One evening an old North Carolina farmer told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My boy, there is a battle between two wolves inside each of us...Myth's story and folklore discussion:"One wolf is Anger, Envy, Jealousy, Regret, Greed, Arrogance, Self-pity, Sorrow, Guilt, Resentment, Lies, False pride, Superiority, and Selfishness.
"The other wolf is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope, Serenity, Humility, Kindness, Benevolence, Forgiveness, Generosity, Truth, Strength, Compassion, and Belief."
His young grandson thought about it and asked, "Grandad, which wolf wins?"
The old farmer answered, "Whichever one you choose to feed."
--adapted tale, for information on an original source, see Grandfather Tells, A Cherokee Legend, accessed on 9/15/12.
I got this story off the "'Net." Slightly different versions of the tale were circulating around Facebook and emails in January and February 2012. I read it and liked its message: a person has a choice of whether feed into the negative emotions or positive emotions.
This story could be about any Granddad dispensing wisdom from life of long experience and observation. An elder, acting as a role model, sharing insight and memories with the younger generation is a classic tale.
The story could have started, "...an old Chinese Grandfather told his grandson, 'There is a battle between two tigers inside each of man.'"
It could have even started "...an old Norse warrior told his grandson, 'There is a battle between two wolves inside each of warrior.'"
Actually, it did start in all the versions I saw on the net as, "One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, 'My grandson, there is a battle between two wolves inside each of us...'"
Whoever the Grandfather is talking to his grandson is--it is still a great story.
I wondered if this story was supposed to be about an "old Cherokee"--specifically an "old Cherokee grandfather"--rather than a genuine old legend told by members of the Cherokee tribe. The tale was titled, "An Old Cherokee Story," in every version I saw.
My background knowledge of Native American Indian legend and folklore is very small.
Still, it was obvious, whether this story was part of genuine lore from the Cherokee tribe, that it had morphed into a form of contemporary legend or urban legend. A contemporary legend or urban legend is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories often spread orally, or by other informal means. In the 21st century, they can be spread orally among friends, aquaintences, and family member at parties, at work, etc. They can be spread via a written medium like a handwritten note or typed letter via the postal service. They can also be spread via mimeographs, photo copies, faxs, email, and social network sites, like Facebook.
The type of contemporary legends spread throught electronic/digitial media has been called "Xerox-lore," "photocopy-lore," "fax-lore," "email-lore," "Xerox/fax folklore," "computer folklore," "internet-lore," etc. These contemporary legends are a bit different because there is often no change in the retelling as the story is spread often by "directly coping"/"cut and pasting" the wording from the received source and sharing it verbatim including typos and mispellings with others. (I imagine the term, "Facebook lore" will soon come into parliance.)
Nevertheless, small changes in the transmitted lore will still creep in--often in the form of corrections to grammar and spelling. Visual images may also be added or deleted.
It's the number of slightly different versions I saw in both email and internet with either different images of elderly Native American men or no image at all, as well as a couple versions with slightly different texts, that caused me to think of this tale as "internet-lore" legend, of possible modern origin. I also wondered if it had been adapted/shortened/changed from Cherokee lore.
So why did I change the Grandfather from an "old Cherokee" to "old North Carolina farmer" in my retelling? Remember, I wasn't sure this was a genuine Cherokee story. Furthermore, there are a good number of Cherokees living in North Carolina and some of them are farmers. Describing an elderly man as an "old North Carolina farmer" could be also be describing an "old Cherokee."
A search on the title, "an old Cherokee story" did not illuminate me to the possible origin of the story anymore than a quick trip to my local library did.
Why change the story at all?
As I said when the story was being passed around on Facebook, it sometimes had images of an elderly Native American man. In the versions I saw on Facebook, there were at least two different images, maybe three different images, attached to primarily the same story. (There were no images attached to the forwarded email.)
The images of elderly Native American men sometimes accompanying this tale depicted those men wearing some typical Native American Indian regalia, much like you would see at an east coast Pow Wow.
I don't have any of those images from the Facebook news feed saved, of course, but I think these images probably did not depict traditional Cherokee dress. (Once again, my background knowledge of Cherokee Indian folklore, stories, culture, clothing, and tradition is very small. Any correction or comment from someone more knowledgeable than I am would be welcome.)
Nevertheless--accompanied with that image--the story could be interpeted as drawing on the Native American Indian "wise elder" stereotype--epecially if the legend is of modern origin. This is is especially true if it is retold primarily among whites.
The Native American Indian "wise elder" stereotype is a very compelling image for some white folk--like me (White Anglo Saxon Pagan). He represents someone who is old and wise and has been living in-tune with the land for a long time. The Indian "wise elder" exists on a higher moral plane than ordinary people, and he has access to the ancient wisdom of the earth. Often in a story, the "wise elder" not only uses earth and nature-oriented metaphores. He, himself, is a metaphore for the timeless wisdom of all the ancestors before us.
It's true the Native American Indian "wise elder" is not a perjorative stereotype. Nevertheless, the stereotype does represent a rather limited perception of Native American Indians.
Mind you, I'm more than willing to allow that anyone who has been living on this earth longer than I have might just know a thing or two that I don't. I also think a farmer might know quite a bit more about local predators like red wolves, bobcats, foxes, and other wildlife than I, a suburban kid, would. I'm sure Native Americans from a number of tribes will know a great deal more about some things than I do.
So--yes--I am sure somewhere "out there," a Cherokee Native American Indian Grandfather is probably giving his grandson some sage advice that I certainly would have not known. I would not be shocked if that Granddad used a metaphore(s) employing some of the local wildlife to make his point to the kid.
Yet, I remember once hearing Sherman Alexie in an interview about the film "Smoke Signals." He admitted that he has always loved movies, but what he was trying to do with "Smoke Signals" is redress a misrepresentation of Native Americans in mainstream movies. The interviewer asked Alexie his opinion about the popular image of the "noble, savvy nature-loving" representations of Indians that had appeared in some movies, such as "Dances with Wolves." She added "You [Indians] get to be very wise in those [movies]." Alexie smiled and said, "Yeah, that's a lot to lay on someone."
Clearly, Sherman Alexie does not think that Native American Indians should just be a metaphore for the wisdom of the ancestors.
You may be wondering about why I repeat that little vignette from my memory about an interview with Sherman Alexie in connection with a legend involving a granddad sharing a valuable insight with a grandkid.
Do you remember the song "Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)"? Though it was first recorded in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater, it became a 1# hit in 1971 for Paul Revere & the Raiders.
The 1971 version by Paul Revere & the Raiders apparently succeeded turning the "Cherokee people! Cherokee tribe!" into sort of an iconic noble figure for the 1970's. I remember a story of someone writing into some paranormal magazine that he'd seen a "ghost" of a "wise old Cherokee Indian Chief" in full "traditional dress" outside his house late at night--after playing the song over and over like a power chant. He wondered if the song had summoned the Indian spirit. The letter-writer does not say how he recognized that the ghost was in "traditional dress." The paranormal magazine editor said that it was unlikely he had summoned a Cherokee Indian spirit since the Cherokee never were recorded as living in the state that the magazine reader was living in.
My personal guess is the letter-writer experienced something akin to a "waking dream." It's also possible his unconcious dipped down into well of stored images and drew up something to explain a shadow of movement outside. And since I'm a fluffy bunny Wiccan, I concede there is a third possiblity: Some local forest spirit decided to manifest outside the kid's house looking like a typical "wise old Indian Chief" just to tease him and get him to stop playing the same record over and over.
My adaption isn't copyrighted. If you choose to share this tale, add an image of a 21st century Cherokee Granddad sitting at a desk paying some bills for the farm, dressed in a nice shirt and jeans.
These are the 6 reasons for me to add the story to my "Yet Another Wicca Site."
Grandfather Tells, A Cherokee Legend
An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.
"I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.
"But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.
"But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."
The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"
The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."
Grandfather Tells, A Cherokee Legend, American Indian Legends.
There are two versions of this Cherokee legend on this webpage. Two Wolves is a valuable resource for information about Cherokee Native American Indian legends.
copyright 2012 Myth Woodling
The Old North Carolina Farmer Story is not copyrighted. I invite people to share it.