Essay for Week 10: Bestiality

Bestiality

(The product of a human and animal reproduction. Source)

This week's reading unit that I chose was Native American Marriage Tales. This unit proved to be very interesting and far-fetched in the ways of comprehending the origins of their creation. I did not enjoy this week's reading as much as I did last weeks. I do love Native American stories, but only the ones that have some tangible base in explaining something like why Loons have red eyes.

The issue I had with this week's Native American stories was the reoccurring motif of bestiality. This practice was woven into every story I read. I do not understand why some of the stories accepted bestiality like The Piqued-Buffalo Wife while others denied the practice like The Dog-Husband. The tribesman married a buffalo and it was accepted but the dog had children with a tribe daughter and the girl was left for dead.

Last week's reading was fun and had a connection to explaining certain phenomenon throughout the land. It seemed as though this was the way that Native Americans comforted themselves in knowing the ways of the world. It was innocent. The bestiality of this week's readings though, were unsettling and weird.

I cannot for the life of me figure out what phenomenon reproduction with an animal explains in the real world of Native Americans. The fact that these ideas occurred through the stories makes me wonder if Native Americans practiced bestiality at any point in history. That might explain the acceptance of the act in some stories but not in others. Maybe it was a progression of the culture that accepted bestiality in earlier times. Upon European culture being introduced to the land, maybe the evolution of this acceptance turned to disdain which would explain the inconsistency in the stories.

Another explanation could simply be that accepted practices of other things, not just bestiality, might have varied from tribe to tribe. Just as cannibalism was not seen really outside of the Karankawas. Each tribe believes differently. The interesting thing about this though, is the fact that reproduction with an animal was a concept in every tribe whether they condoned it or not.I just don't think bestiality is a good thing...like many other people of the U.S. I'm sure.

Whatever the reason for this motif, it made for very interesting stories to read this week! I can't say it was my favorite, but I can say it was definitely a page-turner unit. Everyone has to step outside their comfort zone at some point!