100% FREE ONLINE DATING
sponsored links
Previous
| Topic: DRAGONS UNICORNS MERMAIDS PEGASUS OTHER MYTHIC ANIMALS | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A Kiowa Legend There was a camp of Kiowa. There were a young man, his wife, and his brother. They set out by themselves to look for game. This young man would leave his younger brother and his wife in camp and go out to look for game. Every time his brother would leave, the boy would go to a high hill nearby and sit there all day until his brother returned. One time before the boy went as usual to the hill, his sister-in-law said, "Why are you so lonesome?" Let us be sweethearts. "The boy answered, "No, I love my brother and I would not want to do that." She said, "Your brother would not know. Only you and I would know. He would not find out." "No, I think a great deal of my brother. I would not want to do that." One night as they all went to sleep the young woman went to where the boy used to sit on the hill. She began to dig. She dug a hole deep enough so that no one would ever hear him. She covered it by placing a hide over the hole, and she made it look so natural so nobody would notice it. She went back to the camp and laid down. Next day the older brother went hunting and the younger brother went to where he used to sit. The young woman watched him and saw him drop out of sight. She went up the hill and looked into the pit and said, "I guess you want to make love now. If you are willing to be my sweetheart I will let you out. If not, you will have to stay in there until you die." The boy said, "I will not." After the young man returned home, he asked his wife where his little brother was. She said, "I have not seen him since you left, but he went up on the hill." That night as they went to bed the young man said to his wife that he thought he heard a voice somewhere. She said, " It is only the Wolves that you hear." The young man did not sleep all night. He said to his wife, "You must have scolded him to make him go; he may have gone back home." I did not say anything to him. Every day when you go hunting he goes to that hill." Next day they broke camp and went back to the main camp to see if he was there. He was not there. They concluded that he had died. His father and mother cried over him. The boy staying in the pit was crying; he was starving. He looked up and saw something. A Wolf was pulling off the old hide. The Wolf said, "Why are you down there?" The boy told him what happened, that the woman caused him to be in there. The Wolf said, "I will get you out. If I get you out, you will be my son." He heard the Wolf howling. When he looked up again, there was a pack of Wolves. They started to dig in the side of the pit until they reached him and he could crawl out. It was very cold. As night came on, the Wolves lay all around him and on top of him to keep him warm. Next morning the Wolves asked what he ate. He said that he ate meat. So the Wolves went out and found Buffalo and killed a calf and brought it to him. The boy had nothing to butcher it with, so the Wolf tore the calf to pieces for the boy to get out what he wanted. The boy ate till he was full. The Wolf who got him out asked the others if they knew where there was a flint knife. One said that he had seen one somewhere. He told him to get it. After that, when the Wolves killed for him he would butcher it himself. Some time after that, a man from the camp was out hunting, and he observed a pack of Wolves and among them a man. He rode up to see if he could recognize this man. He got near enough only to see that it was a man. He returned to camp and told the people ne had seen a man with some Wolves. They considered that it might be the young man who had been lost some time before. The camp had killed off all the Buffalo. Some young men after butchering had left to kill Wolves (as they did after killing Buffalo). They noticed a young man with a pack of Wolves. The Wolves saw the men, and they ran off. The young man ran off with them. Next day the whole camp went out to see who the young man was. The saw the Wolves and the young man with them. They pursued the young man. They overtook him and caught him. He bit them like a Wolf. After they caught him, they heard the Wolves howling in the distance. The young man told his father and brother to free him so he could hear what the Wolves were saying. They said if they loosened him, he would not come back. However they loosened him and he went out and met the Wolves. Then he returned to camp. "How did you come to be among them?" asked the father and brother. He told how his sister-in-law had dug the hole, and he fell in, and the Wolves had gotten him out, and he had lived with them ever since. The Wolf had aid to him that someone must come in his place, that they were to wind Buffalo gut around the young woman and send her. The young woman's father and mother found out what she had done to the boy. They said to her husband that she had done wrong and for him to do as the Wolf had directed and take her to him and let him eat her up. So the husband of the young woman took her and wound the guts around her and led her to where the Wolf had directed. The whole camp went to see, and the Wolf Boy said, "Let me take her to my father Wolf." Then he took her and stopped at a distance and howled like a Wolf, and they saw the Wolves coming from everywhere. He said to his Wolf father, "Here is the one you were to have in my place." The Wolves came and tore her up. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 07:31 AM
|
 A Cherokee Legend An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed." Here is the same story, but it is called "Grandfather Tells" which is also known as "The Wolves Within" An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit." The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?" The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shoshoni Wouldn't it be great if everybody could live forever? There would be no disease, no accidents. Life would just be sunny days and fun all the time. Native American mythology has lots of stories about a time when there was no death in the world. One community, the Shoshoni people, believe that this happy time was all because of one animal: the Wolf. *************************** The Shoshoni people saw the Wolf as a creator God and they respected him greatly. Long ago, Wolf, and many other animals, walked and talked like man. Coyote could talk, too, but the Shoshoni people kept far away from him because he was a Trickster, somebody who is always up to no good and out to double-cross you. Coyote resented Wolf because he was respected by the Shoshoni. Being a devious Trickster, Coyote decided it was time to teach Wolf a lesson. He would make the Shoshoni people dislike Wolf, and he had the perfect plan. Or so he thought. One day, Wolf and Coyote were discussing the people of the land. Wolf claimed that if somebody were to die, he could bring them back to life by shooting an arrow under them. Coyote had heard this boast before and decided to put his plan into action. Wearing his most innocent smile he told Wolf that if he brought everyone back to life, there would soon be no room left on Earth. Once people die, said Coyote, they should remain dead. If Wolf takes my advice, thought Coyote, then the Shoshoni people would hate Wolf, once and for all. Wolf was getting tired of Coyote constantly questioning his wisdom and knew he was up to no good, but he didn't say anything. He just nodded wisely and decided it was time to teach Coyote a lesson. A few days after their conversation, Coyote came running to Wolf. Coyote's fur was ruffled and his eyes were wide with panic. Wolf already knew what was wrong: Coyote's son had been bitten by Rattlesnake and no animal can survive the snake's powerful venom. Coyote pleaded with Wolf to bring his son back to life by shooting an arrow under him, as he claimed he could do. Wolf reminded Coyote of his own remark that people should remain dead. He was no longer going to bring people back to life, as Coyote had suggested. The Shoshoni people say that was the day Death came to the land and that, as a punishment for his mischievous ways, Coyote's son was the first to die. No one else was ever raised from the dead by Wolf again, and the people came to know sadness when someone dies. Despite Coyote's efforts, however, the Shoshoni didn't hate Wolf. Instead, they admired his strength, wisdom and power, and they still do today. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.or...The First Healer One day as a man was walking alone he met a coyote. Coyote spoke to the man and said, "How would you like to smoke my pipe?" The man thanked the coyote and said "Sure!" When the man was finished, the coyote said to him, "You have smoked my pipe so now you are my friend and I will not harm you, but will take you to meet my people. I want my people to know that you have smoked my pipe. They will be glad to see you and will give you great powers." They walked on a way and after a while they met many coyotes and wolves. When the coyotes and the wolves saw the coyote with the man one wolf called to the other wolves and said, "Everyone be seated. Let us hear what these people who are coming have to say." When they were seated the coyote stood up and said, "This man is my brother. He smoked my pipe. He came with me to pay you a visit. Let us take pity on him and make him a wonderful man." The man was frightened, for the wolves came very close to him. Then the man was told that he must not be afraid to look. So he did and saw many coyotes, old and young. The coyotes began to roll in the dust then they came to the man and gave him plant roots and told him that the roots were good for healing the sick. Then one of the coyotes arose and said, "We will give you this root and if any many is bitten by a mad dog give him this medicine. He will then get well and not go mad. The other medicinal roots are good for other ailments and pains." Next a wolf stood up and rolled in the dust. Then he arose and gave the man a whistle and said, "I give you the whistle. When anybody is sick, use this whistle and the person will be made well." Then another wolf arose and gave the man a piece of bone with the skull of a wolf on it and said, "Take this piece of bone. If anyone attempts to poison or bewitch you, lay the bone on your forehead and you will be able to overcome them. My power is the bone." Finally the man spoke and said, "This is enough. I thank you wolves and coyotes, I am glad I cam here." Then coyote took the man back to the village. "When you get home," the coyote said, "take this whistle. Blow it before you get home. Blow hard and we will hear it; all the coyotes and wolves will hear it." The man did as he was told and heard the coyotes and wolves howl in the distance. After several days he heard of a man who was very ill. He went to him and doctored him. With the new healing powers he had learned from the wolves and the coyotes, he was able to cure the sick man. Thus began the journeys of the first healers. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 07:24 AM
|
 Once a man found two wolf pups on the beach, he took them to his home and raised them. When the pups had grown, they would swim out in to the ocean, kill a whale, and bring it to shore for the man to eat. Each day they did this, soon there was too much meat to eat and it began to spoil. When the Great Above Person saw this waste he made a fog and the wolves could not find whales to kill nor find they way back to shore. They had to remain at sea, those wolves became seawolves (Orca). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Two pretty girls lived not far from Rabbit and Wolf. One day Rabbit called upon Wolf and said, "Let's go and visit those pretty girls up the road." "All right," Wolf said, and they started off. When they got to the girls' house, they were invited in, but both girls took a great liking to Wolf and paid all their attention to him while Rabbit had to sit by and look on. Rabbit of course was not pleased by this, and he soon said, "We had better be going back." "Let's wait a while longer," Wolf replied, and they remained until late in the day. Before they left, Rabbit found a chance to speak to one of the girls so that Wolf could not overhear and he said, "The one you've been having so much fun with is my old horse." "I think you are lying," the girl replied. "No, I am not. You shall see me ride him up here tomorrow." "If we see you ride him up here," the girl said with a laugh, "we'll believe he's only your old horse." When the two left the house, the girls said, "Well, call again." Next morning Wolf was up early, knocking on Rabbit's door. "It's time to visit those girls again," he announced. Rabbit groaned. "Oh, I was sick all night," he answered, "and I hardly feel able to go." Wolf kept urging him, and finally Rabbit said, "If you will let me ride you, I might go along to keep you company." Wolf agreed to carry him astride of his back. But then Rabbit said, "I would like to put a saddle on you so as to brace myself" When Wolf agreed to this, Rabbit added: "I believe it would be better if I should also bridle you." Although Wolf objected at first to being bridled, he gave in when Rabbit said he did not think he could hold on and manage to get as far as the girls' house without a bridle. Finally Rabbit wanted to put on spurs. "I am too ticklish," Wolf protested. "I will not spur you with them," Rabbit promised. "I will hold them away from you, but it would be nicer to have them on." At last Wolf agreed to this, but he repeated: "I am very ticklish. You must not spur me." "When we get near the girls' house," Rabbit said, "we will take everything off you and walk the rest of the way." And so they started up the road, Rabbit proudly riding upon Wolf's back. When they were nearly in sight of the house, Rabbit raked his spurs into Wolf's sides and Wolf galloped full speed right by the house. "Those girls have seen you now," Rabbit said. "I will tie you here and go up to see them and try to explain everything. I'll come back after a while and get you." And so Rabbit went back to the house and said to the girls: "You both saw me riding my old horse, did you not?" "Yes," they answered, and he sat down and had a good time with them. After a while Rabbit thought he ought to untie Wolf, and he started back to the place where he was fastened. He knew that Wolf must be very angry with him by this time, and he thought up a way to untie him and get rid of him without any danger to himself. He found a thin hollow log and began beating upon it as if it were a drum. Then he ran up to Wolf as fast as he could go, crying out: "The soldiers are hunting for you! You heard their drum. The soldiers are after you." Wolf was very much frightened of soldiers. "Let me go, let me go!" he shouted. Rabbit was purposely slow in untying him and had barely freed him when Wolf broke away and ran as fast as he could into the woods. Then Rabbit returned home, laughing to himself over how he had fooled Wolf, and feeling satisfied that he could have the girls to himself for a while. Near the girls' house was a large peach orchard, and one day they asked Rabbit to shake the peaches off the tree for them. They went to the orchard together and he climbed up into a tree to shake the peaches off. While he was there Wolf suddenly appeared and called out: "Rabbit, old fellow, I'm going to even the score with you. I'm not going to leave you alone until I do." Rabbit raised his head and pretended to be looking at some people off in the distance. Then he shouted from the treetop: "Here is that fellow, Wolf, you've been hunting for!" At this, Wolf took fright and ran away again. Some time after this, Rabbit was resting against a tree-trunk that leaned toward the ground. When he saw Wolf coming along toward him, he stood up so that the bent tree-trunk pressed against his shoulder. "I have you now," said Wolf, but Rabbit quickly replied: "Some people told me that if I would hold this tree up with the great power I have they would bring me four hogs in payment. Now, I don't like hog meat as well as you do, so if you take my place they'll give the hogs to you." Wolf's greed was excited by this, and he said he was willing to hold up the tree. He squeezed in beside Rabbit, who said, "You must hold it tight or it will fall down." Rabbit then ran off, and Wolf stood with his back pressed hard against the bent tree- trunk until he finally decided he could stand it no longer. He jumped away quickly so the tree would not fall upon him. Then he saw that it was only a leaning tree rooted in the earth. "That Rabbit is the biggest liar," he cried. "If I can catch him I'll certainly fix him." After that, Wolf hunted for Rabbit every day until he found him lying in a nice grassy place. He was about to spring upon him when Rabbit said, "My friend, I've been waiting to see you again. I have something good for you to eat. Somebody killed a pony out there in the road. If you wish I'll help you drag it out of the road to a place where you can make a feast off it." "All right," Wolf said, and he followed Rabbit out to the road where a pony was lying asleep. "I'm not strong enough to move the pony by myself," said Rabbit, "so I'll tie its tail to yours and help you by pushing." Rabbit tied their tails together carefully so as not to awaken the pony. Then he grabbed the pony by the ears as if he were going to lift it up. The pony woke up, jumped to its feet, and ran away, dragging Wolf behind. Wolf struggled frantically to free his tail, but all he could do was scratch on the ground with his claws. "Pull with all your might," Rabbit shouted after him. "How can I pull with all my might," Wolf cried, "when I'm not standing on the ground?" By and by, however, Wolf got loose, and then Rabbit had to go into hiding for a long, long time. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 07:35 AM
|
 How the Wolf Ritual Began Northwest Coastal A long time ago, a young woman of the tribe, with three companions, was walking outside the village. They were going to a place called Tomak'cluh to look for ah-et's'l, a small plant whose roots they use for food. During the journey a Wolf went trotting across their path, strong and sleek and scarcely noticing the girls. The young woman said: "How handsome he is! I wish my husband, when I marry, could be as strong and as fearless." At nighttime the women went to sleep, and the Wolf came in. (The Wolves know everything and read the minds of human creatures). The girl did not know that he had come, but the Wolf woke the sleeping girl, and told her he was going to take her with him. Opening her eyes, she saw a fine young man standing before her..... The young woman went with the Wolf to his home in the mountain, and was there a long time. Two sons were born who grew up to be half Wolf and half man. The old father of the girl, meanwhile, did not know where his daughter had gone, and was greatly troubled. At her home they tried everywhere to find her, looking in vain in all sorts of places, until they grieved for her as dead. In the Wolf country the oldest son, grown to be a man, asked his mother why he looked different from the people around him (the Wolves). The mother had told him that he came from another place, and that there, far from where the Wolves live, dwelt her own father. Then the son asked when she was going home, because he wished very much to see what it was like there. So the woman told her husband that their son would like to see his grandfather. He finally agreed, but before they went, as a gift to his wife, the Wolf began to teach the woman about the Klukwana [the wolf ritual], which they had there. It was the Chief of Wolves that the woman have married and all the wolves came to the Chief's house to have Klukwana. When she had learned all about it, the Wolves came to take her away to her own village. They brought her to her father's house at night, and waited behind the other houses, but did not come near. The woman went in to wake her father, and began talking to him of a daughter he had lost, though she kept hidden who she was. She said she herself had a Wolf husband, and that she had with her two sons. The woman also told her father many things about the Wolves, and that the villagers must not do anything when the Wolves howled, or try to harm them. Instead they must try to learn from them. The old father had been much grieved because his daughter was dead, but he did not know her because it was nighttime and she was much changed after so many years. But at last had revealed herself to him and told him that now she was going to have a "song" of her own as a sign that the Wolves had brought her back and by which he might know her again. The father gathered his people and told them of his daughter's return. They heard the wolves outside and began to beat on long boards and sticks. The wolves howled four times and departed. Then the woman taught her father all about Klukwana, and the secrets she had learned from the Wolves as to their power and strength. After she had taught him all the songs and all the dances, the father began the Klukwana and later taught the rest of the tribe all that his daughter had learned from the Wolves. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 07:45 AM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 08:02 AM
|
 Coyote Shoshoni/Paiute The coyote, like his brother the wolf, was a spiritual being. In the beginning the coyote left his homeland in the Americas and traveled eastward across the ocean in the direction of the rising sun. In distant lands, he acquired a bride and with her had a great number of children. These children were Indians, the forefathers of the great tribes that were to inhabit the North and South American continents. Preparing to return home, the coyote put them all in a wosa, a woven willow basket jug with a cork. Before his journey, he was instructed not to open the jug until he reached his country in the Rockies and the Great Basin. Being a sly and curious person, and hearing singing and the beating of drums within the wosa, the coyote thought it would not hurt to take a peek when he arrived back on the eastern coast of the American continent. But when he opened the jug, the children inside jumped out and scattered in all directions across North and South America. By the time he got the cap back on, the only two persons who remained in the wosa were the western Shoshone and the Paiute. These he brought home with him. When he reached the Great Basin, he opened the jug, and out fell the last two children. They, at once, began to fight. The coyote kicked them apart and said to them, "You two are my children. Even though the rest got away, you two will be able to fight against the best and beat them." Thus, the western Shoshone and Paiutes, or the Newe and Numa peoples, who now live in California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Oregon, began as allies and populated the Great Basin. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 09:20 AM
|
 Coyote and Multnomah Falls Native Lore The Big River, or Great River, in the stories of the Northwest Indians is the Columbia. The Big Shining Mountains are the Rockies. "Long, long ago, when the world was young and people had not come out yet," said an elderly Indian years ago, "the animals and the birds were the people of this country. They talked to each other just as we do. And they married, too." Coyote (ki-o-ti) was the most powerful of the animal people, for he had been given special power by the Spirit Chief. For one thing, he changed the course of Big River, leaving Dry Falls behind. In some stories, he was an animal; in others he was a man, sometimes a handsome young man. In that long ago time before this time, when all the people and all the animals spoke the same language, Coyote made one of his frequent trips along Great River. He stopped when he came to the place where the water flowed under the Great Bridge that joined the mountains on one side of the river with the mountains on the other side. There he changed himself into a handsome young hunter. When travelling up the river the last time, he had seen a beautiful girl in a village not far from the bridge. He made up his mind that he would ask the girl's father if he might have her for his wife. The girl's father was a chief. When the handsome young man went to the chief's lodge, he carried with him a choice gift for the father in return for his daughter. The gift was a pile of the hides and furs of many animals, as many skins as Coyote could carry. He made the gift large and handsome because he had learned that the man who would become the husband of the girl would one day become the chief of the tribe. The chief knew nothing about the young man except that he seemed to be a great hunter. The gift was pleasing in the father's eyes, but he wanted his daughter to be pleased. "She is my only daughter," the chief said to the young hunter. "And she is very dear to my heart. I shall not be like other fathers and trade her for a pile of furs. You will have to win the heart of my daughter, for I want her to be happy." So Coyote came to the chiefs lodge every day, bringing with him some small gift that he thought would please the girl. But he never seemed to bring the right thing. She would shyly accept his gift and the run away to the place where the women sat in the sun doing their work with deerskins or to the place where the children were playing games. Every day Coyote became more eager to win the beautiful girl. He thought and thought about what gifts to take to her. "Perhaps the prettiest flower hidden in the forest," he said to himself one day, "will be the gift that will make her want to marry me." He went to the forest beside Great River and searched for one whole day. Then he took to the chief's lodge the most beautiful flower he had found. He asked to see the chief. "I have looked all day for this flower for your daughter," said Coyote to the chief. "If this does not touch her heart, what will? What gift can I bring that will win her heart?" The chief was the wisest of all the chiefs of a great tribe. He answered, "Why don't you ask my daughter? Ask her, today, what gift will make her heart the happiest of all hearts." As the two finished talking, they saw the girl come out of the forest. Again Coyote was pleased and excited by her beauty and her youth. He stepped up to her and asked, "Oh, beautiful one, what does your heart want most of all? I will get for you anything that you name. This flower that I found for you in a hidden spot in the woods is my pledge." Surprised, or seeming to be surprised, the girl looked at the young hunter and at the rare white flower he was offering her. "I want a pool," she answered shyly. "A pool where I may bathe every day hidden from all eyes that might see." Then, without accepting the flower that Coyote had searched for so many hours, she ran away. As before, she hurried to play with her young friends. Coyote turned to her father. "It is well. In seven suns I will come for youand your daughter. I will take you to the pool she asked for. The pool will be for her alone." For seven suns Coyote worked to build the pool that would win the heart of the girl he wished to marry. First he cut a great gash in the hills on the south side of Great River. Then he lined that gash with trees and shrubs and ferns to the very top of a high wall that looked toward the river. Then he went to the bottom of the rock wall and slanted it back a long way, far enough to hollow out a wide pool. He climbed up the wall again and went far back into the hills. There he made a stream come out of the earth, and he sent it down the big gash he had made, to fall over the slanting rock wall. From the edge of that wall the water dropped with spray and mist. And so the water made, at the bottom, a big screen that hid the pool from all eyes. When he had finished his work, Coyote went to the village to invite the chief and his daughter to see what he had made. When they had admired the new waterfall, he showed them the pool that lay behind it and the spray. He watched the eyes of the girl. She looked with smiling eyes, first at the pool and the waterfall in front of it, and then at the young hunter who had made them for her. He could see that she was pleased. He could see that at last he had won her heart. She told her father that she was willing to become the wife of the young hunter. In that long ago time before this time, two old grandmothers sat all day on top of the highest mountains. One sat on the top of the highest mountain north of Great River. The other sat on the highest mountain south of it. When the one on the north side talked, she could be heard eastward as far as the Big Shining Mountains, westward as far as the big water where the sun hides every night, and northward to the top of the world. The grandmother on the south side of the river also could be heard as farwest as the big water and as far south as anyone lived. The two old women saw everything that was done, and every day they told all the people on both sides of the river. Now they saw the chief's daughter go every morning to bathe in the pool, and they saw Coyote wait for her outside the screen of waterfall and spray. The old grandmothers heard the two sing to each other and laugh together. The grandmothers laughed at the pair, raised their voices, and told all the people what they saw and heard. Soon the chief's daughter knew that all the people were laughing at her--all the people from the big water to the Big Shining Mountains, all the people from the top of the world to as far south as anyone lived. She was no longer happy. She no longer sang with joy. One day she asked Coyote to allow her to go alone to the pool. The old grandmothers watched her go behind the waterfall. Then they saw her walk from the pool and go down into Great River. Her people never saw her again. Coyote, in a swift canoe, went down Great River in search of her. He saw her floating and swimming ahead of him, and he paddled as fast as he could. He reached her just before she was carried out into the big water where the sun hides at night. There the two of them, Coyote and the girl, were turned into little ducks, little summer ducks, floating on the water. That was a long, long time ago. But even today, when the sun takes its last look at the high cliff south of Great River, two summer ducks swim out to look back at the series of waterfalls that dash down the high mountain. They look longest at the lowest cascade and the spray that hides the tree-fringed pool behind them. If those who want to understand will be silent and listen, they will hear the little song that the chief's daughter and Coyote used to sing to each other every morning after she had bathed in the pool. The song begins very soft and low, lifts sharply to a high note, and then fades gently away.  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Edited by
tazzops
on
Tue 07/26/11 09:26 AM
|
 Coyote steals the sun and moon Zuni Day and night (as represented by the sun and moon) are metaphorically associated with summer and winter; hence the release of the moon brings death and desolation to the world. Coyote of course completely disrupts the seasonal cycle by interfering with the heavenly progression. The Kachinas mentioned were at the time of this story demi-gods, supernatuural intermediaries, mostly benign, who regularly visited the Pueblos and established elaborate rituals that included festive dances for the people.. ****************************** Coyote is a bad hunter who never kills anything. Once he watched Eagle hunting rabbits, catching one after another - more rabbits than he could eat. Coyote thought, "I'll team up with Eagle so I can have enough meat." Coyote is always up to something. "Friend," Coyote said to Eagle, "we should hunt together. Two can catch more than one." "Why not?" Eagle said, and so they began to hunt in partnership. Eagle caught many rabbits, but all Coyote caught was some little bugs. At this time the world was still dark; the sun and moon had not yet been put in the sky. "Friend," Coyote said to Eagle, "no wonder I can't catch anything; I can't see. Do you know where we can get some light?" "You're right, friend, there should be some light," Eagle said. "I think there's a little toward the west. Let's try and find it." And so they went looking for the sun and moon. They came to a big river, which Eagle flew over. Coyote swam, and swallowed so much water that he almost drowned. He crawled out with his fur full of mud, and Eagle asked, "Why don't you fly like me?" "You have wings, I just have hair," Coyote said. "I can't fly without feathers." At last they came to a pueblo, where the Kachinas happened to be dancing. The people invited Eagle and Coyote to sit down and have something to eat while they watched the sacred dances. Seeing the power of the Kachinas, Eagle said, "I believe these are the people who have light." Coyote, who had been looking all around, pointed out two boxes, one large and one small, that the people opened whenever they wanted light. To produce a lot of light, they opened the lid of the big box, which contained the sun. For less light they opened the small box, which held the moon. Coyote nudged Eagle. "Friend, did you see that? They have all the light we need in the big box. Let's steal it." "You always want to steal and rob. I say we should just borrow it." "They won't lend it to us." "You may be right," said Eagle. "Let's wait till they finish dancing and then steal it." After a while the Kachinas went home to sleep, and Eagle scooped up the large box and flew off. Coyote ran along trying to keep up, panting, his tongue hanging out. Soon he yelled up to Eagle, "Ho, friend, let me carry the box a little way." "No, no," said Eagle, "you never do anything right." He flew on, and Coyote ran after him. After a while Coyote shouted again: "Friend, you're my chief, and it's not right for you to carry the box; people will call me lazy. Let me have it." "No, no, you always mess everything up." And Eagle flew on and Coyote ran along. So it went for a stretch, and then Coyote started again. "Ho, friend, it isn't right for you to do this. What will people think of you and me?" "I don't care what people think. I'm going to carry this box." Again Eagle flew on and again Coyote ran after him. Finally Coyote begged for the fourth time: "Let me carry it. You're the chief, and I'm just Coyote. Let me carry it." Eagle couldn't stand any more pestering. Also, Coyote had asked him four times, and if someone asks four times, you better give him what he wants. Eagle said, "Since you won't let up on me, go ahead and carry the box for a while. But promise not to open it." "Oh, sure, oh yes, I promise." They went on as before, but now Coyote had the box. Soon Eagle was far ahead, and Coyote lagged behind a hill where Eagle couldn't see him. "I wonder what the light looks like, inside there," he said to himself. "Why shouldn't I take a peek? Probably there's something extra in the box, something good that Eagle wants to keep to himself." And Coyote opened the lid. Now, not only was the sun inside, but the moon also. Eagle had put them both together, thinking that it would be easier to carry one box than two. As soon as Coyote opened the lid, the moon escaped, flying high into the sky. At once all the plants shriveled up and turned brown. Just as quickly, all the leaves fell off the trees, and it was winter. Trying to catch the moon and put it back in the box, Coyote ran in pursuit as it skipped away from him. Meanwhile the sun flew out and rose into the sky. It drifted far away, and the peaches, squashes, and melons shriveled up with cold. Eagle turned and flew back to see what had delayed Coyote. "You fool! Look what you've done!" he said. "You let the sun and moon escape, and now it's cold." Indeed, it began to snow, and Coyote shivered. "Now your teeth are chattering," Eagle said. "and it's your fault that cold has come into the world." It's true. If it weren't for Coyote's curiosity and mischief making, we wouldn't have winter; we could enjoy summer all the time. ** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 And I can imagine it dosen't taste lucky lucky charms cereal 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grand indeed dear lady. 
|
|
|
|
|
