American Indian languages * American Indians culture * Native American art

Native American Tobacco Mythology

Tobacco is one of several plants with a name that comes from a Native American language-- "tobacco" comes from tabaco, a Taino/Arawak name for the plant that was picked up by the Spanish in the 1500's. Tobacco is one of the most important Native American ceremonial plants, used by nearly every indigenous tribe of North America (the Inuit are the only exception we know of) and most tribes of Central and South America as well. Even cultures that did no other farming usually raised tobacco, and tribes that couldn't grow tobacco for themselves often traded with other groups to acquire it.

Sponsored Links


Tobacco was considered a gift from the Creator in many Native American cultures; according to some of them, tobacco smoke is a means of carrying the smoker's prayers to God. Many tribes have important myths about the origin of the first tobacco. In some North American tribes, tobacco was exclusively farmed by men, and women were forbidden from touching the growing plants. Once it had been harvested, however, Native American men and women both smoked. Tobacco leaves were smoked at rituals, ceremonies, and important social events, and also as medicine for any number of ailments. Tobacco is associated with relaxation, healing, and peace. In some tribes, particularly in North America, the pipes used for smoking tobacco are themselves considered highly sacred. In others, tobacco pipes are purely utilitarian or decorative objects. Tobacco is one of the herbs frequently included in medicine bundles, and is still popularly used as an offering or gift today.

Tobacco is also used as a clan symbol in some Native American cultures. Tribes with Tobacco Clans include the Hopi tribe (whose Tobacco Clan is called Pipngyam or Bif-wungwa), the Zuni tribe (whose Tobacco plan is named Ana-kwe), the Navajo, the Mohave, and the Pueblo tribes.

Native American Tobacco Gods and Spirits

Star-Boy (Crow)

Native American Legends About Tobacco

*Abenaki Indian Tobacco Story:
    Abenaki story about the culture hero Gluskabe bringing tobacco to the people.
*Grasshopper and the Origin of Tobacco:
    A similar story from the Menominee tribe, in which Manabush steals tobacco from the stingy Grasshopper.
*The Sacred Weed * A Tobacco Legend:
    Blackfoot legends about nawak'osis, the tobacco spirit.
Corn Mother * How First Mother Saved the Penobscot * The First Corn:
    Penobscot legends telling how First Mother created corn and tobacco.
Hummingbird Brings Back Tobacco:
    Cherokee legend about Hummingbird retrieving tobacco from the geese.
*The Origin of Indian Tobacco:
    Potawatomi story about a man who learned the secrets of tobacco in a sacred dream.
*The Coming of Corn Spirit:
    Sauk legend about the origin of corn, beans, and tobacco.

Recommended Books of Tobacco Stories from Native American Myth and Legend
Our organization earns a commission from any book bought through these links

Nanabosho Dances:
    Picture book for kids retelling a Chippewa Indian legend about the origin of tobacco.
Tobacco Use by Native North Americans: Sacred Smoke and Silent Killer:
    Anthropology book about tobacco myths and history in Native North America.
Plants of Power: Native American Ceremony and the Use of Sacred Plants:
    Interesting book about the meaning of tobacco and other herbs to traditional Native American spirituality.
Native Plant Stories:
    Excellent collection of Native American stories about plants, by Abenaki storyteller Joseph Bruchac.
Native American Medicinal Plants:
    Comprehensive book on the names and traditional uses of herbs throughout Native North America.



Back to American Indian plants
Back to American Indian pipes
Back to Indian myths



Indian facts * Yurok basket * Native American Indian rugs * Menominee Indians * Indian jewelry symbols

Would you like to help support our organization's work with endangered American Indian languages?

Native Languages of the Americas website © 1998-2020 * Contacts and FAQ page