Native Languages of the Americas: Arapaho Legends and Traditional Stories
This is our collection of links to Arapaho folktales and traditional stories that can be read online.
We have indexed our American Indian legends section
by tribe to make them easier to locate; however, variants on the same
legend are often told by American Indians from different tribes, especially if those tribes are kinfolk or neighbors to
each other. In particular, though these legends come from the Arapaho tribe, the traditional stories of
related tribes like the Gros Ventre and
Cheyenne are very similar to Arapaho Indian legends.
Enjoy the stories! If you would like to recommend a Arapaho legend for this page or think one of the ones on here
should be removed, please contact us and let us know.
˜Nihancan (also spelled Nihansan, Nihanca, Nihaca, Nihatha, Niatha,
Nih'oo3oo, and several other ways.) Nihancan is the spider trickster of the Arapaho tribe. In modern Arapaho the pronunciation of this name is
Nih-aw-thaw, but speakers of some Arapaho dialects in the past may have pronounced the "th" sound as an "s" instead, a common substitution in Plains
languages. Nihancan is an interesting figure-- in some tales he plays the typical trickster/transformer role common to Algonquian tribes, making more or
less benign mischief and shaping the world for the Arapahos as he goes. But in other tales, Nihancan is depicted as a more violent, anti-social trickster type
similar to Siouan spider spirits like Iktomi. In any case, the literal meaning of the character's Arapaho name is "Spider." It is given as "White Man" in
many older translations, but this is a misleading translation-- the Arapahos named white people after the trickster character, not vice versa! He is also
sometimes referred to as Crazy Man, Trickster, or Fool.
˜Hichaba Nihancan (also spelled Hihcebe' Nihoo3oo,
Tschaba Nihaathu, and other ways.) This means "Spider Above" or "Spider of Heaven" in the Arapaho language,
and is the Arapaho name for the Creator (God,) as distinguished from the earthly Nihancan (see above.) Sometimes the name is translated in English as
"Man Above," since the literal form of a spider is not ascribed to Hichaba Nihancan. Some people believe that Nihancan and Hichaba Nihancan were originally
the same mythological entity, and split into two figures after trickster legends were borrowed from the Crow and Sioux.
˜By-The-Door and Found-In-Grass.
These mythical twins whose mother was killed by a monster are common to the folklore of many Midwestern and Eastern tribes.
They are generally portrayed as heroic monster-slayers in Arapaho legends.
Native People
The Sun Dance Wheel:
The Star Husband:
