Malotki Ekkehart (ed.) The Bedbugs' Night Dance and Other Hopi Tales of Sexual Encounter

Narrated by Michael Lomatuway'ma, Lorena Lomatuway'ma, Sidney Namingha Jr., and Leslie Koyawena. Collected, translated, and edited by Ekkehart Malotki. With an introduction by E. N. Genovese. Illustrations by Ken Gary. — Bison Books, 1997. — 389 p. — ISBN: 0-8032-8239-7. (In Hopi and English).The mysteries of sex — the wonder of sexual initiation, the sting of sexual desire, the penalties of indulgence, and the power of erotic love — have all found expression in Hopi tales. Sometimes cast as animal fables, sometimes presented in monstrous exaggeration, and sometimes wildly bawdy, the tales evoke the candor of Hopi imagination and the vitality of Hopi culture. They show how the Hehey’as tricked the Itsivus and took advantage of their wives, describe how the Horned Lizard Girls found a new use for chili powder, and tell of Bedbug Boy and his constantly interrupted dinner.
Ekkehart Malotki’s preface and glossary clarify terms and concepts and provide background for the stories and the storytelling. E. N. Genovese’s introduction looks at the collection in the broader context of classical mythology and describes how the Hopi stories are distinct in their own right.
Michael Lomatuway’ma, Lorena Lomatuway’ma, Sidney Namingha Jr., and Leslie Koyawena, all gifted Hopi storytellers, have contributed to this collection. Ekkehart Malotki is a professor of languages at Northern Arizona University. He has compiled and translated many other books, including Hopi Coyote Tales (Nebraska 1984) and Hopi Ruin Legends (Nebraska 1993). E. N. Genovese is a professor and chair of the Classics and Humanities Department at San Diego State University.