MAHEO
This is the Cheyenne name for the Creator (God.) Literally his name means "Great One," and he is often referred to as Great Medicine or the Great Spirit. Maheo is a divine spirit without human form or attributes and is rarely personified in Cheyenne folklore. In some myths, Maheo is referred to as Heammawihio (or Heamaveeho,) which means "Spider Above." This may be an appellation borrowed from their Arapaho kinfolk, who referred to the Creator this way to differentiate him from the earthly Spider figure (see below.) Maheo is by far the more common name. It is pronounced similar to mah-hey-yoh in Cheyenne.
WIHIO
Wihio is the spider trickster of the Cheyenne tribe.
His name is pronounced veh-hoh or wih-hoh, depending on dialect. Though he is associated with spiders and his name means "spider," he has the form of a man in every Cheyenne tale we know of. In some stories, Wihio plays the role of the clever and benevolent trickster/transformer hero, similar to Old Man of the Blackfoot tribe; but in most stories, he is merely a silly and foolish character who behaves as inappropriately as possible by Cheyenne social standards. In any case, the literal meaning of the character's Cheyenne name is "Spider." It is given as "White-Man" in some older translations, but this is a misleading translation-- the Cheyenne’s named white people after the trickster character, not vice versa!
This is the Cheyenne name for the Creator (God.) Literally his name means "Great One," and he is often referred to as Great Medicine or the Great Spirit. Maheo is a divine spirit without human form or attributes and is rarely personified in Cheyenne folklore. In some myths, Maheo is referred to as Heammawihio (or Heamaveeho,) which means "Spider Above." This may be an appellation borrowed from their Arapaho kinfolk, who referred to the Creator this way to differentiate him from the earthly Spider figure (see below.) Maheo is by far the more common name. It is pronounced similar to mah-hey-yoh in Cheyenne.
WIHIO
Wihio is the spider trickster of the Cheyenne tribe.
His name is pronounced veh-hoh or wih-hoh, depending on dialect. Though he is associated with spiders and his name means "spider," he has the form of a man in every Cheyenne tale we know of. In some stories, Wihio plays the role of the clever and benevolent trickster/transformer hero, similar to Old Man of the Blackfoot tribe; but in most stories, he is merely a silly and foolish character who behaves as inappropriately as possible by Cheyenne social standards. In any case, the literal meaning of the character's Cheyenne name is "Spider." It is given as "White-Man" in some older translations, but this is a misleading translation-- the Cheyenne’s named white people after the trickster character, not vice versa!Author: George Bird Grinnell. Online page: http://www.native-languages.org/cheyenne-legends.htm Date: June 17, 2008
BY: PAOLA URREGO
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