The Spider, although most tales involve the trickster figure and center on morality lessons for the young, Iktómi was also the bringer of Lakota culture. He is the first born son of Inyan, the Rock. He was originally called Ksa. According to author James Walker, Iktómi has his roots in Ksa, the god of wisdom: "Because Ksa had used his wisdom to cause a goddess to hide her face in shame and a god to bow his head in grief, Scan, the god of motion condemned him that he should sit at the feasts of gods no more and should sit on the world without a friend, and his wisdom should be only cunning that would entrap him in his own schemes. He named him Iktómi. So Iktómi is the imp of mischief whose delight is to make others ridiculous". The
Oglala of
South Dakota present Iktómi as the second manifestation, or degeneration, of Ksa, which hatched from the Cosmic Egg being laid by Wak-Inyan, the primordial thunderstorm. Ksa invented language, stories, names and games. In another version
Iya is the son of Unk (defined as
passion), who detested Ksa. Iya and Unk had an incestuous relationship out of which Gnaski, the demon, was the result. Because of this, and for not taking the advice of Ksa, Unk was expelled from the circle of divine entities. Unk wanted to outwit Ksa with the help of the cunning of Gnaski. Gnaski succeeds in this, mainly because he has no fear of Skan (the Judge, Activity), by sowing confusion. Gnaski enabled this by mimicking Ksa to perfection; therefore, Gnaski is called Ksapela (little wisdom). The first people were not able to distinguish between the two. Through his folly Gnaski entangles Ksa completely, and through the activity of Skan Ksa consequently becomes a spider, the meaning of the name Iktómi. Iktómi still had the feature of making games. It seems that Iktómi, in stories attributed to him, in his very essence is representing the confusion between wisdom and folly. He began playing malicious tricks because people would jeer at his strange or funny looks. Most of his schemes end with him falling into ruin when his intricate plans backfire. Because it is Iktómi, a respected (or perhaps feared) deity playing the part of the
idiot or
fool, and the story is told as entertainment, the listener is allowed to reflect on misdeeds without feeling like they are being confronted. In other tales, Iktómi is depicted with dignity and seriousness, such as in the popularized myth of the
dreamcatcher. Iktómi is a shapeshifter, and can use strings to control humans like puppets. He has also the power to make
potions that change gods, gain control over people and trick gods and mortals. Mica or Coyote is his great accomplice in all of this, though there are times when he behaves seriously and comes to the aid of the Lakota people, there are instances where he gives the people ways to protect themselves from evil, live a better life with
technology, or warn them of danger. ==Interpretations==