Traditions of the Thompson River Indians (cont.)
It seems to my mind that the tales described heretofore do not contain the peculiar psychological discrepancy which is so puzzling, if we bear only in mind that the so-called culture hero is not considered by the Indian as an altruistic being but as an egotist pure and simple.
But there are many cases in which the natives have advanced to a higher point of view, and ascribe to the hero at least partially the desire to benefit his friends. With the development of this point of view the incongruity of the various parts of the transformer myth becomes more and more striking. When the Algonquin, for instance, tell of their Manibozhoo, that he instituted all the secret societies for the benefit of mankind, that he is a great and benevolent being, and at the same time relate the most absurd stories of their hero, the psychological discrepancy of the two groups of myths becomes very evident.
It is very important to note that we find a gradual transition from the purely egotistical transformer legends, if I may use this term, to the clearly altruistic series. The transformer legend of the Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island7 is very instructive in this respect. The transformer meets a number of enemies who are planning his death. They do not recognize him and tell him of their plans. Then he transforms them into animals, and ordains that they shall be the food of man. He is thirsty, and in order to obtain water, he slays a monster that has killed a whole tribe. In all these cases he acts from egotistical motives. Later on he gives the laws governing the religious ceremonials of the tribe. This he does in the following manner: he meets the ancestors of the various clans, and they test their powers. Sometimes he is vanquished, and then his adversary obtains certain privileges as the fruit of his victory. In other cases he proves to be the stronger. Then he takes pity on his rival, and gives him certain ceremonials as a present. In all these adventures he appears as a powerful chief who is travelling all over the world, not with a view of making man happier, but doing so incidentally in the course of his adventures. Still the Kwakiutl look at him distinctly as the culture hero, and in this I see a fundamental difference from the manner in which the Tsimshian look at the Raven. They recognize the Raven as the creator, but his actions were so little dictated by considerations of the needs of man that they owe him no thanks for what he has done. The Kamchadal express this attitude very exactly when they say that the God Kutka was very foolish, that he might have arranged things very much better when he was creating the world. The transformer of the Kwakiutl, on the other hand, gave his gifts to the ancestors of the various clans, and these gifts were naturally intended for the benefit of their families, although they were not prompted by clearly altruistic motives. Therefore the Kwakiutl revere their transformer. The mental attitude has entirely changed.
Another instructive example is that of the transformer of the Blackfeet8. It is stated that he taught many arts to man because he pitied him. But other important changes of nature and similar events came about without any such intention on his part. Death was the result of a bet between him and a woman. Animals obtained their fat in a feast given to them by the transformer.
In short, we find that among various tribes the altruistic side is developed very unequally.
It seems quite intelligible that with the progress of society there should develop a tendency of substituting for the coarse motives of the primitive transformer higher ones. With the consciousness that the changes effected by the transformer were useful to man may have developed the idea that they were made with the view of benefiting mankind. The traditions of the Kwakiutl may be taken to indicate a transitional point in the ethical aspect of these myths, the changes being made not for the good of mankind, but for the benefit of a particular friend of the transformer. The less the altruistic idea is developed, the less will be the consciousness of a discrepancy between the tales representing the transformer as a benefactor and as a trickster. The higher it is developed, the greater will be the friction between the two groups of tales. Hence we find that wherever this idea is brought out most clearly, the tales, of the trickster are ascribed to n different being. The personage of the transformer is split in two or more parts; the one representing the true culture hero, the other retaining the features of the trickster. This has been done in the mythology of the Micmac and Penobscot9 where Glooskap retains almost exclusively the features becoming to the benefactor of mankind. Still I think that in a few of his adventures the more primitive conception of the transformer may be recognized. The higher the civilization of the tribe, the more sharply, it seems, is the line drawn between the culture hero and the trickster.
I am well aware that the theory here proposed does not clear up all the difficult questions connected with this subject, but I think that it at least does away with the troublesome psychological discrepancy between the two aspects of the transformer. I venture to suggest that perhaps this theory would appear much better established if all the Indian mythologies were recorded just as told by the Indian uninfluenced by contact with civilization. As a matter of fact, many were recorded by missionaries, who would naturally introduce in all tales of a culture hero the altruistic element much more strongly than it is mentioned by the Indian. Their whole training would tend to introduce this bias. The same is true to a certain extent of all white collectors, unless the traditions are recorded verbatim. I have examined the available literature quite closely, and find that very few collectors actually give the motive which led the transformer to carry out certain actions, although the latter is often implied by, the incidents of the story. I think that in all probability if Indian mythologies were available in their pure original form, the egotistic character of the transformer would appear very much more strongly than is the case at present.
