North America
Across the pond from the last continent, we now see North America in its former glory when the native peoples still lived in harmony with nature on the continent. Their oral traditions passed along many stories but not necessarily any deities. The trickster in Native American stories was named Coyote. Coyote was the chief animal before humans were made. He was very adventurous and mischievous but he was never alone. Most of the time Coyote was with Fox who begrudgingly helped him whenever his trickery got him stuck. Coyote was a shapeshifter like many other tricksters, but uniquely he also could change the shape of other things. One remarkable feat of trickery is when Coyote transforms himself into a platter to be used at a party of the other animals. When the food preparations began, Coyote, as a platter, was heaped with food. He chose to do this because of his insatiable appetite. Though most of his stories ended badly, this one was resolved without the help of Fox. As the colonizers came to America and pushed the natives out of their homes more of these diverse cultural stories merged together. Once slavery was brought to North America a new trickster in a new folklore arose.
Brer Rabbit was a trickster character in African-American folklore that originated from the Bantu-speaking people of Africa. Once the story from Africa came to the Americas it blended with the native american folklore’s trickster, the previously mentioned, Coyote. Br’er Rabbit took many of Coyote’s personality traits but remained a prey animal instead of becoming a predator. His feats of trickery most entailed him outsmarting his larger animal counterparts, Brer Fox, Brer Wolf, and Brer Bear. sliding back into the past as we move south, the Aztecs had a trickster god of their own.
Huehuecoyotl was the Aztec god of storytelling. His appearance was that of a dancing coyote with human hands and feet. Although a trickster the tricks he played often backfired on himself, much like Coyote from Native American folklore. Most of the tricks he played were on the other Aztec gods. People prayed to Huehuecoyotl when they needed a reversal of fate or something similar, though most of Huehuecoyotl’s interaction was blame being placed on him for wars starting. As we move through Central America and into South America, we run into the Incans.
