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
"Now, my grandsons, I will tell you something better, and you will
like what I tell you. I like it because it is good. I am going to say
something wiser than anything Olelbis has told you yet. It will be
better, very much better if trees have limbs to the ground, and if
acorns have husks and shells on them. When trees have limbs to the
ground, a man can climb them, take a long stick in his hand, and knock
acorns to the ground. Others will come under the tree and gather them.
When the acorns fall, women will jump and say, 'Oh! oh!' and laugh and
talk and be glad and feel well. I think that is better. People can
take the acorns home and put them on the ground. Then they will say,
'Come, let us husk these acorns.' Men and women will go and sit down
and husk the acorns. When they are doing this, they will throw husks
back and forth at each other. They will have fun and laugh and be
pleased and feel well. I think that this is better; I know that you
will like it.
"Besides, what are people to eat if nothing dies? Deer will not die,
fish will not die; the coming people cannot kill them. What are they
to eat? They will have nothing to eat except acorns.
"I think it is better for women and men--young men and young women--to
marry, live day and night with each other. When they get up in the
morning, the man will work for the woman, the woman will work for the
man, and they will help each other. I think that the better way. If a
man has a wife, he will catch fish and kill deer, he will bring them
in, and give them to his wife to cook. She will cook them, and both
will eat. I think that is the right way. If people live in this
manner, and a woman has a child, her neighbors will say, 'There is a
nice baby over there,' and they will go to see it, and will say, 'What
a nice baby that woman has!' I think this is better than anything
Olelbis told you.
"When that baby grows up and another baby grows up, they will be a man
and a woman, and the two will get married and have children
themselves, and in that way there will be plenty of people always; new
people, young people. When a man grows old, he will die; when a woman
grows old, she will die. When they die, others will go around and tell
their neighbors about it, and say, 'A woman died over there,' or 'A
man died over here. They will bury him to-morrow.' Then all the
people will make ready to help the relatives of the dead man; they
will cry, the dead man's relatives will cry and mourn. I think this is
better. When a man dies, his nearest relatives will cut their hair
very close, paint the face black; and when people see one of them
coming or going, they will say, 'His father is dead,' or 'His wife is
dead,' or 'His mother is dead,' and they will talk about that man and
his dead father, or dead mother, or dead wife, and say, 'Poor man, he
has lost his father, or his mother, or his wife.' I think this is
better.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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