Pueblo Gods and Myths (Volume 71)

by Hamilton A. Tyler

Here is a thorough, and long-needed, presentation of the nature of the Pueblo gods and myths. The Pueblo Indians, which include the Hopi, Zuni, and Keres groups, and their ancestors are closely bound to the Plateau region of the United States, comprising much of the area in Utah, Colorado, and–especially in recent years–New Mexico and Arizona.

The principal god of the Hopi tribe was and is Masau'u, the god of death. Masau'u is also a god of life in many of its essentials. There is an unmistakable analogy between Masau'u and the Christian Devil, and between Masau'u and the Greek god Hermes, who guided dead souls on their journey to the nether world. Mr. Tyler has drawn many useful comparisons between the religions of the Pueblos and the Greeks. "Because there is a widespread knowledge of the Greek gods and their ways," the author writes, "many people will thus be at ease with the Pueblo gods and myths."

Of utmost importance is the final chapter of the book, which relates Pueblo cosmology to contemporary Western thought.

The Pueblos are men and women who have faced, and are facing, problems common to all mankind. The response of the Pueblos to their challenges has been tempered by the role of religion in their lives. This account of their epic struggle to accommodate themselves and their society to the cosmic order is "must" reading for historians, ethnologists, students of comparative religion, and for all who take an interest in the role of religious devotion in their own lives.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

332 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An obscure but interesting book that examines Pueblo Indian gods & myths. Tyler uses tribal stories & retellings of myths to capture a glimpse of beliefs, rites, ceremonies and traditions for each deity or "lesser supernaturals". Overall a very thorough look at the religious practices & beliefs of Pueblo Indians and an interesting read for anyone interested in Pueblo Indians, ethnography, anthropology or religious studies.

Since there are no reviews as of yet, to provide more context for any potential reader, the books chapters include:
- Masau'u, or Skelton Man
- The Dead
- Creators & Their Creations (Sho'tokunungwa, The Emergence, The Flood, The Migration)
- Earthgoddess
- Germinator
- The Divine Sun
- The Cosmos & the System of Six Directions
- The Godliness of Place
- Clowns & Gods
- The Little War Gods
- Snakes & the Horned Water Serpent
- The Face of Animism (including discussions about animism through the lens of Freud & Buber)

In the last chapter, The Face of Animism, interestingly Durkheim is not mentioned. This chapter seemed to be the most out of place and the most lacking in further depth that the chapters on myths & deities provided.

Peculiar read that will leave you with interesting dinner conversation at the very least.

[Morgan Wren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up on a road trip through California, Arizona, and New Mexico. I spent days backpacking in Bandelier, and found this at a parks bookshop. I’d been blown away by petroglyphs and murals I’d seen in the backcountry, enchanted by ancient Pueblos on Mesa tops and canyon walls I’d visited, and hoped to learn more about the beliefs of the people that created these wonders of nature, and still live in the surrounding areas.

I found this book to be a decent primer on the subject. It’s at its best when it’s relating first hand accounts in the words of Pueblo people. It contains wonderful songs, striking poetry, and simple stories of the various gods of the 3 main Pueblo groups. I found Tyler’s personal style to be very dry and hard to absorb. It’s taken me months of starting and stopping to get through this book, which is a shame because the subject matter really is intriguing. If anybody reading this has recommendation for more a more lively retelling or research of the stories and gods of the Pueblo people I would love to know!

[Kim Dennis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I surrender...I had planned to stick with this to the bitter end. Then I thought about all the books on my list, and I thought about what I had gotten out of the book during the first 1/2, which was nothing, and I decided to stop reading.

This was a bit convoluted and disjointed. The author assumed a certain level of prior knowledge. I knew some of what he was talking about, but not all of it. And it's really hard when you are reading names that are totally unfamiliar and you can't pronounce. It makes them hard to remember and connect pieces of the stories together. He was also a little too concerned about letting us know who he got which part of what story from. Frankly -- I don't care. Just tell me the story.

I read a collection of stories from Norse mythology this summer, and even though that was geared towards kids, I would have liked something like that better than whatever this was.

[Michael Dolce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why does such cool material always have to be handles with scholarly affectation?