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This is our collection of links to Wichita folktales and traditional stories that can be read online. We have indexed our Indian mythology 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 Wichitas, the traditional stories of related tribes like the Pawnee and Caddo tribes are very similar.
Kinnekasus (Man-Never-Known-On-Earth.)
This is the Wichita name for the Creator (God.) Sometimes he is also referred to by the Plains Indian term "Great Spirit."
Kinnekasus is a divine spirit and is not generally personified in Wichita stories.
Kiarsidia (Man-With-The-Power-To-Carry-Light or
Having-Power-to-carry-Light.)
The first man, created by Kinnekasus, who taught the Wichita men the secrets of hunting. He became the Morning Star.
Kashatskihakatidise (Bright-Shining-Woman.)
The first woman, created by Kinnekasus, who taught the Wichita women the secrets of agriculture. She became the Moon.
Handsome Boy and Afterbirth Boy (or Lodge Boy and Other Boy.).
These mythical twins whose mother was killed by a monster are common to the folklore of many Midwestern and Eastern tribes.
They are usually portrayed as heroic monster-slayers in Wichita legends.
Coyote (Ketox or Kitaks, in the Wichita language.)
Coyote is the trickster figure of the Wichita tribe. As in other Plains Indian mythology, Coyote is sometimes anthropomorphized into
human form and other times depicted in the shape of a coyote (sometimes both within a single story.) Wichita stories about Coyote range
from light-hearted tales of mischief and buffoonery, to more serious legends about the nature of the world, to ribald jokes.
Double-Face (Witschatska, in the Wichita language.)
A man-eating ogre with faces on both sides of his head.
Headless Man:
A man-eating monster with a gaping mouth but no head.
Wets-the-Bed:
An orphan hero of Wichita folklore.
The Moon and the Morning Star:Coyote Challenges Never-Grows-Larger:The Skin Shifting Old Woman:Two Brothers Who Became Stars:Mythology of the Wichitas:Hold Up The Sky: American Indian Trickster Tales:
Learn more about the Wichita tribe.
Back to the Tricksters legends
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