Customer Reviews

Raven Tales

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"Raven is the protagonist in a cycle of Native American and eastern Siberian folktales that portray him on the one hand as a trickster, the comical malefactor who often becomes the butt of his own jokes; and on the other hand as a transformer, creator, or culture hero who puts the sun in the sky, forms rivers and regulates the tides, creates humans and animals, and brings fire to the human race. But a raven figure appears in the mythologies of other cultures as well. In western tradition, the raven is accociated with the Greek Apollo and the Norse Odin. The Ainu of Japan, the Australian aborigines, the Malays, and the Vietnamese tell raven stories that are tantalizingly similar to those of North America and Siberia.

Raven Tales presents an intriguing selection of raven stories from all over the world, and the MOST COMPLETE STUDY OF THESE STORIES EVER PUBLISHED.
Few readers will be able to resist speculating on the form of the tales and their cultural significance, or fail to marvel at the startling humor, insight, and perspective they provide on the human condition.

[from the back of the jacket of the book]