Stories: May 2008 Archives

This is the Choctaw story of how human beings emerged from a mountain especially built for nurturing the two legged ones.  I like this story because it isn't just about one community of people, but includes other Nations that the Choctaw knew about.  Notice the little slap at the Creeks. (Muskogee)

Many years ago, my son, there were no men. HUSH-TALI was alone with our animal brothers.They gave him no comfort as they were busy playing Toli amongst themselves. HUSH-TALI asked Mother Moon why she shone so bright in her happiness at night. "I have my children, they play and hunt in the woods at night." HUSH-TALI asked Father Sun why he gave his warmth to the Earth each day. "To warm my children and give them light to play Toli." HUSH-TALI sat alone and thought about this for many, many years. Then HUSH-TALI decided that he must have his own children, too. 

First he built a great mountain, the one we call NANIH WAIYA, to hold his children until they were born. You see, my son, there were yet no women on the Earth to a mother to men. Then, he placed the seeds of man deep within the bowels of the mountain. Knowing that they would be small and weak when they were born, HUSH-TALI dug a great cave in the side of NANIH WAIYA. Then HUSH-TALI waited patiently, as any expectant father must do. 

First born were the Creeks. When they came out of the cave, they climbed the side of NINAH WAIYA and lay down in the light of Father Sun to dry themselves. "What is this place of light," they said amognst themselves as they lay drying. When they were dry, the Creeks walked round and round NANIH WAIYAH to see where they were. When they were tired, is was night and cold, so they built a the first council fire to give themselves warmth, and smoked many pipes of tobacco as they sat talking. In the morning, Father Sun came again, and they said to themselves, "Let us go to the land where Father Sun lives at night and it will not be cold." So they went to the East and there they gave birth to a Great People. 

Then were born the Cherokees. When they came out into the Sun to dry themselves, the woods all around had burned, because the Creeks had been careless with their fires and their smoking. They lay on the side of the Mother Hill, NANIH WAIYA, and when they were dry, they could not find the trail of their Creek brothers as the fires had burned away the trail. They walked round and round NANIH WAIYAH, then the wisest among them said, "Let us go this way and find a home." They went to the North and there they found a home for their Nation.

Chickasaw emerged from the Mother Hill next. As they lay, drying in Father Sun's warmth, they saw their Brothers walking to the North. They followed the Cherokee to the North land. They settled nearby, and their many children built the Nation of the Chickasaw close to their Brother Cherokees. There they stayed.

Our Choctaw people came last from the Mother Hill's belly and NANIH WAIYA rejoiced that all of her children were at last born. The Choctaw walked round and round their Mother, finally lying down to dry in the Sun. When they were dry, they held the first council of the Tribe. There were many words, many voices. When it was done they decided they could not leave their Mother alone, they would stay within her sight where she could watch them and not worry. Around NANIH WAIYA they stayed, they found no need to leave her.

HUSH-TALI smiled upon his children and it was good in his heart. This my son, is how man was born from Mother Earth. 

There was a couple named Kana'ti ("The Lucky Hunter") and his wife, Selu ("maize"). Kana'ti was an excellent hunter and never failed to catch some game. Their son played in the river in which Selu washed the blood off of her husband's catch every day. The boy soon began playing with a creature that sprang from the river and called himself his elder brother, whose mother had thrown him into the river. Kana'ti and Selu knew he had come from the blood. Kana'ti once told his son to start  and pin wrestling he spirit boy down so Kana'ti could see him. Kana'ti and Selu took the spirit boy home with them. He was a disobedient and wild child, who quickly developed skills in magic. He was called I'nage-utasvhi ("he who grew up in the wild"). I'nage-utasvhi and the real boy followed Kana'ti on a hunting trip one day, because I'nage-utasvhi wanted to find out where he caught all his game. I'nage-utasvhi turned himself into a bit of down, and floated onto Kana'ti's shoulder without his knowledge. He watched Kana'ti make arrows from the reeds of a swamp, then I'nage-utasvhi left and told Kana'ti's son what he had seen. Neither were certain of the purpose of an arrow.

The boys followed him farther and saw him shoot a deer, and then understood the meaning of the arrows. The boys then made seven arrows of their own, in imitation of Kama'ti and went to the same cave. When they tried to scare out a deer to shoot, the whole cave emptied of deer and they were so surprised that they did nothing. I'nage-utasvhi did shoot a deer in the tail, pushing its tail upwards. The boys decided shooting the deers' tails was fun, and did it to all the deer (this is why deer tails go up, instead of down like most animals). After the deer came raccons, rabbits and all the other four-footed creatures, then the birds The birds flapping wings made so much noise that Kana'ti heard what was happening and rushed to the scene. When he saw what was happening, he was furious. So he went up the mountain, and when he came to the place where he kept the game he found the two boys standing by the rock, and all the birds and animals were gone, and without saying a word he went down into the cave and kicked the covers off four jars in one corner. They contained bedbugs, lice, gnats and fleas, which then swarmed all over the boys. When Kana'ti felt they had been sufficiently punished he knocked the insects off the boys who had nearly been bitten to death.

Ever since then, mankind had to hunt to find the animals, who are no longer located in a cave. Now, Selu, the boys' mother, was an excellent cook and kept her foodstuffs in a storeroom. The boys wondered what she did in the storeroom, and they spied on her from a small hole. She leaned over a basket in the middle of the room and rubbed her stomach counterclockwise; the basket filled halfway with corn. She did the same under her armpits and the basket was filled the rest of the way with corn. The boys decided Selu was a witch . She had to be killed, they decided.

Selu read their minds and knew they would kill her. She asked the boys to drag her body around a circle drawn on a cleared spot in front of the house, and watch the circle all night so that they would have maize the next day. They killed her with a club and put her head on the roof of the house facing west. They didn't follow her directions exactly, clearing only seven small spots instead of the one large circle as she said; this is why corn does not grow everywhere, but only in the places where Selu's blood fell as they dragged. They dragged her body only twice, and thus people have to work the crop two times. The next morning (after they watched all night) the corn was full grown.

When Kana'ti came back, he saw Selu's head and was furious. He went to stay with the wolf-people. I'nage-utasvhi once again changed himself into down and accompanied Kana'ti. The wolf people were having a conference, and Kana'ti asked them to challenge his boys to a stick ball game, and then kill them. They agreed. I'nage-utasvhi and his brother (under I'nage-utasvhi's direction) made a wide circle all around the house, making a trail all around except in the direction from which the wolf-people would be coming. They made themselves arrows and waited. As soon as the wolf-people passed through the break in the trail, it magically transformed in a high fence, locking them in. I'nage-utasvhi and Kana'ti's son then killed them all with their arrows, as the wolf-people were trapped. A few escaped to a large swamp. The boys ran around the swamp, and fire sprang up in their tracks and only a handful of wolf-people survived, becoming the modern wolves.

The boys were soon approached by a traveler who asked for the secret of the neverending maize. They gave him seven grains and told them to plant them every night and watch them until morning. The maize multiplied during the night, they told him. On the last night, they fell asleep and did not keep watch. This is why it is now necessary to grow maize for six months instead of one night.

The boys searched for Kana'ti. They sent a gaming wheel in each direction and, when it didn't come back, that was where they went, towards the Land of the Sun. They headed east and found Kana'ti walked with a dog, which was actually the gaming wheel.

The trio reached a swamp and Kana'ti told the boys it was dangerous and they should wait outside. Of course, they followed him again, stumbling across a panther, which inage-utasvhi shot in the head several times, but the panther was unfazed. When Kana'ti returned he asked if the boys had found the panther (knowing they had followed him). They told him they had but that it hadn't hurt them because they were men.

Next, Kana'ti told the boys that they would soon be with a tribe called the Anada'dvtaski("roasters"), a cannibalistic people.

I'nage-utasvhi took some splinters from a tree that had been struck by lighting. When they arrived at the cannibals' village, they saw a large pot that had been set to boiling for the purpose of eating the boys. I'nage-utasvhi put the splinters into the fire which brought down lightning bolts on the cannibal village, killing the cannibals.

Meeting back up with Kana'ti (who was once again surprised by their survival), the boys soon separated from him again and then made their way to the end of the world, where the sun rises. Kana'ti and Selu were sitting there. Then, the boys stayed with their parents for seven days, and then returned to their homeland and were known as Anisga'ya Tsunsdi ("the little men") and their conversations were thunder.

.

The people were hungry sometime later, and retrieved the boys. They sang songs and the wind slowly grew. On the seventh song, deer came out from the woods. The villagers then learned the seven songs, but eventually forgot five, which the Cherokee hunters always sang when hunting deer.

There was a couple named Kana'ti ("The Lucky Hunter") and his wife, Selu ("maize"). Kana'ti was an excellent hunter and never failed to catch some game. Their son played in the river in which Selu washed the blood off of her husband's catch every day. The boy soon began playing with a creature that sprang from the river and called himself his elder brother, whose mother had thrown him into the river. Kana'ti and Selu knew he had come from the blood. Kana'ti once told his son to start  and pin wrestling he spirit boy down so Kana'ti could see him. Kana'ti and Selu took the spirit boy home with them. He was a disobedient and wild child, who quickly developed skills in magic. He was called I'nage-utasvhi ("he who grew up in the wild"). I'nage-utasvhi and the real boy followed Kana'ti on a hunting trip one day, because I'nage-utasvhi wanted to find out where he caught all his game. I'nage-utasvhi turned himself into a bit of down, and floated onto Kana'ti's shoulder without his knowledge. He watched Kana'ti make arrows from the reeds of a swamp, then I'nage-utasvhi left and told Kana'ti's son what he had seen. Neither were certain of the purpose of an arrow.

The boys followed him farther and saw him shoot a deer, and then understood the meaning of the arrows. The boys then made seven arrows of their own, in imitation of Kama'ti and went to the same cave. When they tried to scare out a deer to shoot, the whole cave emptied of deer and they were so surprised that they did nothing. I'nage-utasvhi did shoot a deer in the tail, pushing its tail upwards. The boys decided shooting the deers' tails was fun, and did it to all the deer (this is why deer tails go up, instead of down like most animals). After the deer came raccons, rabbits and all the other four-footed creatures, then the birds The birds flapping wings made so much noise that Kana'ti heard what was happening and rushed to the scene. When he saw what was happening, he was furious. So he went up the mountain, and when he came to the place where he kept the game he found the two boys standing by the rock, and all the birds and animals were gone, and without saying a word he went down into the cave and kicked the covers off four jars in one corner. They contained bedbugs, lice, gnats and fleas, which then swarmed all over the boys. When Kana'ti felt they had been sufficiently punished he knocked the insects off the boys who had nearly been bitten to death.

Ever since then, mankind had to hunt to find the animals, who are no longer located in a cave. Now, Selu, the boys' mother, was an excellent cook and kept her foodstuffs in a storeroom. The boys wondered what she did in the storeroom, and they spied on her from a small hole. She leaned over a basket in the middle of the room and rubbed her stomach counterclockwise; the basket filled halfway with corn. She did the same under her armpits and the basket was filled the rest of the way with corn. The boys decided Selu was a witch . She had to be killed, they decided.

Selu read their minds and knew they would kill her. She asked the boys to drag her body around a circle drawn on a cleared spot in front of the house, and watch the circle all night so that they would have maize the next day. They killed her with a club and put her head on the roof of the house facing west. They didn't follow her directions exactly, clearing only seven small spots instead of the one large circle as she said; this is why corn does not grow everywhere, but only in the places where Selu's blood fell as they dragged. They dragged her body only twice, and thus people have to work the crop two times. The next morning (after they watched all night) the corn was full grown.

When Kana'ti came back, he saw Selu's head and was furious. He went to stay with the wolf-people. I'nage-utasvhi once again changed himself into down and accompanied Kana'ti. The wolf people were having a conference, and Kana'ti asked them to challenge his boys to a stick ball game, and then kill them. They agreed. I'nage-utasvhi and his brother (under I'nage-utasvhi's direction) made a wide circle all around the house, making a trail all around except in the direction from which the wolf-people would be coming. They made themselves arrows and waited. As soon as the wolf-people passed through the break in the trail, it magically transformed in a high fence, locking them in. I'nage-utasvhi and Kana'ti's son then killed them all with their arrows, as the wolf-people were trapped. A few escaped to a large swamp. The boys ran around the swamp, and fire sprang up in their tracks and only a handful of wolf-people survived, becoming the modern wolves.

The boys were soon approached by a traveler who asked for the secret of the neverending maize. They gave him seven grains and told them to plant them every night and watch them until morning. The maize multiplied during the night, they told him. On the last night, they fell asleep and did not keep watch. This is why it is now necessary to grow maize for six months instead of one night.

The boys searched for Kana'ti. They sent a gaming wheel in each direction and, when it didn't come back, that was where they went, towards the Land of the Sun. They headed east and found Kana'ti walked with a dog, which was actually the gaming wheel.

The trio reached a swamp and Kana'ti told the boys it was dangerous and they should wait outside. Of course, they followed him again, stumbling across a panther, which inage-utasvhi shot in the head several times, but the panther was unfazed. When Kana'ti returned he asked if the boys had found the panther (knowing they had followed him). They told him they had but that it hadn't hurt them because they were men.

Next, Kana'ti told the boys that they would soon be with a tribe called the Anada'dvtaski("roasters"), a cannibalistic people.

I'nage-utasvhi took some splinters from a tree that had been struck by lighting. When they arrived at the cannibals' village, they saw a large pot that had been set to boiling for the purpose of eating the boys. I'nage-utasvhi put the splinters into the fire which brought down lightning bolts on the cannibal village, killing the cannibals.

Meeting back up with Kana'ti (who was once again surprised by their survival), the boys soon separated from him again and then made their way to the end of the world, where the sun rises. Kana'ti and Selu were sitting there. Then, the boys stayed with their parents for seven days, and then returned to their homeland and were known as Anisga'ya Tsunsdi ("the little men") and their conversations were thunder.

.

The people were hungry sometime later, and retrieved the boys. They sang songs and the wind slowly grew. On the seventh song, deer came out from the woods. The villagers then learned the seven songs, but eventually forgot five, which the Cherokee hunters always sang when hunting deer.