Native American Literature

INTRODUCTION

AMERICAN LITERATURE is the literature written in the English language by inhabitants of the U.S.

Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. Initially, America was only a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, and proved to be a nation, united by one language, territory, economy, national character. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, continued to modify people's lives. All these factors in the development of the United States molded the literature of the country.

American literature includes poetry, fiction, drama, and other kinds of writing, as well as nonwritten material, such as the oral literature of the American Indians and folk tales and legends. In addition, American literature includes accounts of America written by immigrants and visitors from other countries, as well as works by American writers who spent some or all of their lives abroad.

Early US literature falls into two distinct periods: colonial writing of the 1600s-1770s, largely dominated by the Puritans, and post-Revolutionary literature from the 1780s, when the ideal of US literature developed, and poetry, fiction, and drama began to evolve on national principles. As it matured, American literature followed the major movements of Western literature in the 19th century – romanticism, realism, and naturalism. 20th-century US writers have continued the trend towards realism, as well as developing various forms of modernist experimentation.

THE COLONIAL PERIOD OF AMERICAN LITERATURE (1607– 1775)

The official story of American literature begins in the early 1600s with the first English colonists, long before there were any 'Americans'.

Because North America was eventually colonized by the English, the best-known American colonial literature is written in English. But it is also important to recognize that the country in which it was written had its own rich traditions[1].

Native American Literature

Native American oral literature includes every oral genre: lyrics in the form of ceremonial or popular songs, vision or healing songs, prayers, chants or incantations; mythological stories of origin and creation, fairy tales, trickster tales, humorous anecdotes, riddles, proverbs, cycles of stories relating to everyday subsistence hunting and agriculture experiences, epics and historical narratives, accounts of migrations and ancestors and accounts of shaman's initiations and voyages.

Certain origin and creation stories are particularly popular. These complex tales dramatize the tribal explanation of the origin of the earth and its people, of distinctive cultural beliefs, values and practices.

Several different types of origin tales are prominent in the Native American canon, the most common is the Earth-Diver story. In the Cheyenne version, the creator, Maheo, had four chances to fashion the world from a watery universe. He sent four water birds diving to try to bring up earth from the bottom. The snow goose, loon, and mallard tried but failed, and the little coot, who cannot fly, succeeded and brought up some mud in his bill. Maheo used it to support the earth on the great mother turtle – hence the Indian name for America, 'Turtle Island'.

Origin tales are parts of larger cycles that also speak of culture heroes, like the Ojibwa tribe's Manabozho or the Navajo tribe's Coyote. These tricksters are treated with various degree of respect: in one tale they may act like heroes, while in another they may seem foolish. Trickster tales test the established customs, presenting them in a humorous way, and often perform the function of social satire.

Native American historical narratives preserve the tribal memory. They explain the movements of the tribe and feature legendary characters. Some such stories are remarkably accurate, like the Hopi's narrative about the coming of the Spanish.

Native American poetry, always in the form of songs, ranges from the sacred to the light and humorous: there are lullabies, war chants, love songs, and special songs for children's games, gambling, various chores, magic, or dance ceremonials. Generally, such songs are repetitive. Another distinctive form is the short vision song, appearing in dreams or visions, sometimes without warning. Vision songs may be healing, hunting, or love songs, sometimes having the clear imagery and subtle mood associated with Japanese haiku. A Chippewa song runs:

A loon I thought it was

But it was

My love's

splashing oar.

Full of rhythm and repetition Native American oral literature was very important for the life of a tribe, and oratorical skills were valued very much. Narration resembled dramatic performances, during which the narrator enacted scenes, speaking in different voices for different characters. Unfortunately, the literary adaptations of the 19^th century, through which Native American oral forms are mostly known, greatly distort the original and are unable to preserve its interactive lively character.

Even though American colonial literature made virtually no attempts to use these rich native literary traditions, the Native American literary contribution during this period is greater than it is believed. Besides being a kind of literary substrate for later writings, it provided concepts and hundreds of words that entered in everyday American English (see the Language section below).

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