FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   >>  
sion of a spring, which he jealously guarded. Etseastin and Etseasun were jealous because they had no water and they needed some to produce nourishment. The old man finally obtained a little water from each of the gods and planted it, and from it he raised a spring such as the gods had. From this spring came corn and other vegetation. Etseastin and Etseasun sat on opposite sides of the spring facing each other, and sang and prayed and talked to somebody about themselves, and thus they originated worship. One day the old man saw some kind of fruit in the middle of the spring. He tried to reach it but he could not, and asked the spider woman (a member of his family) to get it for him. She spun a web across the water and by its use procured the fruit, which proved to be a large white shell, quite as large as a Tusayan basket. The following day Etseastin discovered another kind of fruit in the spring which the spider woman also brought him; this fruit was the turquoise. The third day still another kind of fruit was discovered by him and obtained by the spider woman; this was the abalone shell. The fourth day produced the black stone bead, which was also procured. After ascending into the upper world Etseastin visited the four corners to see what he could find. (They had brought a bit of everything from the lower world with them). From the east he brought eagle feathers; from the south feathers from the bluejay; in the west he found hawk feathers, and in the north speckled night bird (whippoorwill) feathers. Etseastin and Etseasun carried these to a spring, placing them toward the cardinal points. The eagle plumes were laid to the east and near by them white corn and white shell; the blue feathers were laid to the south with blue corn and turquoise; the hawk feathers were laid to the west with yellow corn and abalone shell; and to the north were laid the whippoorwill feathers with black beads and corn of all the several colors. The old man and woman sang and prayed as they had done at the spring in the lower world. They prayed to the east, and the white wolf was created; to the south, and the otter appeared; to the west, and the mountain lion came; and to the north, the beaver. Etseastin made these animals rulers over the several points from which they came. When the white of daylight met the yellow of sunset in mid-heavens they embraced, and white gave birth to the coyote; yellow to the yellow fox. Blue of the south and
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   >>  



Top keywords:

spring

 

feathers

 

Etseastin

 

yellow

 

prayed

 

brought

 

Etseasun

 

spider

 

whippoorwill

 

procured


points

 

abalone

 

obtained

 

discovered

 

turquoise

 

corners

 

speckled

 

bluejay

 
colors
 

daylight


rulers

 
animals
 

sunset

 

coyote

 

heavens

 

embraced

 

beaver

 

plumes

 

cardinal

 
carried

placing
 

appeared

 

mountain

 

created

 
talked
 
facing
 
opposite
 

middle

 
originated
 

worship


vegetation

 

jealous

 

guarded

 

jealously

 

needed

 

produce

 

raised

 

planted

 

nourishment

 

finally