The best-known and most influential discussion of the trickster figure, however, is the 1956 book The Trickster written by Paul Radin, a later ethnographer much influenced by Boas. The trickster as a character of myth-and the problems of interpreting the ambiguous nature of the figure presented-were noted and described at some length using comparative materials by Franz Boas in an introduction he wrote for a collection of Thompson River Indian stories, published in 1898. "The central figure in one of the most characteristic worldwide myth cycles-a god, animal, and human all in one who is always duping others and is always duped in return and whose stories tell of experiences involving a lengthy series of dangerous, outrageous, and often obscene adventures and behaviors marked by trickery. This is a typical trickster tale, in that Eshu's joke highlights a flaw in human nature." (p. Eshu interrupts the fight to show them both sides of the hat and to chide them for risking their friendship over something so trivial. Later, while discussing Eshu, the friends argue about what color the hat was and end up in a violent fistfight. Eshu, wearing a hat that is red on one side and white on the other, walks between two friends. One story about Eshu conveys the flavor of many of the trickster tales. Enslaved Africans brought with them to America various West African folk tales and stories featuring such tricksters as Tortoise Anansi the Spider Zomo the Hare and Eshu, the messenger of the gods in Yoruba myth. Often portrayed as an animal, the trickster character plays jokes on his unsuspecting victims and sometimes teaches a lesson in the process. The figure of the trickster is found in cultures all over the world. "Mythological characters who engage in pranks and mischief, generally remaining unpunished. In at least one African mythological system, that of Dahomey, the divine trickster, Legba, youngest son of the creator, represents the philosophical principle of accident-the way out-in a world where fate is predetermined." The trickster is frequently a character in the sacred mythology of a people, and is often regarded as the culture hero who has brought the arts of living to mankind. Psychologically, the role of the trickster seems to be that of projecting the insufficiencies of man in his universe onto a smaller creature who, in besting his larger adversaries, permits the satisfactions of an obvious identification to those who recount or listen to these tales. Thus Coyote is a widespread trickster of North America, while Spider is the trickster of the Gold Coast and neighboring regions of West Africa. They vary with the fauna of the area in which they are found. We hope you’ll enjoy our stories and learn from wily Old Raven, just as Quileute children did long, long ago."Tricksters are found in the unwritten literature of peoples over all the world, and usually many tales or cycles are devoted to their exploits. Other trickster stories are about the way you should behave-that being generous is better than being selfish, that working hard and being true to yourself is more important than trying some copycat shortcut. Some of our traditional stories explain how things came to be inthe world. To do this, he often transforms into a completely different shape. He brings light to people by creating the sun, moon, stars, or causes the tides so people can harvest clams and other shellfish. Whether the trickster figure is Raven, Bluejay, or Coyote, he is important. Native groups south of us have Bluejay as their trickster, while those in the interior of Washington and Oregon or parts of the Southwest feature Coyote in their traditional stories. Like other groups farther north along the Pacific coast, our stories have Raven as the main trickster character. They could talk and paddle canoes and live in longhouses. Traditional stories take place at the Time of Beginnings in the world, back when animals were like human beings. We hope that the traditional tales of the wily old Raven come back to life through the pages of this book. Now many of the people who remembered the old ways and could tell those stories have passed on. That’s the way we learned how to behave – what do to and what not to do. Stories are the way we learned our history long before there were schools.
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