Winter hunger, winter myths: Subsistence risk and mythology among the Klamath and Modoc

Oral tradition is one means by which traditional societies preserve and tra nsmit information about subsistence risks and coping strategies. This paper addresses subsistence risk, information processes, and oral tradition amon g the Klamath and Modoc, two closely related Native peoples of Oregon and C alifornia. Ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and ecological evidence of subsiste nce risks and coping strategies among the Klamath and Modoc in late precont act and early postcontact times are discussed. References to subsistence ri sks and coping strategies in Klamath and Modoc mythology are then examined, revealing that subsistence stress is an explicit theme in 28 documented Kl amath and Modoc myths. The narratives emphasize reciprocal exchange as an i deal means of coping with hunger and affirm a range of other coping strateg ies-skilled hunting and fishing, storage, diversification, mobility, resour ce conservation, and supernatural agency-some of which are not referenced i n ethnography or ethnohistory. The traditional context of Klamath and Modoc myth narration elucidates how this mythology preserved and transmitted sur vival information over time and space. These findings suggest that myth ana lysis, combined with ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and Ecological data, can strengthen the theories and models we use to explore subsistence risks and survival strategies in past cultural contexts. (C) 2000 Academic Press.