Tyendinaga Tales

by Rona Rustige, Jeri Maracle (Illustrator)

Tyendinaga Tales is a collection of previously unrecorded Mohawk folktales gathered from residents of the Tyendinaga Indian Reserve near Bellville, Ontario. The folktales are told infrequently on the reserve and are in danger of disappearing completely. The stories are accompanied by pen and ink illustrations, the work of Jeri Maracle Van Der Vlag, a Mohawk from Tyendinaga.

From the introduction:
"Folk-tales are the verbal account of the world view and way of life of a people. They hold a special importance when the people lack a formal system of writing. For a thousand years the philosophy, religion, morals, customs, and ideas of the Iroquoian people were perpetuated by means of the spoken word. Folklore may explain the origin of man, animals, plants, and the world. Codes of behaviour, ethics, and social mores are validated in accounts which describe, for example, heroic or malicious deeds. Story-telling was used to socialize and instruct young people and acted as a social cohesive for the whole group."

The tales which Rona Rustige has collected contain many folkloric motifs which relate them to other Iroquoian literatures. In the context of this body of Iroquoian folklore the tales take on a broader significance and their preservation allows for future systematic study.

78 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tyendinaga is about 40km from where I grew up, but we were in the Williams Treaty area and were generally taught basics tales and folklore from the Anishnabeg. I've also benefited from the works of Basil Johnston (now deceased), who worked for many years at the Royal Ontario Museum. Through the auspices of the ROM, Mr. Johnston was able to publish may folktales of the Ojibwa in an effort to educate Canadians. I was pleased to find Roma Rustige's book of folk tales from Tyendinaga. I was surprised to find they were originally published in 1988. I listened to them as an audiobook, but I understand the hard copy has illustrations. The time commitment is short, but the return is substantial. These are some of the most engaging and fantastical folk tales I have ever heard. I was especially taken with two of them, one that explained people with physical differences (disabilities) and one that explained how birds received their songs. Regardless of your background or interests, there will be something in this collection to capture your imagination.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love collections of myths and folktales, especially from places I am not so familiar with so chances were I was going to really enjoy this anyway. This is a short collection of Iroquoian folktales, from creation myths to the reasons for why certain animals look the way they do. I think my favourites were in part 3, the animal tales, especially the Bear's Tail.

I listened to the audiobook of this because I didn't realise it was illustrated, so while it was great for the pronunciations of some words, you don't get the full experience without a physical copy.