Animal Myths

For many tribes, animal hunting was their main occupation and their only way of surviving. It was believed that the difference between humans and animals was minimal and could be overcome. Many stories tell how some animals were people in the past and vice versa. The Navajo say of the bear that was once a hunter or a shaman who became a bear and they talk of a land where people were born in the form of large dogs; even fish are humans who have drowned. The hopi believe that when the castor was human, he was extremely upright with the bow.

Animals and humans can marry, and the children of these unions have human intelligence and animal strength. During the hunt, when a storm forced the hunters to seek refuge, the narrator spoke loudly because animals were believed to also be able to hear stories. Hunters were not interested in domestic animals, such as dogs, goats, horses or chickens, so little was told about these animals, as they were not the object of hunting. Some didn't even have names for these unhunted animals.

The bear, the fox, the wolf, the American glutton and, of course, the horn were the most famous characters in the fairy tales.