Apache
In the beginning was only Tepeu and Gucumatz (Feathered Serpent).
These two sat together and thought, and whatever they thought
came into being. They thought Earth, and there it was. They
thought mountains, and so there were. They thought trees, and
sky, and animals etc, and each came into being. But none of
these things could praise them, so they formed more advanced
beings of clay. But these beings fell apart when they got wet,
so they made beings out of wood, but they proved unsatisfactory
and caused trouble on the earth. The gods sent a great flood
to wipe out these beings, so that they could start over. With
the help of Mountain Lion, Coyote, Parrot, and Crow they fashioned
four new beings. These four beings performed well and are the
ancestors of the Quiché In the beginning was only Tepeu
and Gucumatz (Feathered Serpent).
These two sat together and thought, and whatever they thought
came into being. They thought earth, and there it was. They
thought mountains, and so there were. They thought trees, and
sky, and animals etc, and each came into being. But none of
these things could praise them, so they formed more advanced
beings of clay. But these beings fell apart when they got wet,
so they made beings out of wood, but they proved unsatisfactory
and caused trouble on the earth. The gods sent a great flood
to wipe out these beings, so that they could start over. With
the help of Mountain Lion, Coyote, Parrot, and Crow they fashioned
four new beings. These four beings performed well and are the
ancestors of the Quich.
In the beginning there was only darkness. Suddenly a small
bearded man, the One Who Lives Above, appeared rubbing his eyes
as if just awakened. The man, the Creator, rubbed his hands
together and there appeared a little girl, Girl-Without-Parents.
The creator rubbed his face with his hands and there stood the
Sun-God. Again Creator rubbed his sweaty brow and from his hands
dropped Small-boy. Now there were four gods.Then he created
Tarantula, Big Dipper, Wind, Lightning-Maker and Lightning-Rumbler.
All four gods shook hands so that their sweat mixed together.
Then Creator rubbed his palms together from which fell a small
round, brown ball. They took turns kicking it and with each
kick the ball grew larger. Creator told Wind to go inside the
ball and blow it up. Then Tarantula spun a black cord which
he attached to the ball and went to the east pulling as hard
as he could.
He repeated this exercise with a blue cord to the south, a
yellow cord to the west and a white cord to the north. When
he was done the brown ball had become the earth. The Creator
again rubbed his hands and there appeared Hummingbird. "Fly
all over this earth," said Creator to Hummingbird, "and
tell us what you see." When he returned Hummingbird reported
that there was water on the west side. But the earth rolled
and bounced, so Creator made four giant posts one each black,
blue, yellow and white and had Wind place them at the four cardinal
points of the earth. The earth was now still. The creation of
the people, animals, birds, trees, etc takes place hereafter.
Myth 2
Animals, elements, the solar system, and natural phenomena
are revered by the Apaches. That which is beyond their understanding
is always ascribed to the supernatural.
In the beginning nothing existed--no earth, no sky, no sun,
no moon, only darkness was everywhere.
Suddenly from the darkness emerged a thin disc, one side yellow
and the other side white, appearing suspended in midair. Within
the disc sat a small bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives
Above. As if waking from a long nap, he rubbed his eyes and
face with both hands.
When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above.
He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he
created yellow streaks of dawn. To the west, tints of many colours
appeared everywhere. There were also clouds of different colours.
Creator wiped his sweating face and rubbed his hands together,
thrusting them downward. Behold! A shining cloud upon which
sat a little girl.
"Stand up and tell me where are you going," said
Creator. But she did not reply. He rubbed his eyes again and
offered his right hand to the Girl-Without-Parents.
"Where did you come from?" she asked, grasping his
hand.
"From the east where it is now light," he replied,
stepping upon her cloud.
"Where is the earth?" she asked.
"Where is the sky?" he asked, and sang, "I am
thinking, thinking, thinking what I shall create next."
He sang four times, which was the magic number.
Creator brushed his face with his hands, rubbed them together,
then flung them wide open! Before them stood Sun-God. Again
Creator rubbed his sweaty brow and from his hands dropped Small-
Boy.
All four gods sat in deep thought upon the small cloud.
"What shall we make next?" asked Creator. "This
cloud is much too small for us to live upon."
Then he created Tarantula, Big Dipper, Wind, Lightning-Maker,
and some western clouds in which to house Lightning-Rumbler,
which he just finished.
Creator sang, "Let us make earth. I am thinking of the
earth, earth, earth; I am thinking of the earth," he sang
four times.
All four gods shook hands. In doing so, their sweat mixed together
and Creator rubbed his palms, from which fell a small round,
brown ball, not much larger than a bean.
Creator kicked it, and it expanded. Girl-Without-Parents kicked
the ball, and it enlarged more. Sun-God and Small-Boy took turns
giving it hard kicks, and each time the ball expanded. Creator
told Wind to go inside the ball and to blow it up.
Tarantula spun a black cord and, attaching it to the ball,
crawled away fast to the east, pulling on the cord with all
his strength. Tarantula repeated with a blue cord to the south,
a yellow cord to the west, and a white cord to the north. With
mighty pulls in each direction, the brown ball stretched to
immeasurable size--it became the earth! No hills, mountains,
or rivers were visible; only smooth, treeless, brown plains
appeared.
Creator scratched his chest and rubbed his fingers together
and there appeared Hummingbird.
"Fly north, south, east, and west and tell us what you
see," said Creator.
"All is well," reported Hummingbird upon his return.
"The earth is most beautiful, with water on the west side."
But the earth kept rolling and dancing up and down. So Creator
made four giant posts--black, blue, yellow, and white to support
the earth. Wind carried the four posts, placing them beneath
the four cardinal points of the earth. The earth sat still.
Creator sang, "World is now made and now sits still,"
which he repeated four times.
Then he began a song about the sky. None existed, but he thought
there should be one. After singing about it four times, twenty-
eight people appeared to help make a sky above the earth. Creator
chanted about making chiefs for the earth and sky.
He sent Lightning-Maker to encircle the world, and he returned
with three uncouth creatures, two girls and a boy found in a
turquoise shell. They had no eyes, ears, hair, mouths, noses,
or teeth. They had arms and legs, but no fingers or toes.
Sun-God sent for Fly to come and build a sweathouse. Girl-
Without-Parents covered it with four heavy clouds. In front
of the east doorway she placed a soft, red cloud for a foot-blanket
to be used after the sweat.
Four stones were heated by the fire inside the sweathouse.
The three uncouth creatures were placed inside. The others sang
songs of healing on the outside, until it was time for the sweat
to be finished. Out came the three strangers who stood upon
the magic red cloud-blanket. Creator then shook his hands toward
them, giving each one fingers, toes, mouths, eyes, ears, noses
and hair.
Creator named the boy, Sky-Boy, to be chief of the Sky-People.
One girl he named Earth-Daughter, to take charge of the earth
and its crops. The other girl he named Pollen-Girl, and gave
her charge of health care for all Earth-People.
Since the earth was flat and barren, Creator thought it fun
to create animals, birds, trees, and a hill. He sent Pigeon
to see how the world looked. Four days later, he returned and
reported, "All is beautiful around the world. But four
days from now, the water on the other side of the earth will
rise and cause a mighty flood."
Creator made a very tall pinon tree. Girl-Without-Parents covered
the tree framework with pinon gum, creating a large, tight ball.
In four days, the flood occurred. Creator went up on a cloud,
taking his twenty-eight helpers with him. Girl-Without-Parents
put the others into the large, hollow ball, closing it tight
at the top.
In twelve days, the water receded, leaving the float-ball high
on a hilltop. The rushing floodwater changed the plains into
mountains, hills, valleys, and rivers. Girl-Without-Parents
led the gods out from the float-ball onto the new earth. She
took them upon her cloud, drifting upward until they met Creator
with his helpers, who had completed their work making the sky
during the flood time on earth.
Together the two clouds descended to a valley below. There,
Girl- Without-Parents gathered everyone together to listen to
Creator.
"I am planning to leave you," he said. "I wish
each of you to do your best toward making a perfect, happy world.
"You, Lightning-Rumbler, shall have charge of clouds and
water.
"You, Sky-Boy, look after all Sky-People.
"You, Earth-Daughter, take charge of all crops and Earth-People.
"You, Pollen-Girl, care for their health and guide them.
"You, Girl-Without-Parents, I leave you in charge over
all."
Creator then turned toward Girl-Without-Parents and together
they rubbed their legs with their hands and quickly cast them
forcefully downward. Immediately between them arose a great
pile of wood, over which Creator waved a hand, creating fire.
Great billowy clouds of smoke at once drifted skyward. Into
this cloud, Creator disappeared. The other gods followed him
in other clouds of smoke, leaving the twenty-eight workers to
people the earth.
Sun-God went east to live and travel with the Sun. Girl-Without-
Parents departed westward to live on the far horizon. Small-Boy
and Pollen-Girl made cloud homes in the south. Big Dipper can
still be seen in the northern sky at night, a reliable guide
to all.
Cherokee
Long, long ago, a great island floated in a giant ocean. This
island hung from four thick ropes from the sky, which was solid
rock. There were no peoples and it was always dark. The animals
could not see so they got the sun and put it in a path that
took it across the island from east to west each day. The animals
and plants were told by the Great Spirit to stay awake for seven
days and seven nights but most could not and slept. Those plants
that did stay awake, such as the pine and cedar and those few
others were rewarded by being allowed to remain green all year.
All the others were made to lose their leaves each winter. Those
animals that did stay awake, such as the owl and the mountain
lion and those few others were rewarded with the ability to
go about in the dark. Then the people appeared.
Myth 2
Long ago, before there were any people, the world was young
and water covered everything. The earth was a great island floating
above the seas, suspended by four rawhide ropes representing
the four sacred directions. It hung down from the crystal sky.
There were no people, but the animals lived in a home above
the rainbow. Needing space, they sent Water Beetle to search
for room under the seas. Water Beetle dove deep and brought
up mud that spread quickly, turning into land that was flat
and too soft and wet for the animals to live on.
Grandfather Buzzard was sent to see if the land had hardened.
When he flew over the earth, he found the mud had become solid;
he flapped in for a closer look. The wind from his wings created
valleys and mountains, and that is why the Cherokee territory
has so many mountains today.
As the earth stiffened, the animals came down from the rainbow.
It was still dark. They needed light, so they pulled the sun
out from behind the rainbow, but it was too bright and hot.
A solution was urgently needed. The shamans were told to place
the sun higher in the sky. A path was made for it to travel--from
east to west--so that all inhabitants could share in the light.
The plants were placed upon the earth. The Creator told the
plants and animals to stay awake for seven days and seven nights.
Only a few animals managed to do so, including the owls and
mountain lions, and they were rewarded with the power to see
in the dark. Among the plants, only the cedars, spruces, and
pines remained awake. The Creator told these plants that they
would keep their hair during the winter, while the other plants
would lose theirs.
People were created last. The women were able to have babies
every seven days. They reproduced so quickly that the Creator
feared the world would soon become too crowded. So after that
the women could have only one child per year, and it has been
that way ever since.
Navajo
The people traveled through four worlds before climbing a reed
growing from the bottom of the Lake of Changing Waters to this
present world. First Man and First Woman with their two first
children, Changing Twins, were in the forefront. First Man and
First Woman produced a mountain. They populated it with plants
and animals. On the peak they placed a black bowl with two blackbird
eggs in it. They fastened down the peak with a rainbow. One
twin took some clay from riverbed and it fashioned itself into
a bowl. The other twin found reeds growing and shaped them into
a water basket. They picked up stones from the ground which
became axes, knives, spear points and hammers in their hands.
Myth 2
The Navajo creation story involves three underworlds where
important events happened to shape the Fourth World where we
now live.
The Navajo were given the name Ni?hookaa Diyan DinE by their
creators. It means 'Holy Earth People' or 'Lords of the Earth'.
Navajos today simply call themselves "DinE", meaning
"The People". The Tewa Indians were the first to call
them "Navahu", which means "the large area of
cultivated land". The Mexicans knew them as 'Apaches Du
Nabahu' (Apaches of the Cultivated Fields), where 'Apache' (Enemy)
was picked up from the Zuni Indian language. The "Apaches
Du Nabahu" were known as a special group somewhat distinct
from the rest of the Apaches. Alonso de Benavides changed the
name to "Navaho" in a book written in 1630. The name
the Din? officially use for themselves is "Navajo".
According to the DinE, they emerged from three previous underworlds
into this, the fourth, or "Glittering World", through
a magic reed. The first people from the other three worlds were
not like the people of today. They were animals, insects or
masked spirits as depicted in Navajo ceremonies. First Man ('Alts?
Hastiin), and First Woman ('Alts? 'Asdz??), were two of the
beings from the First or Black World. First Man was made in
the east from the meeting of the white and black clouds. First
Woman was made in the west from the joining of the yellow and
blue clouds. Spider Woman (Na ashje?ii 'Asdz??), who taught
Navajo women how to weave, was also from the first world.
Once in the Glittering World, the first thing the people did
was build a sweat house and sing the Blessing Song. Then they
met in the first house (hogan) made exactly as Talking God (Haashch?eelti?i)
had prescribed. In this hogan, the people began to arrange their
world, naming the four sacred mountains surrounding the land
and designating the four sacred stones that would become the
boundaries of their homeland. In actuality, these mountains
do not contain the symbolic sacred stones.
The San Francisco Peaks (Dook?o?osl??d), represents the Abalone
and Coral stones. It is located just north of Flagstaff, and
is the Navajo?s religious western boundary. Mt. Blanco (Tsisnaasjini'),
in Colorado, represents the White Shell stone, and represents
the Navajo?s religious eastern boundary. Mt. Taylor (Tsoodzil)
east of Grants, New Mexico, represents the Turquoise stone,
and represents the Navajo?s religious southern boundary. Mt.
Hesperus (DibE Nitsaa), in Colorado, represents the Black Jet
stone, and represents the Navajo?s religious northern boundary.
After setting the mountains down where they should go, the
Navajo deities, or "Holy People", put the sun and
the moon into the sky and were in the process of carefully placing
the stars in an orderly way. But the Coyote, known as the trickster,
grew impatient from the long deliberations being held, and seized
the corner of the blanket where it lay and flung the remaining
stars into the sky.
The Holy People continued to make the necessities of life,
like clouds, trees and rain. Everything was as it should be
when the evil monsters appeared and began to kill the new Earth
People. But a miracle happened to save them, by the birth of
Ever Changing Woman (Asdzaa Nadleehe) at Gobernador Knob (Ch??ol????),
New Mexico.
Changing Woman grew up around El Huerfano Mesa (Dzil Na?oodilii),
in northern New Mexico. She married the Sun and bore two son,
twins, and heroes to the Navajo people. They were known as "Monster
Slayer" and "Child-Born-of-Water". The twins
traveled to their father the Sun who gave them weapons of lighting
bolts to fight the dreaded monsters. Every place the Hero Twins
killed a monster it turned to stone.
An example of this is the lave flows near Mt. Taylor in New
Mexico, believed to be the blood from the death of Ye?iitsoh,
or the 'Monster who Sucked in People'. All of the angular rock
formations on the reservation, such as the immense Black Mesa
(Dzil Y?jiin), are seen as the turned-to-stone bodies of the
monsters.
With all of the monsters dead, the Navajo deities, or 'Holy
People', turned their attention to the making of the four original
clans. Kiiyaa aanii, or Tall House People, was the first clan.
They were made of yellow and white corn. Eventually other clans
traveled to the area round the San Juan River, bring their important
contributions to the tribe. Some were Paiutes who brought their
beautiful baskets. Others were Pueblos who shared their farming
and weaving skills. Still others were Utes and Apaches.
For her husband, the 'Sun', to visit her every evening, Changing
Woman went to live in the western sea on an island made of rock
crystal. Her home was made of the four sacred stones: Abalone,
White Shell, Turquoise, and Black Jet. During the day she became
lonely and decided to make her own people. She made four clans
from the flakes of her skin. These were known as the Near Water
People, Mud People, Salt Water People, and Bitter Water People.
When these newly formed clans heard that there were humans to
the east who shared their heritage, they wanted to go meet them.
Changing Woman gave her permission for them to travel from
the western sea to the San Francisco Peaks. They then traveled
through the Hopi mesas where they left porcupine, still commonly
found there today. Then they traveled toward the Chuska Mountains
and on to Mt. Taylor. Finally, the people arrived at Dinetah,
the DinE traditional homeland, and joined the other clans already
living there. Dinetah is located in the many canyons that drain
the San Juan River about 30 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico.
Iroquois
About 1390, today's State of New York became the stronghold
of five powerful Indian tribes. They were later joined by another
great tribe, the Tuscaroras from the south. Eventually the Iroquois,
Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, and Cayugas joined together to
form the great Iroquois Nation. In 1715, the Tuscaroras were
accepted into the Iroquois Nation.
Long, long ago, one of the Spirits of the Sky World came down
and looked at the earth. As he traveled over it, he found it
beautiful, and so he created people to live on it. Before returning
to the sky, he gave them names, called the people all together,
and spoke his parting words:
"To the Mohawks, I give corn," he said. "To
the patient Oneidas, I give the nuts and the fruit of many trees.
To the industrious Senecas, I give beans. To the friendly Cayugas,
I give the roots of plants to be eaten. To the wise and eloquent
Onondagas, I give grapes and squashes to eat and tobacco to
smoke at the camp fires."
Many other things he told the new people. Then he wrapped himself
in a bright cloud and went like a swift arrow to the Sun. There
his return caused his Brother Sky Spirits to rejoice.
Lakota
There was another world before this one. But the people of
that world did not behave themselves. Displeased, the Creating
Power set out to make a new world. He sang several songs to
bring rain, which poured stronger with each song. As he sang
the fourth song, the earth split apart and water gushed up through
the many cracks, causing a flood. By the time the rain stopped,
all of the people and nearly all of the animals had drowned.
Only Kangi the crow survived.
Kangi pleaded with the Creating Power to make him a new place
to rest. So the Creating Power decided the time had come to
make his new world. From his huge pipe bag, which contained
all types of animals and birds, the Creating Power selected
four animals known for their ability to remain under water for
a long time.
He sent each in turn to retrieve a lump of mud from beneath
the floodwaters. First the loon dove deep into the dark waters,
but it was unable to reach the bottom. The otter, even with
its strong webbed feet, also failed. Next, the beaver used its
large flat tail to propel itself deep under the water, but it
too brought nothing back. Finally, the Creating Power took the
turtle from his pipe bag and urged it to bring back some mud.
Turtle stayed under the water for so long that everyone was
sure it had drowned. Then, with a splash, the turtle broke the
water's surface! Mud filled its feet and claws and the cracks
between its upper and lower shells. Singing, the Creating Power
shaped the mud in his hands and spread it on the water, where
it was just big enough for himself and the crow. He then shook
two long eagle wing feathers over the mud until earth spread
wide and varied, overcoming the waters. Feeling sadness for
the dry land, the Creating Power cried tears that became oceans,
streams, and lakes. He named the new land Turtle Continent in
honor of the turtle who provided the mud from which it was formed.
The Creating Power then took many animals and birds from his
great pipe bag and spread them across the Earth. From red, white,
black, and yellow earth, he made men and women. The Creating
Power gave the people his sacred pipe and told them to live
by it. He warned them about the fate of the people who came
before them. He promised all would be well if all living things
learned to live in harmony. But the world would be destroyed
again if they made it bad and ugly.
- Lakota Star Knowledge
Chelan
Long, long ago, the Creator, the Great Chief Above, made the
world. Then he made the animals and the birds and gave them
their names -- Coyote, Grizzly Bear, Deer, Fox, Eagle, the four
Wolf Brothers, Magpie, Bluejay, Hummingbird, and all the others.
When he had finished his work, the Creator called the animal
people to him. "I am going to leave you," he said.
"But I will come back. When I come again, I will make human
beings. They will be in charge of you."
The Great Chief returned to his home in the sky, and the animal
people scattered to all parts of the world.
After twelve moons, the animal people gathered to meet the
Creator as he had directed. Some of them had complaints. Bluejay,
Meadowlark, and Coyote did not like their names. Each of them
asked to be some other creature. "No," said the Creator.
"I have given you your names. There is no change. My word
is law.
"Because you have tried to change my law, I will not make
the human being this time. Because you have disobeyed me, you
have soiled what I brought with me. I planned to change it into
a human being. Instead, I will put it in water to be washed
for many moons and many snows, until it is clean again."
Then he took something from his right side and put it in the
river. It swam, and the Creator named it Beaver. "Now I
will give you another law," said the Great Chief Above.
"The one of you who keeps strong and good will take Beaver
from the water some day and make it into a human being. I will
tell you now what to do. Divide Beaver into twelve parts. Take
each part to a different place and breathe into it your own
breath. Wake it up. It will be a human being with your breath.
Give it half of your power and tell it what to do. Today I am
giving my power to one of you. He will have it as long as he
is good." When the Creator had finished speaking, all the
creatures started for their homes -- all except Coyote. The
Great Chief had a special word for Coyote.
"You are to be head of all the creatures, Coyote. You
are a power just like me now, and I will help you do your work.
Soon the creatures and all the other things I have made will
become bad. They will fight and will eat each other. It is your
duty to keep them as peaceful as you can. "When you have
finished your work, we will meet again, in this land toward
the east. If you have been good, if you tell the truth and obey
me, you can make the human being from Beaver. If you have done
wrong, someone else will make him." Then the Creator went
away.
It happened as the Creator had foretold. Everywhere the things
he had created did wrong. The mountains swallowed the creatures.
The winds blew them away. Coyote stopped the mountains, stopped
the winds, and rescued the creatures. One winter, after North
Wind had killed many people, Coyote made a law for him: "Hereafter
you can kill only those who make fun of you."
Everywhere Coyote went, he made the world better for the animal
people and better for the human beings yet to be created. When
he had finished his work, he knew that it was time to meet the
Creator again. Coyote thought that he had been good, that he
would be the one to make the first human being. But he was mistaken.
He thought that he had as much power as the Creator. So he tried,
a second time, to change the laws of the Great Chief Above.
"Some other creature will make the human being,"
the Creator told Coyote. "I shall take you out into the
ocean and give you a place to stay for all time." So Coyote
walked far out across the water to an island. There the Creator
stood waiting for him, beside the house he had made. Inside
the house on the west side stood a black suit of clothes. On
the other side hung a white suit. "Coyote, you are to wear
this black suit for six months," said the Creator. "Then
the weather will be cold and dreary. Take off the black suit
and wear the white suit. Then there will be summer, and everything
will grow. I will give you my power not to grow old. You will
live here forever and forever."
Coyote stayed there, out in the ocean, and the four Wolf brothers
took his place as the head of all the animal people. Youngest
Wolf Brother was strong and good and clever. Oldest Wolf Brother
was worthless. So the Creator gave Youngest Brother the power
to take Beaver from the water. One morning Oldest Wolf Brother
said to Youngest Brother, "I want you to kill Beaver. I
want his tooth for a knife."
"Oh, no!" exclaimed Second and Third Brothers. "Beaver
is too strong for Youngest Brother." But Youngest Wolf
said to his brothers, "Make four spears. For Oldest Brother,
make a spear with four forks. For me, make a spear with one
fork. Make a two-forked spear and a three-forked spear for yourselves.
I will try my best to get Beaver, so that we can kill him."
All the animal persons had seen Beaver and his home. They knew
where he lived. They knew what a big creature he was. His family
of young beavers lived with him. The animal persons were afraid
that Youngest Wolf Brother would fail to capture Beaver and
would fail to make the human being. Second and Third Wolf Brothers
also were afraid. "I fear we will lose Youngest Brother,"
they said to each other. But they made the four spears he had
asked for.
At dusk, the Wolf brothers tore down the dam at the beavers'
home, and all the little beavers ran out. About midnight, the
larger beavers ran out. They were so many, and they made so
much noise, that they sounded like thunder. Then Big Beaver
ran out, the one the Creator had put into the water to become
clean.
"Let's quit!" said Oldest Wolf Brother, for he was
afraid. "Let's not try to kill him."
"No!" said Youngest Brother. "I will not stop."
Oldest Wolf Brother fell down. Third Brother fell down. Second
Brother fell down. Lightning flashed. The beavers still sounded
like thunder. Youngest Brother took the four-forked spear and
tried to strike Big Beaver with it. It broke. He used the three-forked
spear. It broke. He used the two-forked spear. It broke. Then
he took his own one-forked spear. It did not break. It pierced
the skin of Big Beaver and stayed there. Out of the lake, down
the creek, and down Big River, Beaver swam, dragging Youngest
Brother after it.
Youngest Wolf called to his brothers, "You stay here.
If I do not return with Beaver in three days, you will know
that I am dead." Three days later, all the animal persons
gathered on a level place at the foot of the mountain. Soon
they saw Youngest Brother coming. He had killed Beaver and was
carrying it. "You remember that the Creator told us to
cut it into twelve pieces," said Youngest Brother to the
animal people. But he could divide it into only eleven pieces.
Then he gave directions. "Fox, you are a good runner.
Hummingbird and Horsefly, you can fly fast. Take this piece
of Beaver flesh over to that place and wake it up. Give it your
breath." Youngest Brother gave other pieces to other animal
people and told them where to go. They took the liver to Clearwater
River, and it became the Nez Perce Indians. They took the heart
across the mountains, and it became the Methow Indians. Other
parts became the Spokane people, the Lake people, the Flathead
people. Each of the eleven pieces became a different tribe.
"There have to be twelve tribes," said Youngest Brother.
"Maybe the Creator thinks that we should use the blood
for the last one. Take the blood across the Shining Mountains
and wake it up over there. It will become the Blackfeet. They
will always look for blood."
When an animal person woke the piece of Beaver flesh and breathed
into it, he told the new human being what to do and what to
eat. "Here are roots," and the animal people pointed
to camas and kouse and to bitterroot, "You will dig them,
cook them, and save them to eat in the winter.
"Here are the berries that will ripen in the summer. You
will eat them and you will dry them for use in winter."
The animal people pointed to chokecherry trees, to serviceberry
bushes, and to huckleberry bushes.
"There are salmon in all the rivers. You will cook them
and eat them when they come up the streams. And you will dry
them to eat in the winter."
When all the tribes had been created, the animal people said
to them "Some of you new people should go up Lake Chelan.
Go up to the middle of the lake and look at the cliff beside
the water. There you will see pictures on the rock. From the
pictures you will learn how to make the things you will need."
The Creator had painted the pictures there, with red paint.
From the beginning until long after the white people came, the
Indians went to Lake Chelan and looked at the paintings. They
saw pictures of bows and arrows and of salmon traps. From the
paintings of the Creator they knew how to make the things they
needed for getting their food.
Comanche
"One day the Great Spirit collected swirls of dust from
the four directions in order to create the Commanche people.
These people formed from the earth had the strength of mighty
storms. Unfortunately, a shape-shifting demon was also created
and began to torment the people. The Great Spirit cast the demon
into a bottomless pit. To seek revenge the demon took refuge
in the fangs and stingers of poisonous creatures and continues
to harm people every chance it gets."
Chinook
Talapas (Creator) gave life to the surface of the Earth. It
grew in abundance. Later, he placed the animal forms of all
the Totem Spirits on the surface of the Earth Mother, and they
prospered. Talapas then instructed T'soona (Thunderbird) to
carry these special eggs from the other place, and place them
on the top of Kaheese, a mountain near the Yakaitl-Wimakl (Columbia
River).
T'soona did so.
The Old Giantess, not wanting these special eggs to hatch,
began to break the eggs. The vengeful Spirit Bird swiftly swooped
down from Otelagh (the sun) and pursued the Old Giantess, and
consumed her with fire, in revenge for her injustice.
Soon the remaining eggs became the T'sinuk (Chinook).
Seminole Indians
Near the beginning of time, five Seminole Indian men wanted
to visit the sky to see the Great Spirit.
They travelled to the East, walking for about a month. Finally,
they arrived at land's end. They tossed their baggage over the
end and they, too, disappeared beyond earth's edge.
Down, down, down the Indians dropped for a while, before starting
upward again toward the sky. For a long time they travelled
westward. At last, they came to a lodge where lived an old,
old woman.
"Tell me, for whom are you looking?" she asked feebly.
"We are on our way to see the Great Spirit Above,"
they replied.
"It is not possible to see him now," she said. "You
must stay here for a while first."
That night the five Seminole Indian men strolled a little distance
from the old woman's lodge, where they encountered a group of
angels robed in white and wearing wings. They were playing a
ball game the men recognized as one played by the Seminoles.
Two of the men decided they would like to remain and become
angels. The other three preferred to return to earth. Then to
their surprise, the Great Spirit appeared and said, "So
be it!"
A large cooking pot was placed on the fire. When the water
was boiling, the two Seminoles who wished to stay were cooked!
When only their bones were left, the Great Spirit removed them
from the pot, and put their bones back together again. He then
draped them with a white cloth and touched them with his magic
wand. The Great Spirit brought the two Seminole men back to
life! They wore beautiful white wings and were called men-angels.
"What do you three men wish to do?" asked the Great
Spirit.
"If we may, we prefer to return to our Seminole camp on
earth," replied the three Seminoles.
"Gather your baggage together and go to sleep at once,"
directed the Great Spirit.
Later, when the three Seminole men opened their eyes, they
found themselves safe at home again in their own Indian camp.
"We are happy to return and stay earthbound. We hope never
to venture skyward again in search of other mysteries,"
they reported to the Chief of the Seminoles.
Chippewa
In the beginning before there were people, before there were
animals a lone woman lived in a cave. She lived on the roots
and berries of the plants. One night a magical dog crept into
her cave and stretched out on the her bed beside her. As the
night grew long the dog began to change. His body became smooth
and almost hairless. His limbs grew long and straight. His features
changed into those of a handsome warrior. Nine months later
the woman birthed a child. He was the first Chippewa male and
through him came the Chippewa peoples.
The Great Serpent and the Flood
From Maine and Nova Scotia to the Rocky Mountains, Indians
told stories about the Great Serpent. More than a century ago
the serpent was considered to be "a genuine spirit of evil."
Some version of the story of the Great Flood of long ago, as
recounted here, is told around the world.
Nanabozho (Nuna-bozo, accented on bozo) was the hero of many
stories told by the Chippewa Indians. At one time they lived
on the shores of Lake Superior, in what are now the states of
Minnesota and Wisconsin and the province of Ontario.
One day when Nanabozho returned to his lodge after a long journey,
he missed his young cousin who lived with him. He called the
cousin's name but heard no answer. Looking around on the sand
for tracks, Nanabozho was startled by the trail of the Great
Serpent. He then knew that his cousin had been seized by his
enemy.
Nanabozho picked up his bow and arrows and followed the track
of the serpent. He passed the great river, climbed mountains,
and crossed over valleys until he came to the shores of a deep
and gloomy lake. It is now called Manitou Lake, Spirit Lake,
and also the Lake of Devils. The trail of the Great Serpent
led to the edge of the water.
Nanabozho could see, at the bottom of the lake, the house of
the Great Serpent. It was filled with evil spirits, who were
his servants and his companions. Their forms were monstrous
and terrible. Most of them, like their master, resembled spirits.
In the centre of this horrible group was the Great Serpent himself,
coiling his terrifying length around the cousin of Nanabozho.
The head of the Serpent was red as blood. His fierce eyes glowed
like fire. His entire body was armed with hard and glistening
scales of every color and shade.
Looking down on these twisting spirits of evil, Nanabozho made
up his mind that he would get revenge on them for the death
of his cousin.
He said to the clouds, "Disappear!"
And the clouds went out of sight.
"Winds, be still at once!" And the winds became still.
When the air over the lake of evil spirits had become stagnant,
Nanabozho said to the sun, "Shine over the lake with all
the fierceness you can. Make the water boil."
In these ways, thought Nanabozho, he would force the Great
Serpent to seek the cool shade of the trees growing on the shores
of the lake. There he would seize the enemy and get revenge.
After giving his orders, Nanabozho took his bow and arrows
and placed himself near the spot where he thought the serpents
would come to enjoy the shade. Then he changed himself into
the broken stump of a withered tree.
The winds became still, the air stagnant, and the sun shot
hot rays from a cloudless sky. In time, the water of the lake
became troubled, and bubbles rose to the surface. The rays of
the sun had penetrated to the home of the serpents. As the water
bubbled and foamed, a serpent lifted his head above the centre
of the lake and gazed around the shores. Soon another serpent
came to the surface. Both listened for the footsteps of Nanabozho,
but they heard him nowhere.
"Nanabozho is sleeping," they said to one another.
And then they plunged beneath the waters, which seemed to hiss
as they closed over the evil spirits.
Not long after, the lake became more troubled. Its water boiled
from its very depths, and the hot waves dashed wildly against
the rocks on its banks. Soon the Great Serpent came slowly to
the surface of the water and moved toward the shore. His blood-red
crest glowed. The reflection from his scales was blinding--as
blinding as the glitter of a sleet-covered forest beneath the
winter sun. He was followed by all the evil spirits. So great
was their number that they soon covered the shores of the lake.
When they saw the broken stump of the withered tree, they suspected
that it might be one of the disguises of Nanabozho. They knew
his cunning. One of the serpents approached the stump, wound
his tail around it, and tried to drag it down into the lake.
Nanabozho could hardly keep from crying aloud, for the tail
of the monster prickled his sides. But he stood firm and was
silent.
The evil spirits moved on. The Great Serpent glided into the
forest and wound his many coils around the trees. His companions
also found shade--all but one. One remained near the shore to
listen for the footsteps of Nanabozho.
From the stump, Nanabozho watched until all the serpents were
asleep and the guard was intently looking in another direction.
Then he silently drew an arrow from his quiver, placed it in
his bow, and aimed it at the heart of the Great Serpent. It
reached its mark. With a howl that shook the mountains and startled
the wild beasts in their caves, the monster awoke. Followed
by its terrified companions, which also were howling with rage
and terror, the Great Serpent plunged into the water.
At the bottom of the lake there still lay the body of Nanabozho's
cousin. In their fury the serpents tore it into a thousand pieces.
His shredded lungs rose to the surface and covered the lake
with whiteness.
The Great Serpent soon knew that he would die from his wound,
but he and his companions were determined to destroy Nanabozho.
They caused the water of the lake to swell upward and to pound
against the shore with the sound of many thunders. Madly the
flood rolled over the land, over the tracks of Nanabozho, carrying
with it rocks and trees. High on the crest of the highest wave
floated the wounded Great Serpent. His eyes glared around him,
and his hot breath mingled with the hot breath of his many companions.
Nanabozho, fleeing before the angry waters, thought of his
Indian children. He ran through their villages, shouting, "Run
to the mountaintops! The Great Serpent is angry and is flooding
the earth! Run! Run!"
The Indians caught up their children and found safety on the
mountains. Nanabozho continued his flight along the base of
the western hills and then up a high mountain beyond Lake Superior,
far to the north. There he found many men and animals that had
escaped from the flood that was already covering the valleys
and plains and even the highest hills. Still the waters continued
to rise. Soon all the mountains were under the flood, except
the high one on which stood Nanabozho.
There he gathered together timber and made a raft. Upon it
the men and women and animals with him placed themselves. Almost
immediately the mountaintop disappeared from their view, and
they floated along on the face of the waters. For many days
they floated. At long last, the flood began to subside. Soon
the people on the raft saw the trees on the tops of the mountains.
Then they saw the mountains and hills, then the plains and the
valleys.
When the water disappeared from the land, the people who survived
learned that the Great Serpent was dead and that his companions
had returned to the bottom of the lake of spirits. There they
remain to this day. For fear of Nanabozho, they have never dared
to come forth again.
Choctaw
At the beginning there was a great mound. It was called Nanih
Wiya. It was from this mound that the Creator fashioned the
first of the people. These people crawled through a long, dark
cave into daylight. They became the first Choctaw.
Potawatomi
Anishnabe found himself alone on earth. The Creator told him
to give everything a name, and he did this, accompanied by a
wolf. He discovered that only he, among the many species, was
alone, without a mate, and he was lonely.
He traveled to the Great Lakes and while searching, heard a
beautiful song coming across the water. The woman's voice was
singing that she was making a home for him. He fell in love
with the voice and the song. In the days that followed, he learned
how to cross the water and finally came to a lodge facing west.
There lived a beautiful woman and her father, the Firekeeper.
This was the first union - Anishabe and the Firekeeper's Daughter.
It determined the roles of men and women in marriage. They had
four sons, who when they were grown traveled to the four directions
of the earth. The son who traveled north had a hard journey,
but learned that the melting snow cleansed Mother Earth. Because
of the snow, the color for North is white. This son married
the daughter of the Spirit of the North and was given sweetgrass,
the first gift of Mother Earth. It is kept in a braid like a
mother's hair.
The second son traveled east, into the yellow of the rising
sun. He learned that fire is the essence of life and gained
in knowledge of the Creator. He married the daughter of the
Spirit of the East, and was given tobacco to use in prayer,
to communicate with the Creator.
The third son went south, which is the woman's direction from
which comes seeds and other things that give life. Red, the
color of life's blood, is the the color for south. He married
the Spirit of the South's daughter and was given the gift of
cedar, which is used to cleanse and purify the home and prepare
for food.
The fourth son went West, toward the mountains. Marrying the
Spirit of the West's daughter, he was given sage and learned
that the setting sun represents the circle of life and its cycle.
The color for West is black, for the dark time, and the sage,
a strong purifier, is to keep illness away.
Smoke from the cedar and sage is fanned upward with an eagle
feather because the eagle once saved the Indian people when
the Creator would have destroyed them. The eagle told the Creator
there were faithful people on earth, and was sent out each morning
to see if the smoke still rose from the lodges of those good
people. Fanning the smoke with the eagle feather symbolizes
the eagle delivering the message to the Creator that his people
are still there and still believe.
