Hello One and All!
Iktomi is a hero from the mythology of the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota Sioux groups. He is a trickster whose adventures serves as a way to poke fun at daily circumstances, so as to illuminate behaviour which was detrimental to the tribe at large. At times he took the form of a spider or alternatively a human. Iktomi was as a result a negative role model - someone whose actions shouldn't be emulated. Stories like this allowed people to preserve a collective memory and knowledge, allowing it to be passed on to other generations, and thus maintain the society's norms.
Iktomi: The Spider Trickster
One day hunger troubled Iktomi so much that he ventured forth from his home in search of a meal. He had reached a river delta, by which time the pangs in his stomach was driving him delirious. As he peered across the body of water, he spotted a flock of ducks, who were all singing and dancing. The Dakota warrior followed the footpath down to the river bank, all the while lugging a large sack on his shoulders.
The ducks saw the figure and their curiosity became piqued. Soon the music and merriment stopped, giving way to questions about what was in the large sack on the man's back.
Iktomi said, "Please, I wouldn't want to interrupt your dancing. Don't pay me any mind."
The birds surrounded him and belted him with questions. Some flew up to his ears and demanded to know what he was transporting.
"Oh, if you must know: it's a pack of songs," Iktomi said as he slapped the sack.
The ducks cried out together: they would like to hear his special songs. The man acquiesced, which caused a great flurry of excitement to ripple through through the ducks.
"Excuse me, but I never sing my songs in the open air," said Iktomi.
He bent willow sticks until it formed a skeleton, which he covered with grass and straw, and before long his hut was ready. The ducks marched through the small opening to hear the song. They seated themselves in the dark interior and Iktomi started to sing in a low voice.
"Dance with your eyes shut if you do not want red eyes."
The birds obeyed, one by one, and soon all of them were dancing in a circle while Iktomi beat a drum and sang in an oddly hypnotic manner. One dancer became exhausted and dared a peek, only to see half of his brethren laying dead at the feet of the musician.
"Open your eyes! He is dispatching us one by one!"
The surviving ducks beat their wings and fought through the opening of the hut and into the clear, blue sky.
Iktomi didn't care that he had lost a great number of prey, for he had more than enough to sate his hunger, and he marched quickly back to his home, buried the excess ducks under ash and started to roast the rest on a fire. While he sat and sniffed the aroma, a shout was brought to his ears by the strong wind.
"Help me or I'll fall!"
It was the old voice of the tree beside his fire, which was being buffeted by the gale. Itkomi stood up and climbed the tree in search of the source of the voice. He climbed higher and higher, from one branch to another, until he felt his foot snagged by a broken branch. A pack of gray wolves padded up to the fire and Itkomi shouted from above.
"I'm caught, wolves! Don't eat my meal!"
The pack leader scoffed and all of them gathered around the fire and enjoyed the meal in front of Itkomi, who could only watch while his foot throbbed and his belly remained empty.
"That's fine." he muttered. "I still have the ducks buried under the ash."
The pack leader's ears perked when he heard that and he pawed at the ash, under which he discovered the stash of food. The gray wolves enjoyed that as well and the Dakota warrior was brought to tears as he watched everything being eaten up.The pack dissipated into the shadows and just then the wind changed direction and broke tree limb, allowing Itkomi to escape. The trickster was free again but without any food.
Thank you for reading!
Iktomi is a hero from the mythology of the Lakota, Nakota and Dakota Sioux groups. He is a trickster whose adventures serves as a way to poke fun at daily circumstances, so as to illuminate behaviour which was detrimental to the tribe at large. At times he took the form of a spider or alternatively a human. Iktomi was as a result a negative role model - someone whose actions shouldn't be emulated. Stories like this allowed people to preserve a collective memory and knowledge, allowing it to be passed on to other generations, and thus maintain the society's norms.
 |
| Artist Gertrude Spaller's rendition of Iktomi in the story Iktomi and the Ducks (1917). |
Iktomi: The Spider Trickster
One day hunger troubled Iktomi so much that he ventured forth from his home in search of a meal. He had reached a river delta, by which time the pangs in his stomach was driving him delirious. As he peered across the body of water, he spotted a flock of ducks, who were all singing and dancing. The Dakota warrior followed the footpath down to the river bank, all the while lugging a large sack on his shoulders.
 |
| Illustration by Angel de Cora. |
The ducks saw the figure and their curiosity became piqued. Soon the music and merriment stopped, giving way to questions about what was in the large sack on the man's back.
Iktomi said, "Please, I wouldn't want to interrupt your dancing. Don't pay me any mind."
The birds surrounded him and belted him with questions. Some flew up to his ears and demanded to know what he was transporting.
"Oh, if you must know: it's a pack of songs," Iktomi said as he slapped the sack.
The ducks cried out together: they would like to hear his special songs. The man acquiesced, which caused a great flurry of excitement to ripple through through the ducks.
"Excuse me, but I never sing my songs in the open air," said Iktomi.
He bent willow sticks until it formed a skeleton, which he covered with grass and straw, and before long his hut was ready. The ducks marched through the small opening to hear the song. They seated themselves in the dark interior and Iktomi started to sing in a low voice.
"Dance with your eyes shut if you do not want red eyes."
The birds obeyed, one by one, and soon all of them were dancing in a circle while Iktomi beat a drum and sang in an oddly hypnotic manner. One dancer became exhausted and dared a peek, only to see half of his brethren laying dead at the feet of the musician.
"Open your eyes! He is dispatching us one by one!"
The surviving ducks beat their wings and fought through the opening of the hut and into the clear, blue sky.
 |
| Iktomi trickster by Arthur Amiotte Oglala Lakota (1966). |
Iktomi didn't care that he had lost a great number of prey, for he had more than enough to sate his hunger, and he marched quickly back to his home, buried the excess ducks under ash and started to roast the rest on a fire. While he sat and sniffed the aroma, a shout was brought to his ears by the strong wind.
"Help me or I'll fall!"
It was the old voice of the tree beside his fire, which was being buffeted by the gale. Itkomi stood up and climbed the tree in search of the source of the voice. He climbed higher and higher, from one branch to another, until he felt his foot snagged by a broken branch. A pack of gray wolves padded up to the fire and Itkomi shouted from above.
"I'm caught, wolves! Don't eat my meal!"
The pack leader scoffed and all of them gathered around the fire and enjoyed the meal in front of Itkomi, who could only watch while his foot throbbed and his belly remained empty.
"That's fine." he muttered. "I still have the ducks buried under the ash."
The pack leader's ears perked when he heard that and he pawed at the ash, under which he discovered the stash of food. The gray wolves enjoyed that as well and the Dakota warrior was brought to tears as he watched everything being eaten up.The pack dissipated into the shadows and just then the wind changed direction and broke tree limb, allowing Itkomi to escape. The trickster was free again but without any food.
Thank you for reading!
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