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Coyote

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A trickster figure in Native American myth who embodies chaos, creativity, and cultural instruction through cunning, humor, and transformation.

Detailed Definition
Coyote, both foolish and wise, creates order through chaotic acts and teaches lessons through failure. He embodies adaptability, humor, and the complexity of human nature. Poets reference him to explore liminality, cultural survival, and the blending of sacred and profane in storytelling traditions.
Example
Example in poetry:
Coyote appears in Native American poetry as trickster-teacher: "Coyote steals fire, drops it— / now we have stars and campfires, / thanks to his clumsy grace"; In creation myths retold in verse: "Before words, Coyote howled— / and the world took shape from sound / of his laughing chaos"; Poets use him to explore duality: "Coyote is fool and sage— / he drowns in his own river, / then teaches us to swim"; He symbolizes adaptability: "When cities pave the desert, / Coyote learns to ride buses, / still howling at streetlights"; In eco-poetry, he bridges worlds: "Coyote walks the freeway edge— / old magic in new concrete, / teaching us to survive"; Modern poets depict him as cultural survivor: "They paved his trails, but Coyote / still dances in the cracks— / wild, necessary, free"
Additional Notes
Coyote, a central trickster and culture hero in many Native American traditions (especially among Plains and Southwest tribes), embodies chaos, creativity, and the necessary disruption of order. He is both creator and fool—stealing fire, shaping landscapes, yet often undone by his own appetites. In poetry, Coyote represents adaptability, survival, humor in the face of hardship, and the blending of sacred and profane. When writing about Coyote, respect tribal specificity (e.g., Navajo Ma’ii vs. Crow Old Man Coyote) and avoid pan-Indian generalizations. He thrives in poems about liminality, ecological awareness, or cultural resilience. Related figures include Raven and Iktomi; key themes include shape-shifting, oral tradition, and the pedagogy of failure.
Also Known As
The Trickster Coyote The Shape-Shifting Canid The Sly One of the Plains Coyote Trickster
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