The writer gave but limited study while at Sia to myths not directly connected with their cosmogony and cult. The minds of several of the elder men are filled with the stories of the long-ago myth-makers, and they believe in the truth of these fables as they believe in their own existence, which is the cause, no doubt, for the absence of myth-making at the present time. It must be borne in mind, however, that these people have their winter tales and romances which they recognize as fiction. The animal myths here recorded were recited to the writer in a most dramatic manner by the vicar of the Snake Society, these portions of the stories where the coyote suffers disappointment, and is cheated of his prey, giving special delight to the narrator. The coyote seems to be a despised though necessary object in the mythic world of the Indian of the Southwest. He is certainly not reverenced, nor is he a being for whom they feel terror. While he is the object of ridicule he is also often of great service. Through his cunning he supplied the Sia of the upper world with fire by stealing it from SÛs´sistinnako in the lower world. When the world was new, people were depilous except upon their heads. The coyote said (animals could communicate with men then): “It is not well for you to be depilous,” and from the pilous growth about his mouth and belly he clothed the pubes and axilla of the Sia. Bureau of Ethnology. Eleventh Annual Report. Plate. XXXV GAST LITH. CO. N.Y. CEREMONIAL WATER VASES—SIA. THE COYOTE ENCOUNTERS DISAPPOINTMENTS.One day a shurtsÛnna (coyote) was passing about and saw a hare sitting before his house, and the coyote thought, “In a minute I will catch you,” and he sprang and caught the hare, who cried, “Man coyote, do not eat me; wait just a minute, I have something to tell you, something that you will be glad to hear, something you must hear.” “Well,” said the coyote, “I will wait.” “Let me sit at the entrance of my house and I can talk to you,” and, standing near, he allowed the hare to take his seat there. The hare said, “What are you thinking of, coyote?” “Nothing,” said the coyote. “Listen, then, to what I have to say; I am a hare, and I am much afraid of people; when they come carrying arrows I am very afraid of them, for when they see me they aim their arrows at me and I am very afraid, and oh! how I tremble;” and suiting the action to his words the hare trembled violently, until he saw the coyote was a little off his guard; at this instant the hare started off at a run. It took a moment for the coyote to collect his thoughts, when he followed the hare, but he was always a little behind; after running some distance the hare entered the house of his companion just in time to escape the coyote. The coyote upon reaching the house found it was hard stone and he became very angry. “Alas!” cried he, “I was very stupid. Why did I allow this hare to fool me? I was so anxious to kill him; I must have him. How can I catch him? Alas! this house is very strong, how can I open it?” and he began to work, but after a while he cried, “The stone is so strong I can not open it.” Presently the hare called, “Man coyote, how are you going to kill me?” “I know how I am going to kill you,” replied the coyote, “I will kill you with fire.” “Where is the wood?” cried the hare, for there was no wood at the house of the hare. “I will bring grass,” said the coyote, “and set fire to it and the fire will enter your house and go into your eyes, nose, and mouth, and kill you.” “Oh,” said the hare, “the grass is mine, it is my food, it will not kill me; why would my food kill me? It is my friend. No, grass will not kill me.” “Then,” cried the coyote, “I will bring all the trees of the woods and set fire to them,” and the hare replied, “all the trees know me, they too are my food, they will not kill me, they are my friends.” The coyote said, “I will bring the gum of the piÑon and set fire to it,” and the hare cried, “Oh, now I am much afraid, I do not eat that and it is not my friend,” and the coyote rejoiced that he had discovered a plan for getting the hare. He hurried and brought all the gum he could carry and placed it at the door of the hare’s house and set fire to it and in a short time the gum boiled like hot grease, and the hare cried, “Now I know I shall die, what shall I do?” and the coyote’s heart was glad. In a little while the hare called, “The fire is entering my house,” and the coyote cried to him, “Blow it out”. At the same time, drawing near to the fire, he blew with all his might to increase the flame. “Oh!” When he discovered that he was unlike his former self he said nothing, but thought, “That coyote man has done this work.” The coyote then bringing the stick, with the fat upon it, said, “Companion, I wish much to talk with you; you have slept very soundly; I have brought you some fat from the deer; eat it; you will like it. I killed a deer the other day, and this is the reason I can bring you some fat;” and the lynx, thinking the coyote spoke the truth, ate the fat with much relish. When the fat had been consumed the coyote said, “Well, companion, what do you think of the deer fat?” but before the lynx made any reply the coyote added, “I lied to you; it is your own fat which I took from your stomach while you slept.” The lynx at once became very sick and began vomiting. “I did not eat it,” cried the The two now separated, taking opposite roads; but in a short time the lynx returned and followed the coyote, aiming to keep close to him; but the coyote soon distanced the lynx, leaving him far behind; the coyote, however, did not know that the lynx was following him. After he had traveled a long distance he became tired and lay down to rest and sleep. After a time the lynx arrived, and finding the coyote sleeping, said: “Ah! ah! now I will play my trick;” and he called to the coyote, “Companion!” and no answer; again he called, “Companion!” and no answer; and the third and fourth calls brought no reply. The coyote was sleeping soundly. “He is surely asleep,” said the lynx, and with a stick similar to the one employed by the coyote, he drew the fat from the coyote’s stomach and placed it to one side; he then proceeded to change the appearance of the coyote; he pulled upon the mouth until he made it project, and it was much larger than before; then he pulled upon the ears until they became long, and he lengthened the tail to twice its size, and he also stretched the body and the arms. When he had completed his work he cried four times to the coyote, “Companion!” The fourth time the coyote awoke, and the lynx said, “I have brought you some deer fat;” and the coyote was stupid enough to believe the story, and ate the fat, for he was very hungry. Then, said the lynx, “Man, what do you think? Do you think I have lied to you? Well, I have lied to you; for the fat is from your own stomach;” and the coyote was very angry and vomited all that he had eaten. And he cried, “Man lynx, we are even;” and in a little while they separated, taking opposite roads. The coyote traveled a great distance, and in the middle of the day it was very hot, and he sat down and rested, and he thought as he looked up to ti´nia, “How I wish the cloud people would freshen my path and make it cool;” and in a little while the cloud people gathered above the road the coyote was to travel over, and he rejoiced that his path was to be shady and cool; but after he had traveled a short distance, he again sat down, and, looking upward, said, “I wish much the cloud people would send rain, that my road would be fresher and cooler.” In a little while a shower came, and the coyote was contented and went on his way rejoicing; but in a short time he again sat down and wished that the road could be very moist, that it would be fresh to his feet, and almost immediately the road was wet as though a river had passed over it, and the coyote was very contented. But after going a short distance he again took his seat and said to himself, “I guess I will talk again to the cloud people;” and he said to them, “I wish for water over my road; water to my elbows, that I may travel on my hands and feet in the cool waters; then I shall be refreshed But even this did not satisfy him, and after traveling a short distance he sat down and implored the cloud people to give him a river that he might float over the road, and immediately a river appeared and the coyote floated with the stream. He was high in the mountains and wished to go below to the hare land. After floating a long distance he came to the hare land and saw many hares a little distance off, both large and small, and they were on both sides of the river. The coyote lay down as though he were dead (he was covered in mud), and listened, and presently he saw a woman ka´wate (mephitis) approaching, carrying her vase and gourd; she was coming for water. Before the coyote saw the ka´wate he heard the gourd striking against the vase. As she drew near the coyote peeped at her and she looked at him and said: “Here is a dead coyote. Where did he come from? I guess from the mountains above. I guess he fell into the water and died.” When she came closer he looked at her and said: “Come here, woman.” “What do you want?” said the ka´wate. “I want you to be my companion,” said the coyote. “I know all the hares and other small animals well, and I guess in a little while they will all come here, and when they think I am dead they will be very happy.” And the two talked much together and the coyote said: “Let us be companions, what do you think about it?” “I have no thoughts at all,” said the ka´wate. “I,” said the coyote, “think we had better work together.” And the ka´wate replied: “It is well.” Then said the coyote: “Go and bring me four clubs; I want them for the hares.” When the ka´wate returned with the clubs the coyote said: “Put them on the ground and cover them with earth.” When this was done he lay upon them. Then said the coyote: “Go and bring me the seeds from the pÁtiÄn.” (A very tall grass; the seeds when ripe are black.) He put the seeds on his mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears and scattered them over his body. This he did that the hares might think him dead and being eaten by worms. Then he said to the ka´wate: “Look around everywhere for the hares; when you see them, say a coyote is dead; they will soon come to look at me and they will dance around me for joy because I am dead. You return with them, and when they dance tell them to look to the cloud people while they dance, and then throw your poison (mephitic fluid) up and let it fall upon their faces like rain, and when it goes in their eyes they can not see, for the poison of the ka´wate burns After a time the ka´wate stepped apart from the group and said, “All of you hares look up, do not hold your heads down, look up to the cloud people while you sing and dance; it is much better to hold your heads up.” All threw their heads back and looked to ti´ni´a. Then the ka´wate threw high her mephitic fluid, which fell like rain upon the faces and into the eyes of all the hares, and their eyes were on fire; all they could do was to rub them; they could not see anything. And the coyote quickly rose, and handed the ka´wate two of the clubs, keeping two himself, and they killed all of the hares; there was a great number, and they were piled up like stones. Then said the coyote, “Where shall I find fire to cook the hares? Ah,” said he, pointing across to a very high rock, “that rock gives good shade and it is cool; I will find the fire and cook my meat near the shade of the rock;” and he and the ka´wate carried all of the hares to this point and the coyote made a large fire and threw them into it. When this was done he was very warm from his work about the fire and he was also tired, and he lay down close to the rock in the shade. He was now perfectly happy, and contented to be quiet, but only for a short time. He must be at work He was tired and sat down in the shade of the rock. “Why does she not come,” thought the coyote; “perhaps she will not return before night, her feet are so small; perhaps she will not come at all. Strange I have not seen her; she must be far off.” The Ka´wate, who was just above him, heard all that he said. She watched him and saw him take a stick and look into the mound for the hares. (They had covered the hares before leaving the place.) He pulled out a very small one which he threw away. He then drew a second one, still smaller than the first, and this he also threw off, and again a third, and a fourth, each one smaller than the other. “I do not care for the little ones,” he said, “I have many here, I will not eat the smaller ones,” and he hunted and hunted in the mound for the hares, but found no more; all were gone, and he looked about him and said, “That woman has robbed me,” and he was glad to collect the four he had cast away and eat them, for he was very hungry. After his meal he looked about him and found the ka´wate’s footprints on the rocks. He hunted everywhere for her, but he did not think to look above, and after searching a long time he became weary and laid down to rest. As he looked upward, he saw the woman sitting on the ledge of the rock with the hares piled beside her. The coyote was hungry for the hares, and he begged the ka´wate to bring him some, and she threw him down a very small one, and the coyote was angry with her and still more angry with himself, because he could not climb the rock; she had gone where he could not go. The The bird was very much annoyed to be thus bothered with the coyote, and said to him, “Go away now; I am tired of you, go off and hunt for other eyes, do not remain to weep and bother me,” but the coyote refused to leave and begged and entreated the bird to find eyes for him. Finally the bird gathered gum from a piÑon tree and rolled two small bits between the palms of his hands, and, when they were round, he placed the two balls into the eye sockets of the coyote, who was then able to see, but not clearly as before, and these eyes, instead of being black like his other eyes, were slightly yellow. “Now,” said the bird, “you can remain no longer.” After traveling some little distance the coyote met a deer with two fawns; the fawns were beautifully spotted, and he said to the deer, “How did you paint your children, they are so beautiful?” The deer replied, “I painted them with fire from the cedar.” “And how did you do the work?” inquired the coyote. “I put my children into a THE COYOTE AND THE COUGAR.When the world was new the coyote was very industrious. He was always at work passing around the world everywhere. He was never lazy, but his thoughts were not good. He visited one camp of people and told them he belonged to the Corn people; at another camp he said he belonged to the Knife people. Both times he lied. After a while the coyote told the cougar, who was the father of all game, that he would like to be a ho´naaite. The cougar replied, “When your thoughts are good, then you may become one.” “I guess the coyote is not lying, he has good thoughts now,” and the cougar said to him, “Come in four days to me and we will make hÄ´chamoni.” The coyote returned on the fourth day and worked eight days with the cougar preparing hÄ´chamoni. He was supposed to abstain during this time from food, drink, and smoking, and to practice continency. The cougar also fasted and practiced continency for the same period of time. Each night when it was dark the cougar said, “You, man coyote, now it is night, take this food which I give you and offer it to Ko´pishtaia.” The first night the coyote returned with a contented heart, and upon entering the cougar’s house he sat down. The second night after the coyote left the house with the food for Ko´pishtaia, he felt a little hungry, and he said to himself, “Last night I was not hungry, now I am hungry, alas! I am afraid or I would eat this food. Why have I wished to be a ho´naaite? I have food here and I wish to eat it, for I am hungry and yet I am afraid.” And so he argued with himself until he overcame all scruples and ate the food. “Now,” said he, “I am contented; I am no longer hungry;” and he returned to the cougar, pretending he had offered the food to Ko´pishtaia, and so the remaining eight nights the coyote ate the food which was given him by the cougar to offer to Ko´pishtaia, but he said nothing of this to anyone. The cougar grew On the seventh day the cougar and the coyote worked very hard all day making hÄ´chamoni, and when the work was completed the cougar taught the coyote the song which he would sing as ho´naaite of the Coyote Society. They sang all the eighth day and night and at the conclusion of the song the coyote was ordained a ho´naaite. Then said the cougar to the coyote, “Go now and kill a deer, and when you kill the deer bring the meat here and we will eat,” and the coyote said, “It is well;” and he went to hunt the deer. In the early morning the coyote saw a deer, but the deer ran fast, and, though he followed him all day, he could not get close enough to catch him; he did not carry arrows, but was to catch him with his hands, and at night the coyote returned worn out. While the coyote was absent the cougar thought, “I guess the coyote will be gone all day,” and when evening came and the coyote was still absent he thought, “The coyote has not a good head or thoughts for a ho´naaite.” When the coyote returned at night the cougar said, “Why have you been gone all day and come back without a deer?” “I saw a deer,” said the coyote, “early this morning, and I ran all day following him; I went very far and am tired.” “Well,” said the cougar, “why is it your head and heart cared to be a ho´naaite? I gave you food for Ko´pishtaia and you, coyote, you ate the food that should have been given to Ko´pishtaia; this is why you did not catch the deer to-day. Had you given the food to Ko´pishtaia, instead of eating it, you would have caught the deer.” The coyote thought much, but did not say a word. He slept that night in the cougar’s house, and at dawn the cougar said to one of his own people, “you go and catch a deer.” “Well, be it so,” said the companion, and he started for the deer before the sun was up. In a short time he saw one; it was very near him, and with one jump he sprang upon the game and caught it before the sun was yet up, and hurrying back to the house of his chief he said, “Here is the meat of the deer.” The chief was much pleased and contented, but the coyote was very sad. All the companions of the cougar were happy and rejoiced. “Good, my son!” said the cougar, “I am much contented; we will pay the Ko´pishtaia with plumes; now we will eat the flesh of the deer.” The chief ate first and the others after him; he would not give any of the meat to the coyote, because the coyote’s thoughts were not good. The chief enjoyed his food greatly, this being the ninth morning from the beginning of his fast. The cougar said to the coyote, “Your THE COYOTE AND THE RATTLESNAKE.The coyote’s house was near the house of the rattlesnake. The coyote said to the snake, “Let us walk together,” and while walking he said to the snake, “To-morrow come to my house.” In the morning the snake went to the house of the coyote and moved along slowly on the floor, shaking his rattle. The coyote sat to one side, much afraid; he became frightened after watching the movements of the snake and hearing the noise of the rattle. The coyote had a pot of rabbit meat cooking on the fire, which he placed in front of the snake, inviting him to eat, saying, “Companion, eat.” “No, companion, I will not eat your meat; I do not understand your food,” said the snake. “What food do you eat?” asked the coyote. “I eat the yellow flowers of the corn,” was the reply, and the coyote immediately began to look around for some, and when he found the pollen, the snake said, “Put some on the top of my head that I may eat it,” and the coyote, standing as far off as possible, dropped a little on the snake’s head. The snake said, “Come nearer and put enough on my head that I may find it.” He was very much afraid, but after a while he came close to the snake and put the pollen on his head, and after eating the pollen the snake thanked the coyote saying, “I will go now and pass about,” but before leaving he invited the coyote to his house: “Companion, to-morrow you come to my house.” “Very well,” said the coyote, “to-morrow I will go to your house.” The coyote thought much what the snake would do on the morrow. He made a small rattle (by placing tiny pebbles in a gourd) and attached it to the end of his tail, and, testing it, he was well satisfied and said: “This is well;” he then proceeded to the house of the snake. When he was near the house he shook his tail and said to himself, “This is good; I guess when I go into the house the snake will be very much afraid of me.” He did not walk into the house, but moved like a snake. The coyote could not shake the rattle as the snake did his; he had to hold his tail in his hand. When he shook his rattle the snake appeared afraid and said, “Companion, I am much afraid of you.” The snake had a stew of rats on the fire, which he placed before the coyote and invited him to eat, saying, “Companion, eat some of my food,” and the coyote replied, “I do not understand your food; I can not eat it, because I do not understand it.” The snake insisted upon his eating, but the coyote continued to refuse, saying, “If you will put some of THE SKÁTONA.The myth of the ska´tona (a monster plumed serpent) who, in the old time, ate the people, is familiar to every man, woman, and child of Sia. This serpent, who lived in the mountains, did not move to catch the people, but drew them to him with his breath; he never called but one person at a time, compelling each one to approach sidewise so that he could not be seen. The hand was usually grabbed first, then the serpent would take the hand into his mouth and gradually devour his victim. FOOTNOTES: [1] The author mentions gratefully the share of this work performed by her late husband, Mr. James Stevenson, whose notes taken during his last year’s work in the field have been freely used by her and whose life interest in the North American Indians has been her inspiration. [2] Davis, Spanish Conquest of New Mexico, 1869, pp. 351, 352. [3] The writer is indebted to Mr. A. F. Bandelier for the information regarding the Catholic missions. [4] SÛs´sistinnako is referred to both as father and mother, he being the parent of all, and sometimes as grandmother or the first parent. [5] In this paper the words “cardinal points” are used to signify north, west, south, east, zenith, and nadir. [6] The Ï´Ärriko or ya´ya (mother) is an ear of corn which may be any color but must be symmetrically perfect, and not a grain must be missing. Eagle and parrot plumes are placed in pyramidal form around the corn. In order that the center feathers may be sufficiently long they are each attached to a very delicate splint. The base of this pyramid is formed of splints woven together with native cotton cord and ornamented at the top with shells and precious beads. A pad of native cotton is attached to the lower end of the corn. When the ya´ya is completed there is no evidence of the corn, which is renewed every four years when the old corn is planted. The ya´ya is made only by the theurgists of the cult societies, and continency must be practiced four days previous to the making of the Ï´Ärriko, and an emetic taken each of the four mornings before breaking fast for purification from conjugal relations. A ya´ya is presented by the theurgist to each official member, the little ones being apparently as appreciative and proud as their elders of the honor conferred upon them. The Ï´Ärriko is the Sia’s supreme idol. The one given to the writer by the theurgist of the knife society is now in the National Museum. [7] Though it is not mentioned in the story, it seems to be understood that these games were played for the houses, for had Po´shaiyÄnne lost the games he would have lost the houses. [8] Ancient flat shell beads as thin as paper. [9] This reference to tables appears to evidence the fact that this portion of the cosmogony is of later date, and the whole paragraph savors of a coloring from Christian or biblical teaching. [10] The culture hero of the Sia bears a name similar to that of the corresponding prodigy among the ZuÑi. The same is true of other of their mythological beings. [11] Fifth Ann. Rept. Bu. Eth., pp. 539-553. [12] Presiding officer of a cult society. [13] This society differed from the one of the same name afterwards organized in the upper world; knife in the former referring to the implement used for domestic and other purposes, while the word in the latter indicates the arrows presented to Ma´asewe and U´yuuyewe, the two war heroes, sons of the sun, by their father. [14] The ho´naaite, in this instance, is not, strictly speaking, the theurgist, for the priest-doctor of the society of warriors practices surgery exclusively, such as extracting balls and arrows, while the theurgist has to deal with afflictions caused by witchcraft and the anger of certain animals and insects, he acting simply as the agent of the prey animals. The functions of the ho´naaites of the Koshai´ri and Quer´rÄnna also differ from those of the other societies. As these two societies received their songs and medicine directly from the sun, they are not entitled to the slat altars used in ceremonials and given by Ût´set to the societies in the lower world; only those ho´naaites who practice through the power of the prey animals possess the sand paintings. The Warriors, Koshai´ri and Quer´rÄnna, make their cloud emblems of meal. [15] The sacred meal, or shell mixture as it is often called by the Sia, may be prepared by an adult of either sex; it is composed of coarsely ground meal, powdered shells, and turkis. [16] A member of a society is selected by the ho´naaite to collect the willow twigs from which the hÄ´chamoni are made. The ho´naaite arranges a bunch of bird plumes which the collector attaches to the limb of a willow, saying: “I have come to collect twigs for hÄ´chamoni and I pay you with these plumes.” The tree to which the plumes are attached is not touched, but the one nearest to it. A stroke at the place where the twig is to be cut is made with an ancient stone knife and the twig is severed from the tree on a line at right angles with itself, the stick varying from four inches to a foot in length, according to the symmetry of the twig, which is divided by three cuts (these having first been indicated by the stone knife), leaving the selected portion with a pointed end which in cross section would show an equilateral triangle. [17] The Sia do not differ from the ZuÑi, Tusayan, and Navajo in their process of preparing sand paintings, the powdered pigment being sprinkled between the index finger and thumb. All these Indian artists work rapidly. [18] The uncolored illustrations are from photographs by Miss May S. Clark, the interior views being by flash light. The writer is pleased to congratulate Miss Clark for having succeeded under the most trying circumstances. [19] All the figures show the feet as they are colored before the moccasins are put on. The red spot on the body designates the heart, the black spot on the figure of the member of the fire society indicates the coal which is eaten. The white around the face, arms, and legs is down from the breast of the hawk. [20] Female members are never present at the ceremonial of brushing with straws and feathers, and therefore the ya´ya belonging to the woman and child were not to be seen on this occasion, and neither did the one captured from the Navajo appear. [21] The portraits of the ho´naaites were made in secluded spots in the woods. The hair is not arranged as it is in the ceremonials, fear of discovery preventing the proper arrangement and adornment with feathers. (Pl. xxx.) [22] There were other Ka´?suna, however, which were in the upper world before the Sia came. While the Sia can not account for their origin they are also personated by them. [23] The aged ho´naaite has since died. [24] Here the singers sprinkle pollen to the north with an under wave of the hand. [25] Can not be translated. [26] Shell mixture and sacred meal are synonymous. [27] After the religious services it is usual for the ho´naaite to absent himself, even though he be the woman’s husband or father; his remaining being an evidence of unusual devotion. The mother-in-law may be present at childbirth, but not the father-in-law unless he be the chosen ho´naaite for the occasion, and his affection for the daughter-in-law prompting him to remain, this, however, being very rare. “Should the expectant mother fail to bend her thoughts upon the event to come the child would not care to be born and would lie still and die.” It is rare for a Sia woman to die in childbirth; or for a child to he stillborn. [28] The doctress names all infants, one name usually serving the female through life, but the male may have a plurality of names; for example, upon his return after a long journey, or after having performed some valorous deed his head is bathed in yucca suds by some female member of the cult society to which he belongs, or by a member of his clan, when she bestows an appropriate name. Transcriber’s Notes:
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