Hartt. Amazonian tortoise myths

Today's free book is Amazonian tortoise myths by Charles Frederick Hartt (1875). For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Hathi Trust (I have not checked for other online sources).

(tortoise)

Table of Contents

How the Tortoise Out-Ran the Deer
The Jabuti that Created the Man
How a Tortoise Killed Two Jaguars
How the Tortoise Provoked a Contest between the Tapir and the Whale
How a Tortoise Killed a Jaguar
The Jabuti Avenges Himself on the Tapir
The Tortoise Kills the Opposum
The Tortoise Sends the Jaguar on a Fool's Errands

Eells. Fairy Tales from Brazil

Today's free book is Fairy Tales from Brazil: How and Why Tales from Brazilian Folk-Lore by Elsie Spicer Eells with illustrations by Helen M. Barton. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, Google Books. There is also a free audiobook at Librivox. You can get a free Kindle too!

How Night Came

How the Rabbit Lost His Tail

How the Toad Got His Bruises

How the Tiger Got His Stripes

Why the Lamb Is Meek

Why the Tiger and the Stag Fear Each Other

How the Speckled Hen Got Her Speckles

How the Monkey Became a Trickster

How the Monkey and the Goat Earned Their Reputations

How the Monkey Got a Drink When He Was Thirsty

How the Monkey Got Food When He Was Hungry

Why the Bananas Belong to the Monkey

How the Monkey Escaped Being Eaten

Why the Monkey Still Has a Tail

How Black Became White

How the Pigeon Became a Tame Bird

Why the Sea Moans

How the Brazilian Beetles Got Their Gorgeous Coats

Eells. Tales of Giants from Brazil.

Today's free book is Tales of Giants from Brazil by Elsie Spicer Eells. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image. There is also a free Kindle ebook.

The book is available at Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books. There is also a free Kindle ebook.

(illustration by Helen Barton)

Table of Contents

The Princess of the Springs
The Fountain of Giant Land
The Boy and the Violin
The Most Beautiful Princess
The Little Sister of the Giants
The Forest Lad and the Wicked Giant
How the Giantess Guimara Became Small
The Adventures of a Fisherman’s Son
The Beast Slayer
The Quest of Cleverness
The Giant’s Pupil
Domingo’s Cat

Alexander. Latin-American Mythology

Today's free book is The Mythology of All Races (Vol. 11): Latin-American by Hartley Burr Alexander. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.

(Codex Ferjervary-Mayer)

Chapter I. The Antilles
I The Islanders
II The First Encounters
III Zemiism
IV Taino Myths
V The Areitos
VI Carib Lore

Chapter II. Mexico
I Middle America
II Conquistadores
III The Aztec Pantheon
IV The Great Gods
1 Huitzilopochtli
2 Tezcatlipoca
3 Quetzalcoatl
4 Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue
V The Powers of Life
VI The Powers of Death

Chapter III. Mexico (continued)
I Cosmogony
II The Four Suns
III The Calendar and its Cycles
IV Legendary History
V Aztec Migration-Myths
VI Surviving Paganism

Chapter IV. Yucatan
I The Maya
II Votan, Zamna, and Kukulcan
III Yucatec Deities
IV Rites and Symbols
V The Maya Cycles
VI The Creation

Chapter V. Central America
I Quiche and Cakchiquel
II The Popul Vuh
III The Hero Brothers
IV The Annals of the Cakchiquel
V Honduras and Nicaragua

Chapter VI. The Andean North
I The Cultured Peoples of the Andes
II The Isthmians
III El Dorado
IV Myths of the Chibcha
V The Men from the Sea

Chapter VII. The Andean South
I The Empire of the Incas
II The Yunca Pantheons
III The Myths of the Chincha
IV Viracocha and Tonapa
V The Children of the Sun
VI Legends of the Incas

Chapter VIII. The Tropical Forests: the Orinoco and Guiana
I Lands and Peoples
II Spirits and Shamans
III How Evils Befell Mankind
IV Creation and Cataclysm
V Nature and Human Nature

Chapter IX. The Tropical Forests: the Amazon and Brazil
I The Amazons
II Food-Makers and Dance-Masks
III Gods, Ghosts, and Bogeys
IV Imps, Were-Beasts, and Cannibals
V Sun, Moon, and Stars
VI Fire, Flood, and Transformations

Chapter X. The Pampas to the Land of Fire
I The Far South
II El Chaco and the Pampeans
III The Araucanians
IV The Patagonians
V The Fuegians

Janvier. Legends of the City of Mexico

Today's free book is Legends of the City of Mexico by Thomas Allibone Janvier. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at  Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.

Legend of Don Juan Manuel
Legend of the Obedient Dead Nun
Legend of the Puente del Clérigo
Legend of the Mulata de Córdoba
Legend of the Callejón del Muerto
Legend of the Altar del Perdon
Legend of the Callejón del Armado
Legend of the Aduana de Santo Domingo
Legend of the Calle de la Quemada
Legend of the Calle de la Cruz Verde
Legend of the Mujer Herrada
Legend of the Accursed Bell
Legend of the Callejón del Padre Lecuona
Legend of the Living Spectre
Legend of the Calle de los Parados
Legend of the Calle de la Joya
Legend of the Calle de la Machincuepa
Legend of the Calle del Puente del Cuervo
Legend of La Llorona

Brinton. American Hero-Myths

Today's free book is American Hero-Myths: A Study in the Native Religions of the Western Continent by Daniel Garrison Brinton. This is an old book, but it is valuable for the materials it brings together, showing what a scholarly perspective on this question looked like in the year 1882 when the book was published.

For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Hathi Trust, and Google Books. You can get a free Kindle ebook from Amazon too!

(Glooskap kills the wolf)

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.

Some Kind of Religion Found among all Men--Classifications of Religions--The Purpose of Religions--Religions of Rite and of Creed--The Myth Grows in the First of these--Intent and Meaning of the Myth.

Processes of Myth Building in America--Personification, Paronyms and Homonyms--Otosis--Polyonomy--Henotheism--Borrowing--Rhetorical Figures--Abstract Expressions--Esoteric Teachings.

Outlines of the Fundamental American Myth--The White Culture-hero and the Four Brothers--Interpretation of the Myth--Comparison with the Aryan Hermes Myth--With the Aryo-Semitic Cadmus Myth--With Osirian Myths--The Myth of the Virgin Mother--The Interpretation thus Supported.

CHAPTER II.
THE HERO-GODS OF THE ALGONKINS AND IROQUOIS.

§1. The Algonkin Myth of Michabo.

The Myth of the Giant Rabbit--The Rabbit Creates the World--He Marries the Muskrat--Becomes the All-Father--Derivation of Michabo--of Wajashk, the Musk-rat--The Myth Explained--The Light-God as God of the East--The Four Divine Brothers--Myth of the Huarochiris--The Day-Makers--Michabo's Contests with His Father and Brother--Explanation of These--The Symbolic Flint Stone--Michabo Destroys the Serpent King--Meaning of this Myth--Relations of the Light-God and Wind-God--Michabo as God of Waters and Fertility--Represented as a Bearded Man.

§2. The Iroquois Myth of Ioskeha.

The Creation of the Earth--The Miraculous Birth of Ioskeha--He Overcomes his Brother Tawiscara--Creates and Teaches Mankind--Visits his People--His Grandmother Ataensic--Ioskeha as Father of his Mother--Similar Conceptions in Egyptian Myths--Derivation of Ioskeha and Ataensic--Ioskeha as Tharonhiawakon, the Sky Supporter--His Brother Tawiscara or Tehotennhiaron Identified--Similarity to Algonkin Myths.

CHAPTER III.
THE HERO-GOD OP THE AZTEC TRIBES.

§1. The Two Antagonists.

The Contest of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca--Quetzalcoatl the Light-God--Derivation of His Name--Titles of Tezcatlipoca--Identified with Darkness, Night and Gloom.

§2. Quetzalcoatl the God.

Myth of the Four Brothers--The Four Suns and the Elemental Conflict--Names of the Four Brothers.

§3. Quetzalcoatl the Hero of Tula.

Tula, the City of the Sun--Who were the Toltecs?--Tlapallan and Xalac--The Birth of the Hero God--His Virgin Mother Chimalmatl--His Miraculous Conception--Aztlan, the Land of Seven Caves, and Colhuacan, the Bended Mount--The Maid Xochitl and the Rose Garden of the Gods--Quetzalcoatl as the White and Bearded Stranger.

The Glory of the Lord of Tula--The Subtlety of the Sorcerer Tezcatlipoca--The Magic Mirror and the Mystic Draught--The Myth Explained--The Promise of Rejuvenation--The Toveyo and the Maiden--The Juggleries of Tezcatlipoca--Departure of Quetzalcoatl from Tula--Quetzalcoatl at Cholula--His Death or Departure--The Celestial Game of Ball and Tiger Skin--Quetzalcoatl as the Planet Venus.

§4. Quetzalcoatl as Lord of the Winds.

The Lord of the Four Winds--His Symbols, the Wheel of the Winds, the Pentagon and the Cross--Close Relation to the Gods of Rain and Waters--Inventor of the Calendar--God of Fertility and Conception--Recommends Sexual Austerity--Phallic Symbols--God of Merchants--The Patron of Thieves--His Pictographic Representations.

§5. The Return of Quetzalcoatl.

His Expected Re-appearance--The Anxiety of Montezuma--His Address to Cortes--The General Expectation--Explanation of his Predicted Return.

CHAPTER IV.
THE HERO-GODS OF THE MAYAS.

Civilization of the Mayas--Whence it Originated--Duplicate Traditions

§1. The Culture Hero Itzamna.

Itzamna as Ruler, Priest and Teacher--As Chief God and Creator of the World--Las Casas' Supposed Christ Myth--The Four Bacabs--Itzamna as Lord of the Winds and Rains--The Symbol of the Cross--As Lord of the Light and Day--Derivation of his Various Names.

§2. The Culture Hero Kukulcan.

Kukulcan as Connected with the Calendar--Meaning of the Name--The Myth of the Four Brothers--Kukulcan's Happy Rule and Miraculous Disappearance--Relation to Quetzalcoatl--Aztec and Maya Mythology--Kukulcan a Maya Divinity--The Expected Return of the Hero-god--The Maya Prophecies--Their Explanation.

CHAPTER V.
THE QQICHUA HERO-GOD VIRACOCHA.

Viracocha as the First Cause--His name Illa Ticci--Qquichua Prayers--Other Names and Titles of Viracocha--His Worship a True Monotheism--The Myth of the Four Brothers--Myth of the Twin Brothers.

Viracocha as Tunapa, He who Perfects--Various Incidents in His Life--Relation to Manco Capac--He Disappears in the West.

Viracocha Rises from Lake Titicaca and Journeys to the West--Derivation of His Name--He was Represented as White and Bearded--The Myth of Con and Pachacamac--Contice Viracocha--Prophecies of the Peruvian Seers The White Men Called Viracochas--Similarities to Aztec Myths.

CHAPTER VI.
THE EXTENSION AND INFLUENCE OP THE TYPICAL HERO-MYTH.

The Typical Myth found in many parts of the Continent--Difficulties in Tracing it--Religious Evolution in America Similar to that in the Old World--Failure of Christianity in the Red Race.

The Culture Myth of the Tarascos of Mechoacan--That of the Kiches of Guatemala.--The Votan Myth of the Tzendals of Chiapas--A Fragment of a Mixe Myth--The Hero-God of the Muyscas of New Granada--Of the Tupi-Guaranay Stem of Paraguay and Brazil--Myths of the Dènè of British America.

Sun Worship in America--Germs of Progress in American Religions--Relation of Religion and Morality--The Light-God A Moral and Beneficent Creation--His Worship was Elevating--Moral Condition of Native Societies before the Conquest--Progress in the Definition of the Idea of God in Peru, Mexico and Yucatan--Erroneous Statements about the Morals of the Natives--Evolution of their Ethical Principles.

Spence. Popol Vuh

Today's free book is The Popol Vuh by Lewis Spence. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Internet Archive, Sacred Texts, Hathi Trust, and Google Books.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

THE FIRST BOOK

THE MYTH OF VUKUB-CAKIX

THE SECOND BOOK

THE THIRD BOOK

THE FOURTH BOOK

COSMOGONY OF THE "POPOL VUH"

KICHÉ AND MEXICAN MYTHOLOGY

THE PANTHEON OF THE "POPOL VUH"

THE VUKUB-CAKIX MYTH

BOOK II. COMMENTED UPON

THE HARRYING OF XIBALBA

BOOK III. COMMENTED UPON

EARLY SPANISH AUTHORS AND THE "POPOL VUH"

EVIDENCE OF METRICAL COMPOSITION

NOTES

Spence. Myths of Mexico and Peru

Today's free book is The Myths of Mexico and Peru by Lewis Spence. For the table of contents, check at the bottom of this post below the image.

The book is available at Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, Sacred Texts, Hathi Trust, and Google Books. You can get a free Kindle ebook from Amazon too!

CHAPTER I: The Civilisation of Mexico

The Civilisations of the New World

Evidence of Animal and Plant Life

Origin of American Man

Traditions of Intercourse with Asia

Legends of European Intercourse

The Legend of Madoc

American Myths of the Discovery

A Peruvian Prophecy

The Prophecy of Chilan Balam

The Type of Mexican Civilisation

The Mexican Race

Legends of Mexican Migration

The Toltec Upheaval

Artificial Nature of the Migration Myths

Myths of the Toltecs

Legends of Toltec Artistry

The House of Feathers

Huemac the Wicked

The Plagues of the Toltecs

King Acxitl

A Terrible Visitation

Fall of the Toltec State

The Chichimec Exodus

The Disappearance of the Toltecs

Did the Toltecs Exist?

A Persistent Tradition

A Nameless People

Toltec Art

Other Aboriginal Peoples

The Cliff-dwellers

The Nahua Race

The Aculhuaque

The Tecpanecs

The Aztecs

The Aztec Character

Legends of the Foundation of Mexico

Mexico at the Conquest

A Pyramid of Skulls

Nahua Architecture and Ruins

Cyclopean Remains

Teotihuacan

The Hill of Flowers

Tollan

Picture-Writing

Interpretation of the Hieroglyphs

Native Manuscripts

The Interpretative Codices

The Mexican "Book of the Dead"

The Calendar System

The Mexican Year

Lunar Reckoning

Groups of Years

The Dread of the Last Day

The Birth-Cycle

Language of the Nahua

Aztec Science

Nahua Government

Domestic Life

A Mysterious Toltec Book

A Native Historian

Nahua Topography

Distribution of the Nahua Tribes

Nahua History

Bloodless Battles

The Lake Cities

Tezcuco

The Tecpanecs

The Aztecs

The Aztecs as Allies

New Powers

CHAPTER II: Mexican Mythology

Nahua Religion

Cosmology

The Sources of Mexican Mythology

The Romance of the Lost "Sahagun"

Torquemada

The Worship of One God

Tezcatlipoca

Tezcatlipoca, Overthrower of the Toltecs

Myths of Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca

Tezcatlipoca and the Toltecs

The Departure of Quetzalcoatl

Tezcatlipoca as Doomster

The Teotleco Festival

The Toxcatl Festival

Huitzilopochth, the War God

The War God as Fertiliser

Tlaloc, the Rain God

Sacrifices to Tlaloc

Quetzalcoatl

The Man of the Sun

Various Forms of Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl's Northern Origin

The Worship of Quetzalcoatl

The Maize-Gods of Mezico

The Sacrifice of the Dancer

An Antiquarian Mare's-Nest

The Offering to Centeotl

Importance of the Food-Gods

Xipe

Nanaliuatl, or Nanauatzin

Xolotl

The Fire-God

Mictlan

Worship of the Planet Venus

Sun-Worship

Sustaining the Sun

A Mexican Valhalla

The Feast of Totec

Tepeyollotl

Macuilxochitl, or Xochipilli

Father and Mother Gods

The Pulque-Gods

The Goddesses of Mexico: Metztli

Tlazolteotl

Chalchihuitlicue

Mixcoatl

Camaxtli

Ixtlilton

Omacatl

Opochtli

Yacatecutli

The Aztec Priesthood

Priestly Revenues

Education

Orders of the Priesthood

An Exacting Ritual

CHAPTER III: Myths and Legends of the Ancient Mexicans

The Mexican Idea of the Creation

Ixtlilxochitl's Legend of the Creation

Creation-Story of the Mixtecs

Zapotec Creation Myth

The Mexican Noah

The Myth of the Seven Caverns

The Sacrificed Princess

The Fugitive Prince

Maxtla the Fierce

A Romantic Escape

A Thrilling Pursuit

The Defeat of Maxtla

The Solon of Anahuac

Nezahualcoyotl's Theology

The Poet Prince

The Queen with a Hundred Lovers

The Golden Age of Tezcuco

A Fairy Villa

Disillusionment

The Noble Tlascalan

The Haunting Mothers

The Return of Papantzin

Papantzin's Story

CHAPTER IV: The Maya Race and Mythology

The Maya

Were the Maya Toltecs?

The Maya Kingdom

The Maya Dialects

Whence came the Maya?

Civilisation of the Maya

The Zapotecs

The Huasteca

The Type of Maya Civilisation

Maya History

The Nucleus of Maya Power

Early Race Movements

The Settlement of Yucatan

The Septs of Yucatan

The Cocomes

Flight of the Tutul Xius

The Revolution In Mayapan

Hunac Eel

The Last of the Cocomes

The Maya Peoples of Guatemala

The Maya Tulan

Doubtful Dynasties

The Coming of the Spaniards

The Riddle of Ancient Maya Writing

The Maya Manuscripts

The System of the Writing

Clever Elucidations

Methods of Study

The Maya Numeral System

Mythology of the Maya

Quetzalcoatl among the Maya

An Alphabet of Gods

Difficulties of Comparison

The Conflict between Light and Darkness

The Calendar

Traditional Knowledge of the Gods

Maya Polytheism

The Bat-God

Modern Research: Maize-God, Sun-God, God with the Ornamented Nose, Old Black God, Travellers' God, God of Unlucky Days, Frog God

Maya Architecture

Methods of Building

No Knowledge of the Arch

Pyramidal Structures

Definiteness of Design

Architectural Districts

Fascination of the Subject

Mysterious Palenque

An Architectural Curiosity

The Temple of Inscriptions

Aké and Itzamal

The House of Darkness

The Palace of Owls

Itzamna's Fane

Bearded Gods

A Colossal Head

Chichen-Itza

The Nunnery

The "Writing in the Dark"

Kabah

Uxmal

The Dwarf's House

The Legend of the Dwarf

The Mound of Sacrifice

The Phantom City

The Horse-God

Copan

Mitla

A Place of Sepulture

An Old Description of Mitla

Human Sacrifice at Mitla

Living Sacrifices

The Cavern of Death

Palace of the High-Priest

Furniture of the Temples

CHAPTER V: Myths of the Maya

Mythology of the Maya

The Lost "Popol Vuh"

Genuine Character of the Work

Likeness to other Pseudo-Histories

The Creation Story

Vukub-Cakix, the Great Macaw

The Earth-Giants

The Undoing of Zipacna

The Discomfiture of Cabrakan

The Second Book

A Challenge from Hades

The Fooling of the Brethren

The Princess Xquiq

The Birth of Hun-Apu and Xbalanque

The Divine Children

The Magic Tools

The Second Challenge

The Tricksters Tricked

The Houses of the Ordeals

The Reality of Myth

The Xibalbans

The Third Book

The Granting of Fire

The Kiche Babel

The Last Days of the First Men

Death of the First Men

American Migrations

Cosmogony of the "Popol Vuh"

Antiquity of the "Popol Vuh"

The Father-Mother Gods

Gucumatz

Hurakan

Hun-Apu and Xbalanque

Vukub-Cakix and his Sons

Metrical Origin of the "Popol Vuh"

Pseudo-History of the Kiche

Queen Móo

The Funeral Chamber

The Frescoes

The Soothsayers

The Royal Bride

Móo's Refusal

The Rejected Suitor

Aac's Fierce Wooing

Prince Cob

The Murder of Cob

The Widowhood of Móo

The Manuscript Troano

CHAPTER VI: The Civilisation of Old Peru

Old Peru

The Country

The Andeans

A Strange Site

Sacsahuaman and Ollantay

The Dramatic Legend of Ollantay

The Love Story of Curi-Coyllur

Mother and Child

The Races of Peru

The Coming of the Incas

The Quichua-Aymara

The Four Peoples

The Coming of Manco Ccapac

The Peruvian Creation-Story

Local Creation-Myths

The Character of Inca Civilisation

An Absolute Theocracy

A Golden Temple

The Great Altar

Planetary Temples

The Mummies of Peru

Laws and Customs

The Peruvian Calendar

The Festivals

The Llama

Architecture of the Incas

Unsurpassed Workmanship

The Temple of Viracocha

Titicaca

Coati

Mysterious Chimu

The Palace

The Civilisation of Chimu

Pachacamac

Irrigation Works

A Singular Discovery

The Chibchas

A Severe Legal Code

A Strange Mnemonic System

Practical Use of the Quipos

The Incas as Craftsmen

Pottery

Historical Sketch of the Incan Peruvians

The Inca Monarchs

The First Incas

Viracocha the Great

The Plain of Blood

The Conquest of Middle Peru

Fusion of Races

Two Branches of the Incas

The Laws of Pachacutic

Tupac-Yupanqui

"The Gibbet"

Huaina Ccapac

The Inca Civil War

A Dramatic Situation

A Worthless Despotism

CHAPTER VII: The Mythology of Peru

The Religion of Ancient Peru

Totemism

Paccariscas

Worship of Stones

Huacas

The Mamas

The Huamantantac

Huaris

Huillcas

The Oracles of the Andes

Lake-Worship in Peru

The Lost Island

The Thunder God of Peru

The Great God Pachacamac

Peruvian Creation-Stories

Pachayachachic

Ideas of Creation

Pacari Tampu

Worship of the Sea

Viracocha

Sun-Worship in Peru

The Sun's Possessions

Inca Occupation of Titicaca

Pilgrimages to Titicaca

Sacrifices to the New Sun

The Citoc Raymi

Human Sacrifice in Peru

Methods of Medicine-Men

Death by Suffocation

The Obsequies of a Chief

Peruvian Myths

The Vision of Yupanqui

The Bird Bride

Thonapa

A Myth of Manco Ccapac Inca

Coniraya Viracocha

The Llama's Warning

The Myth of Huathlacuri

Paricaca

Conclusion