Reading Diary A: Sioux Legends

I decided to go with Sioux Legends this week since the description for it said there would be a trickster. Trickster stories have proven to be some of my favorite tales that I have read in this class. Each culture has such a unique way of making their own trickster that you love to hate.

The Rabbit and the Bear with the Flint Body: This is one of the most peculiar stories that I have read in this class. The bear having a body that was half flint wasn't even close to being the most intriguing part of this story. The rabbit had so much more power than I had expected. He was able to summon enough strength to split the flint bear in half and kill all of the remaining bears that chased him. The rabbit was so much more violent than I could have ever expected. I always perceive rabbits as being gentle animals; the Sioux people seemed to have had a slightly different outlook on them.

               (The Flint Bear and Rabbit illustration from the original book)

The Boy and the Turtles: This was another story that had an unexpected ending, in my opinion. The boy character was very interesting, especially since he ended up receiving such a high honor in the end. I am curious as to why he received the Holy Man title since the two warriors also saw the turtles as men. I am left wondering if it took the boy spotting them for them to actually turn into men. I have a lot of questions after reading this story.