American Indian Trickster Tales (Myths and Legends)

by Richard Erdoes

  They argued, they quarreled about it. They came to a lake. “Kola,” said Iktomi, “let’s make up. Aren’t we old friends? What does it matter what we call each other?”

  “You are right, friend, let’s never quarrel again,” said Flint Boy.

  “Come over here,” said Iktomi, who was standing at the lakeshore, right at the edge. “Look down here, look at this big fish.” Flint Boy went to the lake and looked into the water. Iktomi came up behind Flint Boy and toppled him into the lake. The waters were deep. Flint Boy sank immediately way down to the bottom. He could not swim up because he was so heavy. He was made of flint rock. He never came up again. He drowned. You can still see the bubbles at the spot where Iktomi pushed him in.

  IKTOMI AND THE BUFFALO CALF

  {Assiniboine}

  Iktomi was going along a buffalo trail. He followed a creek and found a young calf that had been trampled in the mire by the other buffalo. It could not get out of the wallow. Iktomi stripped, washed off the mud, and extricated the calf. Then he said, “Younger brother, let us travel. You are able to walk now.”

  They traveled for two or three days. One day Iktomi asked, “Do you think you can locate people in the direction we are traveling?”

  “Yes, we’ll soon meet people by a big lake. Before we get there, I’ll make myself grow. I did not think I would get out, but now I am glad. I have strayed from my mother, and she must be seeking me now.”

  Iktomi took the lead, and the calf followed. The calf rolled over several times, and stood up a little larger than before. They continued on their way, the calf leading. After a while, it again asked Iktomi to go ahead, and repeated the same proceedings. When it rose again, it was as big as a two-year-old.

  “You look like a buffalo now,” said Iktomi.

  “Yes, by the time we arrive, I’ll be one of the biggest buffalo.”

  They went on. After a while, the calf again asked Iktomi to walk ahead. It rolled over, and again stood up bigger than before. “How do I look now?”

  “You look like a big buffalo now.”

  The calf told him that they would soon reach a big camp, and the painted lodge would be the buffalo chief’s residence. “Brother,” it said, “you had better roll over in the same way as myself.”

  Iktomi obeyed, rose, and was transformed into a two-year-old buffalo. He was surprised. “We must roll over once more,” said the calf. “Then we’ll go to the camp.” So they rolled again, and the calf stood up a real big buffalo, while Iktomi also got to be of a good size.

  They went closer and hid in a coulee until dark. When it was dark, the calf said, “I’ll steal a woman from the camp; wait for me here.” The calf went, and soon returned with a white cow. “Now, brother, you go, but don’t go near the painted lodge. Its owner is powerful; he will know if you get close.”

  Iktomi went, thinking, “I wonder what would happen if I went there.” So he went to the painted lodge and near it found a spotted cow, the chief’s wife. She asked him when he had arrived in the camp. “I have just come a little while ago with a band of people. Do you want to see them?”

  Her husband was away, so she agreed to go with him. They got to where the calf was standing with his mate. They all decided to run off. The calf led, and they fled for four nights, when they arrived at a woods. There Iktomi said, “Let us rest here. They can’t catch up.”

  The calf said, “They may be near us. Look toward the sunset. If you see dust ascending, it will be from the buffalo.” Iktomi looked there and saw the dust approaching like a prairie fire.

  The buffalo chief’s horns were of iron. He ran up over the hills, followed by his herd. He dispatched a messenger to the fugitives. “Tomorrow you will have to fight those two buffalo whose wives you have stolen.”

  At noon the calf got ready to fight. The two enemies approached each other slowly and began to butt. Iktomi thought, “I have raised this calf, and I will help him.”

  The calf said, “Step back, don’t help me.” But Iktomi hooked the bull and threw him up into the air again and again until all his bones were broken.

  Then it was Iktomi’s turn to fight the chief. The calf now helped him, and they continued throwing the bull into the air until all his bones were broken. The other buffalo turned around and went home. Iktomi and the calf kept their wives.

  The calf said, “Iktomi, stay here. I’ll go west to find my parents. Every fall I am going to visit you with the buffalo, and if any people live here, they will have plenty of buffalo.”

  IKTO’S GRANDCHILD DEFEATS SIYOKO

  {Rosebud Sioux}

  There was a Woinihan, a frightful monster. Its name was Siyoko. Everybody was afraid of him. Siyoko could uproot forests and flatten mountains. He could swallow a whole buffalo with one gulp. Even Unktehi, the terrible Water-Monster, took refuge at the bottom of the river when Siyoko was around. And also Anung-Ite, the horrifying two-faced Woman Spirit, kept out of Siyoko’s way.

  Ehanna, a long time ago, Siyoko was playing a hand game. The gamblers were singing, joking, and making faces, trying to confuse and distract their opponents. But Siyoko always guessed right. He always knew in whose hand the plum pit was hidden. He was winning all the time. He boasted: “I am the great Siyoko! I have the power! Who is there who can resist me? I conquered the Water-Monster. The frightful double-faced witch hides herself if she sees me coming. I could kill any Woinihan with the flick of my hand! There is nobody left to challenge me.”

  Among the gamblers was Iktomi, the tricky Spider-Man. Iktomi told Siyoko: “You don’t frighten me. I could whip you with one hand.”

  “Hah, hah,” Siyoko snorted. “Don’t make me laugh! You, the puny spider, whip me? You are witko—crazy!”

  “As a matter of fact,” said Ikto, “even my little Takoja, my six-month-old grandson, could defy you. You can’t even frighten a little child. All you can do is brag.”

  Siyoko could not stop laughing, but he also grew angry. “How dare you tell me that a spider baby could best me? Me, the great and terrible Siyoko! Have you lost your mind?”

  “No, baby spider is mightier than you. Do you want to bet?”

  “Kanji, cousin.” Siyoko laughed. “I have already won your best horse in this game. Are you brave enough to bet everything you own, even your wife?”

  “Yes, I know baby spider can beat you. Are you ready to bet everything you own, even your wife?”

  “It’s a bet,” said Siyoko, still laughing, but inwardly he was just a tiny bit worried. Iktomi was tricky and full of mischief. He had hidden powers. He was a wicamunge, a wizard. Could he have something up his sleeve?

  But Iktomi’s Takoja, his grandson, turned out to be just an ordinary little hokshila, a baby like any other. “Is this tiny crawling thing the one I am supposed to lick, defeat, subdue, and frighten?” Siyoko was outraged. He growled: “Can you not pit me against someone worthy—a giant, an ogre, a great wizard?”

  “No,” said Ikto, “it is this little one you have to beat.”

  “Well, all right. I hope your wife is pretty. I hope you have many fine ponies and buffalo robes to lose.”

  Siyoko roared like Igmoo-Tanka, the Mountain Lion. “This will scare him,” he thought. “This will make him cry.” But the little boy cackled with delight.

  Siyoko turned himself into a snarling Igmoo-Gleza, a fierce Bobcat. The baby took him for a pet, stroked him and chucked him under his chin.

  Siyoko changed himself into Unktehi, the big, ugly Water-Monster, with flames shooting out of his nostrils. The baby stuck his grandmother’s awl into the monster’s nose and cackled delightedly. Siyoko’s nose was bleeding. It hurt.

  Siyoko transformed himself into a Wakinyan, a Thunderbird. Lightning shot out from his eyes and whenever he opened his mouth there was a deafening thunderclap. The baby thought this was great fun and laughed.

  Siyoko turned himself into Waonze, the Grizzly. He uttered the fearful sound grizzlies make when they are about to kill: “Grr, grr!” The baby growled ri
ght back at him.

  Siyoko turned himself into a giant buzzard. He grabbed the baby with his huge talons and flew off with him, flapping his enormous wings and screeching loudly. The baby loved the ride, smiled, and giggled happily.

  Siyoko then put on the mask of Anung-Ite, the horrid, double-faced witch, a sight that makes one’s blood curdle. “This will really scare him,” Siyoko hoped. The little boy liked the mask. He would not leave it alone. He wanted to keep it as a toy.

  Siyoko was exhausted. He said: “Let’s rest awhile.” He sat down and put the baby on his lap. The little boy pissed on him. He dirtied him all over. He covered Siyoko’s lap with chesli.

  At this moment the baby’s mother came in. She scolded the little one, saying: “What have you done!” The baby got scared and cried.

  “I give up,” Siyoko told Iktomi. “You win. This baby is mightier than any Woinihan I ever fought.”

  “Kanji,” said Iktomi, “I’ll take your horses and buffalo robes. You can keep your wife. She’s too ugly for me.”

  THE CHEATER CHEATED

  {Lakota}

  This happened when the first white traders came to Lakota country. They came with a little peddler’s hand cart and soon they had a big trading post and a fancy house. They started with nothing and in no time were rich. They took the fat of the land. There was a French trader who boasted that he could cheat the stingiest man alive out of his last dollar. He boasted that he could make an Indian trade two hundred dollars’ worth of furs for two dollars’ worth of whiskey. He boasted that he could get five hundred dollars’ worth of beaver skins for five dollars’ worth of powder and tobacco. He said he could beat a Comanche at horse trading and everybody knows that this is impossible.

  Somebody told this trader: “I know a fellow who is better at cheating than you.”

  “That person doesn’t exist.”

  “Yes, he does. His name is Iktomi.”

  “Bring him to me. I want to see the fellow who can beat me in a deal.”

  The man brought Iktomi to the trader: “Here he is—Ikto, the Spider-Man. He is the slickest guy around. He can beat you at cards, he can beat you in a horse race. He can steal money right out of your pocket and you won’t notice it.”

  “I hear you are good at cheating,” the trader said to Iktomi. “Let’s see how good you are at it. Let’s have a cheating contest.”

  “Well, all right, but I don’t have my cheating medicine with me.”

  “So what are you waiting for? Go get it!”

  “That will take a while, but if you lend me your horse I can be back in no time.”

  “All right, get on, but go easy on him. That’s my finest horse.” The trader dismounted and handed the reins to Iktomi.

  “This horse is frisky. It snorts. It won’t let me get on,” said Iktomi. “Lend me your coat and hat so that the horse thinks I’m you.”

  “Well, all right.” The trader took off his fine, fringed coat, which was decorated with quillwork, and put it on Iktomi. He took off his costly beaver hat and put it on Iktomi’s head.

  “The horse is still shy and dancing around. I think you should also let me have your boots; otherwise the horse won’t let me ride him.”

  “Well, all right.” The trader took off his boots with silver spurs on them. Iktomi put them on. The spurs made a pleasing tinkling sound. Iktomi got on the horse and trotted off.

  The trader suddenly had second thoughts. He called after Iktomi: “Hey, come back! I have the feeling you won’t return my goods!”

  “That’s funny,” Iktomi yelled back. “I have the same feeling.” Iktomi rose in the saddle, lifted his breechcloth, showing the trader his bare backside. Then he laughed and galloped off.

  “Sacre bleu!” cried the trader. “Ce salaud sauvage! Ce valeur rouge! Il m‘a trompé. Merde!”

  Thus the cheater was cheated.

  THE SPIDER CRIES “WOLF”

  {Rosebud Sioux}

  Iktomi was walking about, looking for what he could find. He came across a herd of Hehaka, elk. It was summer. The grass was high. There was food aplenty. The elk were sleek and fat. With their huge antlers they looked so handsome, stately, and powerful. Iktomi envied the elk’s beauty and way of life. He looked at his reflection in the nearby stream. “How shabby I am,” he said to himself, “ugly, small, pitiful, insignificant.”

  Iktomi sought out the tallest among the elk. “This must be the chief,” he thought. Humbly he approached, saying: “Lekshi, uncle, you are so handsome, so imposing, every inch a great chief, and I am so small, homely, hairy—a nobody. But we have one thing in common. You, mighty Hehaka, are known to have the love magic, the power to make women love you. You have the love charm, the love wink in your eye. Insignificant nobody that I am, I, too, am a great lover.”

  “Is that so?” said Hehaka.

  “Mi lekshi, uncle of mine, you have the power, you can do anything. Make me like yourself; let me join your tribe.”

  “I have heard about you. They are saying bad things about you. You have a very bad reputation.”

  “It’s just mean gossip, uncle, you know how people are. They are always bad-mouthing me because of my luck with women. They are just envious.”

  “They also say that you are a sniveling coward.”

  “Uncle, they are lying,” Iktomi protested. “I am a mighty warrior. I have taken many scalps in battle. I have earned eagle feathers. I am invincible!”

  “Can you spy an enemy from far, far away?” asked Hehaka. “Can you discover buffalo and other game from a great distance?”

  “My eyes are sharper then those of the eagle,” said Iktomi.

  “Can you hear an enemy creeping stealthily up on our camp?”

  “My sense of hearing is so keen,” said Iktomi, “I can hear a mouse walking from a hundred paces away.”

  “Can you detect the scent of grizzlies, wolves, or cougars creeping up on our herd?”

  “My sense of smell is so acute,” said Iktomi, “I could detect their odor from a mile away, even from upwind.”

  “Well,” said Hehaka, “you might make a good member of our tribe.”

  “Pilamaya, thank you, uncle, but I would not like to join the Elk Nation in the puny shape I am in. Uncle, you are so very powerful, you can do anything you want. Please make me as big and tall as you are.”

  “Well, all right,” said Hehaka, and he made Iktomi big and tall.

  “And could you give me a handsome shiny coat like yours?”

  “Well, all right, I’ll do it,” said Hehaka, and gave Iktomi a new coat.

  “And, uncle, would you be so kind as to also give me a pair of mighty antlers?” Iktomi kept on begging.

  “Well, all right,” said Hehaka, “but that’s enough. Don’t be greedy.” And so he gave Iktomi a pair of magnificent antlers.

  Iktomi was capering and prancing about, showing off his new coat and antlers. “Is there anybody as handsome as I?” he crowed. “Is there anybody stronger and braver?” Already he assumed the pose and manners of a chief. Thus he joined Hehaka Oyate, the Elk Nation.

  Some weeks later, as Iktomi was resting among his new relatives, a small twig from a tree fell upon him. He was seized by a panic: “Help! I’ve been hit by an arrow!” he screamed. “Enemies, hunters, cougars!” Then all the elk stampeded, with Iktomi way in front, leading the flight.

  After a while the elk noticed that there were no hunters or predators in sight. “You scare easily,” they told Iktomi. “Don’t make false alarms.”

  A day or two later they were all resting again. An acorn fell down upon Iktomi. “Help!” he screamed. “Enemies, hunters! I’ve been hit by a bullet!” Again the elk stampeded, with Iktomi far in front.

  After running at top speed for a while, the elk discovered that they were all alone on the empty prairie. “Didn’t we tell you to give us no false warnings?” they scolded Iktomi.

  Again, a few days later, as they all were walking slowly, grazing, wandering from one grassy spot to
another, Iktomi was caught and scratched by some thorns. “Help, help!” he cried. “I’ve been cut by a knife! I’ve been torn apart by the fangs of wild wolves!”

  “There are no hunters with knives here, and no wolves,” said the Hehaka Itancan, the Elk Chief. “Have we not told you to stop scaring us with your wild imaginings? You lied. You are not a mighty warrior.”

  Again, a few days later, in the middle of the night, Iktomi awoke, hearing something rustling in the bushes. “Help, help!” Iktomi screeched. “Wake up! Enemies are coming! There must be hundreds of them!” The whole camp was in an uproar. Then, in the silvery light of a full moon, the elk discovered that it was only a little rabbit that had terrorized Iktomi.

  The morning after, when Iktomi was out of earshot, the elk were whispering to each other. It had to do with Iktomi. That evening they camped and went to sleep. At sunrise, when Iktomi woke up, he found that he was all alone. The elk had gone, he knew not where. And he was no longer an elk. He was no longer big and tall. His antlers had disappeared. Once again he was the undersized, puny, hairy, pitiful Spider-Man. It was his own fault. He had cried “wolf” once too often.

  TIT FOR TAT

  {Omaha}

  lktinike is the Omaha name for their Trickster, who is a

  clone of the Lakota Iktomi.

  Iktinike was walking along. On his way he met Coyote. “My younger brother,” said Iktinike, “how are you doing?”

  “Very well, honored elder brother,” replied Coyote. He pointed to a sleeping horse, lying on its side. “I found this dead pony. Friend, let us drag it to my place and have a big feast.”

  “How can we drag it?” asked Iktinike. “It is too heavy for us.”

  “Not at all, friend,” said Coyote. “I’ll tie your hands to its tail, then you pull. At the same time, I’ll pull on the hind legs.”