The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought: Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-DayChamberlain, Alexander Francis
Science
The Child and Childhood in Folk-Thought: Studies of the Activities and Influences of the Child Among Primitive Peoples, Their Analogues and Survivals in the Civilization of To-Day
Chamberlain, Alexander Francis
Child rearing; Children -- Folklore; Folklore and children
Among the myths of the Cherokees,--a people related in speech to the
Iroquois,--as reported by Mr. James Mooney, we find a story somewhat
similar to the last mentioned,--"Kânátî and Sélu: the Origin of Corn and
Game" (506. 98-105), the heroes of which are _Inage Utasuhi,_ "He
who grew up Wild," a wonderful child, born of the blood of the game
washed in the river; and the little son of Kanati ("the lucky hunter")
and Selu ("Corn," his wife), his playmate, who captures him. The "Wild
Boy" is endowed with magic powers, and leads his "brother" into all
sorts of mischief. They set out to discover where the father gets all
the game he brings home, and, finding that he lifted a rock on the side
of a mountain, allowing the animal he wished to come forth, they
imitated him some days afterwards, and the result was that the deer
escaped from the cave, and "then followed droves of raccoons, rabbits,
and all the other four-footed animals. Last came great flocks of
turkeys, pigeons, and partridges." From their childish glee and
tricksiness the animals appear to have suffered somewhat, for we are
told (506. 100): "In those days all the deer had their tails hanging
down like other animals, but, as a buck was running past, the 'wild boy'
struck its tail with his arrow, so that it stood straight out behind.
This pleased the boys, and when the next one ran by, the other brother
struck his tail so that it pointed upward. The boys thought this was
good sport, and when the next one ran past, the 'wild boy' struck his
tail so that it stood straight up, and his brother struck the next one
so hard with his arrow that the deer's tail was curled over his back.
The boys thought this was very pretty, and ever since the deer has
carried his tail over his back." When Kanati discovered what had
occurred (506. 100), was furious, but, without saying a word, he went
down into the cave and kicked the covers off four jars in one corner,
when out swarmed bedbugs, fleas, lice, and gnats, and got all over the
boys. "After they had been tortured enough, Kanati sent them home,
telling them that, through their folly," whenever they wanted a deer to
eat they would have to hunt all over the woods for it, and then may be
not find one. "When the boys got home, discovering that Selu was a
witch, they killed her and dragged her body about a large piece of
ground in front of the house, and wherever the blood fell Indian corn
sprang up. Kanati then tried to get the wolves to kill the two boys, but
they trapped them in a huge pound, and burned almost all of them to
death. Their father not returning from his visit to the wolves, the boys
set out in search of him, and, after some days, found him. After killing
a fierce panther in a swamp, and exterminating a tribe of cannibals, who
sought to boil the "wild boy" in a pot, they kept on and soon lost sight
of their father." At "the end of the world, where the sun comes out,"
they waited "until the sky went up again" [in Cherokee cosmogony "the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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