Crime & Punishment * Boundary Crosser

Cunning Intelligence

Trickster figures are not only smarter than other figures in mythologies, they have a cunning nature, allowing them to take all possible outcomes into consideration and process them quickly. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Prometheus is described as having a “quick” and “labyrinthine” mind. It is this type of intelligence that most tricksters have. This allows them to stay one step ahead of other characters by processing every possible outcome of an event and being able to react appropriately. In the Ute tale of Magical Master Rabbit, Tarantula tries to outsmart Rabbit. Tarantula has a magic club that will not harm him and he asks Rabbit to relieve his headache by hitting him in the head with the club. Tarantula’s plan was to have Rabbit believe that he could be hit in the head as well and not be harmed, but Rabbit “was smarter than Tarantula” and realized the trick and switched Tarantula’s club for another and killed him.

‘Resourceful’ Odysseus is also known to be very quick of wit. When Odysseus meets a disguised Athena, he begins to lie to her the instant he learns he is in Ithaca, “forever using to every advantage the mind that was in him” (Homer, Od. 13.255).

Art of Prophecy

Within many of the Greek myths dealing with the tricksters Prometheus and Hermes, they are associated with the ability to predict the future in some form. According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, Apollo gives Hermes the ability to interpret the thoughts of prophetic bees in exchange for the lyre (552).

It is interesting that Hermes is connected to bees in such a way. The Greek word, aiolos refers to “all creatures whose wriggling and moving mass is never still” and is thus used in describing wasps and bees (Detienne 18). Aiolos is an apt term in describing the quickness of Hermes’ thoughts.

Prometheus is associated with prophecy in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound. After Hephaestus binds Prometheus to the rock, Hermes gives him the chance to escape if he reveals the name of the woman who will bear Zeus a son who is destined to overthrow him. It is unclear why Prometheus appears to be the only immortal to have this knowledge. These prophetic abilities allow for an interesting twist in the Prometheus myth. Although Prometheus has the power to have himself released by revealing the secret, he chooses not to, perhaps to put Zeus’ rule at risk, and thus allowing himself to suffer for man’s benefit.

Within the Norse traditions, Odin is also attributed with having prophetic abilities. Odin sacrifices one of his eyes for a drink from the spring of Mimir, which held “hidden wisdom and understanding” (Sturluson 43).

The art of prophecy is an interesting attribute to attach to figures that are able to manipulate situations. The ability to foresee the future is a significant element of the cunning intelligence that many of the tricksters exhibit. By anticipating the future, the trickster is able to judge his actions accordingly and thus react quickly when the situation occurs.

Crime & Punishment

Trickster figures are associated with crossing boundaries, which often leads to causing disruption within the normal course of events. Many of these disruptions cause little harm to those involved and thus the trickster continues his prankish nature. Other disruptions cause an imbalance of life among the immortals and thus the trickster must be punished for his misdeeds. For teaching man how to create fire, the art of language and the use of numbers, Prometheus is bound to a rock. Zeus is angered by Prometheus’ transgression and punishes him as a warning to all other immortals that would defy his will.

In Norse mythology, Loki commits the greatest sacrilege by causing the death of one of the other Aesir, Baldr. Baldr’s mother, Frigg, retrieves an oath from every living thing not to harm Baldr after he had prophetic dreams foretelling his death. The Aesir begin playing a game in which they throw various items at Baldr to witness his invulnerability. Loki becomes anger at this game and learns from Frigg that a small branch of mistletoe did not swear an oath because it was so small and weak.

Loki retrieves this branch, transforms it into a spear and gives it to Baldr’s blind brother Hod to throw at Baldr. With Loki’s help, Hod hits Baldr who dies from the blow. As punishment for his deed, Loki is lashed to three great rocks and a serpent drops venom on him from above. His wife, Sigyn, holds a bowl above his head and captures the venom that drops down. When the bowl becomes full, she must empty it and while this occurs, venom drops upon Loki and he shakes with pain, thus causing earthquakes.

A common theme among the Native American mythologies is the idea of the punishment of mankind for the deeds of the Trickster (Radin 181).

In the Yakima myth, Coyote is responsible for departed souls remaining in the land of the dead. Coyote had the opportunity to allow souls to return every spring, but he ruins it through his impatience by opening the basket to release the souls, thinking they had already come back to life. In a Zuni myth, Coyote is to blame for the development of winter and the inability of mankind to control the sun and moon. Coyote and Eagle steal the box containing the sun and moon from the Kachina tribe. Coyote’s curiosity takes over and he opens the box too much and releases the sun and moon, which travel far away from the earth, so that it becomes cold and the first winter occurs. Mankind had previously had the ability for souls to return and to control the sun and moon, but due to Coyote’s curiosity, both of these gifts were lost.

Many of the deeds of Native American tricksters go unpunished. In a Haida tale, Raven steals the moon and will not give it back until the Haida people promise to feed him after every fishing expedition. The Haida have no choice but to accept Raven’s terms and thus, this is why ravens always follow fishing boats.

Boundary Crosser

One of the major roles of the trickster in any mythology is to cross various boundaries. These boundaries include the division between secular and divine, holy and irreverent, and male and female.

Secular and Divine

Within Greek mythology, Hermes is the messenger god, bridging the gap between mortals and gods. In many classical writings, he is the figure most likely to intercede with heroes to establish a link to the divine world. Hesychios called Prometheus Ithas, which meant “the Herald of the Titans” (Kerenyi 50). Thus Prometheus performed as the messenger during the reign of the Titans. Prometheus is also accredited with teaching man the art of language, writing and mathematics, which had previously only been known to gods. In Egyptian mythology, the god of wisdom, Thoth, is responsible for bridging the gap between gods and mortals through his status as messenger of Re and by teaching man in the art of hieroglyphs and language. The Greek trickster, Prometheus, is associated with sacrifice to the gods. Sacrifice was one of the few ways humans could connect with the immortals and thus Prometheus helped facilitate this interaction, illustrating his role as divine connectors.

Underworld Journey

Another aspect of boundary crossing occurs when trickster figures enter the world of the dead and return unharmed. In Greek mythology, Hermes was the guide of souls to the underworld and thus served as the final connector between mortals and the afterlife. Odysseus was one of the few mortals who entered the underworld and was able to return. Odysseus’ purpose in the underworld was to learn how to reach Ithaca from the deceased profit, Teiresias the Theban (Homer, Od. 10.492). In one version of the Norse myth of the death of Baldr, Odin visits the land of the dead to ask the soul of the prophetess, Vala, what the Aesir should do to help Baldr (Belgrave 40). In the Odysseus and Odin myths, the purpose for the tricksters is to learn from the sacred world of the dead. They are both able to cross this boundary unharmed and return with knowledge that was hidden to all others.

Coyote also journeys to the underworld in a tale told by the Yakima tribe. Coyote and Eagle try to bring souls back from the land of the dead, but they are unable to and thus when mortals die they must stay dead and not return in the spring as the grass and trees do. Coyote crosses this boundary to achieve a great gift for mankind, but upon near completion of the task, he becomes weary and is unable to fulfill the task.

Holy and Irreverent

Trickster figures are also crude in many of the most holy situations. When Apollo is reproaching Hermes for stealing his cattle, Hermes’ flatulence causes Apollo to laugh despite his anger and thus helps to bring peace between the two immortals. In one of the Tibetan myths, Uncle Tompa is sent to the roof of the palace for one of his lewd comments. Tompa defecates and writes a message on his own feces. Tompa drops the feces into the ruler’s lap while he is praying. Unable to read what is on the feces, the ruler calls for Tompa to return from the roof and thus Tompa is able to return to the palace. Thus by crossing the sacred/profane boundary by dropping feces on the ruler, Tompa is able to accomplish his own goal.

Although there are few stories of female tricksters, there is a common theme among several female trickster figures crossing the sacred/lewd boundary. After Demeter’s daughter Persephone was taken to the underworld, Demeter hid herself in a cave because of her anguish at the loss of her daughter.

The earth stopped producing food because of Demeter’s seclusion and the gods all tried to coax Demeter out of the cave. Demeter remained in her cave until Iambe appeared and began dancing in a lewd manner, which causes Demeter to laugh and rejoin the other gods.

During a tribunal among the Egyptian gods, the god Baba became anger with Re and told his “Your shrine is empty”, implying that no mortal cares for him anymore. Re is hurt by the remark and leaves the tribunal to go “to his pavilion and sulk” (Hart 34). Re does not return from his pavilion until his daughter, Hathor, a goddess of love and joy, “stands in front of him and pulls up her dress to reveal her nakedness” (Hart 35). This display causes Re to forget his hurt feelings and return to the tribunal. After being harmed by her brother, the Japanese sun goddess, Ama-terasu, retreats from the world and seals herself up in a cave. Darkness befalls the land and the immortals must discover a way to entice Ama-terasu out of the cave. The goddess Uzume “placed a tub upside down, and proceeded to dance in a very immodest manner, till the Eighty Myriad Gods began to roar with laughter” (Davis 28). Ama-terasu becomes curious about the noise of laughter and she emerges from her cave and becomes amused at the sight of Uzume as well. By using lewd behavior, these female deities are able to achieve goals that no other immortal could accomplish.

In many North American trickster tales, the trickster sets out to achieve goals that are wholly against the sacred order of the world. In the Southern Ute tale, Coyote catches a glimpse of his two daughters’ genitals, and afterward he decides to find a way to have sex with both of them, although it is strictly forbidden. Coyote is able to deceive his wife and daughters into believing that he is dead. Later Coyote returns transforming his appearance and marries both of his daughters and has sex with each of them. Coyote’s son discovers the truth and Coyote’s daughters become so embarrassed that they leave the earthly plane. In a similar Sioux tale, Trickster sees his mother-in-law naked. Although it is forbidden, Trickster decides to trick his mother-in-law into having sex with him. Trickster achieves his goal and oddly is not punished within the tale. Despite Trickster’s lack of punishment in the Sioux tale, the message within both stories appears to warn of what could happen if a man accidentally sees his daughters or his mother-in-law naked. It will cause great shame if his urges are acted upon and thus to stifle the urges, it is best not to see his daughters or mother-in-law naked.

Male and Female

In the Loki myth, Loki is able to blur reality and become not just a horse, but a mare to distract the stallion Svadilfari. Loki’s illusion works so well that he becomes pregnant with the horse Sleipnir. In most mythologies, it is rare for a god or goddess to completely change genders.

This seems to be a characteristic reserved for tricksters alone. When this gender reversal occurs, the trickster takes on a unique role. Loki does not merely create an illusion of being a mare, but he actually becomes one, capable of conceiving. Loki is able to become an illusion, not merely create one.

In the Winnebago Trickster cycle, the Trickster is able to disguise his appearance and become female. The Trickster wanders alone until he comes to a village. An old woman at the edge of the village believes that the strange woman is there to marry the chief’s son and thus she announces this to everyone. The chief and his family believe what the woman says and the Trickster marries the chief’s son. A large banquet is held in honor of the wedding, which is what the Trickster wanted in the first place. After the banquet however, the Trickster continues his masquerade and for several years lives as the wife of the chief’s son. In this time, the Trickster gives birth to three sons. Shortly after the third son is born, the Trickster is discovered and is forced to leave the village. The entire village is disgraced for falling for the Trickster’s disguise. The tale seems to warn tribes to be suspicious of women who wander alone.