From: madrone@cruzio.santa-cruz.ca.us
Subject: Heyoka and an Explanation (was Re: Virtual Ritual)
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 93 23:27:41 PDT

The word "heyoka" is an American Indian (Cree?) word which describes a
person or teacher who teaches in a crazy or contrary way.  Or a person
who is a trickster, like Coyote.  Or a person who is all butterfingers
and makes lots of stupid, but profound, mistakes.  Heyoka energy is
associated with the East and creativity.
[deleted]

===
From: tim@toad.com (Tim Maroney)
Subject: Re: Heyoka and an Explanation (was Re: Virtual Ritual)
Date: 19 Aug 93 22:53:54 GMT

dancer@daisy.cc.utexas.edu, Donn Chambers writes:
> Finally (and I am wrapping my asbestos blanket tightly around me
> when I write this), many natives and non-natives find it personally
> insulting when people use a word like "heyoka" in the way you did,
> because the way you used it was really not the way it was meant.  A
> person who is a "butterfingers" is NOT heyoka.

Really?  Is there a separate word for a holy fool -- someone who seems
superficially clownish or idiotic, but whose strange or inept actions
act to teach great wisdom?  This seems like an aspect of the
"backwards" meaning of heyoka to me.

> I recall a story a Crow elder told at a powwow once.  Someone had
> remarked that Mickey Mouse was like Coyote to mainstream americans.
> He thought he had made a relevant insight.  The elder was very upset
> at this, because the man obviously did not understand exactly who
> Coyote was, and what he represented to the people.

I agree.  We all know that Bugs Bunny is the real Coyote.
-- 
Tim Maroney, Communications and User Interface Engineer

Disclaimer: The file contained in the box above or displayed in a separate window from a link in the box above is NOT owned nor implied to be owned by BeYoND THe iLLuSioN. Most files at BeYoND THe iLLuSioN are originally from public Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) which were popular in the days before the Internet or from gopher, web, and FTP sites from the early days of the Internet which no longer exist today. Essentially, all files were acquired from the public domain in one for or another.

However, there have been occasions when copyright protected material has appeared on BeYoND THe iLLuSIoN without permission of the copyright holder. In these instances, we have and will continue to remove the copyright protected file as soon as it is brought to our attention. This can now be done using our Report Copyright Material form. Fill out the form, and the webmaster will be notified of the situation.

There are also times when files found on BeYoND THe iLLuSioN have a real home somewhere else on the Internet. In these instances, we will gladly replace the file with a link to its true home whenever it is brought to our attention. If you know of the true home of any of these files, you can use our Report Original URL form to bring it yo our attention.