CROP CIRCLES & LEGENDS OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN (Plus free give-away)

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Howdy!

Strange title, eh?  Or maybe not.   THE ANGEL AND THE WARRIOR from the Lost Clan Series is based on a myth that is common throughout the American Indian myths — tribe to tribe.  The story of the Thunderer.

But there’s another legend that caught my interest early on — and it is the one I thought I’d discuss with you today.  At the time I came upon this myth, I knew nothing about crop circles — had never heard of them — but this legend, and my knowledge of crop circles has left some questions in my mind — and I thought I’d tell you about them.

SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE, from the Legendary Warriors Series, is based in no small degree upon the myth of a hunter and the daughters of the Star People.  The book, SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE actually starts with the hero and heroine and the legend as it is told in Native American lore.  Interestingly, I found this myth not in just one tribe — but several — and the thing is, it was told almost (but not quite) identically, tribe to tribe.  The legend I’m about to tell you is from the Shawnee.stortell[1]

I believe that the name of the hero (it’s from a children’s book that I’m quoting) is Red Hawk, and the name of the book is RED HAWK AND THE SKY SISTERS by Gloria Dominic and Charles Reasoner.  Again, this legend is repeated in several different tribes — although the hero’s name is often different.

Red Hawk is a great hunter.  But he is puzzled because he sees the same thing in the prairie each time he goes to hunt.  It is a circle — a perfect circle — but there are no paths leading up to it — or going away from it.  There is evidence that something was there and made the circle — but how?  Red Hawk decides to spend the night, hiding himself from view.

51GoIbPuXOL._SL110_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-sm,TopRight,10,-13_OU01_[1]And so he does.  He discovers by hiding himself, that a basket gently falls to the earth and that there is singing from feminine voices.  As the basket comes to land softly on the earth, the sisters alight from the basket and dance around it in a circle.  Red Hawk watches this for many nights until one night he falls in love with one of the sisters — the youngest I believe.  And so, once again hiding himself, he waits until the sisters are about to get into the basket and go back into the sky — but suddenly he jumps out from his hiding place and captures the woman of his heart.

They marry and are happy, but she misses her home in the sky (she is a star).  They have a  child and she wishes to take the child and return to visit her home in the sky.  Our hero lets her go, but keeps the child with him, hoping that the child will be enough to cause her to return.  When she doesn’t return, our hero again captures her, and she falls in love with him all over and they live happily ever after.

th[1]I did find that the ending varies a bit from tribe to tribe, and I’m uncertain of how this book ends the story — I have this book, but of course, needing to find it for this post, the book eludes me.  : )

So what does this have to do with crop circles and aliens.  Well, I found it very interesting that crop circles seem similar and are also tied to aliens — here’s a link, if you’ve never heard of crop circles:  http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/cutting/cropcirc.htm

Here is a picture of an actual crop circle — where the crops have been bent back without any footprints to or from the circle.   They are usually made at night — and made within one night.

Although attributed to more modern times, it’s interesting to me that our legend goes back centuries — to come to us today — to perhaps make the crop circle even more mysterious.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the post today.  And I hope I’ve created some interest in the American Indian legend.   Oh, and by the way, what do you think of the legend and the crop circles in general?

I’ll be giving away an e-book copy of SOARING EAGLE’S EMBRACE today to some lucky blogger — please see the Giveaway Guidelines over to the right here for our rules that govern giveaways.  Oh, also I wanted you all to know that LAKOTA SURRENDER, PROUD WOLF’S WOMAN, BLACK EAGLE and SENECA SURRENDER are now on KindleUnlimited.  If you are a part of that, you can now read those books for free.  Nice, huh?…

 

Karen Kay
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KAREN KAY aka GEN BAILEY is the multi-published author of American Indian Historical Romances. She has written for such prestigious publishers as AVON/HarperCollins, Berkley/Penguin/Putnam and Samhain Publishing. KAREN KAY’S great grandmother was Choctaw Indian and Kay is honored to be able to write about the American Indian Culture.
Please refer to https://petticoatsandpistols.com/sweepstakesrules for all contest rules.

12 thoughts on “CROP CIRCLES & LEGENDS OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN (Plus free give-away)”

  3. It’s interesting on what people think about how the crop circles were made and the myths and legends that are told about the circles.

  5. Hi Karen!

    Interesting post! I didn’t realize crop circles had become so intricate until I read that article you suggested. I still thought of them like the one in the movie Signs (with Mel Gibson.)

    I enjoy the legends and the mystery and also the stories (such as yours) that are sparked from legends. (I enjoy the Greek and Roman and Norse myths too.)

    But crop circles baffle me–Stonehenge baffles me–and I leave it at that. Perhaps the angels have a sense of humor and are playing with us…:-)

  6. Hi Kathryn!

    Me, too. I’m a sucker for legends, American Greek or otherwise. The crop circles, and the Native American legends about similar phenomena really intrigue me, too. : )

  7. So many things for which we have not yet determined a cause – crop circles are just one. They are beautiful and intriguing, though. Love learning new legends from cultures other than mine!

  8. Hi Karen!

    Gosh, I so agree with you on this one. I do find the crop circles interesting…and they seem to fit right in to the Native American Legend.

  10. Crop circles are fascinating. They have appeared for years all over the world and vary widely in design, some simple, some quite complex. Some people have claimed to make them and even demonstrated how they did it. Their explanations don’t come close to explaining what has happened over the world or over the years. There is certainly something going on, but who really knows what. Two star sisters is as good an explanation as any.

    No need to enter my name in the drawing. I already have SOARING EAGLES’S EMBRACE.

  11. You know, Patricia, I really agree with you on this. The explanations don’t explain it at all — and like you, I like the star sisters story. : )

    Thanks for your comment.

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