The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, HavasupaisJames, George Wharton
Religion
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, Havasupais
James, George Wharton
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New
"When he awoke in the morning his son was gone. And ten sleeps passed
by and still he did not come back, so the Coyote tracked him up
Wallapai Canyon, and went a long, long way. He reached the hilltop and
still he did not find his son. At last, a long, long way off he saw
him, and he changed him into a mountain sheep. Then a lot more mountain
sheep came and ran with the Coyote's son, and the Coyote could not tell
which of the band was his boy. He looked and looked, but it was all in
vain. He tried to change his boy back again, so that he would no longer
be a mountain sheep, but, as he could not tell which was his boy, his
efforts were in vain, and he had to go back to Havasu alone.
"For a long time the boy remained as a mountain sheep, until the horns
had grown large upon his head. Then he changed himself back to a man,
and he found his squaw there, waiting for him, and that is why, to this
day, the Wallapai is to the Havasupai the A-mu-u or mountain sheep."
* * * * *
The origin of the Hopis is thus related by the Havasupais:
"Long time ago two men were born near Mooney Falls. They were twins,
yet one was big man, and the other a little big. They came up into this
part of the canyon (where the Havasupais now live). It was no good in
those days. There was no water and it was 'heap hot.' The little big
man he say: 'I no like 'em stay here. Let us go hunt 'em good place
to live where we catch plenty water, plenty corn.' So they left the
canyon and climbed out where the Hopi trail now is. Here they stayed
in the forest some time, hunting and making buckskin. After they had
got a large bundle of buckskins dressed, they put them on their backs
and began to walk on to seek the country of lots of water, where plenty
of corn would grow. But it was hot weather and the load was heavy, and
they soon grew so very tired that the smaller brother began to cry.
As they walked on he cried more and more, until when they came to the
hilltop looking down to the Little Colorado River, he said: 'I cannot
go any farther. I am going to lie down here and go to sleep.' So they
both went to sleep, and when they woke up the big brother said: 'Where
you go? You no walk long way. You heap tired.'
"And the little brother answered: 'I no like go farther. I go back
Havasu. I catch 'em water there.'
"'All right!' replied the big brother, 'I no like Havasu. I go hunt
water and plant corn and watermelons and sunflowers. You go back to
Havasu.'
"And he gave him a little bit of corn, and that explains why the
Havasupais can grow only a small amount of corn in their canyon, though
it is exceedingly sweet and delicious.
"But the big brother went on and found the places now occupied by the
Hopi, and he settled there. And as he had taken lots of corn with him
and he planted it, that explains" (to the Havasupai mind) "why the Hopi
has so much corn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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