Earth-Mother and other Creation stories

Earth-Mother and Sun-Father

The earth is animate and the same as our mother; for, if there were no earth, there would be no people. The latter are her children, and the animals also. She looks after them all, and provides food for all. The rocks are her bones, and water her milk. A child cannot live without sucking its mother’s milk, and people cannot live without water. At first there were not many people on earth, and but few game-animals. Later, when people increased in numbers, more game animals were made to supply their wants. All game were born of a woman: therefore animals are the same as people; they are of the same blood, and are relatives.

The Sun-Man formerly lived on earth, but lives in the sky now. He is called “Sun-Father.” He is a good man, and tries to make the people happy. He gives sunshine and warmth. When the people see his face, they are glad. When he becomes sick or sorrowful, he hides his face, and then we have clouds and rain. The Sun was a handsome man when on earth. He had a good-looking face, so bright that people could barely look at it. He was always happy and good. [According to the “Story of the Sun” (see below), Sun, when on earth, was an evil man, and killed people. In Salish stories he is generally spoken of as a bad man who killed people]

Story of the Sun

Sun was a bad man formerly, and killed people; but Moon was good. When men hunted in a certain place towards the east, they never came back, and it was said “Sun killed them.” A man who was wise and powerful said, “I am going to hunt over there in the east, whence the people never come back.” He told his father, “If I do not return in five days, then look for me.” He travelled one whole day, and thought of camping, but nowhere could he see a favorable place. He kept on going until it was almost dark, when he saw a good camping-place. He knew that some one was camped there, for he saw a bright light or fire. When he came near, he noticed lynx-meat cooking, and saw a man sitting near the fire with his head covered. This was the Sun, who invited the traveller to sit on the same side of the fire with him. The man, however, took the opposite side of the fire. He took off his snowshoes and his moccasins, and hung them up to dry. He saw Sun’s moccasins hanging there, and exchanged them with his, hanging his own where Sun’s had been. Sun did not see him, because his face was covered. Sun went to bed, telling the man that if he was hungry, he should eat lynx-meat, and that before he went to bed he must put on the hollow log that was underneath the wood-pile. “Put half of it in the fire,” he said. The man did as directed. He then pretended to sleep, and watched. Sun got up, and, taking what he thought was the man’s moccasins, put them in the fire. Next morning the man got up early and put on his moccasins. Sun claimed that they were his; but the man proved that the moccasins he had on were his own, for Sun could not put them on. They did not fit his feet.

The man said, “Now I have found you out. Sun. You burn people’s moccasins so that they cannot leave. Now you have none, and you cannot leave.” Sun begged the man for moccasins, if he had a spare pair. The man said, “Yes, I will give you my spare pair of moccasins, if you will promise to go so far away that there will never be any danger of people coming near to you.” (Sun had told the man that sometimes people were killed and burned by coming too near to him.) Sun promised as the man asked, and the latter gave him his spare moccasins. Sun then left, and afterwards lived far away. No more did he burn people or come near them; but when people look at him now, sometimes they get sick. He is hard to look at. This is because he was formerly a bad man.

Story of the Dipper Stars

Once the Dipper called down to the people, saying, “My grandchildren, I will tell you something. Watch me, and as long as you see me going around, everything will be well with you, and you need not be afraid; but if I get lost, light will nevermore come to you, and all of you will die. It is nothing if the moon is lost, for it will not be for long; but if I am lost, I can nevermore come back.” For this reason the Indians watch the Dipper whenever there is an eclipse; and if they see him going as usual, they say, “Everything is well.”

The Milky Way

Many people were travelling towards the sky on snowshoes. They had nearly reached the sky. It is said that the people were on their way to the country of the dead in the sky. Some one transformed the people and their trail into stars, and this is now the Milky Way.

Sa’kesada, or the Moon-Boy

A man was hunting beaver. He had a large family of children. While one of his sons was out hunting, he cooked a large quantity of blood. The family ate it all, and left none for the boy, who was still out hunting. When he returned, he asked them why they had eaten all and left none for him, when he was hungry. He cried much. His father became angry because he would not stop crying, and was going to whip him to make him stop. The boy then seized the basket-kettle in which the blood had been cooked, and ran off.

That night all the people saw something strange appear on the face of the moon. Moon’s face had always been perfectly clear and bright, but now there appeared what seemed to be the figure of a man standing there and holding a kettle. Presently they heard the man say to the moon, “You are my father. He who lives down below is not my father: he ate all the blood, and left me none. Now I shall stay here for all time. I have plenty of blood in my kettle now.” He held up the kettle so that the people could see it. Then he called down to the people, “Call me Sa’kesada [”sits down on the moon”]. You see that I stand straight now, but with age I shall gradually bend over. When I bend very far over, the end is not very far away. When at last I am upside down, then everything on earth will dry up, and that will be the end of the world.”

The figure of Sa’kesada may be seen now on the face of the moon as a dark shadow. The old people say he was straighter within their memory. He has been bending gradually for very many generations. Now he is at right angles, and therefore half the time has expired for the end of the earth to come.

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