Modern Westerners say the lights in the sky are stars, but culturally they are whatever we humans say they are. Some say they are Forces that determine human lives, some declare they are burning gaseous masses, and some see them as reminders of a gloried past by which elders can teach and guide the young—mnemonics for narratives. Lankford’s volume focuses on the ancient North Americans and the ways they identified, patterned, ordered, and used the stars to light their culture and illuminate their traditions. They knew them as regions that could be visited by human spirits, and so the lights for them were not distant points of light, but “reachable stars.” Guided by the night sky and its constellations, they created oral traditions, or myths, that contained their wisdom and which they used to pass on to succeeding generations their particular world view. However, they did not all tell the same stories. This study uses that fact—patterns of agreement and disagreement—to discover prehistoric relationships between Indian groups. Which groups saw a constellation in the same way and told the same story? How did that happen? Although these preliterate societies left no written records, the mythic patterns across generations and cultures enable contemporary researchers to examine the differences in how they understood the universe—not as early scientists, but as creators of cosmic order. In the process of doing that, the myth-tellers left the footprints of their international cultural relationships behind them. Reachable Stars is the story of their stories.

Reachable Stars: Patterns in the Ethnoastronomy of Eastern North America

Literature & Fiction

Lankford, George E.

United States

University Alabama Press

All students of the past bump into what seem to be impenetrable walls and are left looking longingly beyond the barrier for the lore that seems hopelessly lost. This book is an argument that all that information is not necessarily lost. It may just need a different approach–perhaps multidisciplinary, perhaps a new method, or maybe just with a new hypothesis for testing. Vanished societies have left behind masses of raw data, but it is up to us to discover new ways to look through these windows into the past. Especially in light of the growing relationship—and tensions—between cultural traditions and scientific inquiry, Lankford’s breadth of knowledge, long-term engagement with the issues, and excellent writing style bring clarity to this issue. It is not an easy process, but it is engaging. Any puzzle-solver will find this sort of historical detective work worth the effort.

Looking for Lost Lore: Studies in Folklore, Ethnology, and Iconography

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

The study of legends has long been a critical component of cultural anthropological analysis. In Native American Legends of the Southeast, George E. Lankford has compiled and analyzed a collection of unique and rare legends that will continue to appeal to scholars and students of Native American culture and the study of legends in general.

Native American Legends of the Southeast: Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations

Southern Folk Ballads (American Folklore Series)

A selection of ballads from the American South, including Child ballads, broadsides, Mexican-American, Cajun, French, and Native American ballads, arranged according to theme

Reference

August House

A selection of ballads from the American South, including Child ballads, broadsides, Mexican-American, Cajun, French, and Native American ballads, arranged according to theme

Lankford's comprehensive anthology is a testament to his homage of native Americans and their history. This book includes 131 legends from the American Southeast accompanied by maps, illustrations and discussions of the cultures that generated them.

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends--Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations (American Folklore Series)

Lankford's comprehensive anthology is a testament to his homage of native Americans and their history. This book includes 131 legends from the American Southeast accompanied by maps, illustrations and discussions of the cultures that generated them.

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends -- Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations (American Folklore Series)

More than 130 traditional legends are presented in a colorful anthology of tales from the Southeastern Nations of Caddo, Creek, Cherokee, Seminole, and others, along with chapters on Native American mythology covering the three worlds. Reprint.

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends : Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations

McNeil, W.K.

Lankford, George

August House Pub Inc

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

Books by Lankford, George E.

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

Reachable Stars: Patterns in the Ethnoastronomy of Eastern North America

Looking for Lost Lore: Studies in Folklore, Ethnology, and Iconography

Reachable Stars: Patterns in the Ethnoastronomy of Eastern North America

Looking for Lost Lore: Studies in Folklore, Ethnology, and Iconography

Native American Legends of the Southeast: Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations

Southern Folk Ballads (American Folklore Series)

Southern Folk Ballads (American Folklore Series)

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends--Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations (American Folklore Series)

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends -- Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations (American Folklore Series)

Native American Legends: Southeastern Legends : Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations