Overview

The Bungling Host motif appears in countless indigenous cultures in North America and beyond. In this groundbreaking work Daniel Clement has gathered nearly four hundred North American variants of the story to examine how myths acquire meaning for their indigenous users and explores how seemingly absurd narratives can prove to be a rich source of meaning when understood within the appropriate context. In analyzing the Bungling Host tales, Clement considers not only material culture but also social, economic, and cultural life; Native knowledge of the environment; and the world of plants and animals. Clement's analysis uncovers four operational modes in myth construction and clarifies the relationship between mythology and science. Ultimately he demonstrates how science may have developed out of an operational mode that already existed in the mythological mind.

Full Product Details

Author:   Daniel Clément ,  Peter Frost
Publisher:   University of Nebraska Press
Imprint:   University of Nebraska Press
ISBN:  

9781496200877

ISBN 10:   149620087
Pages:   570
Publication Date:   01 August 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Contents List of Illustrations                                                                                                      Introduction                                                                                                                1. Caribou Takes In His Wife’s Dress (Subarctic)                                                                 2. Snake Makes a Meal in the Embers (Southwest)                                                               3. The Fire Trap (Grand Basin)                                                                                              4. While Bird Sings, Bear Cooks (Northwest Coast)                                                             5. Seal Roasts His Hands (Northwest Coast)                                                                         6. Silver Fox Digs Up Yellow Jacket Larvae with His Penis (California)                             7. Wildcat Beats a Blanket (California)                                                                                  8. Deer Kills Her Children and Puts Their Bones Into the Water (Southwest)                      9. Wolf Transforms Two Arrowheads into Mincemeat Puddings (Southwest)                     10. Badger Pushes a Stick Down His Throat and Gets Yucca-Juice (Southwest)                 11. Bison Skewers His Nose (Plains)                                                                                     12. White-Tailed Deer Shoots at a Red Clay Bank (Plains)                                                   13. Man Kills Bison with His Sharpened Leg (Plains, Plateau)                                             14. Black-Mountain-Bear Gets Persimmons by Leaning Against a Tree (Southeast)           15. Rabbit Gathers Canes (Southeast)                                                                                    16. Squirrel Slits Open His Scrotum (Plains)                                                                         17. Duck Excretes Rice (Northeast)                                                                                       18. Bird Gets Salmon Eggs by Striking His Ankle (Northwest Coast)                                  19. Muskrat Cooks Some Ice (Northeast)                                                                              20. Woodpecker Pulls Eels Out of Trees (Subarctic)                                                             Conclusion                                                                                                                              Appendix: Bungling Host Myths                                                                                Notes                                                                                                                           Bibliography                                                                                                              

Reviews

The introduction is one of the most readable critiques of structuralism I have ever seen. It is nuanced yet accessible and poses terrific questions about structuralism. I can imagine this [book] as a central resource for Indigenous scholars, historians, naturalists, and anthropologists. It contributes greatly to the comparative study of mythology and to contemporary studies of structural analysis. -Thomas McIlwraith, assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Guelph and author of We Are Still Didene : Stories of Hunting and History from Northern British Columbia -- Thomas McIlwraith Anthropologists have been analyzing the oral stories of Aboriginal cultures for a long time. Aboriginal peoples have also been untangling the stories told to them by their elders. Daniel Clement weaves these two perspectives together to get at the meaning of these `myths.' -Stephen J. Augustine, hereditary chief, Mi'kmaq Grand Council -- Stephen J. Augustine

Author Information

Daniel ClÉment is an anthropologist consultant. He is the author of several books published in France. Peter Frost has translated several books in anthropology and local history and is an author in his own right.   

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