80. THE THREE MAIDENS AND THE COYOTE. 1

The Traditions of the Hopi, by H.R. Voth, [1905], at sacred-texts.com

Halíksai! In Oraíbi the people were living. Over there at Howákapchomo somebody, some maidens had a crop. They had a father and a mother; three maidens there were. They were living at Pik'átsva. ² From there they went to watch their crop; and now at

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Íshmovala lived the Coyote. He had eaten watermelons, but he was longing for those maidens. Them he wanted. The Coyote had a grandmother and to her he said: "My grandmother!" "Ha!" she said. "Shall I not start south for those maidens?" "O my!" she said, "they certainly will not want you, but if you want to go to them, you go to the village and there somewhere you enter through a window opening, and if there is a bow hanging anywhere, take it; also if there is an arrow quiver, take that, too; also red yarn, and if you find some blue yarn take that, too; also if you find some leggings, take them; and then a blue shirt; and if you go somewhere in the rear of the village and find some red stone ochre, take it. That much you come and bring." Thus she said to him.

Now the Coyote started for the village and arrived there, and sure enough, he found a broken bow somewhere and took it. Also an arrow quiver he found, which he also took; and a shirt, and leggings; some blue yarn, and stone ochre. That much he brought along. Now he went to his grandmother. The grandmother dressed him up in it. He put on the shirt and the leggings, had his hair tied up, put the quiver with arrows behind his loin string. Now the ochre he put on his face like the Hohâ' Katcina, and thus he went to the maidens. But the father of the maidens had put up a stone trap east of the Coyote's house, and now the Coyote went to the maidens, but he arrived at that trap, and there at the balance some rabbit meat was tied. When he arrived there he pressed towards it (the meat), but he was fooled. He went into the trap and took hold of the meat with his teeth and pulled at it, and of course, the trap shut and thus he died there.

When it was evening those maidens going home went to the trap of their father and arrived there, and there that (Coyote) was caught and they laughed at him when they saw that some one with an arrow quiver was sticking out there. When they had seen him they went home and when they arrived there they slept during the night, but in the evening they said to their father: "Our father," one said "Hay!" he said. "In your trap there something has been caught." "Very well," he said, "to-morrow I shall also go there." When it had become morning the father went there and arrived at his trap, and sure enough he (Coyote) was caught. He pulled him out and carried him to his field. When he arrived there he skinned him and hung up his skin as a watching flag. And after that it was hanging there as a flag.

Footnotes

213:1 Told by Qöyáwaima (Oraíbi).

213:2 A place in the north-west corner of the village.