Blood Clot Boy is a figure in the mythologies of several Native American tribes, including the Cree, Blackfoot, Pawnee, and Arapaho. He is depicted as being born from a clot of blood.[1]
The Blood Clot Boy is depicted as being born of a clot of blood from a buffalo. In certain versions of the story, a rabbit is kicked out of his home by a bear, who slays all the buffalo in the region and does not share the meat with the rabbit. This causes the rabbit to nearly starve. When the rabbit finds the blood clot, he creates a sweat bath over the clot of blood, and after heating the water, the boy emerges from the sweat bath, red from the heat. He then proceeds to scourge the bear and his family for his selfishness, sparing the youngest, who shared small amounts of meat with the rabbit.
The Blood Clot Boy's origin of buffalo blood suggests that he was viewed as a hero that represented generosity, due to the Lakota's belief that the buffalo were the greatest symbol of generosity because of their sacrifice to men. They supplied food, clothes, and ceremonial objects to the Lakota, at the ultimate price of their life.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Blood Clot Boy". First People of America and Canada.
- ^ Rice, Julian (1984). "Why the Lakota Still Have Their Own: Ella Deloria's "Dakota Texts"". Western American Literature. 19 (3): 205–217. ISSN 0043-3462.
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