James Owen Dorsey visited our people
in the late 1800s and is responsible for
collecting most of
our language related material. During that
timeframe, it was the practice of
ethnologists to
collect tribes’ traditional stories, hi-koⁿ.
Hi-koⁿ would best be translated in English
as a story,
myth, legend, tale, or fable. During his
time here, Dorsey collected numerous Quapaw
hi-koⁿ
from Alphonsus Valliere, Buffalo Calf, and
Mary Stafford. Our Quapaw people had their
own
beliefs, customs, language, and Quapaw world
view. Hi-koⁿ were more than children’s
stories,
they were used to entertain, but also to
pass along these specific concepts to our
children. When
reading these hi-koⁿ, the context and time
frame in which they were told needs to be
considered.
Most hi-koⁿ would be considered violent,
grotesque, and sexually explicit by today’s
Euro-
American Christian standards. Death,
killing, body dismemberment, and sexual acts
are
commonplace in some of these stories.
Therefore, some might find these hi-koⁿ
upsetting and
would not be considered suitable for
children or some adults. It has also been
said that these
stories were to be told in the wintertime.
Some say that telling these stories any
other time
would cause snakes to enter one’s home.
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