Coyote and Multnomah Fall, a legend of the Wasco people, tells the traditional story of love, longing, and sorrow. The story’s protagonist is the Coyote character, widespread among the North American Wasko Indians. Coyote in the works usually acts as a minor character. It can be used to contrast with the main character and, unlike him, is not endowed with heroic but with human qualities. As a rule, he plays the role of a trickster, similar to Loki in Scandinavian mythology. In several mythologies, the Coyote also performs other mythological functions; for example, in the Navajo mythology, Coyote, remaining a trickster, “in combination,” is the deity of hunting, war, and love, the inventor of witchcraft. However, in this story, Cayote’s humanity manifests itself from a tragic side.
Most of Coyote’s antics are positive and with good intentions. He sometimes creates the world and the first people in cosmogonic myths by kicking a lump of dirt or a blood clot. In the works that appeared with the arrival of Europeans in the American West, the Coyote is endowed with a new function: the defender of traditional Indian culture from the European invasion. He becomes a satirical character opposing the Europeans. For example, in one modern story, a coyote falls into the trap of an anthropologist who wants to get reports about a coyote but tricks the stranger, leaving only notes stained with excrement. The importance and instructiveness of the stories about the coyotes are emphasized by the fact that the Indians used them in the winter when household work was reduced and free time could be devoted to spiritual festivities. From spring to early autumn, stories about the Coyote were not told.
In the legends of the Wasco people, Coyote is given the role of a young man seeking to win a girl’s heart. According to legend, Coyote took one of his frequent travels down the Great River before available time in the long past period (Wasco People 7). According to legend, when everyone and everything spoke the same language. He came to a halt where the water ran beneath the Great Bridge, which connected the mountains on one side of the river with those on the other. He transformed into an attractive young hunter there. He had seen a gorgeous girl in a town not far from the bridge the last time he traveled up the river. He made up his plan to seek the girl’s father for permission to take her as his bride. The father of the girl was a chief. When the gorgeous young guy arrived at the chief’s lodge, he brought a special present for the father in exchange for his daughter. This is a symbolic unity of a girl with nature, the personification of young people in the cunning and resourceful but sincere character of Coyote.
Coyote asks the leader what he can give the girl because he has tried everything he could. On the other hand, the leader rationally suggests asking the chosen one of the young men about her desire. In response to Coyote’s question, the girl replies that she wants a secluded pool. Moreover, the protagonist does it by changing nature for the sake of a girl, literally moving mountains. Coyote toiled for seven suns to create the collection that would win the love of the girl he desired to marry. He began by cutting a large gash in the hills on the Great River’s south bank. Then he planted trees, bushes, and ferns all the way to the top of a high wall that faced the river. Then he proceeded to the bottom of the rock wall and tilted it back far enough to create a large pool. He climbed back up the wall and disappeared into the hills (Wasco People 9). This is a metaphorical technique, with the help of which the author of the story perfectly demonstrates the determination of the young on the path of love.
After that, two mountain grandmothers witnessed the chief’s daughter swim in the pool every morning, and they spotted Coyote waiting for her outside the waterfall and spray screen. The elderly grandmothers overheard the two singing and laughing together. The grandmothers laughed at the couple, shouted, and informed everyone what they had seen and heard. The chief’s daughter soon realized that everyone was laughing at her, from the Great Lakes to the Great Shining Mountains, from the top of the planet to as far south as anybody could.
This is a metaphor for condemnation by the old generation and the fear of public denunciation by the young. As a result, the leader’s daughter seeks to swim into the ocean along the river, but Coyote swims after her and, having overtaken her, turns them into two ducks (Wasco People 11). The last symbol in history personifies the natural unity of young people beyond public condemnation and prejudice. This legend displays many aspects of people’s most ancient problems and ideas since ancient times. The main character, Coyote, fights for love, changes the world around him, and eventually resigns himself to fate, deciding to stay with his beloved forever. This is a simple but profound story, essential for understanding the lowest feelings of people.
Work Cited
Wasco People. Coyote and Multnomah Falls: Wasco. Wasco People, 2021.