An overview of Indian music and dance which includes a discussion of their instruments, the structure of their music, and the uses of music in Indian life.

A Cry from the Earth: Music of the North American Indians

BIERHORST, JOHN

Children's Books

Atheneum

The author of Doctor Coyote, an authority on native American culture, compiles a definitive collection of fifty-one native American sleep charms and poems, representing a wide range of tribal traditions.

On the Road of Stars: Native American Night Poems and Sleep Charms

Growing Up & Facts of Life

Simon&Schuster Children's Publishing

Coyote is featured in each of these Aztec interpretations of Aesop's fables. The illustrations are set in the twentieth century.

Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop's Fable

Simon&Schuster

In this expansive volume, John Bierhorst brings to light the gods and heroes of pre-Columbian times--and demonstrates that they are very much alive today. The book provides translations of twenty "basic myths," showing how these have influenced the artistic, literary, and political life of modern Mexico and Central America. Originally published in 1990, the text has been updated to reflect recent advances in Mesoamerican studies. In addition, a new Afterword describes how these native mythologies--since the late 1980s--have begun incorporating issues of international significance, including cultural pluralism, religious freedom, and environmentalism. Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible--and more meaningful--than ever before.

The Mythology of Mexico and Central America

Literature & Fiction

United States

Oxford University Press

In this expansive volume, John Bierhorst brings to light the gods and heroes of pre-Columbian times-and demonstrates that they are very much alive today. The book provides translations of twenty "basic myths," showing how these have influenced the artistic, literary, and political life of modern Mexico and Central America. Originally published in 1990, the text has been updated to reflect recent advances in Mesoamerican studies. In addition, a new Afterword describes how these native mythologies-since the late 1980s-have begun incorporating issues of international significance, including cultural pluralism, religious freedom, and environmentalism. Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible-and more meaningful-than ever before.

Religion & Spirituality

The growing economic and political influence of Native American tribes has brought religious issues, once little noted, increasingly to the fore. Timeless in their basic structures, the continent's principal myths are now emerging as sacred histories that have contemporary significance. In this wide-ranging volume, John Bierhorst carefully delineates eleven mythological regions--from the Arctic to the Southwest and from California to the East Coast--presenting the gods, heroes, and primary myths of each area. First published in 1985, this indispensable guide has been updated to reflect the latest scholarship in Native studies. In a new Afterword, Bierhorst describes the recent impact of ancient myths in the arena of American Indian affairs and shows how Native Americans have successfully used mythology as oral evidence to reclaim land rights and to repatriate grave goods. Citing specific cases, he shows how new legislation and changing attitudes "have provided a basis for bringing myth to the negotiating table and into the courtroom." Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible--and more meaningful--than ever before.

The Mythology of North America

The growing economic and political influence of Native American tribes has brought religious issues, once little noted, increasingly to the fore. Timeless in their basic structures, the continent's principal myths are now emerging as sacred histories that have contemporary significance. In this wide-ranging volume, John Bierhorst carefully delineates eleven mythological regions-from the Arctic to the Southwest and from California to the East Coast-presenting the gods, heroes, and primary myths of each area. First published in 1985, this indispensable guide has been updated to reflect the latest scholarship in Native studies. In a new Afterword, Bierhorst describes the recent impact of ancient myths in the arena of American Indian affairs and shows how Native Americans have successfully used mythology as oral evidence to reclaim land rights and to repatriate grave goods. Citing specific cases, he shows how new legislation and changing attitudes "have provided a basis for bringing myth to the negotiating table and into the courtroom." Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories. Indian artworks illustrate the texts and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible-and more meaningful-than ever before.

The Mythology of South America

More than any other continent, South America "has preserved the conditions that allow mythology to be freely produced." Dividing the continent into seven carefully mapped regions, John Bierhorst shows how South America's principal myths can be traced from tribe to tribe and how each region has developed its own unique oral tradition. Generous samples from the stories themselves introduce the female creators of the northern Andes, the male gods of the ancient Incas, and the Brazilian tricksters Sun and Moon. Originally published in 1988, Bierhorst has updated the text to reflect the abundance of new information that has become available since the mid 80s and written a new Afterword in which he emphasizes the durability of Indian mythology. Illustrations of native artwork and chapters devoted to special topics--including the connections between myths and politics--help to provide a well-rounded overview of this fascinating and little-known lore. Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible--and more meaningful--than ever before.

More than any other continent, South America "has preserved the conditions that allow mythology to be freely produced." Dividing the continent into seven carefully mapped regions, John Bierhorst shows how South America's principal myths can be traced from tribe to tribe and how each region has developed its own unique oral tradition. Generous samples from the stories themselves introduce the female creators of the northern Andes, the male gods of the ancient Incas, and the Brazilian tricksters Sun and Moon. Originally published in 1988, Bierhorst has updated the text to reflect the abundance of new information that has become available since the mid 80's and written a new Afterward in which he emphasizes the durability of Indian mythology. Illustrations of native artwork and chapters devoted to special topics-including the connections between myths and politics-help to provide a well-rounded overview of this fascinating and little-known lore. Detailed maps show tribal locations and the distribution of key stories and samples of differing narrative styles add enrichment, as some of the world's purest and most powerful myths are made more accessible-and more meaningful-than ever before.

Compiled in 1582, Ballads of the Lords of New Spain is one of the two principal sources of Nahuatl song, as well as a poetical window into the mindset of the Aztec people some sixty years after the conquest of Mexico. Presented as a cancionero, or anthology, in the mode of New Spain, the ballads show a reordering—but not an abandonment—of classic Aztec values. In the careful reading of John Bierhorst, the ballads reveal in no uncertain terms the pre-conquest Aztec belief in the warrior's paradise and in the virtue of sacrifice.
This volume contains an exact transcription of the thirty-six Nahuatl song texts, accompanied by authoritative English translations. Bierhorst includes all the numerals (which give interpretive clues) in the Nahuatl texts and also differentiates the text from scribal glosses. His translations are thoroughly annotated to help readers understand the imagery and allusions in the texts. The volume also includes a helpful introduction and a larger essay, "On the Translation of Aztec Poetry," that discusses many relevant historical and literary issues.
In Bierhorst's expert translation and interpretation, Ballads of the Lords of New Spain emerges as a song of resistance by a conquered people and the recollection of a glorious past.Announcing a New Digital Initiativehttp://www.lib.utexas.edu/books/utdigital/
UT Press, in a new collaboration with the University of Texas Libraries, will publish an interactive digital adaptation of the Ballads that will expand the scholarly content beyond what is possible to publish in book form. The web site, to launch in conjunction with the book in July 2009, includes all of the printed book plus scans of the original codex, a normative transcription, and space to interact with the author and other scholars, as well as art, audio, a map, and other related material. The digital Ballads will be open access, bringing one of the university’s rare holdings to scholars around the world.

Ballads of the Lords of New Spain: The Codex Romances de los Senores de la Nueva Espana (The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere)

History & Criticism

University of Texas Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BIERHORST, JOHN. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BIERHORST, JOHN

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BIERHORST, JOHN. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

A Cry from the Earth: Music of the North American Indians

On the Road of Stars: Native American Night Poems and Sleep Charms

Doctor Coyote: A Native American Aesop's Fable

The Mythology of Mexico and Central America

The Mythology of Mexico and Central America

The Mythology of North America

The Mythology of North America

The Mythology of South America

The Mythology of South America

Ballads of the Lords of New Spain: The Codex Romances de los Senores de la Nueva Espana (The William and Bettye Nowlin Series in Art, History, and Culture of the Western Hemisphere)