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Home » Psychological Concepts - T » Trickster
In the study of mythology, folklore and religion, a trickster is a god,
goddess, spirit or human hero who breaks the rules of the gods or nature,
sometimes maliciously (for example, Loki) but usually with ultimately
positive effects. Often, the rule-breaking takes the form of tricks (eg.
Eris) or thievery. Tricksters can be cunning or foolish or both; they
are often very funny even when considered sacred or performing important
cultural tasks.
In many cultures, such as Norse or Slavic folktales and Native American/First
Nations lore, the trickster and the culture hero are combined. To illustrate,
Prometheus, in Greek mythology, stole fire from the gods to give it to
humans. He is more of a culture hero than a trickster. In many Native
American and First Nations mythologies, the coyote (Southwestern United
States) or raven (Pacific Northwest and British Columbia) stole fire from
the gods (stars or sun) and are more tricksters than culture heroes. This
is primarily because of other stories involving these spirits: Prometheus
was a Titan, whereas coyote and raven are usually seen as jokesters and
pranksters.
Among Native Americans, and First Nations, the trickster figures often
exhibit gender variability, changing gender roles and engaging in same-sex
practices. These personages are said to have a two-spirit nature.
In modern society, tricksters are also known as people who combine martial
arts and acrobatics as a sport. There are many variations of this. One
of these variations is called kinjutsu (literally:forbidden techniques).
The Trickster is an example of a Jungian Archetype. The Fool survives
in modern playing cards as the Joker.
| Tricksters in Various Cultures |
- Abenaki mythology ... Azeban
- Akan mythology ... Kwaku Ananse
- American folklore ... Brer Rabbit
- Ashanti mythology ... Ananse
- Australian Aboriginal mythology ... Bamapana
- Aztec mythology ... Tezcatlipoca
- Basque mythology ... San Martin Txiki
- Brazilian Folklore ... Saci-Pererê
- Celtic mythology ... Fairy, Puck
- Chinese mythology ... Nezha, Sun Wukong (the Monkey King)
- Chippewa mythology ... Nanabozho
- Christian mythology ... Jacob
- Crow mythology ... Awakkule, Mannegishi
- French folklore ... Reynard the Fox
- Fijian mythology ... Ndauthina
- German folklore ... Till Eulenspiegel
- Greek mythology ... Eris, Prometheus, Hephaestos, Hermes Trismegistus
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- Haida mythology ... Nankil'slas (Raven spirit), (Coyote)
- Hawaiian mythology ... Kappa, Maui
- Hopi and Zuni mythology ... Kokopelli
- Inuit mythology ... Amaguq
- Japanese mythology ... Kitsune, Susanoo
- !Kung mythology ... Mantis
- Lakota mythology ... Iktomi
- Navajo mythology ... Tonenili
- Nootka mythology ... Chulyen, Guguyni
- Norse mythology ... Loki
- Northwest Caucasian mythology ... Sosruko
- Ojibwe mythology ... Nanabush
- Polynesian mythology ... Iwa, Kaulu, Maui, Ono, Pekoi
- Tibetan folklore ... Agu Tonpa
- Ute mythology ... Cin-an-ev
- Vodun ... Ti Malice
- Yoruba mythology ... Eshu
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Modern Day Tricksters:
- Bugs Bunny
- Michael Moorcock's Jerry Cornelius (a Harlequin-like character)
- Hoki the Jokester and Agi Hammerthief in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels
- The Woodsie Lord, also called simply The Trickster, god of the pagans in the Thief game series.
- Q from Star Trek.
- Superman's implike tormentor Mr. Mxyzptlk
- Jerry from Tom & Jerry
- Captain Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
- Spider-Man
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