Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apaches by Pliny Earle Goddard

Author:Pliny Earle Goddard [Goddard, Pliny Earle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Owlfoot Press
Published: 2016-09-22T00:00:00+00:00

THE PLACING OF THE EARTH.{42}

They did not put this large one (the earth) that lies here in place before my eyes.

The wind blew from four directions. When there was no way to make the earth lie still, Gopher, who lives under the earth, put his black ropes under the earth. Here his black rope lies under it; here his blue rope; here his yellow rope; and here his white rope.

Over here (east) they made a black whirlwind stand with black metal inside of it. Here (south) a blue whirlwind and blue metal were placed; here (west) a yellow whirlwind and yellow metal; and here (north) a white whirlwind and white metal. With these standing on all sides, the earth came to its proper place and was stable.

“Now that this is as it should be, what shall we do next?” said one of them. “To what purpose have we had such a hard time making this earth lie properly which otherwise would have been unstable?” Then he began to pat it with his hand. “Let a black cloud move about sprinkling,” he said.

“There will be life from this; the world will be alive from the dampness,” he said. “They did well by us, what shall we do? Now thank you,” they said.

The people had nothing. The one who was in charge (the Sun); that one only was walking around. “It will turn out well with him walking about,” they said. They looked well at the one they meant. “That one is the Sun,” they said. “We did it in the presence of that one walking about.”

Then Ests’unnadli said she would do something unseemly. Thinking she would do it where the Sun first shone in the morning, she seated herself there. She was doing this only that people might live. There were no people and she thought there should be many and she did it for that reason.

She became pregnant. She and the one walking around were the only ones who understood about generation. She gave birth to a child there where she sat. She went back to the child early each morning for four mornings and on the fourth, the child walked back with her. He was entirely dressed as he walked back with her.

“It is not good that there should be only this one,” she said. “It will be well for me to do an improper thing again.” She sat repeatedly where the water was dripping and became pregnant again. She gave birth a second time to a child. “I will do as I did before,” she said. She went to her child early each morning for four mornings. The fourth morning after he was born, the child returned with her. He was dressed in buckskin, shoes and all.

She had given birth to two children. The latter one she named Tobatc’istcini and the first one Biłnajnolłije.{43} They were the children of this one (the Sun).

A black water vessel by the door of the sun’s house was flecked with sunshine. He caused dark lightning to dart under it from four directions.

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