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Apache Legends: The Timeless Stories of the Apache People
An overview of the main kinds of Apache narrative, from creation and culture hero stories to teaching tales, with notes on group differences and telling customs.
Spirituality and Stories
Legends and Oral Tradition
Apache stories, holy beings and the values they teach.
Apache Legends of the Ancestors: Honoring the Spirits of the Past
How Apache stories remember earlier generations and the places they lived, and the general customs around speaking of the dead, described at a public level.
Apache Legends of the Supernatural: Exploring the Fascinating World of Apache Mythology
A general introduction to Apache holy beings such as the Mountain Spirits (Gaan) and to monster slaying stories, without revealing ceremonial knowledge.
Apache Legends: The Myths and Mysteries of a Forgotten Era
Apache stories are not forgotten: they are told today. This article explains how a living oral tradition is kept, and why some stories are not shared publicly.
Apache Legends: Uncovering the Fascinating Stories of the Apache People
How published work on Western Apache place names and stories shows that landscapes carry moral lessons, with examples of how place-based stories teach.
Apache Legends: Uncovering the Tribe's Rich Mythological Heritage
A look at Changing Woman (White Painted Woman) and Child of the Water as central figures in Apache narrative, with notes on how they vary among Apache groups.
Apache Morality: The Values and Principles of a Resilient People
How values such as respect, sharing and restraint have been taught through Apache stories and example rather than written rules, with notes on group differences.
Related topics
More in spirituality and stories
Spiritual Leaders Medicine people and ceremonial leadership, described with restraint. Ceremonies and Sacred Life Ceremony, regalia and honoring the dead, at a public level only. Spiritual Beliefs Public, general overviews of Apache belief and its ties to the land. Oral Tradition Storytelling as history, teaching and living tradition. Ceremonial Life Coming-of-age ceremonies, healing knowledge, music and dance, described with restraint. Ceremonies and Dances Examined What is and is not part of Apache ceremonial life, including common mix-ups with other nations’ dances. Rites of Passage Coming of age and life transitions among Apache peoples, at a public level.