Creation Myths of Primitive America: In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of MankindCurtin, Jeremiah
Religion
Creation Myths of Primitive America: In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind
Curtin, Jeremiah
Creation -- Mythology; Indian mythology -- North America; Indians of North America -- Folklore
The baby cried on, kept crying. The old woman went to the spot where
the crying was, looked, found a baby covered with dirt, mud, and
ashes. She had not carried the ashes out since her grandson had gone;
she could not carry them. The Tennas were watching outside for her,
watching to kill the old woman. The baby rolled around in the dirt
and the ashes.
"I don't think any one brought that baby into this house," said the
old woman to herself. "Tsawandi Kamshu said that a baby would come
from the ground, would rise from his spittle. Maybe this is his spirit
that has come back and is a baby again. I will call this baby Tsawandi
Kamshupa."
She took up the baby, a little boy, washed him, washed him all night,
the little child was so dirty. She washed him in cold water, and he
grew while she washed. She washed him till morning, but gave him no
food.
The Tennas heard now the noise of two people inside. Tsuwalkai Marimi
felt glad, she had the company of this little boy. All day and two
nights she washed the child. He ate nothing.
"I want you to live and grow large, little boy," said the old woman.
"I want you to grow quickly; you will be a great help to me."
The little boy did not know what was said yet. She washed the child,
talked three days and three nights to him. The little boy could creep
around the house now, could creep through every part of it. She washed
him in the night, in the day; washed him often. He grew very fast. In
ten days he was a man full grown. He could talk now as well as any
one, and one day he asked the old woman,--
"What house is this? What people live here?"
She told him the whole story of her people; told how all had been
killed by the Tennas in the woods, in the fields, on the water.
"I am sorry to hear what you tell," said he.
He asked now for a bow. She gave him a fresh one. He broke it.
"I want one to kill birds outside with it."
"You must not go out," said the old woman; "bad people are near us."
"I only want to kill birds. Whose arms are these?" asked he, pointing
to knives, bows, and arrows on the walls.
"Oh, it makes me sorry to tell you, it makes me sorry to talk of them.
These are the arms of many men. The Tennas killed all of them."
She went to the west side of the house and gave him bows. He broke one
after another. He broke every bow on the walls except one. When he
came to his own bow, his old bow, he laughed. He took it himself
without asking. He tried and could not break it; tried again, laughed,
and was glad.
"Tsuwalkai, whose bow is this?" asked he.
"That was the bow of a good man."
"He was a good man, I think," said Tsawandi Kamshupa; "why did he die?
There was a good man in this house; he had that bow; he was a great
fighter."
Tsawandi Kamshupa tried again to break the bow with his feet and
hands, but he could not.
"There was a good man in this house," said the old woman, "the best
man of all the Haka people. That was his bow."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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