Chinese Mythical Creatures

By Helen Li

Hindu/Muslim Mythical Creatures

Mythological Creatures Folklore Collection Project

Hindu/Muslim Mythical Creatures

By: Nipun Dua

German Mythical Creatures

Mythological Creatures Folklore Collection Project

German Folklore Collection

By: Jacqueline Maier

Introduction:  German Folklore has one common trend that is prevalent throughout all the stories I have collected. Fear. All these tales use fear to encourage appropriate behavior, especially where children are involved.

Native American Mythical Creatures

Native American Mythical Creatures

by Cheree Mills

Wendigo or Windigo

Place Collected: In Person, Alpha Phi House, Dartmouth College

Date Collected: May 11th

Genre: Legend

Informant Information:

Name: Mariah Claw '15

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Place of Birth/Residence (Outside of Dartmouth): Apache, Arizona

Background:

Mariah was born on the Navajo reservation in Arizona, and has lived there all of her life. She is an active member of the Navajo community, and left to come to Dartmouth in 2011.

Description: The Wendigo is a spirit that possesses humans, and transforms them into a creature like the one pictured above. It is said to be fairly anthropomorphic, however it is extremely tall, and has very long limbs and claws. In this interview the Wendigo was also said to have animalistic qualities such as horns, fangs, etc, as well, however based on other known legends, this is not always the case. Lastly, the Wendigo is said to have a taste for human flesh, therefore portraying cannibalistic tendencies. 

Text: A Scary Bedtime Story

"There was a small child who decided to wander away from the reservation into the open plains. As the child kept wandering, it grew darker and darker, and soon it was night. The child kept walking, feeling as if she was being watched, but every time she turned around nothing was there. Finally just as the child was starting to feel lost, a large creature with huge arms, claws, and teeth appeared and scooped the child up into the darkness, where they were never seen again"

Context:

This story was told to the informant before bed, and as the oldest of the family, she tells it to her younger brothers now.

Interpretation: This story like many spook stories is meant as a joking way to scare children, but it also serves as a protective mechanism. In the story, the child wanders away from the reservation, which leads to a negative event of being captured by the Wendigo. The informant said she never wanted to run away after being told this story.

Coyote- Ma'ii

Place Collected: In Person

Date Collected: May 20th

Genre: Myth

Informant Information:

Name: Anonymous Dartmouth '16

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Place of Residence (Outside of Dartmouth): Montana

Background: The informant wished to remain anonymous. However, this informant is part of the Salish tribe, and before attending Dartmouth in 2012, the informant lived in a very small town in Montana.

Description: Coyote is not like typical coyotes. This Coyote is much more like a god, and has anthropomorphic features. Coyote is featured in many stories, legends, and even myths. Coyote is cunning, a trickster, and is also fairly impatient. In many instances Coyote impersonates a human, or interacts with humans.

Text: Coyote Makes the Milky Way

"Coyote once sat with the first people, and during this time they decided to place the moon and the stars in the sky for some more light. Once the moon was placed, there was a bag that had all of the stars in it. The first people were taking their time, because they wanted to make sure that the sky and the stars was perfect. However, Coyote was impatient and did not want to wait, so he took the bag and threw the stars all over the sky. That's why the Milky Way and the stars look so random!"

Context: The informant does not remember the first time they heard this story/myth, because it a sort of "truth" in their culture.

Interpretation: This story is important, because it is a myth in the informant's culture. The informant said "Coyote is like god in my culture", and this myth is told as a truth, not a just a story. This is a well known myth across many tribes, who have the same connection to Coyote as the informant's.

Skinwalker

Place Collected: In Person, Hitchcock Dormitory, Dartmouth College

Date Collected: May 28th

Genre: Legend, text is a tale

Informant Information:

Name: Samara Shanker '14

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Place of Residence (Outside of Dartmouth): Ahwatukee, Arizona

Background: The informant is part of the Arapaho tribe on her dad's side, and part of the Pueblo tribe on her mom's side. Both of her parents are one half Native American. Before attending Dartmouth in 2010, she lived at home with her younger brother, mother, and father. 

Description: A skinwalker is a cursed person, usually a shaman or medicine man, that can transform into other creatures. They are often called shapeshifters. One main difference between shapeshifters and skin walkers is that skinwalkers need to have killed the creature (or in some cases other humans) that they want to shift into. Once the desired creature is dead, a part of the creature, typically the skin, is worn so that they can shift. 

Text: The Trapped Skinwalker

"There was a man who became cursed with being a skinwalker for the rest of his life. He was forced to leave his friends and family, for fear of what he could do to them when he wasn't himself. While he tried to fight the urge to kill and transform into other creatures, the desire was just too strong. So, he went on killing and skin walking. He remembered being warned when he was cursed to not skinwalk more than one time per night, but one day the urge was so strong that he couldn't help himself. As he was flying high above the sky as a giant eagle, he saw a tortoise on the ground, and thought to himself that he could use a change. As he squeezed himself into the tortoise shell, he transformed, but something felt different. When he woke up the next morning, he still had not transformed back into a man, and was stuck as a tortoise forever."

Context: The informant remembers being told this story by her father anytime she would ask to hear a story. She is fairly certain that this story was created by her father, but she said the creature is a part of her culture in other stories and legends as well. 

Interpretation: Though this is a tale the informant's father likely created, it has elements of many other tales. For example a underlying moral of avoiding greed and selfishness. 

Latin American Mythical Creatures

Mythical Creatures Folklore Collection Project

Latin American Creatures

Common theme: Of the tales that I collected, they all share the theme of having a behavioral component for children whether that be spatially, to contain them within the realms of adult supervision or cautionary, to establish respect between all parties.