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Show INTRODUCTION Folktales are stories which are expressed through an oral tradition, told and retold basically unchanged throughout a period of time. Such stories are reflective of the particular culture in which they are told, and, in fact, serve to transmit that culture to succeeding generations. Folktales are told to fulfill certain needs: 1) to produce culture heroes, 2) to explain life, creation, the nature of things, 3) to reinforce moral and social instruction, 4) to satisfy curiosity about the past and preserve history, 5) to entertain, to amuse. This collection of Ute Indian tales has been arranged according to the need which they fulfill. Since explanatory, cultural and historical elements or motifs are attached to most of the tales, there is some difficulty and disagreement in determining to which category each tale belongs. Several tales have motifs which function in more than one way, but each has one major emphasis and purpose which it fulfills in the Ute story-telling tradition. Cultural Continuity Tales are those which explain the origins of the culture, such as "Coyote and his Son," its customs, such as "Coyote and Senawahv Discuss Matters of Importance to the People," its environment, such as "The Bear-Ears' Country," and its religious beliefs, such as "Bear Dance." Some involve heroes who protect or instruct the people, such as "Rabbit Has a Fight with the Sun" and "Coyote Steals Fire." Cautionary Tales are those which convey moral or social instruction, ethics, the taboos and traditional methods of a society, lessons for the good of the individual. In this category are tales explaining proper hunting methods, such as "Coyote and Mountain Lion" and "Coyote Hunts with Bow and Arrow," tales stressing the importance of obedience to the elders, such as "The Son of Coyote is Punished for Disobedience," tales warning against wife-stealing, such as "Bear Loves Mountain Lion's Wife," against incest, such as "Coyote Marries his Daughter," against property stealing, such as "Coyote Steals the Rolling Rock's Blanket," and against cannibalism, such as "The Cannibal." Explanatory Tales attempt to answer questions as to why things are the way they are: why the Coyote has a long face and the Wildcat a short one, what forms the shadows in the moon, how the cedar was tamed to usefulness, how the stars were formed, how the snowbird foretells the severity of winter. Entertainment Tales are told for fun, to while away long hours. Many are jests, short anecdotes of absurd or obscene acts, such as "Coyote Hunts Bear;" others are trickster tales in which someone is duped, such as "Coyote's Horses;" some are bungler tales in which an incompetent buffoon is made fun of, such as "Coyote and his Reflection in the Water;" a few are tales of supernatural beings such as witches, See- Atches (Child-Snatchers), and monsters. Most of the Ute tales involve animal characters, especially Coyote, who may be trickster, dupe or hero. Most take place in a mythical past when animals could talk and function like human beings. Folktales, by the very nature of their oral transmission, undergo many changes throughout a period of time, losing old or incorporating new material. Although the basic story line remains constant, the details and even the emphasis or function may change from era to era, or may vary from teller to teller. Within this collection are a few tales which have been told in different versions, some of which are even different in emphasis and function. Thus, "Coyote Marries his Daughter" is told as a warning against incest, while "The Seven Stars", which is essentially the same story is told as an explanatory tale. "Coyote and Duck," a warning against wife stealing, is retold in "Coyote and Doctor Duck" as an entertainment tale. It is also evident from comments by several collectors of Ute tales- J. W. Powell, Anne M. C. Smith ("An Analysis of Basin Mythology," unpublished PhD dissertation, Yale University, 1940) and Joseph G. Jorgenson, ("Functions of Ute Folklore," unpublished Masters' Thesis, University of Utah, 1960), that most tales are told in shortened versions omitting a great mass of cultural detail which is assumed by the teller to be understood by his audience. Also, the Utes were a nomadic, eclectic people, adopting and adapting materials, methods and motifs. These factors may account for much of the seeming choppiness of style and seeming inclusion of unrelated incidents in several of the tales. It should also be noted that the Ute language is a straightforward language, and Ute tales, even when told in English, are told in a blunt and often bawdy manner, although some of this has been edited out of the tales in this volume to make them suitable for school children. During recent years the tradition of story-telling has been disrupted. The Ute life-style has been changed; traditional methods of tribal organization, food procurement, child-rearing, and material manufacture have been distorted or replaced. Story-telling and listening to stories was once a major form of recreation for the Utes. Nowadays, there are few accomplished story-tellers to command that position of respect and honor, and even more significant, there is no longer an audience for them; the young are busy with school, church and athletic activities, and television watching. These tales have been collected and published in this book in order to give recognition to the richness of the Ute story-telling tradition and to present the tales to a new generation. Kathryn L. MacKay |