The Sia: (1894 N 11 / 1889-1890 (pages 3-158))Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
History
The Sia: (1894 N 11 / 1889-1890 (pages 3-158))
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe
Zia Indians
The boys rejoiced, and Ma´asewe said, “Now that the woman is dead, let
us go to her house.” They found the house very large, with many rooms
and doors. In the middle of the floor there was a small circular door
which Ma´asewe raised, and looking in, discovered that below it was
very dark. Pointing downward, he said, “Though I can not see, I guess
this is the most beautiful room. I think I will go below; perhaps
we will find many good things.” As soon as he entered the door he
disappeared from sight and vanished from hearing. U´yuuyewĕ, receiving
no reply to his calls, said to himself, “Ma´asewe has found many
beautiful things below, and he will not answer me; I will go and see
for myself.” After entering the door, he knew nothing until he found
himself by the side of his elder brother, and, passing through the
doorway, the boys tumbled over and over into a lower world.
When Ma´asewe reached this new world he was unconscious from the fall,
but after a time he revived sufficiently to sit up, when he beheld
U´yuuyewĕ tumbling down, and he fell by the side of Ma´asewe, who was
almost dead, and Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother, why did you follow
me?” After a while U´yuuyewĕ was able to sit up and Ma´asewe remarked:
“Younger brother, I think we are in another world. I do not know where
we are, and I do not know what hour it is. I guess it is about the
middle of the day. What do you think?” U´yuuyewĕ replied, “You know
best, elder brother; whatever you think is right,” and Ma´asewe said,
“All right. Let us go now over the road to the house where the sun
enters in the evening, for I think this is the world where our father,
the sun, returns at night.”
A little after the middle of the day Ma´asewe was walking ahead of
U´yuuyewĕ, who was following close behind, and he said to his younger
brother as he listened to some noise, “I believe we are coming to
a village.” When they drew a little nearer they heard a drum, and
supposed a feast was going on in the plaza, and in a little while they
came in sight of the village and saw that there was a great feast
there. All the people were gathered in the plaza. The chi´ta was a
little way from the village and there was no one in it, as the boys
discovered when they approached it, and they ascended the ladder.
Ma´asewe said, “This is the chi´ta. Let us enter.” The mode of entering
shows this chi´ta to have been built above ground. Upon invading the
chi´ta they found it very large and very pretty, and there were many
fine bows and arrows hanging on the walls. They took the bows and
examining them said to one another, “What fine bows and arrows! They
are all fine. Look,” and they were eager to possess them. Ma´asewe
proposed that they should each take a bow and arrows and hurry away,
saying: “All the people are in the plaza looking at the dance, and
no one will see us;” and they hastened from the chi´ta with their
treasures. Ma´asewe said, “Younger brother, let us return over the road
whence we came.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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