The Sacred Serpent Challenge

Jealous over the deadly natawa, the rattlesnake challenges his brother by biting two young hunters, killing one. Grief-stricken, the bereaved chief is visited at his son’s grave by a horned serpent spirit who teaches him sacred rites and the construction of the long tent of life. Through divine instruction and ritual, the chief restores his tribe’s spiritual balance, ultimately receiving a newborn son in place of the lost youth.

Source:
Myths of the Bungees
or Swampy Indians of Lake Winnipeg
by S.C. Simms
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.19, No.75, pp. 334-340
October-December, 1906

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The story explains how the rattlesnake came to bear a warning rattle on its tail.

Divine Intervention: Spirits of earth, wind, and waters, and the great snake, guide and teach the chief.

Ritual and Initiation: The old chief is instructed in the mysterious rites of the long tent of life.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

The chief divinities of the Indians are two: Gitchi Manitou, the good spirit, and Matche Manitou, the evil spirit. It was Gitchi Manitou who revealed the mysterious secrets of the Metawin to man shortly after his creation, about the time that the first pair had grand-children born to them, and before death entered into the world.

At that time there lived two powerful snakes, the rattlesnake and the natawa, which had existed from the beginning of the world. They lived together in harmony for many years, but at length the rattlesnake grew jealous of the powerful and deadly natawa, which jealousy so increased that the rattlesnake finally challenged the natawa to see, by inflicting a bite on mankind, which of them possessed the most deadly poison. The natawa demurred at first to this proposal, being unwilling to disturb the peace and harmony that existed in the world, but from day to day the rattlesnake so taunted the natawa with cowardice, that at last the latter consented to accept the challenge.

At that period there lived two powerful chiefs near to each other, who were on terms of great intimacy. They had each a grown-up son, and the two young men often hunted in the forest together. During one of their excursions, the rattlesnake and the natawa waylaid them for the purpose of inflicting wounds on them to see which of their poisons was the most deadly. The young men, unconscious of danger, passed the thicket where the two snakes were in ambush, when suddenly the reptiles sprang upon them and bit them.

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The young man who was bitten by the natawa instantly dropped dead from the effect of the poison, but the other one was able to reach his father’s tent. Here a noted medicine-man applied a powerful antidote to the wound and the youth recovered in a few days.

After the deed was done the natawa, who was grieved and enraged at the rattlesnake by whose guile and temptation he had been instrumental in bringing death and sorrow to mankind, said: “Brother, you have been the cause of bringing death and misery to mankind by your envious and evil designs, therefore you shall never after this have the power to approach man without a warning. From this time you shall ever have a rattle in your tail to warn every one who approaches you of your presence, and the people of the earth shall pursue you to death.”

The old chief, whose son had died of the poisonous bite, brought the body home, and with his tribe performed the burial ceremony; and every day afterwards repaired to the grave of his beloved son and bitterly mourned his loss.

The friends of the old man endeavored to console him in his grief, but without effect; he would not even speak to them. One day, while visiting the grave, he saw an enormous snake, striped with various colors like a rainbow, arising out of the earth, who thus addressed him: “Old man of the plain, I command you to appear at this spot on the third day following this, and you must implicitly follow my directions and obey my commands. There shall appear to you a snake on this very same spot; he will be sent by the gods. You will elevate the serpent three times by the horns, and at each time you elevate him, you will repeat these words of adoration, ‘ Ne kan, ne kan, kan na ka, ka na, oh! oh! oh!’ Immediately after you have performed this, there shall appear a Manitou of your race, who will teach you the ceremony of the Metawin or tent of life, and reveal to you the mysterious rites which come from the happy hunting-ground, and from the centre of the earth, and from the depths of the waters. The spirits take pity on your sorrow and will help you if you obey them. Adieu, my son; you will point to the centre of the heavens, the centre of the earth, and to the four abodes of the spirits with your pipestem, whilst I glide down the perpendicular rock of our abode.” At that instant the snake disappeared downwards with a tremendous hissing sound, caused by the rapidity of his descent.

According to the instructions of the great snake, the old man repaired to the grave of his son on the third day, and after presenting his pipestem to the centre of the sky, the earth, and the four winds, made the offering of the dead, then sat down facing the body of his son, who was placed on the grave in a sitting posture with his face toward the east. While sitting there, the old chief heard a rumbling noise and an enormous serpent appeared before him having two horns, and two rows of large teeth within his jaws. The serpent twisted itself into a coil around the grave. The old chief arose from his seat and took the serpent by the horns and elevated it three times, and at each time repeating these words: “Ne kan, kan na ka, ka na.” At the third time the serpent changed its shape into that of a venerable old man having long white hair and holding a rod in his hand, together with the bag of life, made of the skin of the deadly natawa and containing the magic bead, who thus addressed the old chief: “I have come to comfort and console you for the death of your son. The spirits of the earth, wind, and waters have seen your sorrow, and I am sent to your race to show you the way of life, which you will teach to your children, and which shall continue to the end of time. Now, therefore, light your pipe, and with its stem point to the sky, the abode of the Great Spirit, who shall give you life; then point to the abode of the spirits of the centre of the earth, who will teach you the virtues of all herbs, then to the four winds, which will protect you and give you power and success.”

After the old chief had completed these ceremonies with his pipestem, he offered his visitor the pipe, but the old man raised his rod and touched the mouthpiece, when immediately was heard the tapping of a drum. After the mysterious sound had been repeated three times the old man said: “Ne kanis, ne kanis, kan nah, nah kan nah.” He then chanted the following:

I come from the East
Where the long tent does rest.
The Great Spirit does say –
Perform these rites always.

After chanting this song for some time the old man sat down near the old chief and taught him the ceremonies and rites of the long tent of life, which occupied some days. It is said by the Indians that the moon changed once during the time that the old chief was being told all the secrets of the tent of life.

After the old chief had been fully instructed, his preceptor said: “I will bless you with long life and you shall have more sons, but forget not my instructions. I leave you this bag of natawa skin with the magic bead and this rod. Beware, pollute not my tent of life. Adieu, my son, I go home, but I shall hear you when you chant the mysteries I have taught you.” Saying this, the white-haired spirit visitor vanished from the gaze of the old chief, who saw him no more.

After some months, when the mourning for his son was over, and after celebrating a feast with his tribe, the old chief commanded that all the males should purify themselves and assist in building the long tent of life. During the evenings he employed himself in teaching the males of his tribe to sing the mysteries imparted to him by his spiritual teacher; and after having succeeded in giving them sufficient knowledge in all the rites and ceremonies pertaining to the tent of life, he appointed the various officers of the tent, but reserved to himself the position of “Grand Master.” During this work, which took several years to accomplish, the old chief was gladdened by having a son born to him, the very image of the one who had died from the sting of the natawa.

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Origin of the Feast for the Dead

A cherished young woman becomes separated from her family during a hunting trip and encounters two mysterious figures who lead her to a shadowy realm. There, she experiences strange customs and eerie phenomena, ultimately discovering that she is among the spirits of the dead. This narrative explains the origin of the Feast for the Dead, a ritual honoring departed souls.

Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914

► Themes of the story

Journey to the Otherworld: The protagonist is taken to a mysterious and dark house, symbolizing a venture into a realm beyond the living.

Ritual and Initiation: The story delves into practices and ceremonies associated with the Feast for the Dead, highlighting the cultural significance of honoring ancestors and the deceased.

Ancestral Spirits: The tale emphasizes the connection between the living and the spirits of ancestors, showcasing the influence of forebears on cultural practices.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Koyukon Lore

Learn more about Koyukon people

The Feast for the Dead is also called Parka feast, or spirit feast

There was a family living on the Upper Yukon, — a man and his wife and several children. All the children were boys except the youngest, who was a girl. Now, because they had but the one sister, the young men thought a great deal of her, and did everything they could think of to please her. They saw that she had the finest parkas and boots that could be had, and, among other things, they made her a beautiful sled.

One spring they all started to the hunting-grounds for the annual hunt. Each of the party had his own sled; and as they went on. the girl fell behind, and her father and brothers got so far ahead that they were out of sight. She hurried on, trying to catch up with them, and occasionally looking up to see whether she was overtaking them.

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As she did this, she became aware of two men standing beside the path. Their forms were vague and shadowy, and she could hardly distinguish them. She was afraid, but they told her to come on; and since there was no other way for her to do, she went forward and tried to pass them; but when she came up to them, they seized her, and she lost consciousness, and knew nothing more until she was set down at the door of a house, and the two men were standing on either side of her. They told her to go into the house, and to go to their place at the back of the room. She went in; but the room was so dark that she could see nothing except that high up above her head there was a faint ray of light about as large as the eye of a needle. She stood looking at this place for a long time, until she heard the voice of an old woman, saying, “Why did they bring this woman here?” The young woman had not been aware that there was any one in the room, and she hung her head. Some one else said, “Do something to her!” Upon this, she heard the voice of the old woman coughing as she came toward her. She had a wand in her hand; and she led the young woman back to the door, and made passes around her with the wand. When she had done this, the place seemed suddenly to become light, and the girl saw that the room was so full of women that there was no place vacant except the one belonging to the two young men; and she ran to take refuge in that place, for she was ashamed to think that she had stood so long in the presence of all these people, gazing up at the ceiling. She staid where she was for a long time, until finally the two young men came in. They remained but a short time, and then said that they were going into the kashime. When the time came to make the fire for the evening meal, and they had started the fire, the young woman was hardly able to breathe, because of the stench in the room. [The story-teller said that it was like the odor of a stable, and that perhaps the cows came from that place; for the white people are the shades of the dead, and that is why they are coming so thick.]

The only way that she could keep from stifling was to pull her parka up over her face, and breathe underneath it.

She looked at the fire, and saw the sticks move together of their own accord as they were consumed, and she wondered at this, and jumped down and ran to the fire and poked it hard. When she did this, the fire leaped up, and some one screamed out, “You are burning me!” Some one else said, “These women from down the river have no shame about anything.” When she heard this, she looked, and saw that there was an old man sitting by the fire, with his parka pulled up, warming his back. He was the one who had been burned; and the reason that the sticks moved was, that there were a great many women, whom she could not see, getting brands from the fire. Their forms were so shadowy that she could hardly make them out. A voice asked why she did not let them get the fire, instead of beating it down. After the fire had gone down, and they had put the curtain on, they told her to go outside and look; and when she went out, she saw the largest city that she had ever seen. It was so large that she could not see from one end of it to the other. There were people walking about everywhere. She had never seen anything like it before. After a while she went in, and then those two men came out of the kashime; and when they entered the house, their mother sent them a bowl of fish, which they offered to share with her, but she could not even look at it without being nauseated, on account of the smell. So they ate without her that night, and every day afterward, because she could not touch the food that they offered her.

For a long time she went without food. Every day she walked outside; but the young women made fun of her, perhaps because they wanted the young men for themselves. She staid there for a long time, until she became thin, and so weak that she could hardly stand up or move. She could hardly breathe, either; and she kept her face in her parka nearly all the time, so as to get breath. When her life was nearly gone, she wanted water more than anything else. She thought that she was about to die. She lifted her face to take one look around, and there, beside her, she saw a bowl of water, clear and good: and beside it was a bowl of food such as she used to love, — mashed blueberries mixed with seal-oil, with the best kind of dried whitefish laid on top. She caught up the water and drank it all, and ate some of the food; and when the young men came in, she asked them if they would not eat with her. They would not look at the fresh food, however, but turned to their own filthy food and ate it. By this means her life was preserved until she was able to move around. At intervals for half a year or more she found food and water by her side. She did not know where they came from, but in reality they were her parents’ offerings made in her behalf, because they supposed her to be dead.

After a while the people with whom she was living told her that they were going to some place where she could not follow them. They said that they would come to a hill where they would have to leave her, for she could not go beyond it. The other women told her this in a jealous mood; the mother of the two young men, however, said that it was true that she would not be able to go over the hill with them, but she would tell her what to do. She was to make as many bags of clothing as she could, such as they used to make up the river, — moose-skin mittens and boots and coats, and such things, — and to keep them concealed from the two young men. So she made I know not how many bags of clothing, and at last the time came for the people to make their annual journey. The whole village started off; but this girl and the two young men and their mother were late in starting, and were left a little behind. They travelled on and on, all the people being ahead of them-, and finally they came to the foot of a range of hills, and to a precipice which barred their progress. The rest of the people had gone up this place without any difficulty whatever; but when the party in the rear came to the precipice, the girl’s feet stuck fast to the ground, and she could not move, no matter how hard she tried. So the two young men went on ahead, but the old woman staid behind with the girl. Finally the girl turned as if to go back, and then she found that her feet were loosed; so she could return if she cared to, but she could not go forward.

The old woman told her that the two men would come back four times in search of her, but that she would conceal her under the trail, and tramp it down so that they could not find her; and that after they had been back four times to find her, they would give it up; that she was then to take all the bags containing the things that she had made, and go down the river a long way, to a place where she would find a summer camp, with fish-nets and racks, and that she was to remain there until summer, catching fish. Then at the proper time, after the ice had gone, the means of getting down the river would be provided for her. She said that this was all that she could do for her. So she made a hole in the trail, and bade the young woman get into it; and she covered her with snow, and tramped it down, so that there was nothing to show that she was there. Before she concealed her, however, she had told her that if they came back and found her, they would kill her; and then it would be possible for her to go up the hill, as the rest had done, and that they would probably kill her also, for having hidden her. Then the old woman went away; and after she had gone, she heard the young men coming back in search of her. For four days they kept up the search, and after that the noise ceased; and she came out and went down the river, and found it all as the old woman had said. She remained in the fishing-camp until spring; and when the fishing began, she caught fish in abundance; but she could not use them, for they smelled like those that had been offered her before; but she caught as many as she could, and hung them up on the fish-racks until she had filled the racks with pike and whitefish, and all other kinds that are caught at that season. Then the break-up began; and one night, after the ice had stopped running, she went to bed, but was awakened by a great noise. She jumped up and ran out to see what had happened. A great log, the biggest that ever was, had grounded in front of the house. She ran in and got an axe, and made her way out on the log, which was covered with branches, and chopped out a hiding-place among the branches, weaving them in and out, so as to conceal herself more perfectly. Then she brought down the bags of clothing and stowed them away in her hiding place, and tried to push the log off, but it would not move. Then she remembered that she had not brought her work-bag down with the rest of the things, and she ran up to the house and got it; and when she stepped upon the log again, she found that she could easily push it out into the current. It floated out into the middle of the stream, and I know not how many weeks it went drifting down the river; but at length she came in sight of a village and heard the noise of dancing and singing. She kept herself out of sight; and as she drifted along, she heard some one say, “Why do they not go out to see what is on the log?” Finally two men started out to examine the log. When they came alongside, they were some distance below the village. She peeped out, and told them to say that they had found nothing, and she paid them for this service with some of the clothing that she had stowed away in the bags. So they went ashore and told nobody, while she kept on down the river; and so many villages did she pass, that her supply of clothing gave out. The summer passed.; and when fall came, she was still floating down the river. When it was nearly time for the ice to form, the log floated ashore on the right-hand side, going down. After that, she walked on down the river, on and on and on. I cannot tell you how many villages she passed. One day she saw some one coming upstream in an old, broken canoe. As he came nearer, she recognized her father. She called out to him, but he seemed not to hear her. She ran along the bank, calling at the top of her voice, but he paid no attention to her; so she gave it up, and turned back, down the river. It became cold, and the ice commenced running; but she kept on her way. Winter came, still she kept on; and when the snow became deep, she turned into a bird seldom seen in these parts, and flew down the river, still on her way home. When she came to a house, she would light on the edge of the smoke-hole and sing; and the people in the house would look up surprised, because they said that the bird named in her song the girl who had been lost the year before. She passed village after village, and at length the time came when the parka feasts are now celebrated. At last she came to her own village, and then she resumed her own form. She saw nobody outside the houses. Every one was either in the house or else in the kashime, and there was a sound of weeping everywhere. She went into her own house, and saw her mother sitting by the fire; but she paid no attention to her, even when she went to her and sat down in her lap and put her arms around her and kissed her. Yet the old woman stopped crying, and said, “What is it that makes my lap itch, and my waist and my cheeks?” The girl called again and again to her mother; but, even though she was sitting in her lap, she never heard her. Then the girl began to look around, and saw some fish eggs lying in the corner. She took them and rubbed them all over herself; and then her mother saw her, and screamed out and said that it was her own daughter, and did not know what to make of her. Then the daughter told her mother where she had been, and what she had done, and how she had seen her father making his way up the river in a broken canoe. Then her mother told her that her father had died in the fall, and that they had put half a canoe on the grave, and that it was this that he was using. Then she asked for her brothers; and her mother told her that they were all in the kashime, celebrating a parka feast on her account. Then the mother made ready to take her daughter into the kashime. She took with her a great beaver blanket; and when they came to the door of the kashime, she spread it out and covered the girl with it; and so she got her into the corner of the kashime without the knowledge of the rest that were there.

There she remained until they were just ready to give the feast, and then she danced out before them all. Every one was amazed, and no one knew what to do. Then she went to her place; and her brothers brought her all the parkas and boots that they had intended to give away, and asked her to tell where she had been and all that she had seen; and from that time, the parka feasts have been celebrated. Now, as for that log, it came from underground, or from wherever the dead people are, to this world, where we are.

The Creation (1)

An unnamed being from above creates the world, fashioning a porcupine, a white bear, a man, and a brown bear as the first beings. After completing creation, he ascends to heaven. The Raven remains on earth, altering the original design, introducing death, and establishing the path for departed souls. The narrative also touches upon afterlife beliefs and the origins of rituals honoring the deceased.

Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914

► Themes of the story

Creation: The story explains the origin of the world and its first creatures.

Underworld Journey: The tale describes the path souls take after death to their final destination.

Ritual and Initiation: The narrative explains the origin of rituals performed by the living to honor and support the deceased.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Koyukon Lore

Learn more about Koyukon people

There was some one above who made the world. They do not name him, but speak of him as being above. He was upon the world that he made, and did all the various works that men were to do. The natives say nothing of his resting upon the seventh day, as the Christians do.

The first of the creatures that he made was a porcupine, the next a white bear, the third was a man, and the fourth a brown bear.

After that, he made all other things, and then went up to heaven, and there he remains; and there is no heaven higher than the one where he is.

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But there was on the earth another man, the Raven, who remained, and changed many things; so that what was originally intended to be good became perverted. He made wooden images, and flung them in different directions, and told them to come to life and do whatever they pleased. Originally men did not die in the same way as they do now, but passed into the spirit state and back again. The Raven changed that by making a trail for the dead people to take, and since then they do not return. When the spirit enters upon this path, it has to camp for four nights before it reaches its destination. At the end of each day, it finds a camp-fire burning. This fire burns perpetually. The path leads to some place near the sources of the Yukon River. There is a story of a young man who went up the river as far as he could go, but was warned by the people there that he should go back; for they told him that if he kept on, he would come to a portage that the souls of the dead took, and that if he were to enter on that portage and hear any sounds, he would never be able to return. So he was afraid to continue, and went back. There is also another story of a young woman who was snatched up, and found herself among the dead; but she made her escape and returned to her own people. While she was among the dead, she was sustained by the offerings of her friends, who supposed her to be dead; and it is from that time that the feast for the dead began. At this feast, clothing and food are formally given to some one who represents the dead person, and it is supposed that this turns to the benefit of the one who is gone. In general, the happiness of those who are gone is affected by the conduct of those related to them, who are still living. If these are generous and kindly, the dead will be kindly received by those who have gone before.

As to the actions of those who are still on the earth influencing their own future existence, the souls of all, both bad and good, start on the same path, but the paths separate. Those who were unkind, and wantons, whether men or women, go to a kind of kashime, where they are tortured perpetually in the fire. Those who have hanged themselves go to a place where they remain suspended in the wind. The good go to a place where they have no more trouble.

Big-Man and the boy

Two brothers encounter Big-Man while hunting. Fearing he is a cannibal, they hide in a porcupine hole. The younger brother emerges and discovers Big-Man means no harm, but the elder remains hidden. Angered, Big-Man blocks the hole with a rock. Porcupine helps the elder brother escape. Big-Man and the younger brother then journey together, with Big-Man displaying immense strength and learning from the boy about eating beaver tails.

Source:
Tahltan Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.32, No.124, pp.198-250
April-June, 1917
Vol.34, No.133, pp.223-253
July-September, 1921
Vol.34, No.134, pp.335-356
October-December, 1921

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: Big-Man exhibits extraordinary characteristics, such as immense size and strength, and refers to large animals as “rabbits” and “caribou,” indicating a supernatural perspective.

Cunning and Deception: The boy’s initial brother refuses to leave the porcupine hole, suspecting Big-Man’s friendly demeanor to be deceptive, highlighting themes of mistrust and the potential for cunning.

Ritual and Initiation: The boy’s experiences, including his rapid maturation and the challenges he faces alongside Big-Man, can be interpreted as rites of passage or initiation into a new phase of life.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two brothers were out hunting, and came to a porcupine-hole. While they were trying to get the porcupine, Big-Man overtook them. He had been following their tracks. When they saw him, they were much afraid, and crawled into the porcupine-hole. Big-Man asked them to come out. He asked them many times; but they were afraid, for they thought he was a cannibal and would eat them. At last he told them that, if they did not come out, he would defecate in front of the hole, and then they would never be able to get out. The younger brother said to the other, “I shall go out. He may eat me. Then perhaps he will leave you, and will not defecate in front of the hole.” He went out; and Big-Man patted him, and told him he would not hurt him. The boy said to his brother, “Come out! This is a good man, and he will not harm us. He is not a cannibal.” The brother, however, refused.

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He said, “He is treating you well just to deceive us. When he gets me out, then he will eat us both.” Big-Man became angry and defecated in front of the hole, and his excrements turned into rock. The boy could not get out; but Porcupine made a new hole to get out in another place, and thus liberated the boy, who went back to the camp and told his people how his brother had been taken by a giant.

Big-Man carried the boy he had taken in a bag. He saw some caribou, and said, “See the rabbits!” He killed three of them and slipped the carcasses in his belt, carrying them much more easily than a man could carry rabbits. After a while he saw a moose, and said, “See the caribou!” He shot the moose, and carried it in the same way. At night he camped, started a fire, cooked the moose and three caribou, and fed the boy. He was very much amused at the small quantity of meat the boy ate, and laughed heartily. He said, “You are a light eater.” He finished all of the rest of the caribou and moose himself. Soon he said, “Let us go to sleep!” and he lay down on the ground, occupying the whole of a large open place. When he spread out his arms and legs, he knocked down all the trees in the way, just as a person might do with grass. He put the boy in his armpit to sleep; but the boy crawled out, and lay by the fire. The lad grew rapidly, and soon became a man. They came to a lake where there was a large beaver-house. Big-Man said, “See the beaver! Get a pole to open their house.” The boy cut a pole about four inches through, such as is used by Indians for breaking open beaver-houses. Big-Man laughed, and said, “That is no good, it is too small.” He got the boy to cut larger and larger ones, until he was hardly able to carry the last one. Big-Man said they were all too small, and that he would now help him. He pulled up a large tree by the roots, struck the top of the beaver-house with it, broke it down, and thus killed all the beavers. He picked out the carcasses and cooked them. He ate the meat, but threw the tails into the lake. The boy took one of the tails and ate it. Big-Man said, “Don’t eat that! It is poison, and will kill you. In my country we never eat beaver-tails. We are afraid of them.” The boy continued eating the tail, so Big-Man thought he would taste it. He said, “Oh, my! It is very sweet!” and he sent the boy to gather up all the tails that he had thrown away. He ate them all. Big-Man asked the boy how he knew that beavertails were such nice food; and he answered, “They always eat them in my country.”

He staid with Big-Man a year, and by that time was a full-grown man. Big-Man treated him well all the time. Now they came to the end of Lower Iskut Lake. The lad said he saw something dark moving near the other end of the lake. He thought it must be wind or a storm-cloud. Big-Man looked, and said, “A bad man lives there. He is a large fierce cannibal. His children are swinging there.” When they came near, they saw two large trees moving backwards and forwards. The hammock of the cannibal giant’s baby was attached to them. The baby was asleep, and the mother was there swinging it. Big-Man told the lad not to be afraid when they entered the camp. Big-Man asked the giantess where her husband was, and she answered that he was out hunting. The giant himself then killed the woman by means of his membrum, which was so long that it pierced her heart. They then killed the baby and departed, leaving both bodies where they were. Big-Man said to the lad, “Her husband will pursue us, but do not be afraid. If you run away, he will eat you.” Big-Man always carried a bag which contained four heads, — two of old and two of young beavers. These were his helpers. He said to the lad, “When the cannibal giant attacks me, and seems about to overcome me, I shall call on you. You will then bring the heads of the oldest two beavers and place them against his legs. If I call a second time, bring the heads of the young beavers.” Soon the cannibal arrived at the other end of the lake. He cried when he discovered the bodies of his wife and baby. He tracked Big-Man, who waited for him. When he reached them, he said to Big-Man, “You killed my wife and child.” Big-Man acknowledged it. Then they fought and wrestled almost all day. Towards evening Big-Man called out that he was getting weak. The lad took the heads of the oldest two beavers out of Big-Man’s medicine-bag, which was in his charge, and placed them one against each leg of the giant. They chewed the giant’s legs; but their teeth were dull, and they were too old to chew very fast. Before long Big-Man called again, and the lad set the heads of the young beavers at the giant’s legs. Their teeth were sharp, and they cut quickly. The beavers chewed through the giant’s legs; and he became helpless, and was about to fall. Big-Man held him up, and called to the lad to run to the top of the neighboring mountain. The lad ran up a considerable distance, and called, “Grandfather, am I far enough?” Big-Man answered, “No, go farther!” The lad climbed again. Thus several times he asked Big-Man, and then went higher, until at last he reached the top. Big-Man then lifted up the giant’s body and threw it into the lake, and the splash of the water almost reached the place where the boy was standing. The remains of his body may be seen there now as islands in the lake.

After this event Big-Man found the lad crying one day, and asked him the reason of his sadness. He said he wanted to see his parents. Big-Man said, “All right! You shall see them.” The lad thought he might lose his way if he attempted to return alone. Big-Man said, “No, you will not get lost.” He cut a stick, and peeled the bark off the lower end, leaving a little bark and the stumps of the limbs at the upper end. He said, “Plant this stick at your camp every night before you go to bed, and in the morning you will find it on the ground pointing in the direction you have to go. At night sing the word ‘Ta’tsestuhe!’ and game will appear, which you may kill and eat. Sing ‘Eku’kemaze!’ when you want fat, and it will be there for you to eat; but always leave a little, never eat it all.” The lad bade Big-Man good-by, and started on his journey. The first night he sang the game-song Big-Man had given him, and immediately a lynx appeared above him on a tree. He killed it and ate his fill. The second night he sang the fat-song, and a white thing appeared. This was fat. He ate what he required, and left a little. Thus he used the guiding-stick and the two songs as Big-Man had directed; and each morning he knew which way to go, and each night he had plenty to eat. At last he came to the crossing of two winter trails made by the people. He camped here, as he had been directed by Big-Man; and in the morning, by the direction in which the stick lay, he knew which trail to take. At last he reached the lodge of his people. He stuck up outside in the snow the stick Big-Man had given him, as he had been directed. In the morning it was gone. He kept the fat for a long time. He ate it whenever he wanted, but always left a morsel. In the morning the piece of fat was always as large as before. He kept it in a sack. Once when he was out hunting, his brother looked in the sack, and, seeing a little fat, ate it all. The fat expanded in his stomach, and he swelled out and burst.

Origin of laziness

A young man becomes inexplicably lazy, distressing his mother who relies on his hunting. She suggests that engaging in marital relations, as his father did, might restore his energy. Following her advice, he regains his vigor but later becomes lazy again due to overindulgence. The story suggests that young men are energetic, then lazy, and only achieve consistent energy levels upon reaching true adulthood.

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The young man’s shift from an energetic hunter to a state of laziness signifies a profound change in behavior and disposition.

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationship between the boy and his mother, highlighting her concern and intervention regarding his altered behavior.

Ritual and Initiation: The mother’s guidance involves a form of initiation, suggesting that certain rites or actions are necessary for the young man’s transition into adulthood and the restoration of his vitality.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A boy and his mother lived together. No other people lived near by. The boy grew to be a young man and a very energetic hunter. After a time he ceased to care for hunting, and all his energy seemed to have left him. He became very lazy, and would not hunt. This distressed his mother, for they depended much on game for food. At last she asked him why he had become so lazy. He answered. that he did not know, and that he just felt that way.

His mother said, “I know the reason. Nunc oportet te mecum id facere quod pater tuus fecerit et valens fies.” Turn cum matre sua coiit; [Now you must do with me what your father did and you will become strong.” Then he went with his mother.] and soon he became energetic, as before. He hunted hard at first; but, nimis se effundens, he became restless and lazy, as before.

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This is why people say that a lad at puberty, or when young, is at first very energetic. Later he becomes very lazy. Then, si uxorem ducit sine incipit cum feminis coire, [if he marries without beginning to have intercourse with women] he loses his laziness, and becomes energetic again. Si modice se effundit, bene est; sed si se invitat, ut solent plerique adulescentes, [If it pours out a little, it is well; but if he invites himself, as most young men do] he becomes lazy again, and inactive. Only later in life, or when really adult, does his true disposition appear. Then he becomes continuously energetic, lazy, or indifferent.

The man who entertained the bears

A man of the Raven clan, feeling desolate after losing his loved ones, sought solace by venturing into the forest, intending to let bears kill him. Instead, he invited them to a feast. The bears came, led by a wise chief who later revealed they shared his sorrow. This encounter inspired rituals of respect for grizzlies and traditions of reconciliation through feasts, even with adversaries.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The protagonist undergoes a profound emotional change, shifting from desolation and a desire for death to finding purpose and connection through his encounter with the bears.

Supernatural Beings: The bears, particularly the wise chief with white-tipped fur, are portrayed with anthropomorphic qualities, engaging in human-like rituals and communication, indicating their supernatural significance.

Ritual and Initiation: The man’s invitation to the bears and the subsequent feast symbolize a ritualistic practice, fostering reconciliation and respect between humans and grizzlies, reflecting cultural initiation into new traditions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

A man belonging to the Raven clan living in a very large town had lost all of his friends, and he felt sad to think that he was left alone. He began to consider how he could leave that place without undergoing hardships. First he thought of paddling away, but he said to himself, “If I paddle away to another village and the people there see that I am alone, they may think that I have run away from my own village, from having been accused of witchcraft or on account of some other disgraceful thing.” He did not feel like killing himself, so he thought that he would go off into the forest. While this man was traveling along in the woods the thought occurred to him to go to the bears and let the bears kill him. The village was at the mouth of a large salmon creek, so he went over to that early in the morning until he found a bear trail and lay down across the end of it.

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He thought that when the bears came out along this trail they would find and kill him. By and by, as he lay there, he heard the bushes breaking and saw a large number of grizzly bears coming along. The largest bear led, and the tips of his hairs were white. Then the man became frightened. He did not want to die a hard death and imagined himself being torn to pieces among the bears. So, when the leading bear came up to him, he said to it, “I have come to invite you to a feast.” At that the bear’s fur stood straight up, and the man thought that it was all over with him, but he spoke again saying, “I have come to invite you to a feast, but, if you are going to kill me, I am willing to die. I am alone. I have lost all of my property, my children, and my wife.”

As soon as he had said this, the leading bear turned about and whined to the bears that were following. Then he started back and the rest followed him. Afterward the man got up and walked toward his village very fast. He imagined that the biggest bear had told his people to go back because they were invited to a feast.

When he got home he began to clean up. The old sand around the fireplace he took away and replaced with clean sand. Then he went for a load of wood. When he told the other people in that village, however, they were all very much frightened, and said to him, “What made you do such a thing?” After that the man took off his shirt, and painted himself up, putting stripes of red across his upper arm muscles, a stripe over his heart, and another across the upper part of his chest.

Very early in the morning, after he had thus prepared, he stood outside of the door looking for them. Finally he saw them at the mouth of the creek, coming along with the same big bear in front. When the other village people saw them, however, they were so terrified that they shut themselves in their houses, but he stood still to receive them. Then he brought them into the house and gave them seats, placing the chief in the middle at the rear of the house and the rest around him. First he served them large trays of cranberries preserved in grease. The large bear seemed to say something to his companions, and as soon as he began to eat the rest started. They watched him and did whatever he did. The host followed that up with other kinds of food, and, after they were through, the large bear seemed to talk to him for a very long time. The man thought that he was delivering a speech, for he would look up at the smoke hole every now and then and act as though talking. When he finished he started out and the rest followed. As they went out each in turn licked the paint from their host’s arm and breast.

The day after all this happened the smallest bear came back, as it appeared to the man, in human form, and spoke to him in Tlingit. He had been a human being who was captured and adopted by the bears. This person asked the man if he understood their chief, and he said, “No.” “He was telling you,” the bear replied, “that he is in the same condition as you. He has lost all of his friends. He had heard of you before he saw you. He told you to think of him when you are mourning for your lost ones.”

When the man asked this person why he had not told him what was said the day before, he replied that he was not allowed to speak his native language while the chief was around. It was on account of this adventure that the old people, when they killed a grizzly bear, would paint a cross on its skin. Also, when they gave a feast, no matter if a person were their enemy, they would invite him and become friends just as this man did to the bears, which are yet great foes to man.

Raven (Part 10)

A chief’s grandson becomes a skilled hunter and is chosen by spirits, founding the Luqana’ secret societies. These societies, with rituals and performances, gained influence among Tlingit and neighboring cultures, intertwining with witchcraft narratives. A story of wizards learning magic from a supernatural mouse details the origins of witchcraft, later spreading through Haida and Tlingit traditions, blending spiritual practices with local beliefs and societal norms.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The protagonist undergoes a significant change, becoming a conduit for spiritual practices that lead to the establishment of secret societies.

Forbidden Knowledge: The acquisition of magical abilities from a supernatural mouse represents the pursuit of hidden or restricted truths.

Ritual and Initiation: The formation of the Luqana’ secret societies involves ceremonial rites that mark transitions and the adoption of new societal roles.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

By and by this chief’s daughter had a little boy who proved to be very smart and became a great hunter. He used to hunt far up on the mountains for mountain goats and other animals. One time he fell from the top of a mountain and lost consciousness, and, when he came to, he saw many men standing about him in a circle. They had cedar-bark rings around their heads and necks. Then they said to him, “What kind of spirit do you want, the Raven Spirit or the Wolf Spirit?” and he said “The Wolf Spirit.” So they held white rocks over his head, and he became unconscious. That is how he got the spirit. Then he ran around screaming, naked except for an apron, while all of the Cliff Spirits and all of the Forest Spirits sang and pounded on sticks for him. They also tied up his hair like a wolf’s ears. This is the origin of the Luqana’, or secret societies, and the one this man first started is said to have been the Dog-eaters’ society.

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He sang a song, too, only employed nowadays by a high-caste person when he is initiated. It is called Cina’xlk, and goes this way, “I am above the world. I walk in high places. There is nobody else after me. I am alone.” Those who became luqana’s after this were not like him, because he said, “I am alone. There is nobody after me.” They only imitate him.

There are many kinds of luqana’s. Some are dog-eaters and some pretend to eat the arms of people. It is previously arranged between the luqana’ and his father what he is to do and whom he is to injure, and, after the spirit has come out, the father has to pay a great deal of money for damages. The luqana’s are always found at feasts, and high-caste people stand around them. The people who learned from this boy first are those in the direction of Victoria, and there they think that a person who has performed many times is very high. It is only very lately that we Alaskans have had luqana’s. Luqana’ is a Tsimshian word meaning yek. [Actually it is from the Kwakiutl word Lu’koala. Katishan calls it Tsimshian because the Tlingit received their secret societies through them.] When they perform up here, the southern Tlingit dance Tsimshian dances and the northern Tlingit Athapascan dances.

After this youth had come back to his people from the woods and had shown them all about the luqana’, he went to the Queen Charlotte islands and came to the greatest chief there. Then the people at that place said to him, “It is terrible the way things have been going on. We have wizards (nuksa’ti), who kill men in a sly way. There is one very high-caste person here who has taught himself to be a wizard. And they told him this man’s story.

He and his friend were very dissolute young men who wanted very much to be wizards, and the former begged his slave to tell him what to do. “If you want to become one very much,” said he, “go down there and sleep among the driftwood left by the tide. Then you will see what it is.” They did this, and a very nice looking woman came to them and taught them witchcraft. This was the mouse (kutsi’n). They thought that it was a fine thing. After a while the woman again appeared to them in a dream and said, “Would you like to be among the geese and brants?” They answered “Yes,” one saying, “I will be a goose;” the other, “I will be a brant.” At once they flew off in those forms. They thought that it was a fine thing to be wizards, and would spend all their nights going about that way, never coming in till morning. For that reason the town people began to suspect that something was wrong with them. Nowadays a person among the natives who sleeps much is said to be of no account, for it was through sleep that witchcraft started. They also say that a wizard has no respect for anything and never speaks to his neighbors.

Finally a certain man began to drink salt water and fast in order to discover the wizards. He also made a medicine. Then he dreamt about them, and went to them, telling them everything he knows. The two young men replied, “Don’t tell about us. If you keep it to yourself we will pay you ten slaves. We will let you win ten slaves from us in gambling.” And they did so.

This is the story that the luqana’ man told to his friends when he came home, and wherever he told it there began to be wizards. Therefore witchcraft came to Alaska through the sons of Aya’yi and through the Haida. They also learned from the Haida that witchcraft may be imparted by means of berries. When women are gathering these, they do not pick up the ones that are dropped accidentally, no matter how many they may be, because that is what witches do.

The shamans say it is this way: A man claims that he sees a large creek. It is witchcraft. A smaller creek flows into this. It is the lying creek. Another creek comes into it. It is the stealing creek. Still another creek comes into it. It is the profligates’ creek. All these are in witchcraft.

How Protestant Christianity was first heard of at Sitka

A man returned to Sitka after two months, claiming God had descended to aid them. Following his instructions, women adorned themselves with beadwork and danced, falling backward during rituals. Saltwater was used to revive them, believed to ward off smallpox. This practice continued for an entire year, blending faith, community, and healing traditions into a prolonged ceremonial response.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The man’s claim that a deity has descended to help the people signifies the influence of divine forces in human affairs.

Ritual and Initiation: The introduction of new dances and the use of saltwater as protective measures highlight the role of ceremonial rites in marking transitions and seeking protection.

Transformation: The community’s adoption of new spiritual practices represents a shift in cultural and religious identity, indicating a significant change in their belief system.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Sitka, Alaska
January-April 1904

[It is possible, however, that this was the result of Jesuit teaching on the upper Skeena.]

A man went south from Sitka and returned after two months. When he came ashore he called all the people to a dance and told them that God (Deki’-anqa’wo, Distant-chief) had come down from heaven to help them.

Then all the women made beadwork for their hair and ears. One evening, when they were through with that, they again began dancing. While the women danced they would fall flat on their backs. When this happened, in accordance with directions the man had received below, they brought up salt water, wet part of each woman’s blanket and flapped it against her breast to make her come to. This prevented the smallpox from having any effect upon her. They kept on dancing a whole year.

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Origin of the Yu-gi-yhik’ or I-ti-ka-tah’ Festival

In ancient times near Paimut, two shamanic friends lived in a large Eskimo village. One secretly used his grandchild’s mummified body as a powerful amulet, sparking mystical encounters. One shaman dreamed of a celestial village where spirits controlled earthly abundance. After this vision, they established an annual February festival to honor these spirits, ensuring plentiful game and food through rituals, songs, and offerings inspired by the dream.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Creation: How traditions or significant events began, reflecting the festival’s origins.

Sacred Spaces: The festival’s setting as a place of spiritual importance tied to celestial spirits.

Ritual and Initiation: The structured ceremonies that mark community involvement and transformation through the festival.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Ikogmut, on the Lower Yukon

At the foot of the mountains below Paimut, near where a small summer village now stands, there was in ancient days a very large village of Eskimo, which was so large that the houses extended from the river bank some distance up the hillside.

In this village lived two young men who were relatives and were also noted shamans and fast friends. For a long time they remained unmarried, but at last one of them took a wife, and in the course of time had a daughter who grew to womanhood, was married, and to her was born a son. As soon as this child was born its grandfather killed it and carried the body out into the spruce forest and hung it to a tree, where it remained until it was dried or mummified.

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Then the old man took it down, placed it in a small bag, which he hung about his neck by a cord, and wore it secretly under his clothing as an amulet, thus having the services of its inua to assist him in his ceremonies. His wife and daughter, however, knew what he had done with the child.

The unmarried shaman never took a wife, and after his friend began to wear the child about his neck, he frequently saw among the shades that came to do his bidding that of a small, new-born child. What it was or why it came he could not understand, as it did not come at his bidding. This was observed very often, and still he did not know that his friend had the body.

When one of these men was practicing his rites and found it difficult to obtain help from the shades, his friend would assist him to accomplish his object. One fine, warm day the unmarried shaman went up on the hillside back of the village and sat down. As night came on he fell asleep, and as he slept he saw the air filled with falling stars, and then that the sky was sinking toward him until finally it rested upon the hilltop so close that he had barely enough room to move about below it. Looking around, he saw that every star was in reality a round hole in the sky through which the light from above was shining, liaising himself up, he put his head through the nearest star hole and saw another sky with many stars shining above the first one. As he looked, this sky sank slowly down until he could put his head through one of the star holes in it, and above this were shining the stars in still another sky. This, too, sank slowly down, and standing up he found himself breast high above the third sky, and close by was a kashim surrounded by a village like the one in which he lived.

From familiar signs he saw that the men had just taken a sweat bath. A woman was at work covering the air hole in the roof of the kashim with the gut-skin covering, while other women were carrying in food. After looking about for a short time he decided to go into the kashim and see the people. Then raising himself through the star holes he walked to the kashim and entered it through the under ground passageway. When he reached the inside he found the room full of people sitting around on the floor and benches. He started to cross the room to take a seat in the place of honor opposite the door, but a man sitting over the main entrance called to him to sit beside him, which he did.

The women were still bringing in food, and the man who had spoken first to the shaman, said, in a low voice, “If you are offered food do not eat it, for you will see that it is not fit to eat.” The shaman then looked about the room and saw lying at the side of each man a small wooden image, all of which represented different kinds of mammals, birds, and fishes. Over the lamps beside the entrance door were two slender sticks of wood more than a fathom in length, joined at the lower end and spread apart above like two outspread arms, along the sides of which were fastened swan quills, and the upper end of each stick bore a tuft of wolf hair. These sticks were designed to represent the outspread wings of the Raven father who made the world. Over the entrance to the room hung another pair of these sticks similarly ornamented.

From the roof hung two great hoops extending entirely around the room, one of which was a little below the other, and both were about midway between the roof and the floor. Extending from the roof hole down to the upper hoop were many slender rods, the lower ends of which were fastened to the hoop at regular intervals. Fastened to the hoops and rods in many places were tufts of feathers and down. These hoops and rods represented the heavens arching over the earth, and the tufts of feathers were the stars mingled with snowflakes. The cord suspending the rings passed through a loop fastened to the roof, and the end passed down and was held by a man sitting near the lamp. This man raised and lowered the rings slowly by drawing in and letting out the cord in time to the beating of a drum by another man sitting on the opposite side of the lamp. [This movement of the rings was symbolical of the apparent approach and retreat of the heavens according to the condition of the atmosphere.]

The shaman had just time to notice this much when he saw a woman come in with a dish of food which seemed like freshly-boiled meat. Looking about, she asked, “Where is the guest?” to which he replied, “Here I am,” and she handed him the dish. As soon as the steam cleared away a little the shaman saw lying in the dish a new-born boy who was wriggling about. The shaman was so startled by the sight that he did not know what to do and let the dish turn toward the floor so that the child slipped out and fell. At this moment the shaman felt himself driven head foremost from his seat down through the exit hole in the floor. Starting up, he looked about and found himself reclining upon the mountain top near his village, and day was just breaking in the east, Itising, he hastened down to the village and told his friend, the other shaman, what had occurred to him, and the latter advised that they should unite in working their strongest charms to learn the meaning of this vision. Then they called the shaman’s wife and went with her into the kashim where they worked their spells, and it was revealed to them that during the February moon in each year the people of the earth should hold a great festival. They were directed to decorate the kashim just as the shaman had seen it in the sky house, and by the two shamans the people were taught all the necessary observances and ceremonies, during which food and drink offerings were made to the inuas of the sky house and songs were sung in their honor. If these instructions were properly followed, game and food would be plentiful on the earth, for the people in the sky house were the shades or inuas controlling all kinds of birds and fish and other game animals off the earth, and from the small images of the various kinds which the shaman had seen lying beside the sky people was the supply of each kind replenished on earth. When the sky people or shades were satisfied by the offerings and ceremonies of the earth people, they would cause an image of the kind of animal that was needed to grow to the proper size, endow it with life and send it down to the earth, where it caused its kind to become again very numerous.

This festival is observed by the Eskimo of the Lower Yukon from about Ikogmut (Mission) up to the limit of their range on the river. Beyond that the festival is observed by the Tinne at least as far as Anvik, they having borrowed it from the Eskimo. The festival is characterized by the placing of a wooden doll or image of a human being in the kashim and making it the center of various ceremonies, after which it is wrapped in birch-bark and hung in a tree in some retired spot until the following year. During the year the shamans sometimes pretend to consult this image to ascertain what success will attend the season’s hunting or fishing. If the year is to be a good one for deer hunting, the shamans pretend to find a deer hair within the wrappings of the image. In case they wish to predict success in fishing, they claim to find fish scales in the same place. At times small offerings of food in the shape of fragments of deer fat or of dried fish are placed within the wrappings. The place where the image is concealed is not generally known by the people of the village, but is a secret to all except the shamans and, perhaps, some of the oldest men who take prominent parts in the festival. An old headman among the Mission Eskimo informed me that the legend and festival originated among the people of a place that has long been deserted, near the present village of Paimut, and that thence it was introduced both up and down the Yukon and across the tundra to the people living on lower Koskokwim river. The names of this festival are derived, first, Yu-gi-yhik from yu-guk, a doll or manikin, and I-ti-ka-tah from i-tukhtok, “he comes in,” thus meaning the doll festival or the coming in festival, the latter referring to the bringing in of the doll from the tree where it is kept during the year.

The Wind God

A farmer struggled to burn his milpa until he offered copal incense. Once the fire was set, a massive man in a large hat appeared, descending from the hills. Entering the flames, he spread the fire across the milpa with his arms. This figure was the wind god, embodying the elemental force that completed the ritual.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The appearance of the wind god directly influences the farmer’s efforts.

Conflict with Nature: The farmer’s initial struggle to burn his milpa represents a challenge against natural elements.

Ritual and Initiation: The act of offering incense signifies a ceremonial rite to gain divine favor.

► From the same Region or People

Central America
- Maya Lore

Learn more about Maya people

A man one day set fire to his milpa, but it would not burn, because he had not burnt any copal incense (pom). He obtained some and offered it in the milpa. He then set fire to the dry brush.

Presently he saw a huge thick-set man in a large hat descending from the hill behind the milpa. He walked into the midst of the flames, and catching up the fire in his arms, he threw it here and there so that all the milpa was soon burnt.

He was the wind god.

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