Ilhataina
: Creation Myths Of Primitive AmericaPERSONAGES
After each name is given that of the creature or thing into which the
personage was changed subsequently.
=Ahalamila=, gray wolf; =Demauna=, pine marten; =Gowila=, lizard;
=Ilhataina=, lightning; =Jul Kurula=, woodgrub; =Jupka=, butterfly of
the wild silkworm; =Tsoré Jowá=, a kind of eagle.
* * * * *
Nea
she went west to dig roots, and found a great clump of them. "I'll
come to-morrow and dig these," thought she, and went home.
Next morning she went to get the roots. She dug around the whole
clump, but could not pull it up. She dug deeper, pulled and tugged; at
last the roots came, and on them a little boy with eyes staring out of
his head. She pushed the eyes back, cured him, put him in a
rabbit-skin blanket which she wore, and went home. She washed the boy
all day, and did not sleep at night. She washed him all the time. When
five days old, he had grown a good deal. On the sixth day he crept; on
the ninth he walked. When fifteen days old, he was a strong but very
small boy.
"I want a bow and arrows," said he.
"You must not go out," said the old woman, "you must not leave my
sight."
He teased till at last she gave him a bow and said, "You must stay on
the housetop, and not go away."
While he was on the house a bird flew up, perched on a tree-top, and
asked, "Why doesn't your mother nurse you?"
The bird repeated this and flew away. The boy cried; came down and
told his grandmother.
"Where are our people? Tell me," said he.
"Our people were many," said she, "but Gowila killed them all. We have
no people now."
"Who is Gowila?"
"Oh, he is strong and terrible; you must not see Gowila."
The boy walked around the house then, looked at the walls, and asked,
"May I have that bow hanging there?"
"You may if you like," said she, "but you are too weak to use it. You
are very small, a little fellow."
He started at the east side of the sweat-house and went northward,
tried the first bow, broke it; went on, took another, broke that. Then
he went around the whole house, breaking every bow that he came to,
till on the south side he reached the last bow. It was made of deer
sinew. He bent that, tried his best, tried again and again, could not
break it. "What kind of a bow is this?" thought he. "It is the
ugliest, the oldest, but I cannot break it." He took the bow and a big
stone to crush it. The bow flew out of his hand, and the stone fell.
"How did the man die who used this bow?" asked the boy.
"Gowila killed him, and those who had the other bows," answered the
old woman.
"I will go for wood now and sweat."
"Do not go far," said Tsore Jowa.
The boy ran off to the east, seized a big pine-tree, tore it up with
one pull, and took it home in one hand. He made a big fire and put
stones on it.
"Bring water, my grandmother," said he; "then I will tell you what to
do." The old woman filled a great basket with water. The stones were
dropped in when red-hot, and the water boiled quickly.
"Grandmother, put me into the boiling water."
The old woman was frightened, but did what he told her.
"Cover me closely," said the boy.
She covered him with another tight basket. He lay in the water till
the cover flew from the basket, and he was thrown through the opening
in the top of the sweat-house and dropped on the roof outside. He ran
down, swam in the river close by, and then went back and talked with
the old woman.
"You will be very strong," said she. "You will be called Ilhataina."
He ran east a second time; brought sugar-pines. He did not sleep, he
sang without stopping. Rocks were made hot as before, and dropped into
a bigger basket. The old woman put in Ilhataina, and covered him with
four closely woven baskets. He was in the boiling water till the four
covers burst off, and he flew up through the opening in the top of
the sweat-house. He ran down again to the river, and while swimming
talked to himself, saying,--
"I will meet Gowila to-day, I will meet Gowila to-day."
At sunrise he went home. "Grandmother, I am going out a short way,"
said he, taking down his old bow and one arrow.
"Oh, grandson, you must not go far; you must not leave my sight," said
the old woman.
He counted twenty otter-skin quivers filled with arrows, and said, "I
will take these."
She cooked roots for his breakfast, and brought a small basket full
for him to take with him. He went west to a grove of trees, made a
fire there, and caused salmon to hang all around on the tree branches.
Crowds of men and women were heard talking and laughing near by. He
made it so. There were no people in the place. He made the noise to
entice Gowila.
He began to dig roots then. He dug without raising his head, dug and
worked on, singing songs as he worked. Soon a big ugly old man from
the north came. This was Gowila. He had a great dog, and a deer head
was hanging at his back, with long horns on each side of it.
"You sing a nice song," said he.
Ilhataina never looked up.
"Come to the fire," said Gowila.
The boy said nothing; dug all the time.
"Come to the fire; I am hungry," said Gowila.
After a time Ilhataina went to the fire.
"You sing well," said Gowila. "Where did you come from?"
"From Jigulmatu. People sing well at Jigulmatu, and they dance well."
Gowila sat down near the fire. "Put roots in my mouth. Put in more,"
said he, when the boy gave him some.
The boy fed Gowila until he had eaten all the roots in the basket.
"How many people are digging roots around here?" asked he.
"I do not know; a great many," said Ilhataina.
A loud noise of people was heard a short distance away,--a noise of
men and women laughing and talking. Gowila saw blankets and baskets
near the fire. Ilhataina made the appearance of them. There was
nothing there but the twenty otter-skin quivers and the ugly old bow
and one arrow in his hand.
"Give me your bow," said Gowila; "let me look at it."
He asked again and again till the boy gave the bow. Gowila threw it
into the fire.
"Why do that?" asked Ilhataina, snatching his bow from the fire. "Let
me see your bow."
Gowila handed the bow to him. Ilhataina broke it with his left hand,
and then sprang toward the east. Gowila was very angry, and said
"Teh!" to his dog. The dog rushed at the boy. Ilhataina shot and hit
the dog. He shot all the arrows but one from ten quivers. Every arrow
hit but did no harm to the dog. Just then one of the seven stars (the
Pleiades) called to Ilhataina,--
"Shoot him in the little toe and he will die."
The boy hit the dog's little toe. He fell dead.
Ilhataina ran to the fire where Gowila was standing. "You cannot kill
me," said he to Gowila; "you are big and strong, but you cannot hurt
me."
"I will kill you," said Gowila; and he sent an arrow at him. It
missed.
Ilhataina shot his arrow and it struck. Every arrow that he sent went
into Gowila, but no arrow struck Ilhataina. All the arrows but one
were gone from the second ten quivers. That moment one of the seven
stars called to Ilhataina,--
"Shoot at his little toe. If you hit him there, he will die."
Ilhataina struck Gowila's little toe, and he dropped dead.
Ilhataina skinned Gowila, stripped him from head to foot, put the skin
on himself, and became just like his enemy. Next he struck the dog
with a red rose switch, and the dog jumped up alive and glad to see
his master. Ilhataina hung the deer head behind his shoulders, took
his quivers, and went home. Gowila's dog followed him. When near the
house, he made heavy steps, and the old woman looked out.
"Oh, Gowila is coming! Gowila is coming!" cried she, terribly
frightened.
"Grandmother, don't be afraid; it is I. Gowila is dead. I have killed
him. I am wearing his skin. I am as big and as ugly as he was. I will
go to his house to-night, I think. I have brought his liver and
lights with me."
"Go, grandson, go. I fear nobody now."
Ilhataina went away, saying, "I will be here about sunrise to-morrow."
He went north to Gowila's sweat-house, went a long way, went quickly,
walked up to the house, was just like Gowila. A great many people lived
in that house. All kinds of snake people were there,--rattlesnakes,
bull-snakes, water-snakes, striped snakes, all kinds of snakes.
He hung Gowila's liver and lights outside, went in, and sat down
between Gowila's two wives. The dog lay down in his own place. The
wives were Pupila women, two sisters.
"Bring in the meat which I hung up outside and cook it," said
Ilhataina to the elder wife.
He cut the liver and lights into small bits, and the two women boiled
them. There was a great steam and a strong smell from these pieces.
All in the house were blind except the two wives, and only one of the
blind people spoke, Gowila's younger brother. "I smell Gowila's
flesh," said he.
"How could you smell Gowila's flesh when I am Gowila?"
Ilhataina was very angry, and dashed live coals through the house. All
were terrified. All ate of the meat except Gowila's younger brother.
He was very wise and wouldn't touch it.
Ilhataina went out and found a great many legs around the house.
Gowila had eaten the bodies of thousands of people and thrown the legs
away. Ilhataina gathered these into one place and went back to the
house.
"Blind people," said he, "I wish you would sing, and you, my wives,
dance for me. I'll go to sleep then."
"We will sing," said they, "and dance."
The blind people sang, and the two women danced. Soon the men and the
two women stopped. Ilhataina made them all drowsy, and they fell
asleep. Then he went out, fastened the door, and said,--
"I want the walls of this house to be covered with pitch."
The whole house was covered with pitch, and then he set fire to it.
Soon he heard terrible screaming inside and crowds running around in
the sweat-house. None could get out, and all were burned to death
quickly.
Ilhataina tied the legs together with a long grapevine and carried
them home. He was there about daylight. He placed them all in the
river and went to the sweat-house.
"Hide me, and then lie on your face with your arms under your head,"
said he to his grandmother.
The old woman put him in one basket and covered him with another, then
lay herself as he had directed.
In the middle of the forenoon there was a great noise of people rising
out of the river. They came in through the top of the sweat-house.
When all were inside, the old woman stood up. All her people were
alive there before her,--Demauna, Jupka, and others; all had come
back.
"Who brought us to life again?" asked Demauna. "Show me the person."
The old woman took Ilhataina out of the basket and carried him to
them. Demauna caught him in his arms. "Well done, my brother!" said
he. All the rest called him brother.
"Let me have him," said Ahalamila.
"No," answered Demauna; "I will keep him myself."
They asked the old woman where she had found Ilhataina. She would not
tell.
"Will you sweat?" asked Ilhataina.
"Yes," said all the people.
"I will bring wood," said he.
When he ran out, the sweat-house danced in its place. All thought he
was too small to carry wood, but when he snatched a tall fir the earth
trembled. When he touched a big sugar-pine, he crushed it. He brought
great trees in a moment, and when he put them down the place shivered.
All were in terror.
When Ilhataina talked the whole world was afraid, and when he moved
the ground which he walked on was quivering.
All sweated, swam in the river, and went back to the old woman's.
Ilhataina walked across the house, and his heart shook as if it would
jump from his body.
"I am not going to stay here," said he.
When Demauna heard this, he cried, and the old woman cried.
"My brother," said Demauna, "I should like to know where you are
going. I wish you would stay with us."
Ilhataina made no answer.
"My brother," said Jupka, "if you will not stay here, I wish you
would go to the sky. Now," said Jupka, "will you take beads as a gift
from me?"
"No."
"Shells?"
"No."
"Wolf robes?"
"No."
"Wildcat robes?"
"No."
"Foxskin robes?"
"No."
Jupka wore an old ragged rabbit-skin robe. He had worn it a long time.
"I think you like this," said he.
"Yes," answered Ilhataina, "that's what I want." He took the old robe
and tied it with weeds around his waist. "Now I am ready to leave you.
Come out and see me go."
There was a black cloud in the sky. Ilhataina had brought it there. "I
will go up to that place," said he. "Whenever rain comes in future, it
will be water falling from my rabbit robe."
All hurried out. Jupka's son, Jul Kurula, who was wrapped in a black
bearskin, came down into the sweat-house and cried; he didn't wish to
lose Ilhataina.
"Now, my friends," said Ilhataina, "I leave you; hereafter when you
see me travel I shall go like this;" and he went with a flash to the
black cloud.
He was taken into it, and now he stays there.
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There was a king who had two sons, one of whom was cunning and unjust, and the other good and just. In due time the king died, and the unjust son said to his brother: "As you are younger than I, you cannot expect me to share the throne with you, so ... Kagssagssuk The Homeless Boy Who Became A Strong Man
One day, it is said, when the men and women in the place had gone to a spirit calling, the children were left behind, all in one big house, where they played, making a great noise. A homeless boy named Kagssagssuk was walking about alone outside... Kai Riu O The Dragon King Of The World Under The Sea
Soon after her arrival at home, the empress Jingu gave birth to a son, whom she named Ojin. He was one of the fairest children ever born of an imperial mother, and was very wise and wonderful even when an infant. He was a great favorite of Takenou... Kanagssuaq
Kanagssuaq, men say, went out from his own place to live on a little island, and there took to wife the only sister of many brothers. And while he lived there with her, it happened once that the cold became so great that the sea between the island... Kara And Guja
Once upon a time there were two brothers named Kara and Guja who were first class shots with the bow and arrow. In the country where they lived, a pair of kites were doing great damage: they had young ones in a nest in a tree and used to carry off c... Karmu And Dharmu
There were once two brothers Karmu and Dharmu. Karmu was a farmer and Dharmu was a trader; once when Dharmu was away from home Karmu gave a religious feast and did not invite Dharmu's household; when Dharmu returned and learnt this, he told his wife... Kayuta And Waneta
The Indians loved our lakes. They had eyes for their beauty, and to them they were abodes of gracious spirits. They used to say of Oneida Lake, that when the Great Spirit formed the world his smile rested on its waters and Frenchman's Island rose to... Keaulumoku's Prophecy
Keaulumoku died in 1784. He was a poet, dreamer, prophet, and preserver of the legends of his people. For more than three-score years he had roamed about Hawaii, esteemed for his virtues and his wisdom by those who knew him, tolerated as harmless ... Kele And Sedit
PERSONAGES After each name is given that of the creature or thing into which the personage was changed subsequently. =Hinwu=, big owl; =Kele=, mountain wolf; =Kleréu Lulimet=, wild lily; =Pili Lúlimet=, reed grass blossom; =Pokok=, grou... Keris
In the olden times a king named Grallon reigned over the land of Cornouaille. He was as good a man as any son of Adam, and gave a cordial welcome at his court to all who had in any way distinguished themselves, were they plebeian or noble in their... Kidd's Treasure
Captain Kidd is the most ubiquitous gentleman in history. If his earnings in the gentle craft of piracy were frugally husbanded, he has possibly left some pots of money in holes in the ground between Key West and Halifax. The belief that large depos... Kiha's Trumpet
Waipio, in Hawaii, is claimed by people who live thereabout to be the loveliest valley on the island. It was a low and marshy stretch until a great fish that lived there begged the god Kane to give him sweeter water and more of it. Kane therefore ... King Midas Of The Golden Touch
In the plays of Shakespeare we have three distinct divisions—three separate volumes. One deals with Tragedy, another with Comedy, a third with History; and a mistake made by the young in their aspect of life is that they do the same thing, and keep t...