Edward Proctor Hunt

The Origin Myth of Acoma Pueblo Edward Proctor Hunt

Marc Notes: This is the account of Edward Proctor Hunt, a Pueblo Indian Native American member of many secret societies, who in 1928 broke with his people's social and religious codes to recite the origin myth of the Acoma Indians to scholars. Recounting a classic Native American story of creation, migration and residence, this myth offers a unique window into indigenous cosmology and ancient history, revealing how a pre-modern society addressed existential questions and formed its own narrative of the world. Biographical Note: Peter Nabokov is a professor of World Arts and Cultures and American Indian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. An acclaimed scholar of Native American history, he is the author of Where the Lightning Strikes and edited the volume Native American Testimony. Publisher Marketing: A masterpiece of Pueblo Indian mythology, now in a restored edition Edward Proctor Hunt, a Pueblo Indian man, was born in 1861 in the mesa-top village of Acoma, New Mexico, and initiated into several secret societies, only to later break with his people s social and religious codes. In 1928, he recited his version of the origin myth of the Acoma Indians to Smithsonian Institution scholars. Hailed by many as the most accessible of all epic narratives recounting a classic Pueblo Indian story of creation, migration, and ultimate residence, the myth offers a unique window into Pueblo Indian cosmology and ancient history, revealing how a premodern society answered key existential questions and formed its customs. In this new edition, Peter Nabokov renders this important document into a clear sequence, adds excerpted material from the original storytelling sessions, and explores the creation and roles of such myths in Pueblo Indian cultures. The remarkable life of Edward Hunt is the subject of Peter Nabokov s companion volume, "How the World Moves," which follows Hunt and his sons on their passage from tradition to modernity as they strike out as native entrepreneurs and travelling interpreters of American Indian lore."

Contributor Bio:  Parsons, Elsie Clews Elsie Clews Parsons, a prominent sociologist, turned her attention to anthropology at the age of forty, after a trip to the Southwest. Her investigations established her as an authority on the Pueblo culture and society. At the time of her death in 1941, she was president of the American Anthropological Association. She is the editor of "American Indian Life," also available as a Bison Book. Pauline Turner Strong, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin, is the author of the forthcoming "Captive Selves, Captivating Others: The Practice and Representation of Captivity across the British-Amerindian Frontier, 1576-1776," Ramon A. Gutierrez, a professor of history and chair of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego, is the author of "When Jesus Came the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846," Contributor Bio:  White, Leslie A The late Leslie A. White (1900a1975) was one of anthropologyas most renowned theorists. From his base at University of Michigan, he influenced generations of students and followers with his ideas of cultural evolution. He was author of numerous books on theory and on his fieldwork in the American southwest. Contributor Bio:  Nabokov, Peter Peter Nabokov is Professor of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA and author of A Forest of Time: American Indian Ways of History.y