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 people dance all night. There is no light in the sweat-house; the
place is very hot, though there is no fire there. Next day those to
whom spirits have come tell the doctors and chief what spirits are
with them. If not, the chief may give them food offensive to the
spirits, and the spirits would kill them if they ate. Some spirits may
stay two or three days with a person, who would then sit inside all
the time. The old doctors have to ask this spirit what it wishes, and
make it go away for a time, so that the person possessed may eat
something. Each spirit has its own kind of food. If we give a man
something that the spirit has never eaten, it will kill him right away
if he eats. The old doctors ask his spirit what it wants, and it
tells. The salmon spirit, for instance, likes leaves or water; a
sucker of the mountains would eat mountain pine nuts, but a valley
sucker needs nuts off the digger pine. If strange food is placed
before a spirit, it is afraid; and if the man possessed eats this
food, the spirit will kill him. Some spirits don't like buckskin, and
the man to whom they have come must not wear it.
The bad spirits are numerous; the sucker is one of these, and so is
Kele (the mountain wolf). This wolf is dangerous; it may hurt you in
this way: you may think that you see a good-looking man or woman on
the mountain or in the woods. If you go toward this person or this
person comes toward you, comes near you, speaks to you, and you agree
with it, the next thing you know this strange man or woman turns into
a wolf, runs away, and your mind is gone; the wolf has taken it. The
sucker does the same, but disappears before your eyes or turns into
something ugly.
There are three causes of sickness. The first is when a good yapaitu
spirit is angry with a man and strikes him with his spirit point;
second, when a bad spirit puts his missile in a man and makes him sick
(the spirit in this case does it at his own instance); third, when an
evil spirit sends his missile into a man at the request or prayer of a
doctor.
When the dokos or missile that has been sent into a man is drawn out
by the spirit which assists the curing doctor, the doctor forces the
dokos to tell what yapaitu sent it, and at the prayer of what doctor.
But the dokos does not tell the truth in every case, and sometimes
accuses the wrong person. It is very difficult, therefore, to know
surely what doctor is guilty of making a man sick. A doctor, if the
spirit is in him when he comes to see a sick man, is able to look
right through the body of the patient and see where the dokos lies.
Sometimes he is not able to draw it out; he can see where the dokos
is, that is all; but if his spirit were stronger than the one who put
it there, he could draw it out and cure the patient.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account