The relationship between Old Man Coyote (Mythic Coyote, Coyote the Trickster) and younger brother coyote (mundane coyote, the biological wild animal) is not simple. They share a high degree of intelligence and adaptability, are capable of complex problem solving, love play and display a sense of humor. But the contrast between them illuminates the complexity of Mythic Coyote.
Like many creatures on the North American continent, coyotes mate for life. Others include the wolf, red fox, beaver, bald and golden eagle, red tail hawk, swans and doves. The coyote couple are devoted parents and both are necessary to raise their litter of pups. Should one of the couple perish before the cubs are independent, the cubs will starve. Thus clever coyote, the family oriented lover of life, food and fun, functions as an example to be emulated, an ideal role model for human society.
Mythic Coyote, Old Man Coyote, is a much more troubling figure. In many Native American stories he was present at the Creation, even had a part in the Creation of Humans and had a decisive role in the Creation of Death. He gave the humans instruction on how to live on the New Earth and showed them how to get food and shelter and use fire.
But for all his helpful and creative qualities, Mythic Coyote is a creature of the Id, of unrestrained impulse in satisfying his desires, which are legion. Far from being a faithful family man, he is a wanderer given to wanton lust. In the early days his penis was so long he folded it into a box which he carried about on his back. He could send it out like a giant serpent to copulate with females, human and animal, at a distance. Only after their pleasure would they spy Coyote on the horizon and know what had happened – “Awww…it was Old Man Coyote had me”.
Rather than be an accomplished hunter, taking pride in providing for his family, Coyote resorts to various forms of trickery to secure food from others. Even when he insinuates himself as an unwelcome guest and is provided food as a social courtesy, his behavior is that of a glutton. He shamelessly takes more than his share, and may or may not remember to take a few scraps home to his family.
For all that, Coyote can be a lovable buffoon as well as an outrageous nuisance or shocking transgressor. His bluster is so self-servingly transparent, and his schemes so often backfire. For example, he insisted on a race with Turtle to settle ownership of a discovered cache of food, but fell asleep and Turtle won. His penis was bitten off to a more normal length by some rodent as Coyote copulated with a hole in a hollow tree. And when Quail Woman asked Coyote to watch over her children for an afternoon, once she was out of sight he cooked and ate them.
Trickster stories seem so ancient as to predate any existence of the moral structures of human society. Perhaps these stories even stem from a pre-human or proto-human culture. Coyote the Trickster is an utterly amoral character, a force of nature. As such he must be seen as both a creative force to admire and learn from, and a cautionary model of behavior to be avoided, the negative example of behavior that undermines social cohesion.