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A Central Sierra Miwok Origins StoryThe Theft of the Sun

A Central Sierra Miwok Origins StoryThe Theft of the Sun This article examines an Indigenous origins narrative from central California. The text is an oral narrative about the theft of the sun by Coyote, recorded in the Central Sierra Miwok language. The article presents a formal analysis of the structure, language, and poetics of the text from the perspective of ethnopoetics, focusing on structural and lexical metaphors developed for describing the pathway of the sun. It then offers reflections on the ethnogeography and worldview presented in the text, linking it to Penutian migrations from the western Great Basin into central California’s Sierra Nevada several thousand years ago. The article also provides a general contextualization of the themes of the text in relation to California and western North American coyote stories and origins stories more generally. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png English Language Notes Duke University Press

A Central Sierra Miwok Origins StoryThe Theft of the Sun

Cowell, Andrew; Gómez, Leila
English Language Notes , Volume 58 (1) – Apr 1, 2020
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13 pages

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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Regents of the University of Colorado
ISSN
0013-8282
eISSN
2573-3575
DOI
10.1215/00138282-8237465
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article examines an Indigenous origins narrative from central California. The text is an oral narrative about the theft of the sun by Coyote, recorded in the Central Sierra Miwok language. The article presents a formal analysis of the structure, language, and poetics of the text from the perspective of ethnopoetics, focusing on structural and lexical metaphors developed for describing the pathway of the sun. It then offers reflections on the ethnogeography and worldview presented in the text, linking it to Penutian migrations from the western Great Basin into central California’s Sierra Nevada several thousand years ago. The article also provides a general contextualization of the themes of the text in relation to California and western North American coyote stories and origins stories more generally.

Journal

English Language Notes – Duke University Press

Published: Apr 1, 2020

References

  • Myths of the Southern Sierra Miwok
    Barrett, S. A.
  • A Karok Myth in Measured Verse: The Translation of Performance
    Bright, William
  • Oral Literature of California and the Intermountain Region
    Bright, William Wiget, Andrew
  • Mythology: Regional Patterns and History of Research
    Heizer, Robert F. Heizer, Robert F.
  • An Introduction to the Art of Traditional American Indian Storytelling
    Kroeber, Karl Kroeber, Karl
  • How My Father Found a Deer
    Nevin, Bruce Luthin, Herbert W.
  • Comparative Literature
    Wallace, William J. Heizer, Robert F.
  • Myths of the Southern Sierra Miwok
    Barrett, S. A.
  • A Karok Myth in Measured Verse: The Translation of Performance
    Bright, William
  • Oral Literature of California and the Intermountain Region
    Bright, William Wiget, Andrew
  • Mythology: Regional Patterns and History of Research
    Heizer, Robert F. Heizer, Robert F.
  • An Introduction to the Art of Traditional American Indian Storytelling
    Kroeber, Karl Kroeber, Karl
  • How My Father Found a Deer
    Nevin, Bruce Luthin, Herbert W.
  • Comparative Literature
    Wallace, William J. Heizer, Robert F.