A Concise Study of The Myths, Legends and Traditions of The Native American People

A CONCISE STUDY OF THE
MYTHS, LEGENDS AND

TRADITIONS OF THE
NATIVE AMERICAN
PEOPLE
The esoteric traditions of the indigenous people
HENRY EPPS
A CONCISE STUDY OF THE MYTHS, LEGENDS AND
TRADITIONS OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN PEOPLE
1
Preface
The mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America

comprise many bodies of traditional narratives associated
with religion from a myth graphical perspective. Indigenous
North American belief systems include many sacred
narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature
and are rich with the symbolism of seasons, weather, plants,
animals, earth, water, sky & fire. The principle of an all-
embracing, universal and omniscient Great Spirit, a
connection to the Earth, diverse creation narratives and
collective memories of ancient ancestors are common.
Traditional worship practices are often a part of tribal
gatherings with dance, rhythm, songs and trance e.g. the sun
dance. This book is an concise study of some of the Native
American beliefs, myths, legends and traditions.
2
Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................ 2
Table of Contents ............................................................ 3
Chapter One.................................................................... 6
The Abenaki Nation Myths ............................................ 6
Chapter Two ................................................................. 15
Anishinaabe Beliefs and Myths.................................... 15
Chapter Three ............................................................... 21
Apache Myths and Beliefs ............................................ 21
Chapter Four ................................................................. 30
Aztec Empire Myths and Beliefs .................................. 30
Chapter Five .................................................................. 38
Blackfeet myths and legends ....................................... 38
Chapter Six .................................................................... 42
Creek mythology and legends ...................................... 42
Chapter Seven .............................................................. 46
Cherokee beliefs and myths......................................... 46
Chapter Eight ................................................................ 51
The Choctaw Nation spiritual beliefs........................... 51
Chapter Nine ................................................................. 60
The Crow Nation spiritual beliefs ................................ 60
3
Chapter Ten .................................................................. 64

Guarani myths and beliefs ........................................... 64
Chapter Eleven ............................................................. 73
Hopi Nation Traditions, Myths and Beliefs ................. 73
Chapter Twelve............................................................. 83
Inca Empire traditions, myths and beliefs ................... 83
Chapter Thirteen .......................................................... 91
The Inuit People myths and beliefs ............................. 91
Chapter Fourteen ......................................................... 98
Iroquois People beliefs and traditions......................... 98
Chapter Fifteen ........................................................... 102
Kwakwaka’wakw spiritual beliefs and myths ........... 102
Chapter Sixteen .......................................................... 107
Maya Empire spiritual beliefs and myths .................. 107
Chapter Seventeen ..................................................... 113
Ohlone People myths and traditions ......................... 113
Chapter Eighteen ........................................................ 118
The Pawnee Traditions, myths and beliefs ............... 118
Chapter Nineteen ....................................................... 126
The Pomo People traditions and myths .................... 126
Chapter Twenty .......................................................... 131
The Zuni People myths and beliefs ............................ 131
Chapter Twenty-One .................................................. 137
4
Native American Religions ......................................... 137

Sources and references .............................................. 147
5
Chapter One
The Abenaki Nation Myths
The Abenaki (Abnaki, Wabanaki, Waponahki) are a tribe of

Native American and First Nations people, one of the
Algonquian-speaking peoples of northeastern North America.
The Abenaki live in the New England region of the United
States and Quebec and the Maritimes of Canada, a region
called Wabanaki ("Dawn Land") in the Eastern Algonquian
languages. The Abenaki are one of the five members of the
Wabanaki Confederacy. "Abenaki" is a linguistic and
geographic grouping; historically there was not a strong
central authority, but as listed below a large number of smaller
bands and tribes who shared many cultural traits.
The word Abenaki means “people of the dawn lands". The

Abenaki people call themselves Alnôbak, meaning "Real
People" (c.f., Lenape language: Lenapek). They also use the
autonym Alnanbal, meaning "men". In addition, when
compared to the more interior Algonquian peoples, they call
themselves Wôbanuok, meaning "Easterners" (c.f.
Massachusett language: Wôpanâak). They also refer to
themselves as Abenaki or with syncope: Abnaki. Both forms
are derived from Wabanaki or the Wabanaki Confederacy, as
they were once a member of this confederacy they called
Wôbanakiak, meaning "People of the Dawn Land" in the
Abenaki language — from wôban ("dawn" or "east") and aki
6
("land") (compare Proto-Algonquian *wa·pan and *axkyi)—

the aboriginal name of the area broadly corresponding to New
England and the Maritimes. It is sometimes used to refer to all
the Algonquian-speaking peoples of the area — Western
Abenaki, Eastern Abenaki, Wolastoqiyik-Passamaquoddy, and
Mi'kmaq — as a single group.
The history of the Abenaki people is divided into three time

periods. In the first, the Ancient Age, humanity and animal-life
are undifferentiated. In the second, the Golden Age, humans
are still animals, but quantitatively different. In the third, the
Present Age, animals and humanity are totally differentiated.
Beings of the Ancient Age
Atosis - a medeoulin who is a reptilian humanoid, forces

people to find a stick so that he can cook them with it, was
blinded by Moosbas
Azeban - "Raccoon", a raccoon or wolverine trickster spirit
Kee-wakw - a gigantic, forest-dwelling cannibal
Kisosen - "Sun-Bringer", the solar deity, an eagle whose wings

opened to create the day, and closed to cause the nighttime
Kita-skog "Big Snake" or Pita-skog "Grand Snake" - a Horned

Serpent who fights the Pa-don-gi-ak
Kchi-awasos - "Big Bear", the bowl stars of the Big Dipper are
the Great Bear, who is chased every night by three hunters; he
is killed every fall and his blood drips to earth turning the
leaves brown while the constellation turns upside down; it is
righted, and he is reborn, every spring
7
Mateguas (also Mat-gwas) - a rabbit spirit, first (one of magic)

the rabbit, the very first medeoulin, legendary founder of the
Midewiwin.
Metee-kolen-ol - a race of evil wizards with hearts of ice
Nanom-keea-po-da - subterranean spirit who causes

earthquakes
Niben - "summer", a woman whose stunning beauty forces Pe-

ben to retreat to the north; she represents summer
Pamola - a bird and night spirit who takes prisoners to

Alomkik, near Mt. Katahdin and causes cold weather
Psônen "Snow-Bringer" - an eagle-spirit that makes snow by

opening his wings
Padôgiyik "Thunders" - seven white-skinned, golden-haired

brothers, half-human and half-bird, former inhabitants of Lake
Champlain, war-like, thunder and lightning spirits.
Pebon "winter" - a powerful sorcerer who puts his audience to

sleep when he tells stories, spirit of winter
Siguan "Spring" - a young male who loved the season of

summer, and brought her to the north every spring
Tabaldak "Owner" - the androgynous creator of existence
Wa-won-dee-a-megw "Snail" - a snail spirit that can live in

trees, on land or in the water, as well as change size and
appearance to look like a huge snake, alligator or scaly man;
has horns which can be ground into a magical powder
8
Wad-zoo-sen - the eagle that flaps his wings to create wind.

Gluskab tries to stop his wind in order to hunt by tying his
wings and moving him, but realizes that without the wind, the
earth and water will suffer and releases him enough to allow
some wind.
Wassan-mon-ganeehla-ak - a race of people who play games

with a ball of light, causing the Aurora Borealis
Beings of the Golden Age
Oodzee-hozo (Odzihózo) also known as Gluskab/Gluskabe

(Gloos Ka Be) [1] - ("the man who created himself") a man who
lived before the invention of legs. He dragged his body around,
creating mountains, valleys and rivers (in this early form, he is
referred to as Bemee-geedzin-pobi-zeed), as well as Lake
Champlain, which is holy to the Abenaki. Odzihozo turned
himself into a rock in the lake (Rock Dunder, roughly 1.4 miles
(2.3 km) west of Burlington, Vermont), which he is said to
inhabit .
Tool-ba - foolish turtle spirit, uncle of Gluskab
Pla-ween-noo - turtle spirit, mother of Gluskab, patron spirit

of the Sokwakis
Agaskw (also Nokemis) - ("woodchuck", also known as

Nokemis, "my grandmother") is a very wise woodchuck-spirit
of the Abenaki. She is the grandmother of Gluskab.
Moos-bas - mink spirit, adopted son on Gluskab, powerful

fletcher, sometimes fulfills wishes
9
Mool-sem - one of Gluskab's dogs, the white one, could shrink

or enlarge himself
M-da-weelh-ak - a loon spirit in the form of a dog, Gluskab's

messenger, one of his dogs, the black one, could shrink or
enlarge himself
A-senee-ki-wakw - a race of stone giants, the first people

Gluskab created but then destroyed because they crushed
other animals and injured the earth with their great size
Gluskab and Malsumis [edit]
Tabaldak, the creator god, made humans and then Gluskab

(several variants of whom were associated with different
branches of the Abenaki, including Glooscap, Glooskap,
Gluskabe Klooskomba) and Malsumis sprang from the dust on
his hand. Gluskab and Malsumis both had the power to create
a good world, but only Gluskab did so. Malsumis still seeks evil
to this day.
Gluskab founded the Golden Age of the Earth by rendering the

evil spirits of the Ancient Age smaller and safer, as well as
teaching humanity how to hunt and fish, build shelter and all
of the Abenaki's knowledge of art, invention and science.
Gluskab's departure ended the Golden Age, though he is
prophesied to return and renew it again.
Me-koom-wee-soo was Gluskab's assistant and wields an ivory

bow. He has a fierce temper and gains weight as he gets more
angry; eventually, it is said, he sinks into stone. Gluskab and
Me-koom-wee-soo had an archery contest once; Me-koom-
wee-soo fired an arrow into the top of Mt. Washington,
10
creating a pond, while Gluskab's arrow created a hole in the

sky that was then called msatawa (the Evening Star).
Gluskab realized the strain hunters can cause on an

ecosystem. He asked a woodchuck spirit for help, and she gave
him all the hairs off her belly, woven into a magical sac; which
is why woodchucks have bald bellies. Gluskab then went to a
mountain, where Tabaldak had placed a huge eagle (P-mol-a)
that made bad weather by flapping its wings. After binding it,
Gluskab realized some wind was necessary and loosened them
slightly. Gluskab saved the world from a frog monster that
swallowed all the planet's water. When Gluskab cut open the
monster's belly, some animals jumped into the water and
became fish. Some modern Wabanaki believe that Gluskab is
angry at white people for not obeying his rules.
Beings of the Present Age
Alom-bag-winno-sis or Alom-begwi-no-sis - a mischievous,

dwarfish race of men upsets canoes, that can increase or
decrease body size at will; they also own a pot which can
transform a few kernels of maize into a huge quantity; seeing
one supposedly foretells a death by drowning
Ask-wee-da-eed - a fire-elemental, identified as a will o' the

wisp, that brings bad luck and death, also connected with
comets and meteors
Atsolowas - a trickster.
Awa-hon-do z- insect spirits that bite humans
Awes-kon-wa - a small, flying sprite, associated with the

Mohawk tribe
11
Batsolowanagwes - a benign trickster
Bedig-wajo (western Abenaki) or Ktaden (eastern Abenaki) - a

culture hero
Chibaiskweda - marsh gas, supposedly caused by the ghost of

an improperly buried corpse
Do-gakw-ho-wad - small men who prop the jaws of animals

open with sticks in order to avoid being eaten
Dzee-dzee-bon-da - a monster, so ugly that even he is terrified

of his own appearance
Ko-gok - another monster
Lo-lol - a frightening monster
M-ska-gwe-demoos - a swamp-dwelling woman, dressed in

moss with moss for hair; she cries alone in the forest and is
potentially dangerous
Maski-mon-gwe-zo-os - a toad creature, seduces men and

children and kills them, appears either as a partridge or a
woman dressed in moss, with a belt made of arborvitae bark
Meek-moos-ak - a pair of short twins who seduce women, who

are then cursed to never desire marriage, kills hunters during
the winter, possibly a personification of the Mi'kmaq tribe
N-dam-keno-wet - a half-fish, half-human creature with a

small face and long hair, molests bathing women
P-skig-demo-os - a female creature, slays men and children
Pak-zin-skwa - an ugly, old woman
12
Pim-skwa-wagen-owad - small, aquatic, pinching creatures
Pok-wejee-men - small creatures, created from the bark of the

ash tree
Tsa-tsamolee-as - the noisy, clownish fool
Tsi-noo - a person whose heart is made of ice and has no soul;

he eats the souls of others for sustenance and strength
Wana-games-ak - river-dwelling creatures with faces so

narrow, they are essentially two-dimensional, friendly
creatures that warned the Abenaki of coming attacks.
13
14
Chapter Two
Anishinaabe Beliefs and Myths
Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief

system of the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the
Algonquin/Nipissing,
Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa,
Potawatomi and Oji-Cree, located primarily in the Great Lakes
region of the United States and Canada.
The Waabanowin (also spelled Wabunowin, Wabunohwin and

Wabunohiwin) is the Dawn Society, also sometime improperly
called the "Magical Dawn Society". Its practitioners are called
Waabanow and the practices of Waabanowin referred to as
the Waabano. The Waabanowin are distinct society of
visionaries. Like the Midewiwin, the Waabanowin is a
secretive animistic religion, requiring an initiation. But unlike
the Mide, the Waabano have sometimes 2 levels and
sometimes 4. This variation being dependent on the particular
lodge. They were systematically imprisoned in mental
hospitals by the United States government in the late 19th
century and early 20th century. Because of this persecution
the Waabanowin went underground and have just begun to
reemerge since the passage of the American Indian Religious
Freedom Act. While many of the ceremonies and traditions
are closely guarded, one that is known is the Fire Dance.
The Waubunowin have been coming out from underground

and re-establishing themselves for about 15 years now. There
15
are active lodges currently in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec,

Indiana and Michigan.
Jiisakiiwin
Another well-known society among the Anishinaabeg is the

Jiisakiiwin, also known as the Shaking Tent or the Juggler's
Tent. Among the Anishinaabeg, a particularly powerful and
well-respected spiritual leader who had trained from
childhood is called a Jaasakiid or Jiisakiiwinini, also known as a
"Juggler" or "Shaking-tent Seer." In the past they were hunted
down and murdered by both Canadian and United States
officials as being "individuals who endanger society
Common beliefs
The sun dance is a religious ceremony practiced by a number

of Native American and First Nations Peoples, primarily those
of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices
and ceremonial protocols. Many of the ceremonies have
features in common, such as specific dances and songs passed
down through many generations, the use of a traditional
drum, praying with the pipe, offerings, fasting, and in some
cases the ceremonial piercing of skin.
Although not all sun dance ceremonies include dancers being

ritually pierced, the object of the sun dance is to offer personal
sacrifice as a prayer for the benefit of one's family and
community.
At most ceremonies, family members and friends come to

pray and support the dancers. People camp out at the site for
many days. In preparation for the sun dance, wood and
16
medicines are gathered in the traditional manner, the site is

set up, offerings made, elders consulted, trees chosen and cut,
and feast food prepared. Much time and energy by the entire
community is needed for the sun dance to work. Communities
plan and organize for at least a year to prepare for the
ceremony. Usually there is one leader or a small group of
leaders in charge of the ceremony, but many elders help out
and advise.
In 1993, responding to increasingly common desecration of

the sun dance and other Lakota sacred ceremonies, "the
Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and
Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500
representatives from 40 different tribes and bands of the
Lakota unanimously passed a 'Declaration of War Against
Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality'." In 2003, the 19th
Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the
Lakota asked non-Native people to stop attending the sun
dance (Wi-wanyang-wa-c'i-pi in Lakota); he stated that all can
pray in support, but that only Native people should approach
the altars. This statement was supported by bundle keepers
and traditional spiritual leaders from the Cheyenne, Dakota,
Lakota, and Nakota Nations, who issued a proclamation that
non-Natives would be banned from sacred altars and the
Seven Sacred Rites, including and especially the sun dance,
effective March 9, 2003 onward:
The Wi-wanyang-wa-c'i-pi (Sundance Ceremony): The only

participants allowed in the center will be Native People. The
non-Native people need to understand and respect our
decision. If there have been any unfinished commitments to
the sundance and non-Natives have concern for this decision;
17
they must understand that we have been guided through

prayer to reach this resolution. Our purpose for the sundance
is for the survival of the future generations to come, first and
foremost. If the non-Natives truly understand this purpose,
they will also understand this decision and know that by their
departure from this Ho-c'o-ka (our sacred altar) is their sincere
contribution to the survival of our future generations.
The sweat lodge or sweat house (also called purification

ceremony, ceremonial sauna, or simply sweat) is a ceremonial
or ritual event in some cultures, particularly among some
North American First Nations, Native American, Scandinavian,
Baltic and Eastern European cultures. There are several styles
of structures used in different cultures; these include a domed
or oblong hut similar to a wickiup, a permanent structure
made of wood or stone, or even a simple hole dug into the
ground and covered with planks or tree trunks. Stones are
typically heated and then water poured over them to create
steam. In ceremonial usage, these ritual actions are
accompanied by traditional prayers and songs.
Seven fires prophecy is an Anishinaabe prophecy which marks

phases, or epochs, in the life of the people on Turtle Island, a
Native American name for the North American continent. The
Seven fires of the prophecy represent key spiritual teachings
for North America, and suggest that the different colors and
traditions of the human beings can come together on a basis
of respect. It predates the arrival of the Europeans, and
contains information for the future lives of the Anishnaabe
which are still in the process of being fulfilled.
18
Among the Anishinaabe people, the Teachings of the Seven

Grandfathers, also known simply as either the Seven
Teachings or Seven Grandfathers, is a set of teachings on
human conduct towards others. Originally from Edward
Benton-Banai's book "The Mishomis Book". An example of a
contemporary Anishinaabe teaching presented in the form of
a traditional teaching to be used in contemporary situations.
Nibwaakaawin (wisdom)
Zaagi'idiwin (mutual love)
Minaadendamowin (respect)
Aakode'ewin (bravery)
Gwayakwaadiziwin (honesty)
Dabaadendiziwin (humility)
Debwewin (truth)
19
20
Chapter Three
Apache Myths and Beliefs
Before the beginning of the 18th century the Lipan were

already in the northern part of the present state of Texas, and
were being forced southward by hostile Comanche. By the
middle of the 18th century we find them in south central
Texas, where the Spanairds sought to protect them from their
persistent enemies by the erection of the Mission of San Sab.
Following the destruction of this mission, two others were
established to the south and west to administer to these
Apache. They met a like fate in 1767. In 1796 the Lipan are
reported to have reached the Gulf Coast in the vicinity of the
lower Rio Grande. For the next half century they lived on or in
the vicinity of the coast and made a partial adjustment to that
environment. The hostilities between the Texans and
Mexicans during the last part of this period involved the Lipan
as allies of the latter. Then part of the Kickapoo, who had
ceded their lands in Illinois, invaded Texas and were added to
the list of Lipan enemies. A serious epidemic of smallpox
decimated the tribe further. The Lipan, wasted by warfare and
disease, were forced northward and westward. Part of them
found a retreat in the southern spurs of the Guadalupe
Mountains, where they made contact with the southernmost
settlements of the Mescalero Apache. These people, whom I
have called the Northern Lipan in the tales, have become
known as the No Water People. Another section of the tribe
crossed the Rio Grande and settled in the neighborhood of
Zaragoza, Coahuila. I place the date of the permanent removal
21
of these Lipan to Old Mexico (raiding expeditions had

penetrated into Old Mexico on previous occasions, of course)
at about 1860 or shortly thereafter. This section of the tribe,
the Southern Lipan of the tales, has become known as the Big
Water People. The Big Water People, because their fate has
been less involved with that of the Mescalero Apache until
quite recently, are prone to consider themselves the true
representatives of Lipan culture.
From 1860 on the Northern Lipan became increasingly

amalgamated with the Mescalero. When attempts were made
to concentrate the Mescalero at Ft. Stanton in 1870, many
Lipan were gathered into the net. At this same time the
Southern Lipan were having difficulty with the Mexican
military and a group of them were happy to find protection to
the north. Thus it was that in 1903, when a handful of Lipan
who had survived a war of extermination which had been
waged against them in Coahuila, were brought to Chihuahua,
it became known that they had relatives on the Mescalero
Reservation. Efforts were made to unite them with their kin
living in the United States. In that year a small band of
nineteen individuals was brought to Mescalero. This event has
given rise to the impression that the Lipan were never
anything more than an offshoot of the Mescalero tribe whose
members somehow became separated from the main group
and who were finally restored to their relatives.
Evidence is accumulating which suggests a different historical

origin and other ethnic relationships for the Lipan, however.
22
In an analysis of Southern Athabaskan kinship systems I have

tried to show that the Lipan system resembles the Jicarilla and
not the Chiricahua-Mescalero type, and the Lipan kinship
stands closer to Jicarilla in respect to form, terms, and
behavior patterns than to kinship usages of any other
Southern Athabaskan-speaking tribe. Dr. Harry Hoijers
scholarly analysis of the relationships of Southern Athabaskan
languages demonstrates that Jicarilla and Lipan together
constitute a sub-group of the eastern linguistic group, quite
apart from Mescalero, which is classified in the other or
western group. The conclusion seems inescapable that the
affiliation of the Lipan and Mescalero is a recent and
secondary one and that more ancient and fundamental
connections must be sought to the north.
It is of interest and importance to consider whether the myths

and tales yield materials which offer further insight concerning
the place of the Lipan in Southwestern cultures. The results of
such an inquiry have proved so gratifying that it is doubtful
whether the value of mythology for purposes of ethnological
analysis has ever been better vindicated.
A glance at the table of contents of this volume is enough to

reveal one of the major differences in myth and conception
which divides the Lipan from the Mescalero; the Lipan have a
myth of emergence. This gives a definite cast to Lipan
mythology which Mescalero mythology does not share, for a
number of other Lipan stories take their inspiration from
events which transpired in the underworld before the
23
emergence . The myths of all Southern Athabaskan tribes

(with the possible exception of the Kiowa Apache) include a
story of a culture hero who slew the foes of the race. The
Navaho, Western Apache, and Jicarilla name the chief
protagonist Killer-of-Enemies and have him attended by a
subordinate (a younger brother, relative, or friend) who is
ordinarily known as Child-of-the-Water. By a curious twist the
Mescalero and Chiricahua have reversed the positions of
these two; for them Child-of-the-Water becomes the intrepid
hero and monster slayer and Killer-of-Enemies his weaker
companion. The Lipan lean towards the northern and western
usage. Killer-of-Enemies is their culture hero. They use the
term Child-of-Water seldom, and then only as a synonym for
Killer-of-Enemies. In the Lipan tales a younger brother of the
culture hero called Wise One appears, and to him are
attributed the characteristics usually associated with the less
important of the divine pair.
One of the monsters with whom the culture hero has difficulty
is known as Big Owl by the Jicarilla and Western Apache. The
Mescalero and Chiricahua think of him as a giant. He appears
as Big Owl in Lipan mythology, again indicating the orientation
we have remarked.
The Lipan names for important concepts or supernaturals of

the myths show marked departures from Mescalero usage.
The Mescalero call masked dancers and the supernaturals
they impersonate gahe. The Lipan know them as hashchi
(hactci) and therefore agree in this respect with the Jicarilla
24
who refer to comparable supernaturals as hashchin (hactcin),

and with the Navaho who use the cognate term haashchʼééh
(hactce).
There are a number of myths of diagnostic value which the

Lipan relate but which could not be found for the Mescalero.
One such is the tale of the man who traveled down the river
in a hollow log (Section V, A, 1). This story has been recorded
for the Jicarilla, Western Apache, and Navaho also. Another
tale of significance for our purpose is that of the race around
the world (Section VIII, B, 1). This story, unknown to the
Mescalero but common to the Lipan and Jicarilla, has been
expanded to ceremonial importance by the latter.
As has been implied in the materials surveyed, the sharp

differentiation of Lipan from Mescalero mythology contrasts
vividly with the many parallels between Lipan and Jicarilla
mythology. In addition to the myths and themes which have
been identified as belonging to the joint stock in trade of the
Lipan and Jicarilla but which are not shared by the Mescalero
(such as the emergence myth), there are a number of others
which deserve mention, for their weight lends a decided
Jicarilla cast to Lipan folk-lore. One such is the hint of Lipan
traditions concerning a people who live to the north in a land
of darkness (p. 15). Another is that of the boy who aids in the
capture of his twin (p. 23). Still another has to do with the
attempts of a malign being to chop up and cook the culture
hero and his companion (pp. 23-24). The vitalization of a
person or animal by the entrance of wind into the body (p. 29)
25
is one of a number of themes of like character. We are fully

justified in saying that between the legends of the Lipan and
Jicarilla the correspondences are impressive in respect to
themes, names, and terms as well as story outlines. Most of
these resemblances will be noted in the text.
But the myths also contain ethnographic items which attest to

the cultural gulf between the Mescalero and Lipan and to the
unmistakable relation of Lipan to Jicarilla culture. It may be
useful to call attention to one or two examples of such
materials here. In Section VII (Tales Connected with Death)
mention is made of the ghost or vakosh (vakoc) ; vakosh is a
term descriptive of the material remains of the dead as
distinguished from the breath or spirit. The term and
description are applied by the Lipan and Jicarilla and, as far as
I have been able to discover, by no other of these Apache
tribes. In the same section of the volume the Lipan conception
of the underworld or land of the dead is described. The
underworld is said to be divided into north and south
compartments, inhabited by the spirits of the sorcerers and of
the good respectively. Fire and fog harass the wicked, and
snakes and lizards are their only food. The Jicarilla have an
identical picture of the afterworld, and, as far as I have been
able to determine, they are the only other Apache group to
entertain such a set of beliefs. In one of the warpath stories of
this volume a Lipan who had been made captive by the enemy
and escaped, refrains from entering the encampment before
a purifying ceremony has been held over him. There is no trace
of such a ceremony for the Mescalero and Chiricahua, but this
duplicates exactly the Jicarilla procedure. A systematic review
26
of the contents of this volume would reveal scores of elements

which might be similarly compared and interpreted. A more
comprehensive comparison will not be attempted now,
however, for it can be more profitably pursued after the
publication of the volumes of Chiricahua and Mescalero
mythology which are now being prepared.
27
28
29
Chapter Four
Aztec Empire Myths and Beliefs
Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of Aztec

civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were Nahuatl
speaking groups living in central Mexico and much of their
mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures.
According to legend, the various groups who were to become
the Aztecs arrived from the north into the Anahuac valley
around Lake Texcoco. The location of this valley and lake of
destination is clear – it is the heart of modern Mexico City –
but little can be known with certainty about the origin of the
Aztec. There are different accounts of their origin. In the myth
the ancestors of the Mexica/Aztec came from a place in the
north called Aztlan, the last of seven nahuatlacas (Nahuatl-
speaking tribes, from tlaca, "man") to make the journey
southward, hence their name "Azteca." Other accounts cite
their origin in Chicomoztoc, "the place of the seven caves," or
at Tamoanchan (the legendary origin of all civilizations).
The Mexica/Aztec were said to be guided by their god

Huitzilopochtli, meaning "Left-handed Hummingbird" or
"Hummingbird from the South." At an island in Lake Texcoco,
they saw an eagle holding a rattlesnake in its talons, perched
on a nopal cactus. This vision fulfilled a prophecy telling them
that they should found their new home on that spot. The
Aztecs built their city of Tenochtitlan on that site, building a
great artificial island, which today is in the center of Mexico
City. This legendary vision is pictured on the Coat of Arms of
Mexico.
30
Creation myth
Huitzilopochtli is raising up the skies of the South, one of the

four directions of the world, surrounded by their respective
trees, temples, patterns and divination symbols.
According to legend, when the Mexicas arrived in the Anahuac

valley around Lake Texcoco, they were considered by the
other groups as the least civilized of all, but the Mexica/Aztec
decided to learn, and they took all they could from other
people, especially from the ancient Toltec (whom they seem
to have partially confused with the more ancient civilization of
Teotihuacan). To the Aztec, the Toltec were the originators of
all culture; "Toltecayotl" was a synonym for culture. Aztec
legends identify the Toltecs and the cult of Quetzalcoatl with
the legendary city of Tollan, which they also identified with the
more ancient Teotihuacan.
Because the Aztec adopted and combined several traditions

with their own earlier traditions, they had several creation
myths. One of these, the Five Suns describes four great ages
preceding the present world, each of which ended in a
catastrophe, and "were named in function of the force or
divine element that violently put an end to each one of them".
Coatlicue was the mother of Centzon Huitznahua ("Four
Hundred Southerners"), her sons, and Coyolxauhqui, her
daughter. She found a ball filled with feathers and placed it in
her waistband, becoming pregnant with Huitzilpochtli. Her
other children became suspicious as to the identity of the
father and vowed to kill their mother. She gave birth on Mount
Coatepec, pursued by her children, but the newborn
Huitzilpochtli defeated most of his brothers, who became the
31
stars. He also killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui by tearing out

her heart using a Xiuhcoatl (a blue snake) and throwing her
body down the mountain. This was said to inspire the Aztecs
to rip the hearts out of their victims and throw their bodies
down the sides of the temple dedicated to Huitzilpochtli, who
represents the sun chasing away the stars at dawn.
Our age (Nahui-Ollin), the fifth age, or fifth creation, began in

the ancient city of Teotihuacan. According to the myth, all the
gods had gathered to self-sacrifice themselves and create a
new age. Although the world and the sun had already been
created, it would only be through their sacrifice that the sun
would be set into motion and time as well as history could
begin. The handsomest and strongest of the gods,
Tecuciztecatl, was supposed to sacrifice himself but when it
came time to self-immolate, he could not jump into the fire.
Instead, Nanahuatl the smallest and humblest of the gods,
who was also covered in boils, sacrificed himself first and
jumped into the flames. The sun was set into motion with his
sacrifice and time began. Humiliated by Nanahuatl's sacrifice,
Tecuciztecatl too leaped into the fire and became the moon.
List of Aztec deities
Water deities
Tlaloc, god of thunder, rain, and earthquakes.
Chalchiuhtlicue, goddess of water, lakes, rivers, seas, streams,

horizontal waters, storms, and baptism.
Huixtocihuatl, goddess of salt.
Opochtli, god of fishing.
32
Fire deities
Xiuhtecuhtli, god of fire.
Xantico, goddess of firebox.
Sky deities
Tezcatlipoca, god of providence, matter and the invisible, ruler

of the night, Great Bear, impalpable, ubiquity and the twilight,
the lord of the North.
Xipe-Totec, god of force, patron of war, agriculture,

vegetation, diseases, seaons, rebirth, hunting, trades and
spring, the lord of the East.
Quetzalcoatl, god of wisdom, life, knowledge, morning star,

fertility, patron of the winds and the light, the lord of the West.
Huitzilopochtli, god of will and the sun, patron of war and fire,
the lord of the South.
Ehecatl, god of wind.
Ehecatotontli, gods of the breezes.
Coyolxauhqui, goddess of moon.
Meztli, goddess of moon.
Tonatiuh, god of sun.
Centzonmimixcoa, 400 gods of the northern stars.
Centzonhuitznahua, 400 gods of the southern stars.
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of dawn.
33
Xolotl, god of sunset.
Lords of the Night
Itztli, god of flint.
Piltzintecuhtli, god of the temporals, the rising sun and

healing.
Centeotl, god of maize.
Mictlantecuhtli, god of the Underworld.

horizontal waters, storms and baptism.
Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds.
Tepeyollotl, god of the mountains.
Tlaloc, god of the thunder, rain and earthquakes.
Embodied spirits; Tonalleque , Cihuateteo .
Patterns of War; Tlaloc, Xiuhtecuhtli, ( Mixcoatl, Xipe-Totec.
Patterns of Merchants; Huehuecoyotl, Zacatzontli,

Yacatecuhtli, Tlacotzontli, Tlazolteotl, Tonatiuh.
Lords of the Day
34
Tlaltecuhtli, god of the earth.

horizontal waters, storms and baptism.
Tonatiuh, god of the Sun.
Tlazolteotl, goddess of lust, carnality, sexual misdeeds.
Mictlantecuhtli, god of the Underworld.
Centeotl, god of maize.
Tlaloc, god of the thunder, rain and earthquakes.
Quetzalcoatl, god of wisdom, life, knowledge, morning star,

fertility, patron of the winds and the light, the lord of the West.
Tezcatlipoca, god of providence, matter and the invisible, ruler

of the night, Great Bear, impalpable, ubiquity and the twilight,
the lord of the North.
Mictecacihuatl, goddess of the Underworld.
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, god of dawn.
Citlalicue, goddess of female stars (Milky Way).
Earth deities
Tonacatecuhtli, god of sustenance.
Tonacacihuatl, goddess of sustenance.
Tlaltecuhtli, god of the earth.
Tlalcihuatl, goddess of the earth.
35
Chicomecoatl, goddess of agriculture.
Cinteotl, god of the maize.
Matron goddesses
Coatlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
Chimalma, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
Xochitlicue, goddess of fertility, life, death and rebirth.
Toci
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37
Chapter Five
Blackfeet myths and legends
There are many myths surrounding the Blackfoot Native

Americans. The Blackfeet inhabit areas of Alberta, Canada,
and areas of Montana. These stories, myths, origins, and
legends play a big role in their everyday life, such as their
religion, their history, and their beliefs. Only the elders of the
Blackfoot tribes are allowed to tell the tales. These myths are
sometimes hard to get a hold of because the elders of the
tribes are often reluctant to tell them to strangers who are not
of the tribe. People such as George B. Grinnell, John Maclean,
D.C. Duvall, Clark Wissler, and James Willard Schultz were able
to obtain some of the stories that are so sacred to the tribes.
The Myth of Creation
There are several creation myths found within Native

American culture; one of those is the creation myth involving
Napioa. Napioa is mentioned in almost all Blackfoot myths and
is considered an important figure in the Blackfoot mythology
itself. Napioa is known by many names including the sun, Old
man, and Napi (Nah-pee). Napioa is said to have created the
earth using the mud from a turtle's mouth that was found on
a river upon which napioa floated. He not only created the
earth using the mud, but he also created the men and women
38
as well. Napioa also made the bison as tame as ever for the
people to hunt. He is said to also have created the animals and
the grass and everything else that is on the earth. It is said that
he did not create the white people; he only created the Native
Americans.
Origin of the Wind
In Blackfoot mythology, there are legends surrounding the

origins of everything because, to them, everything has an
origin. Napioa is featured in the origin of the wind. In this
legend, Napioa finds two bags containing summer and winter.
Napioa was determined to get a hold of these bags so that he
could make the two seasons of equal months. Napioa tried to
gain possession of the bags without success. He finally sent a
little animal, which successfully gained possession of the
summer bag. The guardian of the bag chased after the animal
and decapitated it. In the chaos, the bag burst open and a
strong wind came out of it.
Language on a Mountain
In this story, Napioa is referred to as Old Man. There was a

great flood that swept through the land, and after the flood,
Old Man made the water different colors. He gathered the
people on top of a large mountain where he gave them water
of different colors. Old Man then told the people to drink the
water, then speak, and so they did. Everyone was speaking a
different language except those who received the black water;
39
they were speaking the same language, and they consisted of

the Piegans, the Blackfeet, and the Blood Native Americans.
This was said to have taken place in the highest mountain in
the Montana reservation.
Legend of Red Coulee
Not all legends involved old man/Napioa, such as the Legend

of Red Coulee. This is more of a historical legend. Red Coulee
is an actual place located between Mcleod and Benton next to
the Marias River in Montana. The Blackfoot Native Americans
were told of a medicine stone by the people who inhabited
the Montana area at the time. Years later, the Blackfoot tribe
gathered a group of fifty men and headed off to find the stone.
When they found it, they were laughed at by their leader who
said it was a child's story and rolled the stone down the hill.
Later, on their way back to the tribe, they became engaged in
battle, leaving all but one man dead, and that is why they call
it Red Coulee. People still stop by there today to give offerings
for all who lost their lives.
40
41
Chapter Six
Creek mythology and legends
The Creek mythology is related to an American Indian Creek

people who are originally from the southeastern United
States, also known by their original name Muscogee (or
Muskogee), the name they use to identify themselves today.
Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. Modern
Muscogees live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and
Florida. Their language, Mvskoke, is a member of the Creek
branch of the Muskogean language family. The Seminole are
close kin to the Muscogee and speak a Creek language as well.
The Creeks were considered one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
After the Creek War many of the Creeks escaped to Florida to
create the Seminole.
The early historic Creeks were probably descendants of the

Mississippian culture peoples who lived along the Tennessee
River, in what is now modern Tennessee and Alabama, and
possibly related to the Utinahica of southern Georgia. More of
a loose confederacy than a single tribe, the Muscogee lived in
autonomous villages in river valleys throughout what are
today the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama and
consisted of many ethnic groups speaking several distinct
languages, such as the Hitchiti, Alabama, and Coushatta.
Those who lived along the Ocmulgee River and the Oconee
River were called "Creek Indians" by British traders from South
Carolina; eventually the name was applied to all of the various
natives of Creek towns becoming increasingly divided
42
between the Lower Towns of the Georgia frontier on the

Chattahoochee River, Ocmulgee River, and Flint River and the
Upper Towns of the Alabama River Valley.
The Lower Towns included Coweta, Cusseta (Kasihta,

Cofitachequi), Upper Chehaw (Chiaha), Hitchiti, Oconee,
Ocmulgee, Okawaigi, Apalachee, Yamasee (Altamaha),
Ocfuskee, Sawokli, and Tamali. The Upper Towns included
Tuckabatchee, Abihka, Coosa (Kusa; the dominant people of
East Tennessee and North Georgia during the Spanish
explorations), Itawa (original inhabitants of the Etowah Indian
Mounds), Hothliwahi (Ullibahali), Hilibi, Eufaula, Wakokai,
Atasi, Alibamu, Coushatta (Koasati; they had absorbed the
Kaski/Casqui and the Tali), and Tuskegee ("Napochi" in the de
Luna chronicles).
Cusseta (Kasihta) and Coweta are the two principal towns of

the Creek Nation to this day. Traditionally the Cusseta and
Coweta bands are considered the earliest members of the
Creek Nation.
Creation
The Creek believe that the world was originally entirely

underwater. The only land was a hill, called Nunne Chaha, and
on the hill was a house, wherein lived Esaugetuh Emissee
("master of breath"). He created humanity from the clay on
the hill.
The Creek also venerated the Horned Serpent Sint Holo, who
appeared to suitably wise young men.
43
In the underworld, there was only chaos and odd creatures.

Master of Breath created Brother Moon and Sister Sun, as well
as the four directions to hold up the world.
The first people were the offspring of Sister Sun and the
Horned Serpent. These first two Creeks were Lucky Hunter and
Corn Woman, denoting their respective roles in Creek Society.
Hisagita-imisi (meaning "preserver of breath"; also

Hisakitaimisi) was the supreme god, a solar deity. He is also
called Ibofanga ("the one who is sitting above (us)").
The Horned Serpent appears in the mythologies of many

Native Americans. Details vary among tribes, with many of the
stories associating the mystical figure with water, rain,
lightning and/or thunder. Horned Serpents were major
components of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex of
North American prehistory.
Horned serpents also appear in European and Near Eastern

mythology.
44
45
Chapter Seven
Cherokee beliefs and myths
Cherokee, Native Americans indigenous to the Appalachias,

and today are enrolled in the Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians, Cherokee Nation, and United Keetowah Band of
Cherokee Indians.
The Cherokee creation belief describes the earth as a great

floating island surrounded by seawater. It hangs from the sky
by cords attached at the four cardinal points. The story tells
that the first earth came to be when Dâyuni'sï (Beaver's
Grandchild), the little Water beetle came from Gälûñ'lätï, the
sky realm, to see what was below the water. He scurried over
the surface of the water, but found no solid place to rest. He
dived to the bottom of the water and brought up some soft
mud. This mud expanded in every direction and became the
earth. According to the account recorded in 1900 by the
Bureau of American Ethnology.
The other animals in Gälûñ'lätï were eager to come down to

the new earth, and first birds were sent to see if the mud was
dry. Buzzard was sent ahead to make preparations for the
others, but the earth was still soft. When he grew tired, his
wings dipped very low and brushed the soft mud, gouging
mountains and valleys in the smooth surface, and the animals
were forced to wait again. When it was finally dry they all
came down. It was dark, so they took the sun and set it in a
track to run east to west, at first setting it too low and the red
crawfish was scorched. They elevated the sun several times in
order to reduce its heat.
46
The story also tells how plants and animals acquired certain
characteristics, and is related one of their medicine rituals.
They all were told to stay awake for seven nights, but only a
few animals such as owl and panther succeeded and they were
given the power to see and prey upon the others at night. Only
a few trees succeeded as well, cedar, pine, spruce and laurel,
so the rest were forced to shed their leaves in the winter.
The first people were a brother and sister. Once the brother
hit his sister with a fish and told her to multiply. Following this,
she gave birth to a child every seven days and soon there were
too many people, so women were then forced to have just one
child every year.
The Great Spirit
The Cherokee revered the Great Spirit,simply referred to as

Unelanuhi or "the Apportioner," who presided over all things
and created the Earth.
Great Spirit is said to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and

omniscient. Often called Apportioner and Creator, and was
said to have made the earth to provide for her children.
The Wahnenauhi Manuscript says that God is Unahlahnauhi,

meaning "maker of all things" and Kalvlvtiahi, meaning "The
one who lives above"
Signs, visions, dreams
47
The Cherokee held that signs, visions, dreams, and powers

were all gifts of the spirits, and that their world was
intertwined with and presided over by the spirit world.
Other venerated spirits
The Cherokee believed that every aspect and thing had a spirit
presiding over it.
Ukten]: A horned serpent
Tsul 'Kalu: Spirit of the Hunt, A slant eyed giant
Oonawieh Unggi ("the oldest wind"): Spirit of the

Wind[citation needed]
Kana'ti ("The Lucky Hunter"): The Great Hunter
Selu ("maize"): The Corn Woman
Nûñnë'hï: The Spirit People
Tlanuwa: A Giant Raptor
The thunder beings
The Cherokee held that there is the Great Thunder and his
sons, the two Thunder Boys, who live in the land of the west
above the sky vault. The lightning and the rainbow are their
beautiful dress. The priests pray to the thunder and he visited
the people to bring the rains and blessings from the South. It
was believed that the thunder beings who lived close to the
Earth's surface, in the cliffs and mountains, and under water
48
falls could and did harm the people at times. These other
thunders are always plotting mischief.
Green corn ceremony
The thunder beings were viewed as the most powerful of the

servants of the Apportioner (Creator Spirit), and were revered
in the first dance of the Green Corn Ceremony held each year,
as they were directly believed to have brought the rains for a
successful corn crop.
Evil
Traditionally there is no universal evil spirit, corresponding to

Satan, in Cherokee Theology. Properly an Asgina is any sort of
spirit, but it is usually considered to be a malevolent one. Uya,
sometimes called Uyaga is an evil earth spirit which is
invariably opposed to the forces of right and light. There is also
Nun'Yunu'Wi, an evil spirit monster who preys on humans,
and Kalona Ayeliski (Raven Mocker). These spirits preyed on
the souls of the dying and would torment their victims until
they died. After which they would eat the heart of the victim.
Kalona Ayeliski are invisible, except to a medicine man, and
the only way to protect a potential victim was to have a
medicine man which knew how to drive Kalona Ayeliski off,
since they were scared of him.
Animals, plants, and disease
49
It was also believed that all human disease and suffering

originated from animal spirits, ghosts or witchcraft. It was also
believed that the plants, in response to witnessing the
suffering in the world, made a medicine to cure each sickness
that entered the world. When the Medicine Man does not
know what medicine to use the spirits of the plants tell him.
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Chapter Eight
The Choctaw Nation spiritual beliefs
Choctaw mythology is related to Choctaws, a Native American

people originally from the Southeastern United States
(Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana). In the 19th century,
Choctaws were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes"
because they had integrated numerous cultural and
technological practices of their European American neighbors.
Today the Choctaws have four tribes, the Mississippi Band of
Choctaw Indians, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Jena Band of
Choctaw Indians, and the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians.
The Choctaw and their ancestors have lived in the Mississippi

region for about 4000 to 8000 years. Thousands of years of
myth and story-making have contributed to a rich collection of
history that spans the centuries. The Choctaw continue to tell
and write about the legends that many have experienced in
the American Deep South.
he Choctaw who remain in Mississippi tell this story as an

explanation of how they came to the land where they live now
and of how Nanih Waiya Mound came to be.
Two brothers, Chata and Chicksah led the original people from
a land in the far west that had ceased to prosper. The people
traveled for a long time, guided by a magical pole. Each night,
when the people stopped to camp, the pole was placed in the
ground and in the morning the people would travel in the
direction in which the pole leaned.
51
After traveling for an extremely long time, they finally came to

a place where the pole remained upright. In this place, they
laid to rest the bones of their ancestors, which they had
carried in buffalo sacks from the original land in the west.
The mound grew out of that great burial.
After the burial, the brothers discovered that the land could
not support all the people. Chicksah took half the people and
departed to the North and eventually became the Chickasaw
tribe.
Chatah and the others remained near the mound and are now
known as the Choctaw.
Second version
At the beginning there was a great mound. It was called Nanih

Waiya. It was from this mound that the creator fashioned the
first of the people. These people crawled through a long, dark
cave into daylight and became the first Choctaw.
Supernatural Native America
Some early writers, and in later times Cushman and Bushnell,

report that the Choctaws believed in a great good spirit and a
great evil spirit. It seems that there were a number of
supernatural beings mentioned in Choctaw historical
accounts. In addition to the native language for what would
today be termed God and Devil, the Choctaws believed they
had many other "powerful beings" in their midst.
Ancient religion
52
The Great Spirit (or God) of the Choctaw went by various

names. Rev. Alfred Wright also said God was referred to as
"Nanapesa," "Ishtahullo-chito" or "Nanishta-hullo-chito,"
"Hushtahli," and "Uba Pike" or "Aba." Shilup chitoh osh is a
term anglicized to mean The Great Spirit. Chitokaka means
The Great One. The terms lshtahullo or nanishtahullo is
applied to anything thought to possess some occult or
superior power - such as a witch.
Anthropologist theorize that the Mississippian ancestors of

the Choctaw placed the sun at the center of their cosmological
system. Mid-eighteenth-century Choctaws did view the sun as
a being endowed with life. Choctaw diplomats, for example,
spoke only on sunny days. If the day of a conference were
cloudy or rainy, Choctaws delayed the meeting, usually on the
pretext that they needed more time to discuss particulars,
until the sun returned. The sun made sure that all talks were
honest. The sun as a symbol of great power and reverence is a
major component of southeastern Indian cultures.
Hushtahli is from Hashi (sun) and Tahli (to complete an action).

Hushtahli is believed to have originated as a Choctaw term
without European influence; the Choctaw were believed to be
sun worshipers. Fire was the "most striking representation of
the sun", having intelligence, and was considered to be in
constant communication with the sun.
Interactions between animals and people
The Choctaw venerated Sinti lapitta, which was a horned

serpent that visited unusually wise young men
Little people and other human-like creatures
53
They believed in a little man, about two feet high, who dwelled
alone in the thick, dark woods. The little man was called
Bohpoli or Kowi anukasha, both names being used alone or
together. The translation of Bohpoli is the "Thrower". The
translation of Kowi anuskasha is "The one who stays in the
woods", or to give a more concise translation, "Forest
dweller". Little man can be compared to the European
counterparts- dwarfs, elves, gnomes, and leprechauns.
The little wood sprite was known to be rather mischievous,

but not malicious. The Choctaws believed that he often
playfully threw sticks and stones at them. All unexplained
sounds heard in the woods were attributed to Bohpoli,
believing he took a special pleasure in hitting the pine trees to
create noise.
Bohpoli was never seen by the common Choctaws, only the

prophets and doctors. The Indian doctors would report that
Bohpoli assisted them in the manufacture of their medicines.
Some stories even give the account that bohpoli would "steal"
little children and take them into the woods, to teach them
about herbs and medicines. After returning the children to
their homes, Bohpoli would leave them alone, letting them
grow up to become doctors of the tribe.
An interesting being mentioned in some of the history writings

is Kashehotapalo, a combination of man and deer who
delighted in frightening hunters. He was much admired for his
speed and agility. If the Choctaws angered Kashehotapalo, he
would race ahead of them and warn the enemy or animals
being hunted.
54
Okwa Naholo or Oka Nahullo (white people of the water)

dwelled in deep pools and had light skins like the skins of trout.
They were believed to sometimes capture human beings
whom they converted into beings like themselves.
Hoklonote was a bad spirit who could assume any shape it

desired; it was considered to read people's thoughts.
Shadow-like beings
The Choctaws have stories about shadow beings. Nalusa

Falaya, also known as a Impa Shilup, was the soul-eater, great
black being, or devil. If people allow evil thoughts or
depression to enter their minds, it would creep inside them
and eat their soul.
Nalusa Falaya (long black being) resembled a man, but with

very small eyes and long, pointed ears. He sometimes
frightened hunters or transferred his power of doing harm.
Some believed that Nalusa Falaya preferred to approach men
by sliding on his stomach like a snake.
Hashok Okwa Hui'ga (Grass Water Drop) was believed to have

a connection to what is termed will-o-the-wisp. Only its heart
is visible, and that only at night. Hashok Okwa Hui'ga leads
astray anyone who looks at it.
It was also believed that every man had a shilombish (the

outside shadow) which always followed him, and shilup (the
inside shadow, or ghost) which after death goes to the land of
ghosts. The shilombish was supposed to remain upon the
earth, and wander restlessly about its former home, often
moaning, to frighten its surviving friends, as to make them
55
forsake the spot, and seek another place to live. It was also
supposed to assume the form of a fox, or owl; and by barking
like the one, and screeching like the other at night, cause great
consternation, for the cry was considered ominous of bad
things. The Choctaws could tell between the shilombish and
animals it imitates. When a fox barks, or an owl screeches,
another fox or owl replies. But when the shilombish imitates
the sound of either animal, no response is given.
Birds of the dark
Ishkitini, or the horned owl, was believed to prowl about at

night killing men and animals. Many believed that when
ishkitini screeched, it meant sudden death, such as a murder.
If the ofunlo (screech owl) was heard, it was a sign that a child
under seven in that family was going to die, because in size, it
is a small owl. If opa (a common owl) perched in a barn or on
trees near the house and hooted, it foreboded death among
the near relatives.
Biskinik, the sapsucker, was known as the newsbird. If he

landed on a tree in their yard early in the morning, some
"hasty" news would come before noon. If he perched there
late at night, the news would come before morning.
Animal-explained occurrences
Animals figure significantly in Choctaw mythology, as they do

in most Native American myth cycles. For example, in Choctaw
history, solar eclipses were attributed to black squirrels, and
maize was a gift from the birds
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Heloha (thunder) and Melatha (lightning) were responsible for

the dramatic thunderstorms. In Choctaw mythology, they
were two huge birds. Heloha would lay her giant eggs in the
clouds and they would rumble as they rolled around atop the
clouds. Despite his size, her mate, Melatha, was extremely fast
and left a trail of sparks as he streaked across the sky.
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Chapter Nine
The Crow Nation spiritual beliefs
The Crow, called the Apsáalooke in their own Siouan language,

or variants including Absaroka, are Native Americans, who in
historical times lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which
extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and
into North Dakota, where it joins the Missouri River. Today,
they are enrolled in the federally recognized Crow Tribe of
Montana.
Pressured by the Ojibwe and Cree peoples, who had earlier

and better access to guns through the fur trade, they had
migrated there from the Ohio Eastern Woodland area via a
southwest move to settle south of Lake Winnipeg, Canada.
From there, they were pushed to the west by the Cheyennes.
Both the Crow and the Cheyennes were then pushed further
west by the Lakota (Sioux), who took over the territory from
the Black Hills of South Dakota to the Big Horn Mountains of
Montana; the Cheyennes finally became close allies of the
Sioux, but the Crows remained bitter enemies of both Sioux
and Cheyennes. The Crow were generally friendly with the
whites and managed to retain a large reservation of over 9,300
km² despite territorial losses.
Since the 19th century, Crow people have been concentrated

on their reservation established south of Billings, Montana.
They also live in several major, mainly western, cities. Tribal
headquarters are located at Crow Agency, Montana.
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The sun dance is a religious ceremony practiced by a number

of Native American and First Nations Peoples, primarily those
of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own distinct practices
and ceremonial protocols. Many of the ceremonies have
features in common, such as specific dances and songs passed
down through many generations, the use of a traditional
drum, praying with the pipe, offerings, fasting, and in some
cases the ceremonial piercing of skin.
Although not all sun dance ceremonies include dancers being

ritually pierced, the object of the sun dance is to offer personal
sacrifice as a prayer for the benefit of one's family and
community.
Sun Dance in Contemporary Cultures
At most ceremonies, family members and friends come to

pray and support the dancers. People camp out at the site for
many days. In preparation for the sun dance, wood and
medicines are gathered in the traditional manner, the site is
set up, offerings made, elders consulted, trees chosen and cut,
and feast food prepared. Much time and energy by the entire
community is needed for the sun dance to work. Communities
plan and organize for at least a year to prepare for the
ceremony. Usually there is one leader or a small group of
leaders in charge of the ceremony, but many elders help out
and advise.
In 1993, responding to increasingly common desecration of

the sun dance and other Lakota sacred ceremonies, "the
Lakota Summit V, an international gathering of US and
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Canadian Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations, about 500

representatives from 40 different tribes and bands of the
Lakota unanimously passed a 'Declaration of War Against
Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality'." In 2003, the 19th Generation
Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota
asked non-Native people to stop attending the sun dance (Wi-
wanyang-wa-c'i-pi in Lakota); he stated that all can pray in
support, but that only Native people should approach the
altars. This statement was supported by bundle keepers and
traditional spiritual leaders from the Cheyenne, Dakota,
Lakota, and Nakota Nations, who issued a proclamation that
non-Natives would be banned from sacred altars and the
Seven Sacred Rites, including and especially the sun dance,
effective March 9, 2003 onward:
The Wi-wanyang-wa-c'i-pi (Sundance Ceremony): The only

participants allowed in the center will be Native People. The
non-Native people need to understand and respect our
decision. If there have been any unfinished commitments to
the sundance and non-Natives have concern for this decision;
they must understand that we have been guided through
prayer to reach this resolution. Our purpose for the sundance
is for the survival of the future generations to come, first and
foremost. If the non-Natives truly understand this purpose,
they will also understand this decision and know that by their
departure from this Ho-c'o-ka (our sacred altar) is their sincere
contribution to the survival of our future generations.
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Chapter Ten
Guarani myths and beliefs
Guaraní are a group of culturally related indigenous peoples

of South America. They are distinguished from the related Tupi
by their use of the Guaraní language. The traditional range of
the Guaraní people is in what is now Paraguay between the
Uruguay River and lower Paraguay River, the Misiones
Province of Argentina, southern Brazil, and parts of Uruguay
and Bolivia. Although their demographic dominance of the
region has been reduced by European colonisation and the
commensurate rise of mestizos, there are contemporary
Guaraní populations in these areas. Most notably, the Guarani
language, still widely spoken across traditional Guaraní
homelands, is one of the two official languages in Paraguay,
the other one being Spanish. The language was once looked
down upon by the upper and middle classes, but it is now
often regarded with pride and serves as a symbol of national
distinctiveness. The Paraguayan population learns Guaraní
both informally from social interaction and formally in public
schools. In modern Spanish Guaraní is also applied to refer to
any Paraguayan national in the same way that Mexicans are
labelled Aztecs and French are called Gauls.
The history and meaning of the name Guaraní are subject to

dispute. Prior to their encounter with Europeans, the Guaraní
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referred to themselves simply as Abá, meaning "men" or

"people." The term Guaraní was originally applied by early
Jesuit missionaries to refer to natives who had accepted
conversion to the Christian religion; Cayua or Caingua
(ka'aguygua) was used to refer to those who had refused it.
Cayua is roughly translated as "the ones from the forest".
While the term Cayua is sometimes still used to refer to
settlements of indigenous peoples who have not well
integrated into the dominant society, the modern usage of the
name Guaraní is generally extended to include all people of
native origin regardless of societal status. Barbara Ganson
writes that the name Guaraní was given by the Spanish as it
means "warrior" in the Tupi-Guaraní dialect spoken there.
History, myth and legend
The history of the Guaraní people prior to contact with

European explorers is not well documented. Their early
history is based entirely on oral tradition, since they did not
have a written language. Since the Guaraní people were a
somewhat nomadic, decentralized society, there is little in the
way of a reliable historical record.
Early Guaraní villages often consisted of communal houses for

10 to 15 families. Communities were united by common
interest and language, and tended to form tribal groups by
dialect. It is estimated that the Guaraní numbered some
400,000 people when they were first encountered by
Europeans. At that time, they were sedentary and agricultural,
subsisting largely on manioc, maize, wild game, and honey.
Equally little is known about early Guaraní society and beliefs.

They practiced a form of animistic pantheism, much of which
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has survived in the form of folklore and numerous myths.

According to the Jesuit missionary Martin Dobrizhoffer, they
practiced cannibalism at one point, perhaps as a funerary
ritual, but later disposed of the dead in large jars placed
inverted on the ground. Guaraní mythology is still widespread
in rural Paraguay.
Much Guarani myth and legend was compiled by the

Universidad Nacional de Misiones in northern Argentina and
published as Myths and Legends: A journey around the
Guarani lands, Anthology in 1870 (translated into English
language in 1906). Guarani myth and legend can roughly be
divided into the following broad categories:
Cosmogonic and eschatological myths; the creation and

destruction of all things as dictated by Ñamandú "the true
father, the first one". After him comes a pantheon of gods,
chief among them Yporú who is more frequently known as
Tupã. Yaci is another "good" deity who rules the night while
Aña is a malign deity who dwells at the bottom of Iguazu.[6]
Animistic mythology, that is animals, plants and minerals

being animated and capable of becoming anthropomorphic
beings or in reverse the transmutated souls of people, either
born or unborn, who have become animals, plants and
minerals. The course of such anthropomorphism appears
dictated by the pantheon of god like deities because of their
virtues or vices. Such animistic legends include that of the
Lobizón, a werewolf type being, also the Mainimbi or
hummingbird who transports good spirits that are resident in
flowers back to Tupá "so he can cherish them". The Isondú or
glow worms are the reincarnated spirits of certain people, as
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are the Panambi (the butterflies), Caá Yarîi a woman who

became the sacred herb Yerba and Irupé, a woman who was
turned into the giant lilly because she fell in love with the
moon.
Pombero who are goblin or elf like spirits who dwell in the
forest and must be appeased. They have never been human.
Principal among these is Yasi Yateré who has never been
human and like all Pombero is from a different realm. His
characteristics are vague and uncertain, and 'his' powers badly
defined as is the place where 'he' resides. His characteristics
are defined in one legend as a "handsome, thickly bearded,
blond dwarf" who is naked and lives in tree trunks. Other
versions say he loves honey, his feet are backwards and he is
an "ugly, lame, old man". Most legends agree that he snatches
children and "licks them", wrapping them in climbing plants or
drowning them in rivers. To appease him gifts, such as honey,
are left in places in the forest associated with him. Another
Pombero is Cuarahú Yara who whistles like birds and is their
protector. He can be your friend but is known for abducting
young boys who are alone and trying to catch birds. If
necessary he can take the form of a person, a tree or a
hyacinth. Finally, Curupí is a phallic mythological figure who
will copulate with young women. He has scaly skin like a lizard,
hypnotic eyes and an enormous penis.
The sacred Iguazu waterfalls hold special significance for the

Guarani and are the inspiration for numerous myths and
legends. They reveal the sound of ancient battles at certain
times, they are also the place where I-Yara - a malign Pomboro
spirit - abducted Angá - a fair maiden - and hid her. The
swallows that inhabit the falls to this day vainly search for her.
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he primary figure in most Guaraní creation legends is Tupã,

the supreme god of all creation. With the help of the moon
goddess Arasy, Tupã descended upon the Earth in a location
specified as a hill in the region of Aregúa, Paraguay, and from
that location created all that is found upon the face of the
earth, including the ocean, forests, and the animals. It is also
said that the stars were placed in the sky at this point.
Tupã then created humanity (according to most Guaraní

myths, the Guaraní were naturally the first race of people to
be made, with every other civilization being born from it) in an
elaborate ceremony, forming clay statues of man and woman
with a mixture of various elements from nature. After
breathing life into the human forms, he left them with the
spirits of good and evil and departed.
Early humanity
The original humans created by Tupã were Rupave and

Sypave, whose names mean "Father of the people" and
"Mother of the people", respectively. The pair had three sons
and a large but unspecified number of daughters. The first of
their sons was Tumé Arandú, considered to be the wisest of
men and the great prophet of the Guaraní people. Second of
their sons was Marangatú, a benevolent and generous leader
of his people, and father of Kerana, the mother of the seven
legendary monsters of Guaraní myth. Their third son was
Japeusá, who was from birth considered a liar, a thief and a
trickster, always doing things backwards to confuse people
and take advantage of them. He eventually committed suicide,
drowning himself in the water, but he was resurrected as a
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crab, and since then all crabs are cursed to walk backwards
much as Japeusá did.
Among the daughters of the Rupave and Supave was Porâsý,

notable for sacrificing her own life in order to rid the world of
one of the seven legendary monsters, diminishing their power
(and thus the power of evil as a whole).
Several of the first humans were considered to have ascended

upon their deaths and become minor deities.
Seven legendary monsters
Kerana, the beautiful daughter of Marangatú, was captured by

the personification or spirit of evil called Tau. Together the
two had seven sons who were cursed of the high goddess
Arasy, and all but one were born as hideous monsters. The
seven are considered primary figures in Guaraní mythology,
and while several of the lesser gods or even the original
humans are forgotten in the verbal tradition of some areas,
these seven were generally maintained in the legends. Some
of them are even believed in down to modern times in some
rural areas. The seven sons of Tau and Kerana are, in order of
their births:
Teju Jagua, god or spirit of caverns and fruits
Mbói Tu'ĩ, god of waterways and aquatic creatures
Moñái, god of the open fields. He was defeated by the sacrifice

of Porâsý
Jasy Jatere, god of the siesta, only of the seven to not appear
as a monster
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Kurupi, god of sexuality and fertility
Ao Ao, god of hills and mountains
Luison, god of death and all things related to it
Other gods or important figures
Angatupry, spirit or personification of good, opposite to Tau
Pytajovái, god of war
Pombero, a popular spirit of mischief
Abaangui, a god credited with the creation of the moon; may

only figure as an adaptation of outlying Guaraní tribes
Jurupari, a god limited to worship by men, generally limited to

isolated tribes in Brazil
Yande Yari, "our grandmother", spirit of the river Parapetí in

Bolivia
Mala Visión, According to one version of the legend, Mala

Vision was a beautiful woman maddened by jealousy, that one
night she murdered her husband and dumped his body in a
cave by covering it with burning coals to cremate his body
totally believing that he was maintaining relationships with
other women. On the seventh night after the event, with
lightning, throwing sparks, the corpse of her husband stood
before the woman who dropped dead of fright. Since that day
the lost soul of the woman goes through canyons and hills on
stormy nights, crying plaintive and eerie. Mala vision is
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presented as the spirit of a beautiful woman dressed in white,

tall and deformed shrouded in transparent fuming.
Plata Yvyguy, "Buried Treasure", a headless dog who can be

found running around through the forest, and if you follow
him, he will show you where to find buried treasure.
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Chapter Eleven
Hopi Nation Traditions, Myths and Beliefs
The Hopi maintain a complex religious and mythological

tradition stretching back over centuries. However, it is difficult
to definitively state what all Hopis as a group believe. Like the
oral traditions of many other societies, Hopi mythology is not
always told consistently and each Hopi mesa, or even each
village, may have its own version of a particular story. But, "in
essence the variants of the Hopi myth bear marked similarity
to one another." It is also not clear that those stories which
are told to non-Hopis, such as anthropologists and
ethnographers, represent genuine Hopi beliefs or are merely
stories told to the curious while keeping safe the Hopi's more
sacred doctrines. As folklorist Harold Courlander states, "there
is a Hopi reticence about discussing matters that could be
considered ritual secrets or religion-oriented traditions."
David Roberts continues that "the secrecy that lies at the heart
of Puebloan [including Hopi] life...long predates European
contact, forming an intrinsic feature of the culture." In
addition, the Hopis have always been willing to assimilate
foreign ideas into their cosmology if they are proven effective
for such practical necessities as bringing rain. As such, the Hopi
had at least some contact with Europeans beginning the 16th
century, and some believe that European Christian traditions
may have entered into Hopi cosmology at some point. Indeed,
Spanish missions were built in several Hopi villages starting in
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1629 and were in operation until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

However, after the revolt, it was the Hopi alone of all the
Pueblo tribes who kept the Spanish out of their villages
permanently, and regular contact with whites did not begin
again until nearly two centuries later. The Hopi mesas have
therefore been seen as "relatively unacculturated" at least
through the early twentieth century, and it may be posited
that the European influence on the core themes of Hopi
mythology was slight.
Major deities
Most Hopi accounts of creation center around Tawa, the Sun

Spirit. Tawa is the Creator, and it was he who formed the First
World out of Tokpella, or Endless Space, as well as its original
inhabitants. It is still traditional for Hopi mothers to seek a
blessing from the Sun for their newborn children.However,
other accounts have it that Tawa, or Taiowa, first created
Sotuknang, whom he called his nephew. Taiowa then sent
Sotuknang to create the nine universes according to his plan,
and it was Sotuknang who created Spider Woman, or Spider
Grandmother. Spider Woman served as a messenger for the
Creator and was an intercessorary between deity and the
people. In some versions of the Hopi creation myth, it is she
who creates all life under the direction of Sotuknang. Yet other
stories tell that life was created by Hard Being Woman of the
West and Hard Being Woman of the East, while the Sun merely
observed the process.
Masauwu, Skeleton Man, was the Spirit of Death, Earth God,

door keeper to the Fifth World, and the Keeper of Fire. He was
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also the Master of the Upper World, or the Fourth World, and
was there when the good people escaped the wickedness of
the Third World for the promise of the Fourth. Masauwu is
described as wearing a hideous mask, but again showing the
diversity of myths among the Hopi, Masauwu was alternately
described as a handsome, bejeweled man beneath his mask or
as a bloody, fearsome creature. However, he is also assigned
certain benevolent attributes. One story has it that it was
Masauwu who helped settle the Hopi at Oraibi and gave them
stewardship over the land. He also charged them to watch for
the coming of the Pahana, the Lost White Brother. Other
important deities include the twin war gods, the kachinas, and
the trickster Coyote.
Maize is also vital to Hopi subsistence and religion. “For

traditional Hopis, corn is the central bond. Its essence,
physically, spiritually, and symbolically, pervades their
existence. For the people of the mesas corn is sustenance,
ceremonial object, prayer offering, symbol, and sentient being
unto itself. Corn is the Mother in the truest sense that people
take in the corn and the corn becomes their flesh, as mother
milk becomes the flesh of the child."
Feminist interpretations
Some contemporary writers tend to posit an absolute

importance of the feminine to the Hopi and attribute the role
of a male Creator (Tawa) to intrusions into Hopi folklore of
European beliefs. In this interpretation, the Hopis traditionally
saw the goddess Spider Woman as their creator,
"Grandmother of the sun and as the great Medicine Power
who sang the people into this fourth world we live in now.”
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The theory holds that under centuries of pressure by white

culture, Spider Woman has only recently been replaced by a
male Creator and “the Hopi goddess Spider Woman has
become the masculine Maseo or Tawa…”
While this view of Hopi mythology is deeply controversial,

certainly the Hopi have much in their culture and mythology
which emphasized the importance of the feminine. For
instance, the Hopi are a matrilineal society, and children
belong to the clan of the mother, not the father. The Hopi
Mother Nature is symbolized by both Mother Earth and the
Corn Mother. "Spider Woman, Sand Altar Woman, and other
female spirits [are] conceived to be the mothers of all living
things. This mother is represented in the cult by the sipapu,
the opening in the floor of the underground ceremonial
chamber, or kiva, for the sipapu is the womb of Mother Earth,
just as it is the hole through which humankind originally
emerged from the underworld."
However, Hopi religion was and is presided over by men, as

were most political functions within the villages. Most
importantly, it was only men who perform the required
dances and ceremonies which brought rain to the Hopi.
Four Worlds
Hopi legend tells that the current earth is the Fourth World to
be inhabited by Tawa's creations. The story essentially states
that in each previous world, the people, though originally
happy, became disobedient and lived contrary to Tawa's plan;
they engaged in sexual promiscuity, fought one another and
would not live in harmony. Thus, the most obedient were led
(usually by Spider Woman) to the next higher world, with
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physical changes occurring both in the people in the course of

their journey, and in the environment of the next world. In
some stories, these former worlds were then destroyed along
with their wicked inhabitants, whereas in others the good
people were simply led away from the chaos which had been
created by their actions.
Entrance into the Fourth World
Two main versions exist as to the Hopi's emergence into the

present Fourth World. The more prevalent is that Spider
Grandmother caused a hollow reed (or bamboo) to grow into
the sky, and it emerged in the Fourth World at the sipapu. The
people then climbed up the reed into this world, emerging
from the sipapu. The location of the sipapu is given as in the
Grand Canyon.
The other version (mainly told in Oraibi) has it Tawa destroyed

the Third World in a great flood. Before the destruction, Spider
Grandmother sealed the more righteous people into hollow
reeds which were used as boats. Upon arriving on a small
piece of dry land, the people saw nothing around them but
more water, even after planting a large bamboo shoot,
climbing to the top, and looking about. Spider Woman then
told the people to make boats out of more reeds, and using
island "stepping-stones" along the way, the people sailed east
until they eventually arrived on the mountainous coasts of the
Fourth World.
While it may not be possible to positively ascertain which is

the original or "more correct" story, Harold Courlander writes,
at least in Oraibi (the oldest of the Hopi villages), little children
are often told the story of the sipapu, and the story of an
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ocean voyage is related to them when they are older. He

states that even the name of the Hopi Water Clan
(Patkinyamu) literally means "A Dwelling-on-Water" or
"Houseboat". However, he notes the sipapu story is centered
on Walpi and is more accepted among Hopis generally.
Migrations
Upon their arrival in the Fourth World, the Hopis divided and
went on a series of great migrations throughout the land.
Sometimes they would stop and build a town, then abandon
it to continue on with the migration. However, they would
leave their symbols behind in the rocks to show that the Hopi
had been there. Long the divided people wandered in groups
of families, eventually forming clans named after an event or
sign that a particular group received upon its journey. These
clans would travel for some time as a unified community, but
almost inevitably a disagreement would occur, the clan would
split and each portion would go its separate way. However, as
the clans traveled, they would often join together forming
large groups, only to have these associations disband, and
then be reformed with other clans. These alternate periods of
harmonious living followed by wickedness, contention, and
separation play an important part of the Hopi mythos. This
pattern seemingly began in the First World and continues even
into recent history.
In the course of their migration, each Hopi clan was to go to

the farthest extremity of the land in every direction. Far in the
north was a land of snow and ice which was called the Back
Door, but this was closed to the Hopi. However, the Hopi say
that other peoples came through the Back Door into the
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Fourth World. This Back Door could be referring to the Bering

land bridge, which connected Asia with far north North
America. The Hopi were led on their migrations by various
signs, or were helped along by Spider Woman. Eventually, the
Hopi clans finished their prescribed migrations and were led
to their current location in northeastern Arizona.
Most Hopi traditions have it that they were given their land by
Masauwu, the Spirit of Death and Master of the Fourth World.
Sacred Hopi tablets
Hopi tradition tells of sacred tablets which were imparted to

the Hopi by various deities. Like most of Hopi mythology,
accounts differ as to when the tablets were given and in
precisely what manner.
Perhaps the most important was said to be in the possession

of the Fire Clan, and is related to the return of the Pahana. In
one version, an elder of the Fire Clan worried that his people
would not recognize the Pahana when he returned from the
east. He therefore etched various designs including a human
figure into a stone, and then broke off the section of the stone
which included the figure's head. This section was given to
Pahana and he was told to bring it back with him so that the
Hopi would not be deceived by a witch or sorcerer.This one is
Truth, the stone has an Indian face of black, white and grey
with black feathers, and it is not etched but looks more like ink
that soaked into the stone.
Another version has it that the Fire Clan was given a sacred
tablet by Masauwu, who as the giver of fire was their chief
deity. In this version the human figure was purposely drawn
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without a head, and a corner of the stone was broken off.

Masauwu told them that eventually the Pahana would return
bringing the broken-off corner of the stone, but if in the
meantime a Hopi leader accepted a false religion, he must
assent to having his head cut off as drawn on the stone.
This same story holds that three other sacred tablets were also
given to the Hopi. These were given to the Bear Clan by their
patron deity Söqömhonaw, and essentially constituted a
divine title to the lands where the Hopi settled after their
migrations. The Hopi had a Universal Snake Dance. The third
of these was etched with designs including the sun, moon,
stars, clouds, etc. on one side with six human figures on the
other. A letter from the Hopi to the President of the United
States in 1949 also declared that "the Stone Tablets, upon
which are written the boundaries of the Hopi Empire, are still
in the hands of the Chiefs of Oraibi and Hotevilla pueblos..."
Kachinas
Historically speaking, the kachina religion long predates

European contact, and its traces have been found which date
to as early as 1325 A.D. However, it remains an open question
among scholars as to whether the kachina religion was an
indigenous creation, or an import from Mexico. The similarity
of many aspects of Hopi religion to that of the Aztecs to the
south strongly suggest the latter to many scholars. For
example, the Hopi horned or plumed serpent Awanyu
uncannily resembles the Aztec Quetzecoatl, as does the Hopi
legend of the Pahana.
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To the Hopi, kachinas are supernatural beings who represent

and have charge over various aspects of the natural world.
They might be thought of as analogous to Greco-Roman demi-
gods or Catholic saints. There are literally hundreds of
different Kachinas, which may represent anything from rain to
watermelon, various animals, stars, and even other Indian
tribes. However, the kachinas are also thought to be the spirits
of dead ancestors, and they may come to the Hopi mesas in
the form of rain clouds.
The Hopi say that during a great drought, they heard singing
and dancing coming from the San Francisco Peaks. Upon
investigation, they met the Kachinas who returned with the
Hopi to their villages and taught them various forms of
agriculture. The Hopi believe that for six months out of the
year, the Kachina spirits live in the Hopi villages. After the
Home Dance in late July or early August, the Kachinas return
to the San Francisco Peaks for six months. The Hopi believe
that these dances are vital for the continued harmony and
balance of the world. It serves the further and vital purpose of
bringing rain to the Hopi's parched homeland.
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Chapter Twelve
Inca Empire traditions, myths and beliefs
Inca mythology includes many stories and legends that are

mythological and helps to explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs.
All those that followed the Spanish conquest of the Inca

Empire by Francisco Pizarro burned the records of the Inca
culture. There is currently a theory put forward by Gary Urton
that the Quipus represented a binary system capable of
recording phonological or logographic data. All information
for what is known is based on what was recorded by priests,
from the iconography on Incan pottery and architecture, and
the myths and legends which survived amongst the native
peoples.
Inca foundation legends
Viracocha, is the great creator god in Inca mythology
Manco Cápac was the legendary founder of the Inca Dynasty

in Peru and the Cuzco Dynasty at Cuzco. The legends and
history surrounding this mythical figure are very jumbled,
especially those concerning his rule at Cuzco and his
birth/rising. In one legend, he was the son of Tici Viracocha. In
another, he was brought up from the depths of Lake Titicaca
by the sun god Inti. However, commoners were not allowed to
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speak the name of Inca Viracocha, which is possibly an

explanation for the need for three foundation legends rather
than just the first.
There were also many myths about Manco Cápac and his
coming to power. In one myth, Manco Cápac and his brother
Pacha Kamaq were sons of the sun god Inti. Manco Cápac,
himself, was worshiped as a fire and sun god. In another myth,
Manco Cápac was sent with Mama Ocllo (others even mention
numerous siblings) to Lake Titicaca where they resurfaced and
settled in Isla Del Sol, Bolivia. According to this Inti legend,
Manco Cápac and his siblings were sent up to the earth by the
sun god and emerged from the cave of Puma Orco at
Pacaritambo carrying a golden staff called ‘tapac-yauri’. They
were instructed to create a Temple of the Sun in the spot
where the staff sank into the earth to honor the sun god Inti,
their father. During the journey, one of Manco's brothers
(Ayar Cachi) was tricked into returning to Puma Orco and
sealed inside, or alternatively was turned to ice, because his
reckless and cruel behavior angered the tribes that they were
attempting to rule. (huaca).
In another version of this legend, instead of emerging from a

cave in Cuzco, the siblings emerged from the waters of Lake
Titicaca. Since this was a later origin myth than that of
Pacaritambo it may have been created as a ploy to bring the
powerful Aymara tribes into the fold of the Tawantinsuyo.
In the Inca Virachocha legend, Manco Cápac was the son of

Inca Viracocha of Pacari-Tampu, today known as Pacaritambo,
which is 25 km (16 mi) south of Cuzco. He and his brothers
(Ayar Auca, Ayar Cachi, and Ayar Uchu); and sisters (Mama
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Ocllo, Mama Huaco, Mama Raua, and Mama Cura) lived near
Cuzco at Paccari-Tampu, and uniting their people and the ten
ayllu they encountered in their travels to conquer the tribes of
the Cuzco Valley. This legend also incorporates the golden
staff, which is thought to have been given to Manco Cápac by
his father. Accounts vary, but according to some versions of
the legend, the young Manco jealously betrayed his older
brothers, killed them, and then became Cuzco.
Deities
Supay, god of death in the Andean diablada
Like the Romans, the Incas permitted the cultures they

integrated into their empire to keep their individual religions.
Below are some of the various gods worshiped by the peoples
of the Incan empire, many of which have overlapping
responsibilities and domains. Unless otherwise noted, it can
safely be assumed these were worshipped by different ayllus
or worshipped in particular former states.
Apu was a god or spirit of mountains. All of the important

mountains have their own Apu, and some of them receive
sacrifices to bring out certain aspects of their being. Some
rocks and caves also are credited as having their own apu.
Apocatequil (aka Apotequil) or Illapa was the god of lightning.
Ataguchu was a god who assisted in creation myth.
Catequil was a god of thunder and lightning.
Cavillace was a virgin goddess who ate a fruit, which was

actually the sperm of Coniraya, the moon god. When she gave
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birth to a son, she demanded that the father step forward. No

one did, so she put the baby on the ground and it crawled
towards Coniraya. She was ashamed because of Coniraya's
low stature among the gods, and ran to the coast of Peru,
where she changed herself and her son into rocks.
Ch'aska ("Venus") or Ch'aska Quyllur ("Venus star") was the

goddess of dawn and twilight, the planet Venus, flowers,
maidens, and sex. She protected virgin girls.
Kuka Mama or Mama Kuka (Quechua for "mother coca") was

a goddess of health and joy. She was originally a promiscuous
woman who was cut in half by her many lovers. Her body grew
into the first coca plant, the leaves of which men were only
allowed to chew (to bring health and happiness).
Coniraya was the lunar deity who fashioned his sperm into a
fruit, which Cavillaca then ate. When she gave birth to a son,
she demanded that the father step forward.
Copacati was a lake goddess.
Ekkeko was a god of the hearth and wealth. The ancients made
dolls that represented him and placed a miniature version of
their desires onto the doll; this was believed to caused the
user to receive what he desired.
Illapa ("thunder and lightning"; aka Apu Illapu, Ilyap'a,

Katoylla) was a very popular weather god. His holiday was on
July 25. He was said to keep the Milky Way in a jug and use it
to create rain. He appeared as a man in shining clothes,
carrying a club and stones. He was formerly the main god of
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the Kingdom of Qulla after which the Qullasuyu province of

the Inca Empire was named.
Inti was the sun god. Source of warmth and light and a
protector of the people. Inti was considered the most
important god. The Inca Emperors were believed to be the
lineal descendants of the sun god.
Kon was the god of rain and wind that came from the south.
He was a son of Inti and Mama Quilla.
Mama Allpa was a fertility goddess depicted with multiple

breasts.
Mama Qucha ("sea mother") was the sea and fish goddess,
protectress of sailors and fishermen. In one legend she
mothered Inti and Mama Killa with Wiraqucha.
Modern interpretation of the concept of Pachamama. In

traditional Andean culture, there are no images of
Pachamama.
Mama Pacha (aka Pachamama) was the wife of Pacha Kamaq,

a dragon, and a fertility deity who presided over planting and
harvesting. She caused earthquakes.
Mama Killa ("mother moon" or "golden mother") was a

marriage, festival and moon goddess and daughter of
Wiraqucha and Mama Qucha, as well as wife and sister of Inti.
She was the mother of Manqu Qhapaq, Pacha Kamaq, Kon and
Mama Uqllu.
Mama Sara ("maize mother", aka Saramama) was the goddess

of grain. She was associated with maize that grew in multiples
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or were similarly strange. These strange plants were

sometimes dressed as dolls of Mama Sara. She was also
associated with willow trees.
Pacha Kamaq ("Earth-maker") was a chthonic creator god,

earlier worshiped by the Ichma but later adopted into the
creation myth of the Inca.
Paryaqaqa was a god of water in pre-Inca mythology that was

adopted by the Inca. He was a god of rainstorms and a creator-
god. He was born a falcon but later became human.
Paricia was a god who sent a flood to kill humans who did not
respect him adequately. Possibly another name for Pacha
Kamaq.
Supay was both the god of death and ruler of the Uku Pacha
as well as a race of demons.
Urcaguary was the god of metals, jewels and other

underground items of great value.
Urquchillay was a deity that watched over animals.
Wiraqucha was the god of everything. In the beginning he was

the main god, but when Pachakuti became Inca, he changed
this god's importance pointing out that it was Inti.
Important beliefs
Mama Uqllu was the sister and wife of Manqu Qhapaq. She
was thought to have taught the Inca the art of spinning.
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Mamaconas were similar to nuns and lived in temple

sanctuaries. They dedicated their lives to Inti, and served the
Inca and priests. Young girls of the nobility or of exceptional
beauty were trained for four years as acllas and then had the
option of becoming mamaconas or marrying Inca nobles. They
are comparable to the Roman Vestal Virgins, though Inca
society did not value virginity as a virtue the way Western
societies have done throughout history.
In one legend, Unu Pachakuti was a great flood sent by

Virachocha to destroy the giants that built Tiwanaku.
A Wak'a was a sacred object such as a mountain or a mummy.
Important places
Inca cosmology was ordered in three spatio-temporal levels or

Pachas. These included:
Uku Pacha ("the lower world") was located within the earth's
surface.
Kay Pacha was the world in which we live.
Hanan Pacha ("higher world") was the world above us where

the sun and moon lived.
Inca symbols
Chakana or tree of life
Chakana (or Inca Cross, Chakana) is the three-stepped cross

equivalent symbolic of what is known in other mythologies as
the Tree of Life, World Tree and so on. Through a central axis
a shaman journeyed in trance to the lower plane or
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Underworld and the higher levels inhabited by the superior

gods to enquire into the causes of misfortune on the Earth
plane. The snake, puma, and condor are totemic
representatives of the three levels.
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Chapter Thirteen
The Inuit People myths and beliefs
Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other

polar regions. Inuit traditional religious practices could be very
briefly summarised as a form of shamanism based on animist
principles.
In some respects, Inuit mythology stretches the common

conception of what the term "mythology" means. Unlike
Greek mythology, for example, at least a few people have
believed in it, without interruption, from the distant past up
to and including the present time. While the dominant
religious system of the Inuit today is Christianity, many Inuit
do still hold to at least some element of their traditional
religious beliefs. Some see the Inuit as having adapted
traditional beliefs to a greater or lesser degree to Christianity,
while others would argue that it is rather the reverse that its
true: The Inuit have adapted Christianity to their worldview.
Inuit traditional cosmology is not religion in the usual

theological sense, and is similar to what most people think of
as mythology only in that it is a narrative about the world and
the place of people in it. In the words of Inuit writer Rachel
Attituq Qitsualik:
“ The Inuit cosmos is ruled by no one. There are no divine

mother and father figures. There are no wind gods and solar
creators. There are no eternal punishments in the hereafter, as
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there are no punishments for children or adults in the here and

now. ”
Indeed, the traditional stories, rituals and taboos of the Inuit

are so tied into the fearful and precautionary culture required
by their harsh environment that it raises the question as to
whether they qualify as beliefs at all, much less religion. Knud
Rasmussen asked his guide and friend Aua, an angakkuq
(shaman), about Inuit religious beliefs among the Iglulingmiut
(people of Igloolik) and was told: "We don't believe. We fear."
Living in a varied and irregular world, the Inuit traditionally did
not worship anything, but they feared much. Some
authors[who?] debate the conclusions we might deduce from
Aua's words, because the angakkuq was under the influence
of missionaries, and later he even converted to Christianity —
converted people often see the ideas in polarisation and
contrasts, the authors say. Their study also analyses beliefs of
several Inuit groups, concluding (among others) that fear was
not diffuse.
“ First were unipkaaqs : myths, legends, and folktales

which took place "back then" in the indefinite past (taimmani).
”
Anirniit
The Inuit believed that all things have a form of spirit or soul
(in Inuktitut: anirniq meaning breath; plural anirniit), just like
humans. These spirits are held to persist after death — a
common belief present in practically all human societies.
However, the belief in the pervasiveness of spirits — the root
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of Inuit myth structure — has consequences. According to a

customary Inuit saying "The great peril of our existence lies in
the fact that our diet consists entirely of souls." By believing
that all things have souls like those of humans, killing an
animal is little different from killing a person. Once the anirniq
of the dead animal or human is liberated, it is free to take
revenge. The spirit of the dead can only be placated by
obedience to custom, avoiding taboos, and performing the
right rituals.
The harshness and randomness of life in the Arctic ensured

that Inuit lived constantly in fear of unseen forces. A run of
bad luck could end an entire community and begging
potentially angry and vengeful but unseen powers for the
necessities of day-to-day survival is a common consequence
of a precarious existence. For the Inuit, to offend an anirniq
was to risk extinction. The principal role of the angakkuq in
Inuit society was to advise and remind people of the rituals
and taboos they needed to obey to placate the spirits, since
he was held to be able to see and contact them.
The anirniit are seen to be a part of the sila — the sky or air
around them — and are merely borrowed from it. Although
each person's anirniq is individual, shaped by the life and body
it inhabits, at the same time it is part of a larger whole. This
enabled Inuit to borrow the powers or characteristics of an
anirniq by taking its name. Furthermore, the spirits of a single
class of thing — be it sea mammals, polar bears, or plants —
are in some sense held to be the same and can be invoked
through a keeper or master who is connected with that class
of thing. In some cases, it is the anirniq of a human or animal
who becomes a figure of respect or influence over animals
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things through some action, recounted in a traditional tale. In

other cases, it is a tuurngaq, as described below.
Since the arrival of Christianity among the Inuit, anirniq has

become the accepted word for a soul in the Christian sense.
This is the root word for other Christian terms: anirnisiaq
means angel and God is rendered as anirnialuk, the great
spirit.
“ Humans were a complex of three main parts: two souls

(iñuusiq and iḷitqusiq: perhaps "life force" and "personal
spirit") and a name soul (atiq). After death, the iñuusiq
departed for the east, but the other soul components could be
reborn. ”
Tuurngait
Some spirits are by nature unconnected to physical bodies.

These figures are called tuurngait (also tornait, tornat,
tornrait, singular tuurngaq, torngak, tornrak, tarngek). Some
are helping spirits that can be called upon in times of need.
Some are evil and monstrous, responsible for bad hunts and
broken tools. They can also possess humans, as recounted in
the story of Atanarjuat. An angakkuq with good intentions can
use them to heal sickness, and find animals to hunt and feed
the community. He or she can fight or exorcise bad tuurngait,
or they can be held at bay by rituals; However, an angakkuq
with harmful intentions can also use "tuurngait" for their own
personal gain, or to attack other people and their tuurngait.
Though once Tuurngaq simply meant "killing spirit", it has,

with Christianisation, taken on the meaning of demon in the
Christian belief system.
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Angakkuq
The angakkuq was the shaman of a community of Inuit. The

angakkuq has largely disappeared in Christianised Inuit
society, but functioned as a mediator with (or defender
against) the spirits, a healer, and a counselor. They were held
to be born with their gifts and not trained, although they
employed ritual ceremonies involving drumming, chanting,
and dancing.
Deities
Below is an incomplete list of Inuit myth figures thought to

hold power over some specific part of the Inuit world:
Agloolik: evil god of the sea who can hurt boats by biting them;
spirit which lives under the ice and helps wanderers in hunting
and fishing.
Akna: mother goddess of fertility.
Amaguq: Wolf god who takes those foolish to hunt alone at

night.
Anguta: gatherer of the dead; he carries them into the

underworld, where they must sleep with him for a year.
Igaluk: the moon god and brother to the sun who chases her
across the sky.
Nanook: (Nanuk in the modern spelling) the master of polar

bears
Pinga: the goddess of the hunt, fertility and medicine
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Qailertetang: weather spirit, guardian of animals, and matron

of fishers and hunters. Qailertetang is the companion of
Sedna.
Sedna: the mistress of sea animals. Sedna (Sanna in modern

Inuktitut spelling) is known under many names, including
Nerrivik, Arnapkapfaaluk, Arnakuagsak, and Nuliajuk.
Sila: personification of the air
Tekkeitsertok: the master of caribou
Creatures and spirits
Qalupalik is a myth/legend that was told by Inuit parents and

elders to prevent children from wandering to the shore where
the Qalupaliks live. Qalupalik: human-like creatures that lives
in the sea, long hair with green skin and long finger nails.
Qalupaliks wear an amautik so it can take babies and children
who disobey their parents or wander off alone and takes the
children in her amautik under water were she adopts them as
their own. Qalupaliks have a distinctive humming sound, and
the elders have said you can hear the Qalupaliks humming
when they are near. Up to today the Qalupalik story is still
being told in schools, books and by parents who don’t want
their children to wander off to the dangerous shore. The myth
was adapted as a 2010 stop motion animation short Qalupalik
by Ame Papatsie.
Saumen kars or 'Tornits' are the Inuit version of the hairy man
or yeti myth. Tizheruk are snake-like monsters. Tupilaq are
avenging monsters which were invoked using Shamanic
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magic. "Qallupilluit" are "troll-like" creature that come after

misbehaving children.
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Chapter Fourteen
Iroquois People beliefs and traditions
Much of the mythology of the Iroquois (a confederacy of

originally Five, later Six Nations of Native Americans) has been
lost. Some of their religious stories have been preserved,
including creation stories and some folktales.
Hahgwehdiyu is the creator god. He was said to have planted

a single maize plant in the body of his mother Atahensic. This
plant was a gift to mankind. In many variants of the creation
myth, Atahensic (also known as Ataensic) was a Sky Woman
who fell to the Earth. She died in childbirth and her body
fertilized the earth so that her granddaughters could grow
many things.
Hahgwehdiyu has an evil twin brother named

Hahgwehdaetgan.
Gaol is the personification of the wind. Gohone is the

personification of the winter. Adekagagwaa is the
personification of the summer. Onatha is a patron of farmers,
particularly farmers of wheat. A giant named Tarhuhyiawahku
held the sky up.
The Jogah are nature spirits, similar to nymphs and fairies. Ha

Wen Neyu is the "Great Spirit".
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The first people were created by Iosheka, a beneficent god

who healed disease, defeated demons, and gave many of the
Iroquois magical and ceremonial rituals. Another of his gifts
was tobacco, which has been used as a central part of the
Iroquois religion. This god is also venerated in Huron
mythology.
The North Wind is personified by a bear spirit named Ya-o-gah.

He lived in a cave and was controlled by Gah-oh. Ya-o-gah
could destroy the world with his fiercely cold breath, but is
kept in check by Gah-oh.
Sosondowah was a great hunter (known for stalking a

supernatural elk) who was captured by Dawn, a goddess who
needed him as a watchman. He fell in love with Gendenwitha
("she who brings the day"; alternate spelling: Gendewitha), a
human woman. He tried to woo her with a song. In spring, he
sang as a bluebird, in summer as a blackbird and in autumn as
a hawk, who then tried to take Gendenwitha with him to the
sky. Dawn tied him to her doorpost. She changed
Gendenwitha into the Morning Star, so the hunter could
watch her all night but never be with her.
Tuscarora legend
Virginia surveyor William Byrd II, in his History of the Dividing

Line Betwixt North Carolina and Virginia (1728), recorded a
tradition of a former religious leader, which had been current
among the Tuscarora tribe. They were an Iroquoian-speaking
tribe that, although historically in North Carolina, because of
warfare migrated to join the rest of the Iroquois Confederacy
99
in New York. In this account, many centuries before their tribe

had become so dishonest that no man's property nor wife was
considered inviolate;
"...however, their God, being unwilling to root them out for

their crimes, did them the honour to send a Messenger from
Heaven to instruct them, and set Them a perfect Example of
Integrity and kind Behavior towards one another. But this holy
Person, with all his Eloquence and Sanctity of Life, was able to
make very little Reformation amongst them. Some few Old
Men did listen a little to his Wholesome Advice, but all the
Young fellows were quite incorrigible. They not only Neglected
his Precepts, but derided and Evil Entreated his Person. At last,
taking upon him to reprove some Young Rakes of the Conechta
Clan very sharply for their impiety, they were so provok'd at
the Freedom of his Rebukes, that they tied him to a Tree, and
shot him with Arrows through the Heart. But their God took
instant vengeance on all who had a hand in that Monstrous
Act, by Lightning from Heaven, & has ever since visited their
Nation with a continued Train of Calamities, nor will he ever
leave off punishing, and wasting their people, till he shall have
blotted every living Soul of them out of the World."
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101
Chapter Fifteen
Kwakwaka’wakw spiritual beliefs and myths
This article is about the spiritual beliefs, histories and practices

in Kwakwaka'wakw mythology. The Kwakwaka'wakw are a
group of Indigenous nations, numbering about 5,500, who live
in the central coast of British Columbia on northern Vancouver
Island and the mainland. Kwakwaka'wakw translates into
"Kwak'wala speaking tribes." However, the tribes are single
autonomous nations and do not view themselves collectively
as one group.
These people share many common cultural customs with

neighboring nations. These peoples share beliefs in many of
the same spirits and deities, although they speak different
languages. Some spirits are however totally unique to one or
two cultures and are not universally known throughout the
Northwest Coast. Each tribe has its own history, practices, and
stories. Some origin stories belong to only one specific tribe,
while another tribe has its own stories. But many practices,
rituals, and ceremonies are occurrences through all of
Kwakwaka'wakw culture, and in some cases, neighboring
indigenous cultures also.
Creation stories
Flood
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Deluge (mythology)
Like all Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast,

most of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes have stories about their
people surviving the flood. With some of these nations, their
history talks of their ancestors transforming into their natural
form and disappearing while the waters rose then subsided.
For others, they have stories of their people attaching their
ocean going canoes to tall peaking mountains. For the stories
about supernatural powers, these figures tend to be the
founding clans of some Kwakwaka'wakw nations.
Ancestors, crest, and clans
Tseiqami is a man who comes from the cedar tree and

Thunderbird, lord of the winter dance season, a massive
supernatural bird whose wing beats cause the thunder, and
the flash of whose eyes causes lightning. Tseiqami hunts
whales for its dinner out at sea, and sometimes helped heroic
ancestors build houses by placing giant cedar beams for them.
Thunderbird has a younger brother named Kolus.
Thunderbird's adversary is Qaniqilak, spirit of the summer

season, who is often identified as the sea god, Kumugwe.
Kumugwe or Komokwa is the name of "Undersea Chief." Many
Kwakwaka'wakw families have been blessed by riches and
supernatural treasures bestowed by this god of the tides and
maker of coppers.
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Kwakwaka'wakw Cedar sisiutl mask.
Sisiutl is a giant three-headed sea serpent whose glance can

turn an adversary into stone. Cross beams of clan houses
sometimes are carved with his appearance. Blessed ancestors
have sometimes received sisiutl's help when he transforms
himself into an invincible war canoe, and sometimes into a
magic belt with which to gird oneself against all dangers.
Dzunukwa (Tsonokwa) is a type of cannibal giant (called

sasquatch by other Northwest Coast tribes) and comes in both
male and female forms. In most legends, the female form is
the most commonly told; she eats children and cries "hu-hu!"
to attract them, she imitates the child's grandmother's voice.
Children frequently outwit her, sometimes killing her and
taking her treasures without being eaten.
Bakwas is king of the ghosts. He is a small green spirit whose

face looks emaciated like a skeleton, but has a long curving
nose. He haunts the forests and tries to bring the living over
to the world of the dead. In some myths Bakwas is the
husband of Dzunukwa.
U'melth is the Raven, who brought the Kwakwaka'wakw

people the moon, fire, salmon, the sun and the tides.
Pugwis is a sort of aquatic creature with fish-like face and large

incisors.
Ceremony
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Kwakwaka'wakw spirituality is transmitted at ceremonies,

mostly during the winter season. These ceremonies are often
referred to as potlatches. They are mostly designed for the
transference, justification, and reaffirmation of family and
spiritual status inherited from primeval ancestors who
contacted the spirit world and were given privileges from
beings of a supernatural nature. These beings prefer honor,
power, and magic through the gift of Tlugwe, which are
supernatural treasures, often taking the physical form of
masks and regalia, but also comprising stories, songs,
recitations, dances, and other intangible performances.
Kwakwaka'wakw spirits, like those of other Northwest Coast

peoples, can be divided into four separate spirit realms,
including sky spirits, sea spirits, earth spirits, and otherworldly
spirits. All four realms interact with one another, and human
beings attempt to contact all four worlds and often channel
their spirits at sacred ceremonies wherein dancers go into
trances while wearing masks and other regalia associated with
the spiritworld.
Of particular importance in Kwakwaka'wakw culture is the

secret society called Hamatsa. During the winter, there is a
four-day, complex dance that serves to initiate new members
of Hamatsa. The Hamatsa dancer represents the spirit of
Baxbaxwalanuksiwe ("Man-Eater at the North End of the
World"; who can transform into various man-eating birds and
has mouths all over his body. Hamatsa initiates are possessed
by Baxwbakwalanuksiwe'. On the first day of the Hamatsa
ceremonies the initiate is lured out of the woods and brought
into the Big House to be tamed. When the initiate returns, he
enacts his cannibalistic possession symbolically.
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Gwaxwgwakwalanuksiwe' is the most prestigious role in the

Supernatural Man-Eater Birds ceremony; he is a man-eating
raven. Galuxwadzuwus ("Crooked-Beak of Heaven") and
Huxhukw (supernatural Crane-Like Bird who cracks skulls of
men to suck out their brains) are other participants.
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Chapter Sixteen
Maya Empire spiritual beliefs and myths
Maya mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and

comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of
nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the
main roles. Other parts of Maya oral tradition (such as animal
tales and many moralising stories) do not properly belong to
the domain of mythology, but rather to legend and folk tale.
The oldest written myths date from the 16th century and are
found in historical sources from the Guatemalan Highlands.
The most important of these documents is the Popol Vuh or
'Book of the Council', which contains Quichean creation
stories and some of the adventures of the Hero Twins,
Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
Yucatán is an equally important region. The Books of Chilam

Balam contain mythological passages of great antiquity, and
mythological fragments are found scattered among the early-
colonial Spanish chronicles and reports, chief among them
Diego de Landa's Relación, and in the dictionaries compiled by
the early missionaries.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, anthropologists and local

folklorists have committed many stories to paper. Even
though most Maya tales are the results of an historical process
in which Spanish narrative traditions interacted with native
107
ones, some of the tales reach back well into pre-Spanish times.
Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, the transmission of
traditional tales has entered its final stage. Fortunately,
however, this is also a time in which the Mayas themselves
have begun to salvage and publish the precious tales of their
parents and grandparents.
Important mythical themes
In Maya narrative, the origin of many natural and cultural

phenomena is set out, often with the moral aim of defining
the ritual relationship between mankind and its environment.
In such a way, one finds explanations about the origin of the
heavenly bodies (Sun and Moon, but also Venus, the Pleiades,
the Milky Way); the mountain landscape; clouds, rain, thunder
and lightning; wild and tame animals; the colours of the maize;
diseases and their curative herbs; agricultural instruments;
the steam bath, etc. The following more encompassing
themes can be discerned.
Creation and end of the world
The Popol Vuh describes the creation of the earth by the wind
of the sea and sky, as well as its sequel. The Book of Chilam
Balam of Chumayel relates the collapse of the sky and the
deluge, followed by the raising of the sky and the erection of
the five World Trees. The Lacandons also knew the tale of the
creation of the Underworld.
Creation of mankind
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The Popol Vuh gives a sequence of four efforts at creation:

First were animals, then wet clay, wood, then last, the creation
of the first ancestors from maize dough. To this, the Lacandons
add the creation of the main kind groupings and their 'totemic'
animals. The creation of humankind is concluded by the
Mesoamerican tale of the opening of the Maize (or
Sustenance) Mountain by the Lightning deities.
Actions of the heroes: Arranging the world
The best-known hero myth is about the defeat of a bird demon

and of the deities of disease and death by the Hero Twins,
Hunahpu and Xbalanque. Of equal importance is the parallel
narrative of a maize hero defeating the deities of Thunder and
Lightning and establishing a pact with them. Although its
present spread is confined to the Gulf Coast areas, various
data suggest that this myth was once a part of Mayan oral
tradition as well. Important mythological fragments about the
heroic reduction of the jaguars have been preserved by the
Tzotziles.
Marriage with the Earth
This mythological type defines the relation between mankind

and the game and crops. An ancestral hero - Xbalanque in a
Kekchi tradition - woos the daughter of an Earth God; the
hero's wife is finally transformed into game, bees, snakes and
insects, or the maize. If the hero gets the upper hand, he
becomes the Sun, his wife the Moon. A moralistic Tzotzil
version has a man rewarded with a daughter of the Rain Deity,
only to get divorced and lose her again.
Origin of Sun and Moon
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The origin of Sun and Moon is not always the outcome of a

Marriage with the Earth. From Chiapas and the western
Guatemalan Highlands comes the tale of Younger Brother and
his jealous Elder Brethren: Youngest One becomes the Sun, his
mother becomes the Moon, and the Elder Brethren are
transformed into wild pigs and other forest animals. In a
comparable way, the Elder Brethren of the Popol Vuh Twin
myth are transformed into monkeys, with their younger
brothers becoming Sun and Moon.
Reconstructing Pre-Spanish mythology
The three surviving Mayan books are mainly of a ritual and

also (in the case of the Paris Codex) historical nature, and
contain but few mythical scenes. Although a sort of 'strip
books' may once have existed, it is very much to be doubted
that mythical narratives were ever completely rendered
hieroglyphically. As a consequence, depictions on temple
walls and movable objects (especially the so-called 'ceramic
codex') are used to aid reconstruction of pre-Spanish Mayan
mythology.
A main problem with depictions is to define what constitutes

a mythological scene, for any given scene might in principle
also represent a moment in a ritual sequence, a visual
metaphor stemming from oral literature, a scene from
mundane life, or a historical event. At this stage of our
understanding, it is, in any case, clear that the Twin myth -
albeit it in a version which considerably diverged from the
Popol Vuh - already circulated in the Classic Period. In some
cases, ancient Mayan myths may only have been preserved by
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neighbouring peoples; the narrative of the principal Maya

maize god, and, to a lesser extent, that of the Bacabs are cases
in point. As the process of hieroglyphical decipherment
proceeds, the short explanatory captions often included
within the scenes will hopefully be restored to their original
eloquence, and make ancient narrative come to life more fully.
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Chapter Seventeen
Ohlone People myths and traditions
The mythology of the Ohlone (Costanoan) Native American

people of Northern California include creation myths as well
as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their
spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their
conception of the world order. Their myths describe
supernatural anthropomorphic beings with the names of
regional birds and animals, notably the eagle, the Coyote who
is humanity's ancestor and a trickster spirit, and a
hummingbird.
The Chochenyo (Chocheño) mythology of the San Francisco

Bay Area has a strong culture hero figure named Kaknu,
coyote's grandson, who is an anthropomorphic and closely
resembles a peregrine falcon.
Creation stories
Rumsen (Coyote, Eagle, Hummingbird)
One Ohlone creation myth begins with the demise of a

previous world: When it was destroyed, the world was
covered entirely in water, apart from a single peak, Pico
Blanco (north of Big Sur) in the Rumsien version (or Mount
Diablo in the northern Ohlone's version) on which Coyote,
Hummingbird, and Eagle stood. "When the water rose to their
feet" the eagle carried them all to Sierra de Gabilin (near
Fremont) where they waited "for the water to go down" and
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the world to dry out. Coyote was sent to investigate and found
it was dry now.
After the flood, the eagle led Coyote to a beautiful girl inside
or in the river and instructed him "she will be your wife in
order that people may be raised again." Eagle gave Coyote
instruction how to make her pregnant in her belly. This first
wife became pregnant by eating one of Coyote's lice, but she
was afraid and started running. Coyote could not persuade her
or slow her down, she ran to the ocean with Coyote chasing
her and she jumped into the ocean and turned into a sand flea
or shrimp.
Coyote married a second wife and this time had children who
became the Ohlone people. This is how "people raised again".
The Coyote taught humanity the arts of survival.
Rumsen (Eagle and Hawk)
Another creation myth begins with the earth flooded in water.

Eagle tells Hawk to dive into the floodwaters to find some
earth. Hawk dives but fails to find any earth the first day. He
tries again the next morning, this time holding a feather
plucked from the middle of Eagle's head. The feather grows
longer and helps Hawk to reach some earth under the waters.
The water eventually receded.
Chochenyo (Coyote and grandson Kaknu)
The Chochenyo myths describe the "First People" or "Early

People" as supernatural anthropomorphic beings with the
names of regional birds and animals. Of the fragmented myths
that are recorded, the Coyote was the supreme being:
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"The Coyote was 'wetes', the one who commanded. He was

our God, the God of all the world."
Coyote was the grandfather, companion and advisor to the

Chochenyo's mythical hero, the Kaknu. Kaknu was another
anthropomorphic being, described to be like a predatory bird,
most closely resembling a peregrine falcon.
Making the world safe
Chochenyo (Kaknu fights Body of Stone)
"Finally when Kaknu didn't want to fight anymore with

anyone, he turned into a dove and entered into the earth".
Kaknu dived into the earth by folding his wings, and went to
confront the "Body of Stone" called Wiwe. Body of Stone was
the underground lord of the earth, described as a man with a
stone body, who fed people to his servants. His terrain was
scattered with bones. The Body of Stone held many of Kaknu's
"people" in captivity and they assisted Kaknu in an epic battle.
When Kaknu shot the Body of Stone in the neck and navel with
all his arrows, the Body of Stone died and burst into pieces,
and became all the rocks scattered across the world. Kaknu
makes peace with the people in this once hostile
underground.
Death and afterlife stories
Chochenyo (Land of the Dead)
According to the Chochenyo, death was created by Coyote so

that people would have enough to eat, but this meant. "Kaknu
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had to take the road to the land of the dead...the people

followed his example."
According to the Chochenyo, the Land of the Dead had only

one road and a man who receives the incoming spirits. There
is white foam like the sea, before this are two pieces of
smoking and burning wood and two hollowed stones, one
filled with water, and the other with a sugary substance,
where the spirits can drink and eat, before they plunge into
the foam. The burning wood is a warning, the type of warning
not elaborated.
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Chapter Eighteen
The Pawnee Traditions, myths and beliefs
Pawnee mythology is the body of oral history, cosmology, and

myths of the Pawnee concerning their gods and heroes. The
Pawnee are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans,
originally located on the Great Plains along tributaries of the
Missouri River and currently in Oklahoma. They traditional
speak Pawnee, a Caddoan language.
Beliefs and practices
Tirawa (also called Atius Tirawa) was the Creator god. He was
believed to have taught the Pawnee people tattooing, fire-
building, hunting, agriculture, speech and clothing, religious
rituals (including the use of tobacco and sacred bundles), and
sacrifices. He was associated with most natural phenomena,
including stars and planets, wind, lightning, rain, and thunder.
The wife of Tirawa was Atira, goddess of the Earth. Atira was
associated with corn.
The solar and lunar deities were Shakuru and Pah,

respectively. Four major stars were said to represent gods and
were part of the Creation story, in which the first human being
was a girl. The Morning Star and Evening Star mated to create
her.
Archeologists and anthropologists have determined the

Pawnee had a sophisticated understanding of the movement
of stars. They noted the nonconforming movements of both
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Venus (Evening Star) and Mars (Morning Star). The Pawnee

centered all aspects of daily life on this celestial observation,
including the important cultivation cycle for sacred corn.
They built earthwork lodges to accommodate the sedentary

nature of Pawnee culture; each lodge "was at the same time
the universe and also the womb of a woman, and the
household activities represented her reproductive powers."
The lodge also represented the universe in a more practical
way. The physical construction of the house required setting
up four posts to represent the four cardinal directions,
“aligned almost exactly with the north-south, east-west axis.
Along with the presence of the posts, four other requirements

marked the Pawnee lodge as an observatory:
"A Pawnee observatory-lodge would have an unobstructed

view of the eastern sky”;
"A lodge’s axis would be oriented east-west so that at the

vernal equinox the sun’s first light would strike the altar”;
“The size parameters of the lodge’s smoke hole and door

(height and width) would be designed to view the sky”; and
“An observatory-lodge’s smoke hole would be constructed to

view certain parts of the heavens - such as the Pleiades.”
Through both the historical and archaeological record, it is

clear that the Pawnee lifestyle was centered on the
observation of the celestial bodies, whose movements formed
the basis of their seasonal rituals. The positions and
construction of their lodges placed their daily life in the center
of a scaled-down universe. They could observe the greater
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universe outside and be reminded of their role in perpetuating

the universe.
According to one Skidi band Pawnee man at the beginning of

the twentieth century, “The Skidi were organized by the stars;
these powers above made them into families and villages, and
taught them how to live and how to perform their ceremonies.
The shrines of the four leading villages were given by the four
leading stars and represent those stars which guide and rule
the people.”
The Pawnee paid close attention to the universe and believed

that for the universe to continue functioning, they had to
perform regular ceremonies. These ceremonies were
performed before major events, such as semi-annual buffalo
hunts, as well as before many other important activities of the
year, such as sowing seeds in the spring and harvesting in the
fall. The most important ceremony of the Pawnee culture, the
Spring Awakening ceremony, was meant to awaken the earth
and ready it for planting. It can be tied directly to the tracking
of celestial bodies.
“The position of the stars was an important guide to the time

when this ceremony should be held. The earth-lodge served as
an astronomical observatory and as the priests sat inside at
the west, they could observe the stars in certain positions
through the smokehole and through the long east-oriented
entranceway. They also kept careful watch of the horizon right
after sunset and just before dawn to note the order and
position of the stars.” The ceremony must be held at exactly
the right time of year, when the priest first tracked “two small
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twinkling stars known as the Swimming Ducks in the

northeastern horizon near the Milky Way.”
Nahurac
In the Pawnee traditional religion, the supreme being Tirawa

conferred miraculous powers on certain animals. These spirit
animals, the nahurac, act as Tirawa's messengers and
servants, and can intercede with him on behalf of the Pawnee.
The nahurac had five dwellings, and were miraculous.
The nahurac had five lodges. The foremost among them was
Pahuk, usually translated "hill island", a bluff on the south side
of the Platte River, near the town of Cedar Bluffs in present-
day Saunders County, Nebraska.
Lalawakohtito, or "dark island", was an island in the Platte

near Central City, Nebraska.
Ahkawitakol, or "white bank", was on the Loup River opposite

the mouth of the Cedar River in what is now Nance County,
Nebraska.
Kitzawitzuk, translated "water on a bank", also known to the

Pawnee as Pahowa, was a spring on the Solomon River near
Glen Elder, Kansas. It now lies beneath the waters of Waconda
Reservoir.
The fifth lodge of the nahurac was known to the Pawnee as

Pahur, a name translated as "hill that points the way".
According to George Bird Grinnell, the accent is on the second
syllable; the "a" in the first syllable is pronounced like the "a"
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in "father"; and the "u" in the second syllable is pronounced

long, like the vowel in "pool".:xxi, 359 In English, the name was
shortened to "Guide Rock".
Morning Star ceremony
The Morning Star ceremony was a ritual sacrifice of a young

girl in the spring. It was connected to the Creation story, in
which the mating of the male Morning Star with the female
Evening Star created the first human being, a girl.
The ceremony was not held in full every year, but only when a
man of the village dreamed that the Morning Star had come
to him and told him to perform the ceremony. He then
consulted with the Morning Star priest, who has been reading
the sky. Together they determined whether the Morning Star
was demanding only the more common yearly symbolic
ceremony, or requiring that the ceremony be carried out in
full. When the Pawnee priests would identify certain celestial
bodies on the horizon, they would know that the Morning Star
needed to be appeased with the sacrifice of a young girl.
“The sacrifice was performed only in years when Mars was

morning star and usually originated in a dream in which the
Morning Star appeared to some man and directed him to
capture a suitable victim. The dreamer went to the keeper of
the Morning Star bundle and received from him the warrior’s
costume kept in it. He then set out, accompanied by
volunteers, and made a night attack upon an enemy village. As
soon as a girl of suitable age was captured the attack ceased
and the party returned. The girl was dedicated to the Morning
Star at the moment of her capture and was given into the care
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of the leader of the party who, on its return, turned her over
to the chief of the Morning Star.“
Returning to the village, the people treated the girl with

respect, but they kept her isolated from the rest of the camp.
If it was spring and time for the sacrifice, she was ritually
cleansed. What was a five-day ceremony was begun around
her. The Morning Star priest would sing songs and the girl was
symbolically transformed from human form to be among the
celestial bodies. Here the girl became the ritual representation
of the Evening Star; she was not impersonating the deity, but
instead had become an earthly embodiment. On the final day
of the ceremony, a procession of men, boys and even male
infants accompanied the girl outside the village to where the
men had raised a scaffold. They had used sacred woods and
skins, and the scaffold represented “Evening Star’s garden in
the west, the source of all animal and plant life.” The priests
removed her clothing and
The procession was timed so that she would be left alone on

the scaffold at the moment the morning star rose. When the
morning star appeared, two men came from the east with
flaming brands and touched her lightly in the arm pits and
groins. Four other men then touched her with war clubs. The
man who had captured her then ran forward with the bow
from the Skull bundle and a sacred arrow and shot her through
the heart while another man struck her on the head with the
war club from the Morning Star bundle. The officiating priest
then opened her breast with a flint knife and smeared his face
with the blood while her captor caught the falling blood on
dried meat. All the male members of the tribe then pressed
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forward and shot arrows into the body. They then circled the
scaffold four times and dispersed.
To fulfill the creation of life, the men of the village would take
on the role of the Morning Star, which is why two men would
come from the east with flaming brands, representing the sun.
The men acted out the violence which had allowed the
Morning Star to mate with the Evening Star (by breaking her
vaginal teeth) in their creation story, with a “meteor stone.”
During the Morning Star ceremony, the captive was shot in the
heart and a “man struck her on the head with the war club
from the Morning Star bundle.” By having all the men in the
village shoot arrows into her body, the village men,
embodiments of Morning Star, were symbolically mating with
her. Her blood would drip down from the scaffolding and onto
the ground which had been made to represent the Evening
Star’s garden of all plant and animal life. They took her body
and lay the girl face down on the prairie, where her blood
would enter the earth and fertilize the ground. The spirit of
the Evening Star was released and the men ensured the
success of the crops, all life on the Plains, and the perpetuation
of the Universe.
Last rites
The Skidi Pawnee practiced the Morning Star ritual regularly

through the 1810s. The Missouri Gazette reported a sacrifice
in 1818. US Indian agents sought to convince chiefs to
suppress the ritual, and major leaders, such as Knife Chief,
worked to change the practices objected to by the increasing
number of American settlers on the Plains. The last known
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sacrifice was of Haxti, a 14-year-old Oglala Lakota girl on April

22, 1838.
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Chapter Nineteen
The Pomo People traditions and myths
The indigenous religion of the Pomo people, Native Americans

from Northwestern California, centered on belief in the
powerful entities of the 'Kunula', a Coyote, and 'Guksu', a spirit
healer from the south.
Creation stories
Coyote ('Kunula') and Cougar set up for their sons to play a

sports game. Most of Coyote's children died. The last two of
Coyote's sons chased a ball into a sweathouse and were killed
by the resident the Sun (a spirit being). Later through trickery
and persistence Coyote retrieved the bodies of his two sons in
a bag. Because he had trouble seeing in the darkness Coyote
split open the bag and his son's two bodies created light and
became the physical sun and the moon in the heavens.
Another "Creation" myth is that Coyote and Lizard

('Hatanutal') were in a sweathouse near Upper Lake,
California. Coyote split up some willow and dogwood sticks,
painted them, and set them upright in the dirt. The sticks
turned into human beings with paws rather than hands.
Coyote then put some hemp around them. The hemp became
fleas that jumped onto the human beings. Lizard suggested
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the people needed hands with fingers in order to be more

useful, and Coyote suggested they wrestle over that. Coyote
and Lizard wrestled. Lizard won the wrestling match and thus
the people as Lizard proposed were given fingers, as well as
language.
World order
The Pomo spoke of a sweat house in each cardinal direction.
According to Pomo ceremony and tradition, the world

contained six supernatural beings (or groups of spirits) who
lived at the end of the world in the six cardinal directions:
Guksu, also called Kuksu in different Pomo languages, was a

supernatural being that lived at the southern end of the world.
The word also means a large mosquito like insect locally
known as the 'gallinipper'. Healing was his province or
specialty and the Pomo medicine men or doctors made their
prayers to him. He was normal size human with a very long,
large and sharp red nose. He was good natured on the whole.
In dance ceremonies, the impersonators of Guksu painted
their bodies black, or striped red, white and black. They wore
bulky, feathery headdress or a large feather tuft on their head
with a yellow headband. The nose was made with feathers and
painted red. The impersonators carried a staff 6 to 8 inches
long with a feather tuft at top, and provided a double bone
whistle. He would whistle but not speak.
Calnis lived at the eastern end of the world. In ceremonial

dances Calnis associated with Guksu, he was also human form,
but he was usually testy and pursued people and 'tripped
them up'. In dance ceremonies, the Calnis dancer was painted
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entirely black and carried a black staff without feathers. On his

head he wore a feather cape that fell over his face.
Suupadax lived at the northern end of the world. The word is

associated with a whirlwind.
Xa-matutsi lived at the western end of the world. The word is

associated with the Pacific Ocean and with 'water occupation'.
The Pacific Ocean was the western edge of Pomo territory, and
it was therefor a very important part of their mythology. The
Pomo believed the world was bounded by water along the
west.
Kali-matutsi lived in the sky and heavens above. The word is

associated with 'sky occupation.'
Kai-matutsi lived on the earth and below. The word associated

is with 'earth occupation.'
These spirits were imagined to live in sweat houses or dance-

houses at each end of the world. At times, these supernatural
beings were malevolent and could kill men. However if
properly treated or placated, they were benevolent.
The person who played a Guksu in dance ceremonies was

often considered the medicine man and would also dress up
as a Guksu when called on to treat the sick. Sickness was seen
as something that Guksu came to take away and to carry back
to the south.
Guksu ceremony
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The ceremony called the Guksu ceremony lasted 6 days with

the above dancers appearing once a day. The 6 days included
of the ceremony called 'The Scarifying Ceremony' where
children ages 5 to 10 were initiated with physical and mental
tests administered by the dressed up dancers.
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Chapter Twenty
The Zuni People myths and beliefs
Zuni mythology is the oral history, cosmology, and religion of

the Zuni people. The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in New
Mexico. Their religion is integrated into their daily lives and
respects ancestors, nature, and animals. Because of a history
of religious persecution by non-native peoples, they are very
private about their religious beliefs. Roman Catholicism has to
some extent been integrated into traditional Zuni religion.
Cultural institutions that provide religious instruction and

cultural stability include their priests, clans, kivas (kachina
society), and healing societies. A ceremonial cycle brings the
community together. While some ceremonies are open to
non-Zuni peoples, others are private; for instance the Shalako
ceremony and feast has been closed to outsiders since 1990.
Kachinas
A list of Kachinas includes:
Achiyalatopa - A monster with celestial powers that throws

feathers of flint knives.
Ahayuta - Twin gods of war and were created by Awonawilona

to protect the first people from their enemies, using lightning.
The brothers are second only to Awonawilona himself.
Aihayuta - A second pair of twin-brother heroes who

complement the first set of twin-brother heroes, the Ahayuta.
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Amitolane - A rainbow spirit.
Awitelin Tsita and Apoyan Tachu - Sun Father and Earth

Mother and the parents of all life on Earth, from whom all
living creatures came. Formed when the green algae that
Awonawilona had made hardened and split.
Awonawilona - Creator of the world, becoming the sun and

making the 'mother-earth' and 'father-sky'. He made the
clouds and ocean,
Kokopelli - A fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked

flutist player (often with a huge phallus and feathers or
antenna-like protrusions on his head). Also associated as a rain
god. Also known as Ololowishkya.
Ma'l Oyattsik'i - The Salt Mother. Annual barefoot pilgrimages

have been made for centuries on the trail to her home, the
Zuni Salt Lake.
Uhepono - A hairy giant that lived in the underworld; it has

huge eyes and human limbs.
Yanauluha - A culture hero, who brought agriculture, medicine

and all the customs of the Zuni people.
Creation
Emergence
In a version of the Zuni creation story told to anthropologist

Ruth Benedict, people initially dwelt crowded tightly together
in total darkness in a place deep in the earth known as the
fourth world. The daylight world then had hills and streams
but no people to live there or to present prayer sticks to
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Awonawilona, the Sun and creator. Awonawilona took pity on

the people and his two sons were stirred to lead them to the
daylight world. The sons, who have human features, located
the opening to the fourth world in the southwest, but they
were forced to pass through the progressively dimming first,
second and third worlds before reaching the overcrowded and
blackened fourth world. The people, blinded by the darkness,
identified the two brothers as strangers by touch and called
them their bow priests. The people expressed their eagerness
to leave to the bow priests, and the priests of the north, west,
south and east who were also consulted agreed.
To prepare for the journey, four seeds were planted by

Awonawilona's sons, and four trees sprang from them: a pine,
a spruce, a silver spruce and an aspen. The trees quickly grew
to full size, and the bow priests broke branches from them and
passed them to the people. Then the bow priests made a
prayer stick from a branch of each tree. They plunged the first,
the prayer stick made of pine, into the ground and lightning
sounded as it quickly grew all the way to the third world. The
people were told that the time had come and to gather all
their belongings, and they climbed up it to a somewhat lighter
world but were still blinded. They asked if this is where they
were to live and the bow priests said, "Not yet". After staying
four days, they traveled to the second world in similar fashion:
the spruce prayer stick was planted in the earth and when it
grew tall enough the people climbed it to the next world above
them. And again, after four days they climbed the length of
silver spruce prayer stick to the first world, but here they could
see themselves for the first time because the sky glowed from
a dawn-like red light. They saw they were each covered with
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filth and a green slime. Their hands and feet were webbed and
they had horns and tails, but no mouths or anuses. But like
each previous emergence, they were told this was not to be
their final home.
On their fourth day in the first world, the bow priests planted
the last prayer stick, the one made of aspen. Thunder again
sounded, the prayer stick stretched through the hole to the
daylight world, and the people climbed one last time. When
they all had emerged, the bow priests pointed out the Sun,
Awonawilona, and urged the people to look upon him despite
his brightness. Unaccustomed to the intense light, the people
cried and sunflowers sprang from the earth where their tears
fell. After four days, the people traveled on, and the bow
priests decided they needed to learn to eat so they planted
corn fetishes in the fields and when these had multiplied and
grown, harvested it and gave the harvest to the men to bring
home to their wives. The bow priests were saddened to see
the people were smelling the corn but were unable to eat it
because they had no mouths. So when they were asleep, the
bow priests sharpened a knife with a red whetstone and cut
mouths in the people's faces. The next morning they were able
to eat, but by evening they were uncomfortable because they
could not defecate. That night when they were asleep the bow
priests sharpened their knife on a soot whetstone and cut
them all anuses. The next day the people felt better and tried
new ways to eat their corn, grinding it, pounding, and molding
it into porridge and corncakes. But they were unable to clean
the corn from their webbed hands, so that evening as they
slept the bow priests cut fingers and toes into their hands and
feet. The people were pleased when they realized their hands
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and feet worked better, and the bow priests decided to make
one last change. That night as they slept, the bow priests took
a small knife and removed the people's horns and tails. When
the people awoke, they were afraid of the change at first, but
they lost their fear when sun came out and grew pleased that
the bow priests were finally finished
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Chapter Twenty-One
Native American Religions
Europeans brought their Christian religion to the Americas.

Missionaries from different Christian sects established
missions and religious schools among Native peoples.
According to Jacob Neusner, Native American Christianity is
often "fundamentalist in theology, conservative in their
practice, and often revivalistic and evangelical."
Christianity was seen by government officials as a tool in

cultural assimilation; many Native American Christians
developed a syncretic combination of their traditional belief
systems and Christianity, as with Native American Church. For
example, St. David Pendleton Oakerhater (Cheyenne), who
was canonized as an Episcopal saint but was a Sun Dancer as
well. According to James Treat, Native American Christians
"have constructed and maintained their ... religious identities
with a variety of considerations in mind. ... Many native
Christians accomplish this identification without abandoning
or rejecting native religious traditions."
Longhouse Religion
This replica of an Iroquois longhouse represents where the

traditional practices of the Native religion took place.
The Longhouse Religion, founded in 1799 by Seneca

Handsome Lake, revitalized Native American religion among
the Iroquois. The doctrine of the Longhouse Religion, also
called the Handsome Lake Religion is the Gaiwiio, or "Good
Word." Gaiwiio combined elements of Christianity with long-
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standing Iroquois beliefs. The Longhouse Religion is still

practiced by the Iroquois today.
Waashat Religion
The Waashat Religion is also called the Washani Religion,

Longhouse Religion, Seven Drum Religion, Sunday Dance
Religion, Prophet Dance, and Dreamer Faith. The Wanapam
Indian Smohalla (c. 1815 - 1895) used wáashat rituals to build
the religion in the Pacific Northwest. Smohalla claimed that
visions came to him through dreams and that he had visited
the spirit world and had been sent back to teach his people.
The name waasaní spoke to what the religion was about; it
meant both dancing and worship. He led a return to the
original way of life before white influences and established
ceremonial music and dancing. Smohalla's speaking was called
Yuyunipitqana for “Shouting Mountain".
The Dreamer Faith, and its elements of dancing,

foreshadowed the later Ghost Dances of the plains peoples.
Unlike those, it was pacifistic rather than militant. It was a
back–to–our–heritage religion. Believers thought that white
people would disappear and nature would return to the way
it was before they came. To achieve this, the natives must do
the things required by the spirits, like a Weyekin. What the
spirits wanted was to throw off violent ways, cast off white
culture, and not buy, sell or disrespect the Earth. They must
also dance, the Prophet Dance (wáashat).
The religion combined elements of Christianity with native

beliefs, but it rejected white-American culture. This made it
difficult to assimilate or control the tribes by the United States.
The U.S. was trying to convert the tribes from nomads to
138
farmers, in the European-American tradition. They wanted to

remake the natives, but found a problem with those who
followed the Dreamer Cult: "Their model of a man is an
Indian...They aspire to be Indian and nothing else."
Prophets of the movement included Smohalla (of the

Wanapam people), Kotiakan (of the Yakama nation) and Homli
(of the Walla Walla). Their messages were carried along the
Columbia River to other communities. It is unclear exactly how
it started or when Christianity influenced the earlier form, but
it is thought to have something to do with the arrival of non-
Indians or an epidemic and a prophet with an apocalyptic
vision. The Waashat Dance involves seven drummers, a
salmon feast, use of eagle and swan feathers and a sacred
song sung every seventh day.
Indian Shaker Religion
Also known as Tschadam, the Indian Shaker Religion was

influenced by the Waashat Religion and was founded by John
Slocum, a Squaxin Island member. The name comes from the
shaking and twitching motions used by the participants to
brush off their sins. The religion combined Christianity with
traditional Indian teachings. This religion is still practiced
today in the Indian Shaker Church.
Drum Religion
The Drum Religion, also known as the "Big Drum," "Drum

Dance," or "Dream Dance," originated around 1890 among the
Santee Dakota (or Eastern Dakota). It spread through the
Western Great Lakes region to other Native American tribes
such as the Objiwe (Chippewa), Meskwaki (Fox), Kickapoo,
139
Menominee, Potawatomi, and Ho-chunk (Winnebago) and

others. It was a religious revitalization movement created to
encourage a sense of unity of Native peoples through rituals.
These rituals included the playing and keeping sacred drums
and the passing of sacred knowledge from tribe to tribe.
Earth Lodge Religion
The Earth Lodge Religion was founded in northern California

and southern Oregon tribes such as the Wintun. It spread to
tribes such as the Achomawi, Shasta, and Siletz, to name a
few. It was also known as the "Warm House Dance" among
the Pomo. It predicted occurrences similar to those predicted
by the Ghost Dance such as the return of ancestors or the
world's end. The Earth Lodge Religion impacted the later
religious practice, the Dream Dance, belonging to the Klamath
and the Modoc.
Ghost Dances
1891 Sioux Ghost Dance. Ghost Dances influenced many

native American religions.
The "Ghost Dance" is a very general term that encompasses

different religious revitalization movements in the Western
United States. In 1870, and Ghost Dance was founded by the
Paiute prophet Wodziwob, and in 1889-1890, a Ghost Dance
Religion was founded by Wovoka (Jack Wilson), who was also
a Northern Paiute. The earliest Ghost Dance heavily influenced
religions such as the Earth Lodge, Bole-Maru Religion, and the
Dream Dance. The "Ghost Dances" practiced were meant to
serve as a connection with "precontact ways of life and
honored the dead while predicting their resurrection.
140
In December 1888, Wovoka (Jack Wilson) of the Northern

Paiute (Numu), who was thought to be the son of the medicine
man Tavibo (Numu-tibo'o), fell sick with a fever during an
eclipse of the sun, which occurred on January 1, 1889. Upon
his recovery he made the claim that he had visited the spirit
world and the Supreme Being and made the prediction that
the world would soon end then be restored to a pure
aboriginal state in the presence of the messiah. All Native
Americans would inherit this world, including those who were
already dead, in order to live eternally without suffering. In
order to reach this reality, Wovoka stated that all Native
Americans should live honestly, and shun the ways of whites
(especially the consumption of alcohol). He called for
meditation, prayer, singing, and dancing as an alternative to
mourning the dead, for they would soon resurrect. Wovoka's
followers saw him as a form of the messiah and he became
known as the "Red Man's Christ."
His supposed father, Tavibo, had participated in the Ghost

Dance of 1870 and had a similar vision of the Great Spirit of
Earth removing all white men, and then of an earthquake
removing all human beings. Tavibo's vision concluded that
Native Americans would return to live in a restored
environment and that only believers in his revelations would
be resurrected.
This religion spread to many tribes on reservations in the

West, namely the Shoshone, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Sioux
(Dakota, Lakota, Nakota). In fact, some bands of Lakota and
Dakota were so desperate during wartime for hope that they
strengthened their militancy after making a pilgrimage to
Nevada in 1889-1890. They provided their own interpretation
141
of the Gospel to their people which emphasized the

elimination of white people. A Ghost Dance gathering in
December 1890 actually led to the massacre of Lakota and
Dakota, who believed their Ghost Dance shirts could stop
bullets, at Wounded Knee. The Caddo Nation still practices the
Ghost Dance today.
Bole-Maru Religion
The Bole-Maru Religion was a religious revitalization

movement of the Maidu, Pomo, Wintun, and other tribes of
north-central California in the 19th century. Bole is a Wintun
word (a Penutian language), maru is a Pomo word (a Hokan
language); both refer to the dreams of medicine people. They
both draw on traditional as well as Christian beliefs and ethical
guidelines, with revelations from dreams playing a central
role. Some of the dances of this religion were the Bole or Maru
dance, the Bole-Hesi Dance, and the Ball Dance. In these
dances, dancers wore large headdresses.
Dream Dance
The Dream Dance, a religious revitalization movement of the

Klamath and Modoc, evolved out of the Ghost Dance and
Earth Lodge Religion. It involved the power of dreams and
visions of the dead. Unlike the Klamath and Modoc religions
the Dream Dance did not predict an apocalypse and return of
the dead. The religion was only practiced a short time in
Oregon in the early 20th century. One of the founders was the
Modoc medicine people commonly known as Alissa Laham.
Feather Religion
142
The Feather Religion was a revitalization movement of the

Pacific Northwest. It drew on elements of both the earlier
Indian Shaker Religion and the Waashat Religion. The religion
was founded in 1904 by Jake Hunt a Klickitat medicine people.
It is also referred to as the Feather Dance or the Spinning
Religion. Sacred eagle feathers were used in ceremonies, one
of which involved ritual spinning, hence the name Waskliki for
"Spinning Religion."
Peyote's illegal status in the United States prevents many non-

Indians from participating in peyote ceremonies and
becoming members of specific tribal religions.
Peyote Religion
Native American Church
The Peyote Religion, also called the "Peyote Cult," "Peyote

Road," and the "Peyote Way," is a religious movement
involving the ritual use of the Lophophora williamsii plant
(peyote). Use of peyote for religious purposes is thought to
have originated within one of the following tribes: the Carrizo,
the Lipan Apache, the Mescalero Apache, the Tonkawa, the
Karankawa, and the Caddo, with the Carrizo and the Lipan
Apache being the two most likely sources. Since then, despite
several efforts to make peyotism illegal, ritual peyote use has
spread from the Mexico area to Oklahoma and other western
parts of the United States. Notable peyotists include Quannah
Parker, the founder of the Native American Church, and Big
Moon of the Kiowa tribe.
Ceremonies
143
Sun Dance
The Sun Dance (or Sundance) is a religious ceremony practiced

by a number of Native American and First Nations peoples,
primarily those of the Plains Nations. Each tribe has its own
distinct practices and ceremonial protocols. Many of the
ceremonies have features in common, such as specific dances
and songs passed down through many generations, the use of
traditional drums, the sacred pipe, tobacco offerings, praying,
fasting and, in some cases, the piercing of skin on the chest or
back for the men and arms for the women.
In Canada, the Plains Cree call this ceremony the Thirst Dance;
the Saulteaux (Plains Objibwa) call it the Rain Dance; and the
Blackfoot (Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani) call it the Medicine
Dance. It was also practiced by the Canadian Dakota and
Nakoda, and the Dene.
Religious leaders
Prophets in native religions include Popé, who led the Pueblo

revolt in 1675, Neolin, Tenskwatawa, Kenekuk, Smohalla, John
Slocum, Wovoka, Black Elk and many others.
Congressional legislation affecting Native American religion
144
American Indian Religious Freedom Act
The American Indian Religious Freedom Act is a United States

Federal Law and a joint resolution of Congress that provides
protection for tribal culture and traditional religious rights
such as access to sacred sites, freedom to worship through
traditional ceremony, and use and possession of sacred
objects for American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native
Hawaiians. It was passed on August 11, 1978.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act

(NAGPRA), Pub.L. 101-601, 104 Stat. 3048, is a United States
federal law passed on 16 November 1990 requiring federal
agencies and institutions that receive federal funding to return
Native American cultural items and human remains to their
respective peoples. Cultural items include funerary objects,
sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was a congressional

reaction to Supreme Court cases that limited the religious
freedom of individuals by placing an unnecessary burden on
their exercise of religion. The law provided for relief from
government burdens on religion with two exceptions. A
burden can be placed on the exercise of religion if a compelling
government interest is pursued in the least restrictive way
possible.
145
146
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A CONCISE STUDY OF THE

MYTHS, LEGENDS AND

The mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America

Chapter Ten .................................................................. 64

Native American Religions ......................................... 137

The Abenaki (Abnaki, Wabanaki, Waponahki) are a tribe of

The word Abenaki means “people of the dawn lands". The

("land") (compare Proto-Algonquian *wa·pan and *axkyi)—

The history of the Abenaki people is divided into three time

Beings of the Ancient Age

Atosis - a medeoulin who is a reptilian humanoid, forces

Azeban - "Raccoon", a raccoon or wolverine trickster spirit

Kee-wakw - a gigantic, forest-dwelling cannibal

Kisosen - "Sun-Bringer", the solar deity, an eagle whose wings

Kita-skog "Big Snake" or Pita-skog "Grand Snake" - a Horned

Mateguas (also Mat-gwas) - a rabbit spirit, first (one of magic)

Metee-kolen-ol - a race of evil wizards with hearts of ice

Nanom-keea-po-da - subterranean spirit who causes

Niben - "summer", a woman whose stunning beauty forces Pe-

Pamola - a bird and night spirit who takes prisoners to

Psônen "Snow-Bringer" - an eagle-spirit that makes snow by

Padôgiyik "Thunders" - seven white-skinned, golden-haired

Pebon "winter" - a powerful sorcerer who puts his audience to

Siguan "Spring" - a young male who loved the season of

Tabaldak "Owner" - the androgynous creator of existence

Wa-won-dee-a-megw "Snail" - a snail spirit that can live in

Wad-zoo-sen - the eagle that flaps his wings to create wind.

Wassan-mon-ganeehla-ak - a race of people who play games

Beings of the Golden Age

Oodzee-hozo (Odzihózo) also known as Gluskab/Gluskabe

Tool-ba - foolish turtle spirit, uncle of Gluskab

Pla-ween-noo - turtle spirit, mother of Gluskab, patron spirit

Agaskw (also Nokemis) - ("woodchuck", also known as

Moos-bas - mink spirit, adopted son on Gluskab, powerful

Mool-sem - one of Gluskab's dogs, the white one, could shrink

M-da-weelh-ak - a loon spirit in the form of a dog, Gluskab's

A-senee-ki-wakw - a race of stone giants, the first people

Gluskab and Malsumis [edit]

Tabaldak, the creator god, made humans and then Gluskab

Gluskab founded the Golden Age of the Earth by rendering the

Me-koom-wee-soo was Gluskab's assistant and wields an ivory

creating a pond, while Gluskab's arrow created a hole in the

Gluskab realized the strain hunters can cause on an

Beings of the Present Age

Alom-bag-winno-sis or Alom-begwi-no-sis - a mischievous,

Ask-wee-da-eed - a fire-elemental, identified as a will o' the

Awa-hon-do z- insect spirits that bite humans

Awes-kon-wa - a small, flying sprite, associated with the

Batsolowanagwes - a benign trickster

Bedig-wajo (western Abenaki) or Ktaden (eastern Abenaki) - a

Chibaiskweda - marsh gas, supposedly caused by the ghost of

Do-gakw-ho-wad - small men who prop the jaws of animals

Dzee-dzee-bon-da - a monster, so ugly that even he is terrified

Ko-gok - another monster

Lo-lol - a frightening monster

M-ska-gwe-demoos - a swamp-dwelling woman, dressed in

Maski-mon-gwe-zo-os - a toad creature, seduces men and

("land") (compare Proto-Algonquian wa·pan and axkyi)—