as my blog goes, I like the layout well enough, and I’ve warmed up to Blogger since the first day of class. I’d ...

"The Legend of Princess Tamatori," illustrated by Natalie Homsher “You lost the jewel?” The Empress spoke, dangerously low. The head council did his best not to flinch, but failed. His skin crawled in fear. He began to speak. “Your majesty, I-“ “Go.” She didn’t have time for his apologies. They were in the middle of a war, and without the power of the jewel to destroy their enemy, their chances of winning would be slim to none. “And don’t come back without the jewel.” She turned her back on him, and the councilman knew that he was dismissed indefinitely. — Takeuchi looked over the steep cliff side and into the ocean, staring into the emerald depths below. He peered through the waters in search in the gem, to no avail. The Jewel of Heart’s Desire, the one thing that could save the country of turmoil, was lost. Worse, he had disappointed his love, Empress Jingū. He stared at the jagged rocks below in despair. Nearby, the pearl divers had returned from work and swum up to sh...

Illustration by Utagawa Kuniyoshi Link to story. Title: The Quest of the Jewel Publication: The Romance of Old Japan, 1917 Author: E. W. Champney and F. Champney Notes: Elizabeth Williams Champney (February 6, 1850—October 13, 1922) was an American author and world traveler. Her son, Edouard Frère Champney (May 4, 1874—June 4, 1929) was born in France and worked as an architect. Elizabeth’s “Romance” books, based on her travels and myths from around the world, were co-written with her son. This legend is a continuation of “The Jewel of the Heart’s Desire,” following the story of Empress Jingū, while fighting against the Korean navy, has lost the Tide Jewel. Characters: Takeuchi, the court minister Tamatori, the fisher maid Empress Jingū Benten, Ryūjin’s daughter Ryūjin, the sea dragon Places: Japan Events: Empress Jingū banishes Takeuchi for losing the Jewel of Heart’s Desire Takeuchi resolves to throw himself off a cliff Tamatori, in love with...

Shinto Shrine Mirror Link to story. Title: The Miraculous Mirror Publication: The Romance of Old Japan, 1917 Author: E. W. Champney and F. Champney Notes: Elizabeth Williams Champney (February 6, 1850—October 13, 1922) was an American author and world traveler. Her son, Edouard Frère Champney (May 4, 1874—June 4, 1929) was born in France and worked as an architect. Elizabeth’s “Romance” books, based on her travels and myths from around the world, were co-written with her son.  Characters: Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess Susa-no-wo, Demon of Fire Uzume, Goddess of Laughter Taji-Karaô, The Strong Places: Japan Events:  Amaterasu gives bountiful light and controls the day While traveling in her shuttle, Susa-no-wo scares Amaterasu Amaterasu flees and hides in a cave The people miss the Sun Goddess Uzume crafts a mirror of gold to trick Amaterasu Amaterasu, jealous of her reflection, is lured out of the cave Taji-Karaô blocks of t...