How the First People Were Made
One day, the Master of Life was looking at the world. It seemed that it needed something. He realized that what the world needed was people. So he built himself an oven. He got some clay he shaped into a form like himself and put it in to the oven to bake. Coyote came to watch, while the Master of Life was busy doing something else, coyote took the figure out of the oven. He shaped it into a dog shaped form like himself, then put it back in the oven to finish baking. A little while latter the Master of Life took out the figure, “I did not make this, it is coyote’s,” he said. So again he shaped the clay a put it in to bake. After it had been in the oven for only a short time Coyote yelled, “It’s burning, it’s burning!” But when the Master of Life took the pieces out of the oven they were not cooked enough. “Coyote you liar,” he said. The pieces were too white, so he sent them to a land across the sea. This time coyote yelled, “Leave them in!” When the Master of Life finally took the pieces out they where too dark. So he sent them to a land across the sea. This time the Master of Life didn’t listen to coyote’s advice and when he took out the people, they where a perfect golden brown. These were the first Pima Indians.
Climbing the Ladders of the Worlds
Before there was light in the world, people lived in the worlds under ground. There were four worlds, three underground. In the first world it became very crowded. The people could barely take one step without bumping into someone because it was also very dark. Elder Brother and Younger Brother, who were gods, saw this and decided to help them. They poked a hole in the roofs of all the underground worlds and threw a seed down. The seed grew and grew into a reed, big enough to climb to the second world. In the second world, it to became over crowded. It was still dark and the people became tired of it. So they took out the reed ladder and began to climb. In the third world it was still underground, but the people built houses and started families. The women took up rituals and danced. They would not stop dancing, the only time they would stop was to eat or sleep. So the men took out the reed ladder that they had kept very safe and started to climb, taking their ever dancing wives with them. They came out of a hole in the ground and into the fourth world that was above ground. It was different than the world today though because it was still dark. At this time, Coyote came up through the hole. Because Coyote is a thief, he was carrying a jar that he had stolen from one of the lower worlds. The jar contained all the stars, Coyote became interested and couldn’t help himself so he opened the jar just a tiny bit and all the stars shot out into the sky. It was brighter then, but not bright enough to see much by. The people made a shield of light, they gave it to a man and through him up in the air, he became the moon. Then they made another shield and through a man holding it into the sky, he became the sun. Now vulture came and shaped the mountains by flapping his wings. The world was now satisfactory to live in.
Coyote and the Earth Monster
One day Coyote was walking on a trail when he saw Mouse sitting on a branch. Mouse tells coyote about the Earth Monster. Coyote decides to rip up a tree so that if he were to come across the Monster, he could lodge its mouth so it couldn’t swallow him. Coyote keeps walking along with his tree over his shoulder. Coyote hears something crunch under his foot, he looks down, it is a bone. Then Coyote realizes he is in the Valley of the Dead. Now Coyote comes to an old woman, she is very hungry so coyote gives her some food. “Have you seen the Earth Monster?” he asks her. “It’s too late, it has already swallowed you!” she shouts. Coyote starts to see the moving bodies of the people the Earth Monster has swallowed. Everyone is very hungry so Coyote says, “look we are surrounded by food, we can eat our way out of the monsters body.” Coyote star to eat the liver, then the kidney, and the stomach. He comes to a giant, slowly beating object. This must be the heart, so coyote stabbed it. The Monster started to tremble. All the people were escaping out of the slowly closing mouth. When it has almost shut Coyote hears a scream, it is Woodtick and he’s gotten stuck in the mouth. Coyote pulls him free but he is squashed flat. To this day Woodtick remains flat, sucking the blood of passers by.
The Bone Man
Once there was a boy named Nulwee. When he was young, his grandmother told him of Kokolimalayas, The bone Man and how he had destroyed their village and eaten all the people there, except him and his grandmother. One day he was picking berries in a field when he heard a strange rattling noise. The next day when he returned, he heard the strange ratting noise again. He looked up and saw the Bone Man watching him, the Bone Man took his berries and ate them. Nulwee ran all the way home to his grandmother’s house as fast as he could. Nulwee did not tell her of what he had seen. The next day the Bone Man took Nulwee’s berries again, and for many days after. As this was happening, Nulwees grandmother gave him a bow and arrow. She told Nulwee that he was to someday kill the Bone Man with them. The next day the Bone Man threatened to kill Nulwee and his grandmother. Nulwee’s grandmother dressed him in battle clothes and painted his chest and face, then sent him to go kill the Bone Man. Before he left she said “Nulwee, you must shoot the Bone Man in the heart which is in his little finger.” When Nulwee arrived to kill the Bone Man, he teased Nulwee; he lay down and said “Come on, shoot me in the heart.” So Nulwee took careful aim and shot the Bone Man right in the little finger, which was his heart. He got up and tried to chase Nulwee but his bones fell apart. Nulwee took the heart and held it up in the air, thunder came and it started to rain loudly. From now on Nulwees village was no longer in threat of the Bone Man so it grew back into a large and happy village.
Crow Brings the Daylight
In early times the Inuit people lived in darkness. Then Crow tells them of the daylight. Some of them don’t believe him but they get tired of the darkness. They ask Crow to bring them light. Crow agrees to go get them light, he flies and flies for a long time. Finally he arrives in the land of light. He lands on a tree over a stream, which he sees a girl getting water from. Crow turns into a small piece of dust and lands on the girl. She walks into a lodge, he drifts over to her baby brother and lands in his ear. Crow tells the boy to ask for the ball of light, which they keep in a box. The boy plays with it on a string. Then he tells the boy to ask to go outside. When they get outside Crow turns back into himself, snatches the ball of light, and flies away. He finally arrives back at his people. But Crow is so tired from flying that he drops the ball while he’s still in the air. It drops and shatters, light goes everywhere. Crows tells the Inuit people that the light can’t last forever. The light will go away for six months to keep its strength. It will be dark for six months and light for six months, it is still so to this day.
Bibliography
How the First People Were Made, Climbing the Ladders of the worlds, and Coyote and the Earth Monster:
Ferguson, Diana. Native American Myths. London: Collins and Brown Limited, 2001.
The Bone Man:
Simms, Laura. The Bone Man. Singapore: Hyperion Books For
Children, -1997.
Crow Brings the Daylight:
Schlosser, S. E. "Crow Brings the Daylight". American Folklore. December 2, 2007. htt://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/nunavut1.html>.
