ussistinnako. At that time there were no
other insects, no birds, animals, or any other living creature.
The spider drew a line of meal from north to south and then crossed it
with another line running east and west. On each side of the first line,
north of the second, he placed two small parcels. They were precious but
no one knows what was in them except Spider. Then he sat down near the
parcels and began to sing. The music was low and sweet and the two
parcels accompanied him, by shaking like rattles. Then two women
appeared, one from each parcel.
In a short time people appeared and began walking around. Then animals,
birds, and insects appeared, and the spider continued to sing until his
creation was complete.
But there was no light, and as there were many people, they did not pass
about much for fear of treading upon each other. The two women first
created were the mothers of all. One was named Utset and she as the
mother of all Indians. The other was Now-utset, and she was the mother
of all other nations. While it was still dark, the spider divided the
people into clans, saying to some, "You are of the Corn clan, and you
are the first of all." To others he said, "You belong to the Coyote
clan." So he divided them into their clans, the clans of the Bear, the
Eagle, and other clans.
After Spider had nearly created the earth, Ha-arts, he thought it would
be well to have rain to water it, so he created the Cloud People, the
Lightning People, the Thunder People, and the Rainbow People, to work
for the people of Ha-arts, the earth. He divided this creation into six
parts, and each had its home in a spring in the heart of a great
mountain upon whose summit was a giant tree. One was in the spruce tree
on the Mountain of the North; another in the pine tree on the Mountain
of the West; another in the oak tree on the Mountain of the South; and
another in the aspen tree on the Mountain of the East; the fifth was on
the cedar tree on the Mountain of the Zenith; and the last in an oak on
the Mountain of the Nadir.
The spider divided the world into three parts: Ha-arts, the earth;
Tinia, the middle plain; and Hu-wa-ka, the upper plain. Then the spider
gave to these People of the Clouds and to the rainbow, Tinia, the middle
plain.
Now it was still dark, but the people of Ha-arts made houses for
themselves by digging in the rocks and the earth. They could not build
houses as they do now, because they could not see. In
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