Tales of the Cochiti Indians
Encyclopedia
Tales of the Cochiti Indians is a 1931 work by by Ruth Benedict
. It collects the folk tales of the Cochiti Puebloan peoples in New Mexico
. The book is considered an important work in the discipline of feminist anthropology
. Following development of the "culture and personality" school of anthropology
by her colleague Edward Sapir
and influenced by Margaret Mead
, Benedict sought psychological patterns in the stories she collected.
mentor Franz Boas
received funding for Project #35 to document cultures of the North and South American Indians, Benedict spent 11 years gathering materials on site. Because she was partially deaf, she worked through interpreters. She collected hundreds of pages of myths and tales at Zuni
in 1924 and 1925 and at Cochiti in 1925. She published Tales of the Cochiti Indians in 1931 and her work on the Zuni four years later.
With both tribes, she worked most closely with an older man considered the group's outstanding intellectual. Identified as "Informant 4" in Tales of the Cochiti Indians, her key informant's name was Santiago Quintana, widely referred to in the village as "mucho sabio." His granddaughter was potter Helen Cordero
, who also drew from his stories to renew the lost art of Cochiti pottery.
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
. It collects the folk tales of the Cochiti Puebloan peoples in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The book is considered an important work in the discipline of feminist anthropology
Feminist anthropology
Feminist anthropology is an approach to studying cultural anthropology that aims to correct for a perceived androcentric bias within anthropology...
. Following development of the "culture and personality" school of anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
by her colleague Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir
Edward Sapir was an American anthropologist-linguist, widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the early development of the discipline of linguistics....
and influenced by Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist, who was frequently a featured writer and speaker in the mass media throughout the 1960s and 1970s....
, Benedict sought psychological patterns in the stories she collected.
Background
After her Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
mentor Franz Boas
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
received funding for Project #35 to document cultures of the North and South American Indians, Benedict spent 11 years gathering materials on site. Because she was partially deaf, she worked through interpreters. She collected hundreds of pages of myths and tales at Zuni
Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
Zuni Pueblo is a census-designated place in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 6,367 at the 2000 census...
in 1924 and 1925 and at Cochiti in 1925. She published Tales of the Cochiti Indians in 1931 and her work on the Zuni four years later.
With both tribes, she worked most closely with an older man considered the group's outstanding intellectual. Identified as "Informant 4" in Tales of the Cochiti Indians, her key informant's name was Santiago Quintana, widely referred to in the village as "mucho sabio." His granddaughter was potter Helen Cordero
Helen Cordero
Helen Cordero was a Cochiti Pueblo potter from Cochiti, New Mexico. She was renowned for her storyteller dolls, a genre she invented. In 1986 she was made a National Heritage Fellow.-External links:*...
, who also drew from his stories to renew the lost art of Cochiti pottery.
External links
- Tales of the Cochiti Indians via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- Tales of the Cochiti Indians via Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...