The North American Indian, Vol. 1Curtis, Edward S.
History
The North American Indian, Vol. 1
Curtis, Edward S.
Indians of North America
These characters make their appearance four times during the course of the
night, the spectators dancing during the intervals. After their last exit
dancing continues until shortly before sunrise; then the medicine-man and
the singers arise, and, forming a circle about the fire in the centre of
the _kozhán_, sing a number of songs. A maiden is summoned from the
gathering to carry a basket of sacred meal, and the medicine-man, taking
up the top of the spruce tree, passes out of the enclosure toward the
rising sun, followed by the maiden, the patient, the singers, and any who
may be afflicted with a bodily ailment. At a distance of about a hundred
yards the medicine-man stops and plants the little spruce tip, to which
the disease is now supposed to have been transferred, under a tree,
sprinkling over it quantities of the sacred meal. Then each of the others,
the patient leading, steps forward, throws a pinch of the meal on the
tree, and passes on, always facing the east. When the last one has thus
passed, the procession stops, everybody holds his blanket ready, and on
signal from the medicine-man, just as the sun appears, gives it a shake
and runs at full speed to the _kozhán_ and around the fire. Thus is
disease shaken out and the pursuit of the evil spirits of sickness eluded.
[Illustration: Jeditoh - Navaho]
Jeditoh - Navaho
_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
It is interesting to note the difference between the Apache of Arizona and
the Jicarillas in their assignment of colors to the cardinal directions.
The former invariably associate black with the east, blue with the south,
yellow with the west, and white with the north.
MYTHOLOGY - CREATION MYTH
In the beginning all people, birds, and beasts were far beneath this
earth, somewhere in the darkness; there was no sun, no moon. It was not a
good place in which to live, because of the darkness. After a time came
Chunnaái, the Sun, and Klĕnaái, the Moon. They directed the people to
leave the world of darkness, showing the way they were to go by passing up
through a rift in the sky. But the sky was so far above that the people
knew of no way to reach it, so they made a pile of sand in the form of a
mountain, and painted the east side white, the south blue, the west
yellow, and the north side all colors.[1] Then they gathered seeds from
all the plants they knew and placed them inside the little mountain.
Chunnaái sent back his messenger, Ánltsĭstn, the Whirlwind, to instruct
them how to make the mountain increase in size.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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