The Stories of El Dorado

Оглавление

Frona Eunice Wait. The Stories of El Dorado

Preface

The Happy Island

Zamna, the Eye of the Sun

Votan, the People's Heart

Lord of the Sacred Tunkel

The Stars' Ball

The National Book

Manco-Capac, the Powerful One

Bochica and the Zipa

Song of Hiawatha

Michabo, the Great White Hare

The Birth of Corn

The Wrathy Chieftain

The Plumed Serpent, Quetzalcoatl

Cholula, the Sacred City

Tulla, the Hiding Nook of the Snake

The Departure of the Golden Hearted

El Dorado, the Golden

"Bimini, the Fountain of Youth"

Montezuma and the Paba

The Child of the Sun

The Gilded Man

The White Sea of the Manoas

The Mountain of Gold

The Amazon Queens

The Seven Cities of Cibola

The Kingdom of Quivera

The Land of Gold

The New El Dorado

Отрывок из книги

"It has only recently been recognized as a fact," says Prof. A. F. Bandelier, "that on the whole American continent, the mode of life of the primitive inhabitants was formed on one sociological principle, and consequently the culture of these peoples has varied, locally, only in degree, not in kind. The religious principles were fundamentally the same among the Sioux and the Brazilians, and physical causes more than anything else have been at the bottom of the local differences." Such has been my own experience in studying the stories of El Dorado which form the subject of this book, and in presenting a man—a culture hero—who came by sea from the East, I am justified by a more complete set of records than is known to the superficial student. As this man's principles of life were the same, we are forced to the conclusion that all the heroes were one conception, handed down by oral tradition, but widely separated as to locality, by the lapse of time, by migrations and commercial relations of the different tribes.

As to where these myths originated, or how old they are, I have nothing to suggest, since in presenting these simple variants, it is no concern of mine. It is sufficient for my purpose to know that they exist. To me they lend a dignity to our country by investing it with a misty past, replete with a mythology as rich and sublime as that of any of the races of antiquity. Not only will the study of them inspire patriotism and make us better acquainted with the inner lives of the red men, but it will tend to create an interest in our sister republics which cannot fail to be of lasting practical benefit. We know much more of Europeans than we do of the peoples of this continent.

.....

"Because we work for humanity," said the young prince. "No man is really great who has not developed a woman's tenderness in his heart, and that our fellows may know that we have this quality, we wear skirts and robes."

This is why in our day the king and priest and judge wear long gowns. The king rules men, women and children alike; the judge administers the law for all of them, and the minister prays for the good as well as the bad. For this reason we should respect their robes when we see them.

.....