Otter Tales: Stories of the Land Otter Man and Other Spirit Stories based on the Folklore of the Tlingit of Southeastern Alaska Paperback – May 22, 2014

The purpose of Otter Tales is to introduce the myths and legends, passed along from one generation to the next as a way of transmitting the core values and beliefs of the Tlingit culture. The Kushtaka is at once the nemesis of the Tlingit people as well as the source of wonder and inspiration, and these tales illuminate the relationship between use of allegory and the truth it reveals, which is especially intriguing here, as we are excavating a culture of the past.There are several common scenarios in these tales, most of which describe a transition between the realm of humans and that of the Kushaka: and the change entailed by it: Here are several examples: man is taken by the land otters comes back and becomes a shaman. Upon death, he returns to the land of the land otters to heal or rescue someone. He is resurrected to the realm of the living, bringing special gifts. The thin border between realms—the human and animal realms, the dead and the living—is tested and stretched in many symbolic ways.I feel indebted to Dennis Waller for bringing these tales, resurrecting them from an earlier publication by John R. Swanson, which I see as an act of passing them from one generation to the next.Five stars.

I purchased this book because I am researching Pac. NW mythology and spirituality. While the price indicated a small book, I was surprised at the overall "cheap" quality. There are typos/misspellings, and the print is large enough that even for a book this small, the buyer is simply NOT getting much bang for the buck.More importantly, this is an EXCERPT from a book which I presume is a larger (if not necessarily better) resource for this kind of material.If you're buying something cheap to give a kid and you're not worried about quality of source material, this volume might be for you. If you're like me and looking for some substance -- skip this one. Do yourself a favor and look for something else to spend your money on.

I have read both the Otter Tales and Dennis Waller's book Kushtaka and his researchesare amazing. This book is a good introduction to the folklore of the Tlingit people.Dennis is THE expert to turn to on Tlingit folklore and myth, but there issomething more than just folklore here, there are clues to something bigger going onthat links to the Nephilim, fallen angels, and supernatural beings that live amongst us.I have drawn a lot of excellent ideas from Waller's books, and would highly recommend itto anyone interested in mythology, mysticism, and ancient astronaut/alien theory,

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. I did not rate it 5 stars simply because I do not trust 5 star ratings.It is a very quick read and was absolutely pleasant. It was well written. I don’t have any cons, other than wanting more stories.

When Myth becomes altered by legends, readers receives Otter Tales by Dennis Waller. Its a wonderful and brilliantly written book that tells the stories of the Tlingit People of Southeastern Alaska, strange & mysterious indegenious folks, shamans and all. This book would definitely peak the interest of readers into this kind of stuff or historical stuff or folklore, its a widely interesting topic that has held the attention of many for quite a few generations.

I've long been a fan of mythology and Native American folklore. From the trickster tales to the Norse stories of Odin and Thor, there is something fundamentally human about the retelling of tales that have been around for centuries. It's interesting how when you are examining work that comes from different centuries and is unique to separate cultures you nevertheless find similarities that are so distinct and profound that you have to believe it's more than coincidence."Otter Tales" are from the Tlingit of Alaska, and I hadn't read any of these particular tales before. However, that authentic similarity is there. These stories are represented in a very straightforward way. Sometimes you stumble across collections like these that try to modernize the tales for the sake of greater commercialism (and thus the truth is lost). These stores feel much more like the anecdotes a very old man might tell you, which is exactly what you want from a collection of myth or folklore stories. Highly recommended!

Otter Tales: Stories of the Land Otter Man and Other Spirit Stories based on the Folklore of the Tlingit of Southeastern Alaska is an incredible collection of 10 tales of mythology and legends of the Tlingit people. Before reading this, I was not familiar with the culture, but I'm glad to have an introduction through this book. I believe readers will enjoy this collection no matter if they know of the culture or not, and the tales will still be found to be familiar to them in some way. There is something to learn from each of them.

I love to read the legends and myths of other cultures. It gives me an insight about their believes and how their communities functioned. The oral tradition of passing down these types of stories was the only way to preserve the history of a group before the written word.These particular stories of the Tlingit People were new to me. Previously I’d never heard of this group. I love learning about new cultures and enjoyed each of the well-crafted tales.

This is a charming book full of 10 mythological and entertaining tales. These tales of the land otter and other spirits will keep you turning the pages. Many of them deal with the aftermath of grief and how we cope with it, but they also include tales of avarice and envy as well as love. They are well written and give you a real feel for the culture of the Tlingit people. A great read for anyone interested in native tales or just good stories.

This is an interesting collection of tales about the Land Otter Man and other spirits. I liked it, even though this is not the typical genre of book I tend to read. I would recommend to people who enjoy native stories. Even without it being my normal type of book, I enjoyed what I read and the pages turned quite easily - I just don't have a lot to compare it to.