| Basic Concepts: Mythology
Mythology (myth) is a form of narrative that embodies a variety of motifs from both traditional and progressive cultures: origin tales, hero tales, adventure stories, cultural values, and tales of the supernatural. The late Dr. Joseph Campbell, arguably the world's leading authority on religion and mythology in the twentieth century, notes that myths, rather than maligned as "false stories," in fact, express "truth" at various levels. He sites the four primary functions of myth: .
Campbell claims that all the world's great religions are "misunderstood myths" ("The Vitality of Myth" 1974). By that he suggests that what lead the parishioners of every religion to a sense of the sublime are its symbols and rituals, what Campbell refers to as "activated symbols." Myths embody the images, the symbols, and the rituals that serve that end in every religion, and when they cease to do so, the religions are abandoned. He discounts as significant the roles of doctrine and their respective priesthoods unless understood as manifestations themselves as symbols and rituals. . From the limited library of existing early American indigenous recordings or writings, ritual use of language, congruent with Campbell's interpretation of mythology is found in selections from various tribes who encountered the European settlers during the colonial and national periods. . Online Connections For a glossary of American Indian mythology, see the Probert Encyclopedia website. One of the most extensive sites with links to electronic texts of aboriginal and later American Indian literature is the "Electronic Texts Center: Subject: Native Americans." . Our Course Connections Native American texts include speeches and selected ritual songs. See the companion site, "Three Keys to Culture," for an examination of the Maya Popol Vuh of the Quiche Maya of Guatemala. .  |