Download Panamint Shoshone Myth “The Theft of Fire”

Panamint Shoshone Myth
“The Theft of Fire”
As told by the Panamint Shoshone from Panamint Valley, California.
The birds and animals were men. At one time there was no fire in this country.
Lizard was lying in the sun to keep warm. As he lay there he noticed something falling slowly from the sky.
When it came to the earth, all the people ran over and looked at it. They said, “What is this?” Coyote said,
“Don’t you know what this is?” They said, “No.” Coyote said, “This is an ash from a fire in another country.
What are we going to do about it? Somebody must go far up in the sky to find out from where it came. Who
can go?” Hummingbird said, “I can go.”
Hummingbird started up in the sky, while everybody watched him. Coyote tipped his head and squinted one
eye, watching him with the other. When Hummingbird was far up in the sky, Coyote saw him look toward
the north, then turn and look toward the east. Then he looked toward the south, and, finally, turned toward
the west. He continued to look a long time toward the west. Soon he came down.
When he was on the earth again, everybody gathered around him. Coyote said, “What about it? What did
you see?” Hummingbird said that he had seen a big body of water in the west. There were many people on
the shore, dancing around a huge fire. Coyote said, “We must go over and get the fire.”
They started toward the west. On the way, Coyote stationed the people at intervals. When they got near
the fire, Coyote made himself false hair out of string. There were many people dancing around the fire.
Coyote joined them and began to dance, but they did not recognize him. All night as he danced, Coyote
tried to catch the fire in his false hair. When it was nearly morning, he caught the fire and fled. The people
had now lost their fire, and began to chase him.
Coyote ran to the first man he had posted and passed the fire on to him. This man ran with it to the next
man, and in this way it was relayed from one to another until it was passed to Jackrabbit. Jackrabbit put it
on his tail, making his tail black.
Rat had a house on the top of a tall rock with a smooth, vertical face. He sat in his house, while Jackrabbit
was coming with the fire. The pursuers made hail fall. This hurt Jackrabbit so that he squealed as he ran.
Rat heard this and came down to meet him. He took the fire from Jackrabbit, dodged his pursuers, and
scrambled up to his house. The fire burned a red place on his breast.
The people below said, “Catch him, but do not kill him. We want the fire.” Rat remained in his house and put
the fire into a large pile of brush. The people below pleaded with him to give them some fire. Rat threw the
brush in all directions. The brush now has the fire in it. You can get it out by making a fire drill of the brush.
Ancient Greek Myth
“Prometheus and the Origin of Fire”
As summarized by John Promani - Taken from Hesiod’s, “Theogony” and
“Works and Days” as translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis.
In the days of Ancient Greece, there was a time when men lived in ease. However, the great counselor Zeus,
had decided that man could not live in ease like gods. This is that story:
In the past, when the gods and mortal men were settling their differences, Prometheus took a large ox,
carved it up, and set it before Zeus. Prometheus had an idea to trick Zeus. He had carved the ox unevenly,
laying before Zeus on one side, a helping of meat, entrails, and fat within the ox’s hide, and on the other
side, the white bones of the ox covered with delicious fat. Prometheus wanted to see which the great god
Zeus would choose.
Zeus realized the trick and sarcastically said to Prometheus, “Son of Iapetos, you outshone all other kings,
but, friend, you have divided with self-serving zeal.”1 Prometheus was a great trickster, and just smiled in
reply, saying: “Sublime Zeus, highest among the everlasting gods, choose of the two portions whichever
your heart desires.”2
And so Zeus, who knew of the trick and had evil intentions for man, took up the bones wrapped in fat and
anger raced into his heart when he found those bones underneath the delicious layer of fat. Then he said
angrily, “Son of Iapetos, no one matches your resourceful wits, but, friend, your mind is clinging stubbornly
to guile.” 3 And with that, Zeus took from the ash tree the power to light into flames. Thus, he took fire from
man, and gave him his first hardship.
However Prometheus, feeling sorry for man, stole fire back. By using a stalk of fennel, otherwise known
as a reed, Prometheus went to the sun and in the hollow stalk of fennel, the part that burns slowly, he
captured fire. Then he gave it to man, so man could have fire. Zeus, angry beyond belief at this, created two
new hardships: one for Prometheus, the trickster, and one for man, because Zeus would not let man live in
complete ease, like the gods.
And so, Zeus tied Prometheus to a rock shaped like a pillar with shackles that he could not break. Zeus also
sent a great-winged eagle to come and eat the liver of Prometheus daily. However, no matter how much the
eagle ate during the day, the liver would grow back at night because Prometheus was the son of a Titan, and
thus immortal. This painful situation stayed with Prometheus until Hercules, obeying the will of Zeus, freed
Prometheus of this horrible plight. Zeus allowed this so his son, Hercules, could be greater than any other
man on the Earth.
1 From Theogony, translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis. Lines 543-44.
2Ibid., lines 548-49.
3Ibid., lines 559-560.
The second hardship came when Zeus and the other gods on Mt. Olympus created Pandora. She was
created with the beauty of the gods and the body of a maiden. Athena taught her the ways of a woman and
Aphrodite gave her the powers of desire and passion so that she would be irresistible to both men and gods.
Hermes gave her an inclination to do evil and coaxing words so that she could get her way. She was to be a
hardship for the workingman.
Zeus gave her to Epimetheus, Prometheus’s brother. Now when Zeus unleashed his anger, Prometheus
had warned his brother never to accept a gift from Zeus but to send it back. Epimetheus forgot this when
he looked upon the beauty of Pandora and took her as his wife. At this time, man still lived fairly easily on
Earth; without illnesses and without suffering.
Yet when Pandora came to live with Epimetheus she brought a sealed jar that the gods had given her. She
and Epimetheus had been warned never to open that jar. However, Pandora was incredibly curious and
just had to know what was inside the jar. With the coaxing words Hermes gave her, she told herself and
Epimetheus that it wouldn’t hurt if she just looked inside the jar. And so, Pandora opened the jar.
And then the contents inside the jar scattered across the world bringing grief, illness, and suffering to man.
This is why some diseases occur during the day and others bring suffering to man at night. Hope was also
inside the jar, but it stayed inside the jar and did not fly away, because Zeus had wished it to be so. And so
Pandora put the lid on the jar before Hope could come to help man.
And thus there is no way to escape the designs of Zeus.
The Facts Behind the Panamint Shoshone Story
These are important facts about the Panamint Shoshone including historical facts and information
about their culture.
• Panamint Shoshone are named after nearby Panamint Valley, California, where their winter
village was located.
• They are part of a larger group of Native Americans called the Western Shoshone; they had
similar mythology and were either nomads or semi-sedentary.
• Panamint Shoshone were semi-sedentary, meaning that during the winter they would return to
a village with provisions to make it through the winter season.
• Food sources for Panamint Shoshone included fresh plants, game, and most importantly, acorns.
• To survive the winter, the Panamint Shoshone would collect non-perishable pine nuts, mesquite
beans, and various seeds. They would add fresh plants and game to this diet whenever the
opportunity presented itself.
• Winter was also a time for storytelling. Their stories told of the tribal history, religion, laws,
traditions, and also explained natural phenomenon. Stories were usually poems or songs
composed with a sense of meter and musicality helping storytellers remember the story without
having to write it down, creating an oral tradition.
• Shoshones believe they descended from a tribe in Yellowstone that they called the Sheepeaters.
This legend states that the Sheepeaters made bows from bighorn sheep cooked in the
Yellowstone hot springs.
• Since the Panamint Shoshone were in a secluded valley of California, they didn’t have contact
with whites until 1849 when gold rush settlers first entered. After that they had difficulty regaining their land and recognition due to laws that did not treat them fairly.
• Today they are called the Timbisha Shoshone and have a total of 7,700 acres as a reservation
within the Death Valley National Park.
• California has a Mediterranean climate, also called a Dry Summer Subtropical Climate by
scientists. This climate has wet winters and dry summers.
• Since the majority of precipitation happens in the winter, plants have had to adapt to drought
conditions.
The Facts Behind the Ancient Greek Story
These are important facts about the Ancient Greeks including historical facts and information about their culture.
• 2200-2000 B.C.: Greek speakers arrive in mainland Greece.
• 1650 B.C.: Mycenaean Civilization begins.
• 1600-1400 B.C.: War leaders consolidate power through oversea raids eventually having a presence
from Italy to the coast of Asia and Egypt.
• This culture was successful because they learned to efficiently use their land to make a surplus of
olive oil, wine, wool, flax, and hides that they could trade with others for metals and luxuries for
their warrior elite.
• 1200-1100 B.C.: Mycenaean Civilization collapses; Dark Ages begin.
• Dark Ages: Greeks migrate to the Aegean Region and the coast of Asia Minor.
• 1050-950 B.C.: Iron begins to be used in making weapons and everyday tools.
• Eighth Century B.C.: Mainland Greece goes through dramatic transformation with a rapid increase
of population, revival of metalwork, and an increase in shipbuilding creating growing links with the
outside world.
• 1000-750 B.C.: Phoenicians set up trade routes throughout the Mediterranean, influencing Greek
culture.
• 776 B.C.: First Olympic Games.
• 750 B.C.: Greeks borrow and adapt Phoenician alphabet for their own use, creating a rebirth of
Greek literacy.
• Literacy was important for this more mobile society so they could mark possessions, record
transactions, dedicate shrines, and write down their oral tradition. Homer emerges at this time with
the epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey.
• 700 B.C.: Immergence of a community that mainly lived inside city walls but drew on the
neighboring countryside for supplies. Greeks called this a “polis.”
• With the polis they began to practice more abstract concepts such as “justice” and a focus
on identity. This leads to individual cities having a god for protection (Athens has Athena), a
foundation myth for cities; local/Greek identities intensify.
• Hesiod writes in this time period of the polis. He is the author of Theogony and Works and Days.
• In Theogony, Hesiod sets out to explain the history of the gods and of the Earth. In this work,
Prometheus steals fire for humans and Zeus’s revenge is to create woman; in particular, Pandora
and her jar filled with strife.
• In Works and Days, Hesiod revisits the Prometheus story but adds an element of justice, stemming
from his relationship to the polis. Here, Hesiod invokes Zeus as a protector of justice. Hence, he
punishes man when they receive fire because it is good and just for man to work hard, and fire
would make his life too easy without other hardships – thus Pandora’s jar.
Student Worksheet
Name: ___________________________________
Read the Panamint Shoshone Myth - “The Theft of Fire” from the Panamint Shoshone Native Americans.
After you have finished, answer the following reading comprehension questions in your notebook. Make
sure to give examples from the text to support your answers:
1. If this myth was all you knew about fire, what characteristics would you say fire has? Pay special
attention to how the relay-race animals respond to carrying the fire, as well as how strongly the
humans fight to get fire back.
2. What relationship do you think the Panamint Shoshone Native Americans had in regards to fire?
Why?
3. What is the importance of Coyote in this story? In this Native American group’s culture?
Read the Ancient Greek Myth - “Prometheus and the Origin of Fire” from Ancient Greece. After you have
finished, answer the following reading comprehension questions in your notebook. Make sure to give
examples from the text to support your answers:
1. If this myth was all you knew about fire, what characteristics would you say fire has? Pay special
attention to when Zeus takes fire from man and then Prometheus brings it back. Remember to
focus only on this myth and not include aspects from the Panamint Shoshone’s fire myth.
2. What relationship do you think the Greeks had in regards to fire? Why?
3. Why does Zeus punish man with Pandora’s Jar? What do you think is so important about this
punishment? Why?
Compare and Contrast
The following questions are to get you looking at both myths in relation to each other. Before you answer
these questions read the facts about both the Panamint Shoshone’s culture and the Ancient Greek’s culture.
Both of these myths come from a similar Mediterranean climate where fire interacts in similar ways with
the natural environment. Keep in mind that by comparing and contrasting these myths, we will not be
saying one is better than the other. We will be noting their differences and similarities and what those tell
us about each culture’s relation to fire in a similar climate. Answer the following questions in your notebook,
and make sure to give examples from the text to support your answers:
1. How are Coyote and Prometheus similar? How are they different? Why?
2. What do you think the “moral” of each myth is and why? Remember, a moral is the message the
myth is trying to convey to the listeners.
3. Both of these myths come from similar climates. In what ways do they describe fire similarly?
In what ways do they describe fire differently? What does that tell you about each culture’s
relationship to fire?
4. What similar themes are in these fire myths? What different themes can be found? Why do you
think that is?