Before the written word, the printing press, computers, modems, the Internet and all other communication methods, people passed their beliefs, their history and their values from generation to generation through storytelling and oral tradition. Important aspects of every culture were documented in myths. Creation myths explained how a people came to be, giving them a spiritual/religious connection to a much larger universe filled with the unexplained. In addition, creation myths explained a culture’s origin, history, deities and heroes. Myths gave a culture a clear connection throughout the ages. These myths were passed on through generations to become an integral part of many cultures.
Myths helped make order out of chaos, explained things in nature that could not be readily understood. Myths, frequently, expressed ideas and concepts that were common to all human beings. Questions about good and evil, life and death, fear and anxiety, heroes and heroic feats, punishment for breaking cultural values are present in every culture. The “why” of existence crosses cultural, racial and geographic challenges. These topics were the basis for many myths. The myths created to address these topics were frequently variations of the same or similar stories/oral traditions. Collectively, these universal themes or questions are referred to as universal myths.
Myths existed before there was art and before the written word. The great mythic themes were known before literature. Myths existed before philosophy and science. A culture's mythology is a powerful form of psychology, casting light on the culture's shared unconscious. Myths are a clear reflection of the religious/spiritual beliefs of a culture. Myths allow a culture to explore and address its taboos, its erotica and its dark side without guilt. Myths give rise to a healthy cultural psychology, that is, myths allow for the safe expression and resolution of the abhorrent. 1. Myths are important to cultures because they explain the creation of the world and the universe. 2. Myths explain the human condition: a. How were people created? b. What is the purpose of a life? c. Why is there suffering in the world? d. Why do people die? e. What happens to people after death? 3. Myths explain natural phenomena, such as the setting of the sun and the phases of the moon. 4. Myths explain rituals, customs, and beliefs and explain historical events. 5. Myths teach moral lessons.
Old Man Coyote, also known by his Blackfoot name, Naapi, is the benevolent culture hero of the Blackfoot tribe (sometimes referred to as a "transformer" by folklorists). He is a trickster, a troublemaker, and sometimes a foolish person, but he is also responsible for the shaping of the world the Blackfoot live in and frequently helps the people. He is assisted in these tasks by his wife, Old Woman or Old Woman Coyote. Sometimes, they have no particular connection with coyotes and are instead described as the first man and woman made by the Creator. They (first man and first woman) in turn make the rest of humankind. Old Man Coyote is what anthropologists call a trickster.
The Trickster openly questions and mocks authority, encourages impulse and enthusiasm, seeks out new ideas and experiences, destroys convention and complacency, promoting chaos and unrest. At the same time, the trickster brings new knowledge, wisdom and new insights. The trickster has an indomitable spirit that cannot be broken or forced into submission. The trickster has a need to reach for knowledge, no matter what the cost.
The trickster is a very important archetype in the history of the Blackfoot people. He is a god and yet not precisely. The trickster is both wise and foolish. Old Man Coyote, through his foolishness causes destruction. In this destruction, the flaws in a culture are exposed. He rebels against authority, pokes fun at the overly serious, creates convoluted schemes -that may or may not work and plays with the Laws of the Universe. He is sometimes his own worst enemy.
In the role of trickster, Old Man Coyote exists to question, to cause us to question and not accept things blindly. He appears when a way of thinking becomes outmoded and needs to change or bring the downfall of the people. Old Man Coyote will tear down the problem and create a new perspective. He is the Destroyer of Worlds and the Savior of Worlds at the same time. Old Man Coyote, as trickster, provides an important psychic energy, he appear at moments of cultural change, passage, rupture and times of transformation. He helps integrate seemingly irreconcilable oppositions within ourselves and in life.
Modern tricksters are Bugs Bunny and Chaplin’s “The Tramp”, to name a few. A major difference between the cartoon characters, Chaplin’s “The Tramp” and Old Man Coyote is very basic. Old Man Coyote is a god, a deity of the Blackfoot people. Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character and “The Tramp” is a movie character. Neither Bugs Bunny nor “The Tramp” are gods. They are, however, agents for change. They both are wise fools. They are a uniquely American in their antics but definitely trickster in their origins. Bugs Bunny has a similar make up to the trickster, Bugs is more than a living creature. He is not a god and yet he is, he is immortal, he is beyond death, he has an indomitable spirit. Bugs provides a new perspective to old questions, he allows a culture to laugh at themselves. Like Old Man Coyote, Bugs Bunny, is sometimes a foolish creature. Bugs Bunny is a reflection of an American culture. A striking difference is in the origins of Old Man Coyote and Bugs Bunny. Old Man Coyote was a creation of the Creator. Old Man Coyote went on, with Old Woman, to create humankind and shape humankind’s world. Bugs Bunny was created by humans and though he brings new perspectives, and allows people to laugh at themselves, he does not create as Old Man Coyote created.