Trickster

{{folklore}}
In [[mythology]] and [[folklore]], a '''trickster''' figure is a [[god]], [[spirit]], [[person]], or anthropomorphic [[animal]] who exhibits skill at [[Deceit|deceiving]] other characters, usually by violating social norms. Tricksters appear in many cultures worldwide.

==Examples==
Some examples of characters from folklore, mythology, or religion that manifest the trickster archetype include:
[[File:Reynard-the-fox.jpg|thumb|right|Reynard the Fox, a trickster figure from many European folklores.]]
*{{wpl|Anansi the Spider||,}} from several West [[Africa]]n cultures. Appears in the New World as "Annancy" or "Aunt Nancy".
*{{wpl|Br'er Rabbit||,}} from [[African-American]] folktales, made famous by Joel Chandler Harris's ''Uncle Remus'' stories. He too owes much to Anansi.  
*[[Eris]], Greek goddess of strife, also known as Discordia in the Roman religion. Main goddess of [[Discordianism]], a trickster-like religion.
*{{wpl|Eshu||,}} known in the New World as ''Ex&uacute;'', from Yoruba mythology.
*{{wpl|Coyote (mythology)|Coyote|,}} from Plains and West Coast [[Native American]] folklore.
*{{wpl|Nanabozho||,}} from Ojibwe Native American folklore.
*{{wpl|Māui (Hawaiian mythology)|Maui|,}} from Polynesian mythology.
*{{wpl|Sinbad||,}} from Arabic and Persian folklore.
*[[Jacob]], from the [[Hebrew]] [[Bible]], has many attributes of a trickster figure.
*{{wpl|Hermes||,}} from [[Classical mythology|Greek mythology]]. 
*{{wpl|Autolycus||,}} from Greek mythology.
*{{wpl|Odysseus||,}} from Greek mythology. 
*{{wpl|Loki||,}} from [[Norse mythology]].
*{{wpl|Reynard the Fox||,}} from Western Europe.
*{{wpl|Puck (mythology)|Puck|,}} from British fairy tales; appears in [[Shakespeare]]'s ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
*[[Leprechaun]]s, from Irish fairy lore.
*{{wpl|Nasreddin||,}} from Islamic folklore, a [[Sufism|Sufi]] saint in the 13th century.
*{{wpl|Iktomi}} of Lakota tradition.
*{{wpl|Robin Hood}} of English folklore.
*{{wpl|Sun Wukong}} of Chinese folklore.
*{{wpl|Azeban}} of Abenaki mythology.
Trickster figures are popular especially among the members of an underclass. The trickster figure turns the tables on bosses, masters, and other oppressive figures. Tricksters are often [[shape-shifter]]s and are [[Gender fluid|fluid with respect to gender]].

==Trickster deities==
Deities can be trickster figures. In Greek mythology, Hermes is the divine patron of thieves and the inventor of the art of lying, a skill he passed to his disciple Autolycus. The ''Homeric Hymn to Hermes'' calls Hermes a god of "many shapes (''polytropos''), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."<ref>''...πολύτροπον, αἱμυλομήτην, ληιστῆρ᾽, ἐλατῆρα βοῶν, ἡγήτορ᾽ ὀνείρων, νυκτὸς ὀπωπητῆρα, πυληδόκον, ὃς τάχ᾽ ἔμελλεν, ἀμφανέειν κλυτὰ ἔργα μετ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσιν.'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D4 Homeric Hymn to Hermes], Perseus.</ref>

The possibility that [[God]] may be a trickster is another thing that throws a monkey wrench into [[Pascal's wager]]; there might be a god who likes [[liar]]s and thieves, and rewards vice or mockery rather than piety or virtue. History shows that such gods were in fact worshiped by attested religions.

===Trickster and the devil===
From the portrayal of [[Loki]] in Marvel movies, to early [[Christianity]], there has often been an emphasis on the "evil" aspects of the trickster figure in Western thinking. While the trickster figure is usually much more ambiguous and sometimes even venerated in the culture of origin, the trickster is portrayed in a negative light by most Christian sources that came into contact with the culture where the trickster figure originated. This goes as far as giving attributes of the trickster to the [[devil]] (who is not described in much detail in the [[Bible]]). As many cultures are only attested in writing through Christian sources (either because they had no own writing system<ref group=note>Like Nordic Paganism for most of its history.</ref> or because Christians eliminated most written sources<ref group=note>Like Mayan and Aztec culture.</ref>), it is often difficult to judge whether a trickster-like figure was viewed positively or negatively within its culture of origin.

==Further reading==
*Henry Louis Gates, ''The Signifying Monkey'' (Oxford, 1988)
*Lewis Hyde, ''Trickster Makes the World'' (Farrar, Strouss, and Giroux, 1998)
:*Paul Mattick, [https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/02/15/reviews/980215.15mattict.html "Hotfoots of the Gods"], ''The New York Times'' 1998 (book review)

==References==
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==Notes==
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[[Category:Mythology]]
[[Category:Deities]]
[[Category:Religion]]

Categories: Mythology, Deities, Religion