The Lynx has intrigued me for a long time. It most likely started in my childhood. My favorite video game, Chrono Cross, featured an anthropomorphic character named “Lynx”. Lynx was a powerful, albeit misunderstood figure from that video game. I learned later in my adult life that various people groups across different geographic areas venerated the lynx and created elaborate mythologies about it.
In the poet Ovid’s book Metamorphoses, Lyncus, the King of Scythia, was transformed into a Lynx when he attempted to murder Triptolemus in his sleep. The name “lynx” serves as an aetiological symbol of the king’s fate (Kline). Also, while it is somewhat speculative, some believe that the Norse goddess Freya could have had her chariot pulled by lynxes (Freya, 2023). Claude Lévi-Strauss examined various Native American stories about Lynx in his work titled The Story of Lynx. I will provide a short summary of the first ten chapters of the book.
Chapter 1- An Untimely Pregnancy
This chapter begins by explaining how wildcat was another name for a lynx among the Nez Perce Indians (Lévi-Strauss, 1995). Among different versions, there is a heroine and a mutual antagonism between Lynx and Coyote. Strauss explains how Lewis and Clark were the first to encounter the Nez Perce Indians (6). Among other Indian groups. Lynx is not a master of the fog, but he uses a steam bath to acquire youth and handsomeness. This myth often involved the Lynx unintentionally impregnating a chief’s daughter and using a sweat lodge or steam bath to become handsome (Lévi-Strauss, 1995).
Chapter 2- Coyote, Father and Son
The myth of the coyote is presented here: a coyote tricks a young suitor with a dish that turns out to be his sperm, and she becomes pregnant. Lynx, in this story, gets another girl pregnant, and the coyote tries to hurt Lynx, but he is unable to do so. Strauss gives examples of variations of this story in this chapter.
Chapter 3- The Dentalia Thieves
This chapter concerns stories regarding the Thompson Indians. This chapter includes variations of the myth that involve the lynx getting a young girl pregnant without sexual intercourse. The details of the Dentalia Thieves are included in this chapter. Strauss explains in this chapter, “These narratives have enabled us to see how Lynx, in its reduced form, gradually takes its place in a larger plot…” (Lévi-Strauss, 1995, p. 37). The behavior of the two sisters in these stories leads to the loss of the dentalia shells.
Chapter 4- A Myth to go Back in Time
This chapter provides an overview of the Maire Pochy myth, and Strauss shows some similarities between it and Salish versions of the Lynx story.
Chapter 5- The Fateful Sentence
This chapter examines a supernatural birth in which a child speaks with his mother and the myth of Auke. Strauss notes, “In North America, the Nez Perce version of the story of Lynx purports to explain the origin of mismatched marriages; they are those in which the respective spouses are not twins, whether physically or socially. (Lévi-Strauss, 1995).
Chapter 6- A Visit to the Mountain Goats
This chapter explores myths related to mountain goats.
Chapter 7- The Child Taken by the Owl
North American mythology associates owls with changing between day and night. The Inland Salish attributed a role to the Screech Owl in announcing someone’s death (Lévi-Strauss, 1995). Owls held different roles in North American stories.
Chapter 8- Jewels and Wounds
This chapter discusses a myth of a child stolen and married against her will to Lynx.
Chapter 9- The Son and the Root
This chapter examines myths about a heroine who distances herself under various pretenses to meet a seducing animal (Lévi-Strauss, 1995).
Chapter 10- Twins: Salmon, Bears, and Wolves
This chapter discusses myths regarding twins. Strauss in reference to the myth of twins, notes, “The Tlingit of Alaska feared them so much that a man could leave his wife if she gave birth to twins; they were immediately put to death” (Lévi-Strauss, 1995, p. 37). The Salish people would attribute twins to grizzly bears, and these twins would be protected by the bears (Lévi-Strauss, 1995).
This work is an excellent overview of how stories are spread and take on different versions in different contexts. Claude Lévi-Strauss’s The Story of Lynx is a good read for those interested in anthropology,
References
Lévi-Strauss, C. (1995). The story of Lynx (C. Tihanyi, Trans.). University of Chicago Press.
Lynx of Freya. (2023, July 20). Freya & Thor of Sweden. https://freyathor.com/blogs/blog/lynx-of-freya?srsltid=AfmBOooujooxVu1RJp8fz9fwp6xiiTCSGA02k-i7KyFwnpYR4PofqqUS
Ovid. (n.d.). Metamorphoses (A. S. K
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