The term Native American literature describes both oral and written compositions by indigenous peoples of the Americas. Only recently has this form of literature been recognized and deemed worthy of serious study. The former inaccessibility of many of these texts, the difficulty of translation and interpretation of native languages, and European bias against native traditions in general, prevented or delayed the recognition of these compositions as genuine literature. With the re-emergence of Indian pride and the late resuscitation of cultural and linguistic traditions this picture is changing rapidly.
In general the oral tradition precedes the written or literary tradition, although original storytellers or tradition-bearers sometimes devised various ingenious mnemonic aids to record and transmit tribal lore and history. At first, oral literature may seem a contradiction in terms. When we talk of literature we usually think of the written word as opposed to oral tradition or the spoken word, but the distinction is by no means so clear-cut. Some non-literate storytellers have a very clear concept of a more or less fixed text, although they themselves neither read nor write. Moreover, certain literary texts display all the earmarks of oral composition although they are in a written form.
Traditional Ojibway history, for example, was passed down orally by means of birch bark scrolls inscribed with a form of pictographic writing. These sacred records were kept in secret places in Ojibway country, examined, and replaced at certain intervals.
The Iroquois preserved their traditional Rite of Condolence by using an orthography introduced by the missionaries. About the middle of the 18th century, chiefs of the Great Council saw the advantage of preserving the oral tradition in written form and caused the ancient ritual to be recorded in the Iroquois Book of Rites.
Among the most advanced civilizations in the Americas were those of the Aztec and Maya in Mexico and the Inca in South America. Not surprisingly, therefore, much native literature comes from the Valley of Mexico, Yucatan, Guatemala, and Peru. Some of these compositions can, with justification, be described as classical.
To qualify as a classical or literary language there must be enough texts in that language for comparative analysis. Other requisites are that the language was or is still used as a literary medium; the composition exhibits a specific literary style or elevated form of the language typical of the higher levels of society, such as priests and scribes; and the content is relatively free from foreign influence.
Many forms of native American literature qualify as classical compositions. The greatest number of texts come from the area of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the former Aztec capital. These include songs, epic poems, and chronicles in Nahuatl, some dating from the 16th century. The Cronica Mexicayotl (1609) of Tezozomoc is described by the noted scholar T. Sullivan as not only a mine of mythico-historical data but also a saga of true literary merit and heroic dimensions. The Nahuatl narrative recounts the journey of the Aztecs from the semi-legendary Aztlan to the founding of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
From Yucatan come the famous Books of Chilam Balam (Jaguar Priest), named after the towns in which the manuscripts were found. These native chronicles present history from the Mayan point of view. The Tizimin, which is the most historical, contains a uniquely Mayan concept of prophetic history. The Chumayel is a peculiar mixture of purely Mayan and Christian elements. The language, style, and much of the content is, however, prehispanic.
Perhaps the most outstanding example of native American literature is the Popol Vuh, a self-contained, sustained narrative of some dramatic force. While some disagreement lingers over possible missionary influence in the opening account of creation, this indigenous composition is relatively uninfluenced by Spanish or other European models. One translator describes the ancient Quiche as a functionally literate people and the Popul Vuh as a heroic or (near-heroic) type of literature.
In our complex society there is little agreement on the precise definition of literature. And what constitutes a classic? Is it Shakespeare? The daily newspaper? Traditionally, the indigenous peoples of the Americas had a distinct advantage over us in that everyone in the tribe or particular society knew and recognized their own oral-literary classics.
