Zuni Folktales · Chapter
The Coyote and the Ravens Who Raced Their Eyes explained
The Coyote encounters two Ravens who can pop their eyes out of their sockets and send them flying around distant rocks before calling them back.
What happens
The Coyote encounters two Ravens who can pop their eyes out of their sockets and send them flying around distant rocks before calling them back. Envious, the Coyote begs to try, but the Ravens trick him by plucking out his eyes and eating them. Blind, the Coyote stumbles into a valley and finds two yellow cranberries, which he mistakes for his eyes and puts into his empty sockets. From that day forward, coyotes have yellow eyes and are not quick to see.
Themes in this chapter
Folklore vs. Science
The story offers a folkloric explanation for why coyotes have yellow eyes and poor eyesight, contrasting with scientific understanding.
Transformation and Identity
The Coyote's eyes are transformed from black to yellow, altering his appearance and identity permanently.
Sacrifice and Consequence
The Coyote's greed and impatience lead to the loss of his eyes, with lasting consequences for all coyotes.
Characters to notice
- Coyote
The trickster protagonist who foolishly tries to imitate the Ravens' eye-racing trick and loses his eyes.
- The Ravens
Two old Ravens who race their eyes and deceive the Coyote, eating his eyes after plucking them out.
Key passages
“The Coyote heard the Ravens humming their eyes back into their sockets; and the sound they made, as well as the way they laughed so heartily, exceedingly pleased him, so that he stuck his tail up very straight and laughed merely from seeing them laugh.”
The Coyote was so amused by the Ravens' eye-racing and laughter that he joined in without understanding what they were doing.
Highlights the Coyote's gullibility and eagerness to imitate.
“Thus it was in the days of the ancients, and hence to this day coyotes have yellow eyes, and are not always quick to see things.”
This ancient story explains why modern coyotes have yellow eyes and poor vision.
The etiological conclusion of the tale.