Fool Me Twice ...

Abiding the ancient career of the Trickster

North American coyotes play an important role in the myths of Native American tribes as tricksters and magical shape-shifting beings. They were believed to bring both cunning and wisdom into the world.

When crafty old Br’er Fox finally catches Br’er Rabbit by getting him stuck in the Tar Baby, he gets played for a fool once more by falling for a ruse of the little Trickster. Instead of skinning and eating his catch he is taunted into tossing him in a briar patch where he escapes, laughing all the way.

This little story had its origin in West Africa a long time ago and was re-told in the Southern plantation stories captured by Joel Chandler Harris as the “Tales of Uncle Remus”. African storytellers created the trickster to embody what they perceived as a baffling aspect of Nature. Initially it was a magical spider, named Anansi. The descendants of these people, who were brought to America as slaves, exchanged the spider for a smart little rabbit but continued the trickster themes of the ancient stories.

Harris was charmed by these tales and wrote about them in The Atlanta Constitution and later published them in books which, in turn, captivated cartoonist and film maker, Walt Disney, who used them to produce the classic animated movie, “Song of the South” featuring a kindly Uncle Remus telling stories of Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox, Br’er Bear and other captivating animals.

“The Hand is Quicker than the Eye”

The concept of the trickster is virtually as old as the human race and appears prominently in myths and folklore around the world, from ancient Egypt and Polynesia to the early Greeks and Romans, as well as the Navaho, Cheyenne and Algonquin tribes of North America. The trickster in Norse mythology is a god named Loki, known for his ability to shift appearances and for playing tricks upon the other gods.

American Indian tribes saw the coyote as their trickster … a sly, cunning, spirit who could appear in several disguises to fool humans and subvert authority by outsmarting the powers that be. In a sense, the English Robin Hood is such a character.

A coyote on the move, typically perceived as being up to no good and scavenging for opportunity.

In early Egyptian myth and across much of Asia and Africa, the jackal plays this role. He is swift, cunning, and able to change his appearance to outwit humans. In Hindu mythology, the jackal is the trickster. He is associated with deception and cunning and is known to trick other animals into revealing their secrets and using it against them.

The jackal is the eastern version of the western coyote in the mythologies of the respective peoples. This black-backed jackal is one of four main genetic varieties.

I was intrigued long ago by reading in mythology that Among the gods of early Greek religion, the most cunning was Hermes. He was known among other things as the “messenger god” and the god of writing, medicine and also, most interestingly, the god of death and embalming. In Roman mythology he was named Mercury and had about the same “modus operandi” which is to say that he was very talented, fleet-footed, deceptive and enjoyed playing tricks on the other gods.

“Mercury Inventing the Caduceus” by the sculptor, Jean Antoine-Marie, in 1878

You might find it interesting that the planet Mercury is named for this bizarre trickster figure. Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun which means that, to us Earth-bound observers it appears to move more rapidly that any other planet, to appear to “scribble” or “wrythe” like a snake in its relatively speedy transits around the Sun. This is why depictions of speedy Mercury always include his winged feet. Thus Mercury was considered the god of writing and, because the snake sheds its skin every year to renew its life, the god also of medicine.

And we might also note that ancient Egyptian Pharaohs had their embalmed organs placed in “Hermetic” jars and “Hermetically sealed” for eternity. So, it’s either the Greek Hermes or the Roman Mercury, take your pick.

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