The Story of Ant and Bear: A Puget Salish Story This is what is called an "etiological myth." It is a myth that "explains an origin, particularly how an object or custom came into existence" ("Myth of Origins"). This myth may explain the ritual of fasting and dancing for the Puget Salish tribe. Early etiological and cosmogonic myths, "which describe the creation of the world," can be considered pseudo-science in ancient mythology--a way of explaining the world. ("Myth of Origins") "A long time ago the world was different than it is today. First of all there were no people in the world, only animals. And something else was very different. It was always dark. There was no light in the world at all. No sun, no moon, no stars, no fire. The world was in darkness. This was very hard on all the animals. They could not find their food or their way. All of the animals suffered. But it was especially hard on the Ant People. The ants always work and never rest. The darkness made it hard for them to do their work. They knew they needed something. They knew they needed light. Ant woman went out to find Bear. Bear is the one who kept it dark all the time. She decided she would challenge him to a contest. If she won the contest she would get light for her people. If Bear won it would remain dark forever. Bear said he did not want light. He liked the darkness. But Ant Woman challenged him to a dance contest to see if there would be light or dark. Bear thought, “I am Bear, the biggest and strongest of all the animals. There is no way a tiny little ant can beat me at any contest.” He accepted her challenge to have dance contest. Whoever danced the best and longest would win. All the animals came to watch the contest. They wanted to see if it would be dark or light. Whenever people or animals bather, there is food everywhere. Ant woman came to the place. She saw the food and she was hungry for she had not eaten since she had left to home. But she knew that because Bear was so big and strong and she was so little she would have to do something special if she hoped to win. She decided she would fast. She would not eat during the whole contest. But her stomach was grumbling because of her hunger. She was wearing a little belt around her waist. She pulled it tight so she would not feel so hungry. Bear saw all the food and he did not even think of the contest. He began to eat as much as he could. He knew he would win because he was so big and strong. The contest began. Ant Woman went first. She danced her little dance and sang, “Day and light; Day and light” she dance very fast. When she was done she pulled her belt tight so she wouldn’t feel hungry. Bear went next. He danced very slowly and sang, “Dark and night, dark and night”. When he was done dancing he began to eat again. This went on a long time. Ant and then Bear, Ant and then Bear. Ant Woman danced her fast dance again, singing “Day and light, day and light.” When she was done she pulled her belt tight. Bear got up and did his dance even more slowly because he was becoming full of food and tired. “Dark and night, dark and night.” He sang as he danced. When he was done he began eating again. Ant Woman danced again faster than the first times. She sang “Day and light, day and light.” When she was done she pulled her belt tighter. Bear stood up to dance, but he was so tired and full of food he fell to the ground asleep. Ant Woman won the contest, but she said to bear, “We will share. The Ant People will have day, and you will have night.” This is why we have day and night. The proof of this story is when you see an Ant look at her little waist. She got this little waist from pulling her belt tighter and tighter during the contest." References "Ant and Bear: A Puget Salish Story." Discoveringourstory.Wisdomoftheelders.org. 2014. Web. 10 May 2014. "Myth of Origins." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 April 2014. Web. 10 May 2014. http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luxl4tuPg01r3iylco1_400.jpg
Ants in Superstition and Folklore
"Dreaming of ants is supposedly a sign of wealth to come plus very good health. Many superstitions revolve around ants. In general, ants are considered good omens and role models of work and wisdom. To write the word "ant" in the Japanese language, the word "insect" is combined with characters representing courtesy, justice, and unselfishness. The Native American Hopi tribe has a legend that the first people to inhabit the earth descended from ants." "Bugzoo." "Ants: Insect facts and Folklore." The Bakersfield Voice. The Bakersfield Californian. 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 May 2014. http://www.mythfolklore.net/3043mythfolklore/reading/bunyanhenry/images/pb_ant.htm
American Folktales
Axes and Ants: A Paul Bunyan Story The Little Chore Boy led a strenuous life. He was only a kid and like all youngsters putting in their first winter in the woods, he was put over the jumps by the oldtimers. His regular work was heavy enough, splitting all the wood for the camp, carrying water and packing lunch to the men, but his hazers sent him on all kinds of wild goose errands to all parts of the works, looking for a "left-handed peavy" or a "bundle of cross-hauls." He had to take a lot of good natured roughneck wit about his size for he only weighed 800 pounds and a couple of surcingles made a belt for him. What he lacked in size he made up in grit and the men secretly respected his gameness. They said he might make a pretty good man if he ever got any growth, and considered it a necessary education to give him a lot of extra chores. Often in the evening, after his day's work and long hours put in turning the grindstone and keeping up fires in the camp stoves - that required four cords of wood apiece to kindle a fire, he could be found with one of Big Ole's small 600-pound anvils in his lap pegging up shoes with railroad spikes. It was a long time before they solved the problem of turning logging sleds around in the road. When a sled returned from the landing and put on a load they had to wait until Paul came along to pick up the four horses and the load and head them the other way. Judson M. Goss says he worked for Paul the winter he invented the round turn. All of Paul's inventions were successful except when he decided to run three ten-hour shifts a day and installed the Aurora Borealis. After a number of trials the plan was abandoned because the lights were not dependable. "The Seven Axemen of the Red River" they were called because they had a camp on Red River with the three-hundred cooks and the Little Chore Boy. The whole State was cut over from the one camp and the husky seven chopped from dark to dark and walked to and from work. Their axes were so big it took a week to grind one of them. Each man had three axes and two helpers to carry the spare axes to the river when they got red hot from chopping. Even in those days they had to watch out for forest fires. The axes were hung on long rope handles. Each axeman would march through the timber whirling his axe around him till the hum of it sounded like one of Paul's for-and-aft mosquitoes, and at every step a quarter-section of timber was cut. The height, weight and chest measurement of the Seven Axemen are not known. Authorities differ. History agrees that they kept a cord of four-foot wood on the table for toothpicks. After supper they would sit on the deacon seat in the bunk shanty and sing "Shanty Boy" and "Bung Yer Eye" till the folks in the settlements down on the Atlantic would think another nor'wester was blowing up. Some say the Seven Axemen were Bay Chaleur men; others declare they were all cousins and came from down Machias way. Where they came from or where they went to blow their stake after leaving Paul's camp no one knows but they are remembered as husky lads and good fellows around camp. After the Seven Axemen had gone down the tote road, never to return, Paul Bunyan was at a loss to find a method of cutting down trees that would give him anything like the output he had been getting. Many trials and experiments followed and then Paul invented the two-man Saw. The first saw was made from a strip trimmed off in making Big Joe's dinner horn and was long enough to reach across a quarter section, for Paul could never think in smaller units. This saw worked all right in a level country, in spite of the fact that all the trees fell back on the saw, but in rough country only the trees on the hill tops were cut. Trees in the valleys were cut off in the tops and in the pot holes the saw passed over the trees altogether. It took a good man to pull this saw in heavy timber when Paul was working on the other end. Paul used to say to his fellow sawyer, "I don't care if you ride the saw, but please don't drag your feet." A couple of cousins of Big Ole's were given the job and did so well that ever afterward in the Lake States the saw crews have generally been Scandinavians. It was after this that Paul had Big Ole make the "Down-Cutter." This was a rig like a mowing machine. They drove around eight townships and cut a swath 500 feet wide. Paul Bunyan's Trained Ants are proving so successful that they may replace donkeys and tractors on the rugged slopes of the Sierras. Inspired by his success with Bees and Mosquitoes, Paul has developed a breed of Ants that stand six feet tall and weigh 200 pounds. To overcome their habit of hibernating all Winter, Paul supplied the Ants with Mackinaws made with three pairs of sleeves or legs. They eat nothing but Copenhagen Snuff. The Ants (or Uncles as they prefer to be called) can run to the Westwood shops with a damaged locomotive quicker than the Wrecking Crew can come out. They do not patronize bootleggers or require time off to fix their automobiles. Laughead, W.B. The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan as Told in the Camps of the White Pine Lumbermen for Generations During Which Time the Loggers Have Pioneered the Way Through the North Woods From Maine to California Collected from Various Sources and Embellished for Publication. The Red River Lumber Company: Minneapolis, 1922. Print. http://www.newerapestcontrol.com/web/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/trail-of-ants.jpeg
Superstitions about Ants
If black ants frequent your home you’ll come into wealth. (Phillippines) "While usually considered a pest, a common ant superstition is that a person who finds an ant colony near the entrance to their house can expect riches and security. If a group of ants seem frenzied and are seen carrying their eggs to another location this may mean that they predict bad weather. In many countries there is a superstition that killing ants brings on rain. A less well known superstition is that eating ant eggs in honey is an effective antidote to love. In Cornwall, England some people believe that ants are fairies enjoying their last incarnation. Others believe that ants are the souls of ancient Druids who refused to accept the Bible or the souls of unbaptised children, so its considered bad luck to destroy a colony. Author Richard Webster says that he was told in Cornwall that it's possible to eliminate an ant colony by asking them to leave. More than 20 years later he found his new house infested with ants and followed this advice asking them to leave. He claims that the ants left within 24 hours." Campobasso, Paul. "Good Luck Omens and Superstitions." Suite.io. 27 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 May 2014. |
http://www.loe.org/content/2012-12-21/f-ant-and-bear-dance.mp3
The above link comes from LivingEarth.org. It is a recording of the story of Ant and Bear told a little differently. "Dovie (DUH-vee) Thomason, a Lakota/Kiowa Apache storyteller, spins the tale of the great dance contest between an ant and a bear. It's all about the competition between darkness and light that takes place at this time of year, and why light ultimately wins." Wherever the story originates, it is plain to see that great stories travel great distances. Greece
The Myrmidon "Myrmidon in Greek legend [were] any of the inhabitants of Phthiotis in Thessaly In the poet Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women, Aeacus, the son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, grows up alone on the deserted island of Aegina. (In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the island has been devastated by a plague.) In answer to Aeacus’s prayers for company, Zeus transforms the island’s ants into men and women who are called the Myrmidons. Either Aeacus or his son Peleus takes the people to Thessaly, and from there they follow Peleus’s son Achilles to fight at Troy. Later accounts tell of the Myrmidons’ move from Thessaly to Aegina; the fact that Mount Pelion (from Peleus) in Thessaly was named long ago may indicate that this story is an early one. According to the writer of the mythography Bibliotheca (1st or 2nd century ad; Library), the Myrmidons were descended from Myrmidon, the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, who was seduced by Zeus in the form of an ant." "Myrmidon." Britanica.com. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. nd. Web. 10 May 2014. Japan
The Dream of Akinosuke “The Dream of Akinosuke” is a Japanese folktale, made famous outside of Japan by Lafcadio Hearn's translation of the story in Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. The story is said to bring together several strands of Japanese folklore, including the fact that even insects can manipulate the human soul” ("The Dream of Akinosuke"). " In the district called Toichi of Yamato Province, (1) there used to live a goshi named Miyata Akinosuke... [Here I must tell you that in Japanese feudal times there was a privileged class of soldier-farmers,--free-holders,--corresponding to the class of yeomen in England; and these were called goshi.] In Akinosuke's garden there was a great and ancient cedar-tree, under which he was wont to rest on sultry days. One very warm afternoon he was sitting under this tree with two of his friends, fellow-goshi, chatting and drinking wine, when he felt all of a sudden very drowsy,--so drowsy that he begged his friends to excuse him for taking a nap in their presence. Then he lay down at the foot of the tree, and dreamed this dream:-- He thought that as he was lying there in his garden, he saw a procession, like the train of some great daimyo descending a hill near by, and that he got up to look at it. A very grand procession it proved to be,--more imposing than anything of the kind which he had ever seen before; and it was advancing toward his dwelling. He observed in the van of it a number of young men richly appareled, who were drawing a great lacquered palace-carriage, or gosho-guruma, hung with bright blue silk. When the procession arrived within a short distance of the house it halted; and a richly dressed man--evidently a person of rank--advanced from it, approached Akinosuke, bowed to him profoundly, and then said:-- "Honored Sir, you see before you a kerai [vassal] of the Kokuo of Tokoyo. [1] My master, the King, commands me to greet you in his august name, and to place myself wholly at your disposal. He also bids me inform you that he augustly desires your presence at the palace. Be therefore pleased immediately to enter this honorable carriage, which he has sent for your conveyance." Upon hearing these words Akinosuke wanted to make some fitting reply; but he was too much astonished and embarrassed for speech;--and in the same moment his will seemed to melt away from him, so that he could only do as the kerai bade him. He entered the carriage; the kerai took a place beside him, and made a signal; the drawers, seizing the silken ropes, turned the great vehicle southward;--and the journey began. In a very short time, to Akinosuke's amazement, the carriage stopped in front of a huge two-storied gateway (romon), of a Chinese style, which he had never before seen. Here the kerai dismounted, saying, "I go to announced the honorable arrival,"--and he disappeared. After some little waiting, Akinosuke saw two noble-looking men, wearing robes of purple silk and high caps of the form indicating lofty rank, come from the gateway. These, after having respectfully saluted him, helped him to descend from the carriage, and led him through the great gate and across a vast garden, to the entrance of a palace whose front appeared to extend, west and east, to a distance of miles. Akinosuke was then shown into a reception-room of wonderful size and splendor. His guides conducted him to the place of honor, and respectfully seated themselves apart; while serving-maids, in costume of ceremony, brought refreshments. When Akinosuke had partaken of the refreshments, the two purple-robed attendants bowed low before him, and addressed him in the following words,--each speaking alternately, according to the etiquette of courts:-- "It is now our honorable duty to inform you... as to the reason of your having been summoned hither... Our master, the King, augustly desires that you become his son-in-law;... and it is his wish and command that you shall wed this very day... the August Princess, his maiden-daughter... We shall soon conduct you to the presence-chamber... where His Augustness even now is waiting to receive you... But it will be necessary that we first invest you... with the appropriate garments of ceremony." [2] Having thus spoken, the attendants rose together, and proceeded to an alcove containing a great chest of gold lacquer. They opened the chest, and took from it various roes and girdles of rich material, and a kamuri, or regal headdress. With these they attired Akinosuke as befitted a princely bridegroom; and he was then conducted to the presence-room, where he saw the Kokuo of Tokoyo seated upon the daiza, [3] wearing a high black cap of state, and robed in robes of yellow silk. Before the daiza, to left and right, a multitude of dignitaries sat in rank, motionless and splendid as images in a temple; and Akinosuke, advancing into their midst, saluted the king with the triple prostration of usage. The king greeted him with gracious words, and then said:-- "You have already been informed as to the reason of your having been summoned to Our presence. We have decided that you shall become the adopted husband of Our only daughter;--and the wedding ceremony shall now be performed." As the king finished speaking, a sound of joyful music was heard; and a long train of beautiful court ladies advanced from behind a curtain to conduct Akinosuke to the room in which he bride awaited him. The room was immense; but it could scarcely contain the multitude of guests assembled to witness the wedding ceremony. All bowed down before Akinosuke as he took his place, facing the King's daughter, on the kneeling-cushion prepared for him. As a maiden of heaven the bride appeared to be; and her robes were beautiful as a summer sky. And the marriage was performed amid great rejoicing. Afterwards the pair were conducted to a suite of apartments that had been prepared for them in another portion of the palace; and there they received the congratulations of many noble persons, and wedding gifts beyond counting. Some days later Akinosuke was again summoned to the throne-room. On this occasion he was received even more graciously than before; and the King said to him:-- In the southwestern part of Our dominion there is an island called Raishu. We have now appointed you Governor of that island. You will find the people loyal and docile; but their laws have not yet been brought into proper accord with the laws of Tokoyo; and their customs have not been properly regulated. We entrust you with the duty of improving their social condition as far as may be possible; and We desire that you shall rule them with kindness and wisdom. All preparations necessary for your journey to Raishu have already been made." So Akinosuke and his bride departed from the palace of Tokoyo, accompanied to the shore by a great escort of nobles and officials; and they embarked upon a ship of state provided by the king. And with favoring winds they safety sailed to Raishu, and found the good people of that island assembled upon the beach to welcome them. Akinosuke entered at once upon his new duties; and they did not prove to be hard. During the first three years of his governorship he was occupied chiefly with the framing and the enactment of laws; but he had wise counselors to help him, and he never found the work unpleasant. When it was all finished, he had no active duties to perform, beyond attending the rites and ceremonies ordained by ancient custom. The country was so healthy and so fertile that sickness and want were unknown; and the people were so good that no laws were ever broken. And Akinosuke dwelt and ruled in Raishu for twenty years more,--making in all twenty-three years of sojourn, during which no shadow of sorrow traversed his life. But in the twenty-fourth year of his governorship, a great misfortune came upon him; for his wife, who had borne him seven children,--five boys and two girls,--fell sick and died. She was buried, with high pomp, on the summit of a beautiful hill in the district of Hanryoko; and a monument, exceedingly splendid, was placed upon her grave. But Akinosuke felt such grief at her death that he no longer cared to live. Now when the legal period of mourning was over, there came to Raishu, from the Tokoyo palace, a shisha, or royal messenger. The shisha delivered to Akinosuke a message of condolence, and then said to him:-- "These are the words which our august master, the King of Tokoyo, commands that I repeat to you: 'We will now send you back to your own people and country. As for the seven children, they are the grandsons and granddaughters of the King, and shall be fitly cared for. Do not, therefore, allow you mind to be troubled concerning them.'" On receiving this mandate, Akinosuke submissively prepared for his departure. When all his affairs had been settled, and the ceremony of bidding farewell to his counselors and trusted officials had been concluded, he was escorted with much honor to the port. There he embarked upon the ship sent for him; and the ship sailed out into the blue sea, under the blue sky; and the shape of the island of Raishu itself turned blue, and then turned grey, and then vanished forever... And Akinosuke suddenly awoke--under the cedar-tree in his own garden! For a moment he was stupefied and dazed. But he perceived his two friends still seated near him,--drinking and chatting merrily. He stared at them in a bewildered way, and cried aloud,-- "How strange!" "Akinosuke must have been dreaming," one of them exclaimed, with a laugh. "What did you see, Akinosuke, that was strange?" Then Akinosuke told his dream,--that dream of three-and-twenty years' sojourn in the realm of Tokoyo, in the island of Raishu;--and they were astonished, because he had really slept for no more than a few minutes. One goshi said:-- "Indeed, you saw strange things. We also saw something strange while you were napping. A little yellow butterfly was fluttering over your face for a moment or two; and we watched it. Then it alighted on the ground beside you, close to the tree; and almost as soon as it alighted there, a big, big ant came out of a hole and seized it and pulling it down into the hole. Just before you woke up, we saw that very butterfly come out of the hole again, and flutter over your face as before. And then it suddenly disappeared: we do not know where it went." "Perhaps it was Akinosuke's soul," the other goshi said;--"certainly I thought I saw it fly into his mouth... But, even if that butterfly was Akinosuke's soul, the fact would not explain his dream." "The ants might explain it," returned the first speaker. "Ants are queer beings--possibly goblins... Anyhow, there is a big ant's nest under that cedar-tree."... "Let us look!" cried Akinosuke, greatly moved by this suggestion. And he went for a spade. The ground about and beneath the cedar-tree proved to have been excavated, in a most surprising way, by a prodigious colony of ants. The ants had furthermore built inside their excavations; and their tiny constructions of straw, clay, and stems bore an odd resemblance to miniature towns. In the middle of a structure considerably larger than the rest there was a marvelous swarming of small ants around the body of one very big ant, which had yellowish wings and a long black head. "Why, there is the King of my dream!" cried Akinosuke; "and there is the palace of Tokoyo!... How extraordinary!... Raishu ought to lie somewhere southwest of it--to the left of that big root... Yes!--here it is!... How very strange! Now I am sure that I can find the mountain of Hanryoko, and the grave of the princess."... In the wreck of the nest he searched and searched, and at last discovered a tiny mound, on the top of which was fixed a water-worn pebble, in shape resembling a Buddhist monument. Underneath it he found--embedded in clay--the dead body of a female ant." References"The Dream of Akinosuke." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 27 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 May 2014.“The Dream of Akinosuke." SacredTexts.com. Evinty Publishing Inc. nd. Web. 10 May 2014. |