Voting Station

Coyote (Spirit)

Please vote to return to collections.

Oddity

The Resume

    Mythological character, 'trickster' figure
    Common to many cultures of the indigenous peoples of North America, particularly the American Plains
    Main character of oral narratives, ritual songs, and healing chants
    Myths/legends vary widely depending on the tribal culture
    Usually male, generally anthropomorphic and/or part human, part god
    Closely resembles the mammal by the same name (fur, pointed ears, yellow eyes, a tail, claws, etc.)
    In Aztec mythology, Huehuecóyotl ('old coyote'), the god of dance, music and carnality, is depicted as a man with a coyote's head
    Also known as Senor Coyote, Doctor Coyote, and Old Man Coyote
    Figures prominently in contemporary efforts to educate young people about indigenous languages and cultures in North/Central America

Why Coyote (Spirit) might be annoying:

    He is extremely envious.
    He frequently posed as a priest or shaman.
    Depending on the culture, he's either a greedy anti-hero or an unscrupulous nymphomaniac.
    Shamans tend to believe that the spirit of coyote brings evil into the world; always lurking, ready to strike the unwary.
    He raped a girl by passing off his peter as a mushroom and telling her to sit on it.
    In many cultures, his stories were told only in the winter (when the 'snakes were asleep').
    Legend credits him with bringing war into the world by seducing Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love.
    He got his ass kicked by an entire island of women who hadn't seen a man before after he failed to sexually satisfy all of them (performance issues..)
    Epigraphers believe that the god Quetzalcoatl (whom Montezuma mistook Cortes for - obviously with disastrous results) owed its origins to pre-Aztec Uto-Aztecan mythological depictions of the Coyote.

Why Coyote (Spirit) might not be annoying:

    He is very cunning.
    He is a featured character in Tom Siddel's webcomic 'Gunnerkrigg Court' (awesome drawings).
    Joseph Campbell said that he was 'at once the fool and the creator' 'who's beyond the system.'
    He was immortal and could never die; if he was killed, he was always resurrected.
    He has his own playing card in the Asian American Literary Review's Mixed Race in a Box (instead of a Joker card, its a Trickster card - get it?)
    He could probably catch the Roadrunner without elaborate gadgets (and on the first try).
    Native American spiritual tradition largely views him as a god, sometimes even a Christ-figure; the incarnation of the eastern awn, bringing light and life to the world with his return.
    His stories were both the high drama and comic theater of the Indian tribes (sort of an indigenous form of television).
    There's no mention in oral legend of his ever A) raiding campsites, B) making a mess getting into people's garbage cans or C) getting caught on video hunting domesticated house pets in people's backyards.
    He is variously credited for having brought fire to humanity, releasing the bison into the world, arranging the stars into constellations, and for slaying monsters by scaring the hell out of them.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 123 Votes: 55.28% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 255 Votes: 67.06% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 146 Votes: 50.68% Annoying