Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1936-11-26
STORY TELLING is
AN ART WITH zUNIS
Folklore of Pueblo Tribe
Unique in Mythology.

IS q Mgnly developed ana SeTIOuS
art among the Zunis, largest COM
munity of pueblo Indians in south
western United States, according
to DR.. Ruth Benedict, whose collec-
ton of folktales gathered from
leading tribesmen has just been
published by the Columbia Uni
versity Press.
Suicide is unknown among the
Zunis, and violence is taboo, says
DR.. Benedict, who lived with the
tribe for two summers to complete
her investigations, issued as "Zuni
Mythology. In the folklore, the
individual who wants to die and to
take revenge on others, summons
murderous Apaches who kill him
as they sweep down upon the UNI
suspecting Indians.
"The one situation where physi-
cal violence is inStitutionaliZed In
Zuni, as in other pueblos, is the
conflict between the wife and the
husbands Mistress" DR.. Benedict
explains. The two women may
meet in a fist fight, in contempt
rary custom as in folklore. The
man does not take part.
Only Death Satisfies.
"Grudges are cherished in Zuni.
In actual life they give rise to ma
licious aspersions, but in folklore
they are usually satisfied by moth
ing less than the death of the Of
fender. True to the peculiar ide-
ology of Zuni these reprisals are
easily phrased as teaching peo-
pie to love you,' that is, to act de-
Gently toward you.
"Zuno folklore differs from most
North American Indian mythology
in that the usual daydream is lit
tie concerned with prowess in war
fare. Their most popular theme is
the triumph of the despised and
weak and previously worsted. The
poor orphan boy is victorious in
hunting, in stick races, in gam
bling, and in courtship; those who
do not have witch power are tri-
umphant over those who have.
''Zuni folktales give an extraor-
binary place to women. The sexes
of the protagonists are constantly
reversed. Men or women may
equally take the initiative in court
ship. When the man is the sutton,
the women impose tests upon their
suitors and refuse marriage, and
when the woman is the sutton, the
men do likewise. It is always the
theme of the tinid man that is
developed, not of the frightened
virgin
A Zuni audience likes very long
tales, and the majority of stories
combine in different ways several
well-marked incidents, DR.. Bene-
dict adds. These incidents are
stock property, and their outlines
are known to all the audience. The
Zuni narrator is almost always
free to incorporate his special
knowledge in tale.
''The most striking way in which
the importance of personal bias
and experience is shown in Zuni
tales is in the contrast between
tales told by men and by women.
The version of The Deserted Hus-
band told by a woman expatiates
on the woman's grievance; her
husband did not compliment her
on her cooking. The woman's story
details her revenge. The men s
version omits all this, and tells the
story from the point of view of
the man. It begins with the hus-
bands proposal to bring calami-
ty upon the pueblo because of his
faithless wife"
Differs From Real Life
Pointing out that life as de-
scribed in the myths is often
very different from real life, DR..
Benedict says that the stories
should in some cases be regarded
as daydreams which compensate
for the restrictions of actual life.
Marriage with many wives is a
Zuni fantasy of the same order
as raising the deac or travelling
with seven-league boots in other
bodies of folklore. 1t plays a fairy
tale role in Zuni mythology, for Zu-
nj institutions are thoroughly mo-
nogamous, contrasting with almost
all other North American tribes.
The absence of any taboo against
multiple spouses is an old and gen.
eral North American Indian trait. -
Ancient customs long discarded
are woven into many of the stories,
indicating the typical "cultur-
al lag" of folklore, DR.. Benedict
declares.
Though doors have been COM
mon in Zuni since 1888 and are to-
day nearly universal, folktale char
acters enter the house by means OF
a ladder to the roof and down an
other ladder from the hatchway.
cat present, sheep herding &C.
cupies much of the life of Zuni
men, and hunting is in allegiance.
In the tales, however, all heroes
are hunters, and there is no men
ton of sheep herding except in
tales recognized as Mexican. In
like manner men do not now come
counting with bundle of gifts for
the girl, but in folklore this is a
convention usually observed.
Counting with bundles may not