Difference between revisions of "HIST 131--Week 1 Questions/Comments"
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Taja L. Winston | Taja L. Winston | ||
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| + | Potential Parallels between stories and importance of color in Native American mythology | ||
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| + | The first thing that struck me about the two stories was the importance of arrows. However, in both of the stories they were used in completely different ways than we would consider. In the first story "The Woman Who Fell From the Sky" We see arrows as a method of fertilization, the woman laid with the two arrows, not the man, and became impregnated by the arrows. In the second story, we see the arrows used as a method of "testing the waters" in a sense. If a tribe is friendly, they fire back the white arrow, signifying peace, if they're hostile, they fire back a red arrow. Neither method uses the arrow in a typical way. Also, I'd wondered if there were parallels between arrows in the two stories. In the first one, the two arrows get the woman pregnant with two twins, one evil that ends up killing his mother, one good, who ends up overcoming evil and being a sort of "prometheus figure". While reading, the distinct impression was that white was pure and good, much like the good twin, also, the white arrow signifying peace and no intent of harm. However, red was viewed as violent and evil, much like the twin that killed his mother in the first story, and the red arrow in the second story. My question is were there any parallels between the red and white arrows and the two twins that represented their colors and were fathered by two arrows? | ||
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| + | My next comment is how important colors are to the Native Americans, namely in the second story, red and white commonly are mentioned. The white eagle feather, the white pole (that is first yellow clay) the white place they settle, the white arrow etc.... As for red, the bones are both red and blue, the red rat that springs forth, the red place they settle, the red arrow, and the fact that at the end of the story, their hearts are two colors, red and white. Other colors, such as blue surface, but red and white are the most noticeable. | ||
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| + | Kathleen Dray | ||
