A Study Of Raven’s Tale In Native North American Tradition

Raven is the most common crow in America, and also is an important totem in North American indigenous culture, which is deeply attached to the native people by their history and emotions. From the American northwest coast to the broader arctic area, raven has long been a respectable god in the native region’s worship, and those sincere people created splendid raven culture. Moreover, raven tales has been told all over the North American culture areas, and he plays a special role in North American oral tradition for his abundant and multivariate figure. This paper is a study of the types and figure of raven tales in native North American oral tradition, by which the author try to introduce the people’s special view of Shamanism and secular ideas. Further more, by respectively comparing two famous North American creation tales of raven with some classic myths from Asian Shamanism and European Christian, the paper reveals a historical connection of the Native North American to the East and the West.