22. The Origin of Corn and... | Sacred Texts Archive

Once there was a man who went around with a little turkey. The man lost all he had in gambling. His people brought together more things for him and again he gambled them all away. Then they agreed they would kill him if he lost again. They tied some things to his tipi poles for him. He came back and looked at them. "Now I will play the hoop and pole game again," he said. His turkey went around in front of him and said, "My father, why is it that you have such a poor mind? If you lose all this again, they are going to kill you."

He started away and came to the side of a river. A pretty tree was standing there. He commenced to chop it with a stone ax. At sunset, only a little part of it remained to be chopped. He went home and came again in the morning. The tree stood as it had when he first saw it. He commenced chopping at it again. At sunset there was only a little more to be chopped. He went home. He came back the next morning and commenced chopping. When only a little more remained to be chopped it was night and he went home. He came back the next day and the tree stood as if it had never been cut.

Right by the tree there was a cliff. TcactcîyaLkîdn, the talking god, stood there and spoke to him, "My friend," he said, "why are you always bothering my tree?" "I have use for this, my friend," the other replied, "that is why I bother it." "What will you do with it?" asked the

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god. am going down the river by means of it," he said. The god made motions four times and felled it. He cut off a length just long enough for a man to lie in. He put back the remainder of the tree on the stump and it came together again as if it had never been cut.

"My friend, get all the birds that peck trees to hollow it out for you." Then all the birds came together and pecked at the inside of it, going through the tree. The man tried to get inside but it was not yet big enough. The birds went through it four times again in each direction. The hole was now large enough to receive his body. Then he distributed the beads among the birds that had worked for him.

Then the god came again to help him. He used the foam on the water to smooth the log. Spider closed both ends of the log for him. "It's ready, my child," said the god. "There are four bad places in succession," he told him. Making motions four times the god put the log with the man inside of it into the water. It floated down stream with him. It came down to the place where the whirlpool is and the log began to spin around. It went on down stream from there with him until it came to the waterfall where it stuck. The god got it loose for him and it floated down to a place where the Pueblo Indians were pulling out driftwood. They pulled the log out but the god put it back. It went on down until it came where there was much driftwood floating. It floated down with him from there. When it landed he tried in vain to get out. After a while, he succeeded.

As he walked along beside the river he began to wish he had something to plant. He caught a lot of ducks, and pulled out their feathers which he used for a bed. He ate the birds but saved the sinew from their legs and used it for making arrows. When he had been there four days and the sun was setting he saw his turkey silhouetted against the sky. He came toward him. They walked together along the river. As they walked along he said he wished he had seeds to plant.

"My father," said the turkey, "clear a piece of ground." He cleared it. Then the turkey stood with his wings outstretched, facing in each direction. When he walked from the east, black corn lay in a row; he walked from the south, blue corn lay in a row; he walked from the west, yellow corn lay in a row; he walked from the north, and corn of different colors lay in a row. "Now plant this," he said.

He planted all the different kinds of corn. When it had been planted one day, it commenced to come up. After the second day, the corn had two leaves. On the third day, it was quite high. On the fourth day, it had brown tassels. The turkey went around gobbling.

The man lay down in the feathers and slept. On the other side, to the east, stood a rocky ridge. He saw a fire over there. In the morning he went

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where the fire had been but there was no fire nor any tracks. That evening there was a fire there again. He stood up a forked stick and placed himself sitting on his heels so that the fire appeared In a line with the fork of the stick. The next day, getting his bearings in this way, he went again to the place where he had seen the fire. There were no tracks there. He went home again. When the sun went down he sat in the same place and saw the fire again. The next morning he went where the fire had been. There were no tracks there. He went back home.

The corn and the tobacco were now ripe. He rolled a cigarette and tied it to his belt. The third day, at sunset, there was a fire there again. When he went to the place a girl was sitting where the stream flowed out from the mountains. She was rubbing a deerskin. The man stood by her but she could not see him. The cicada had loaned him its flute. He stood there and blew upon it. As the girl was working at the buckskin she pushed her hand down and turned her head to listen. She looked under the grass but could not find the cicada. She sat down again and began to rub the buckskin. The man blew again upon the flute. Again, she looked for it without finding it. He stood on this side of her and blew on the flute again. She got up and started toward her home. He followed behind her and then she saw him. Causing the solid rock to open she went in. He went in behind her but left his arrows lying by the door. When he got inside a very old woman who was sitting there jumped up and ran out. (She was afraid of her son-in-law).

Then the old man came home. He immediately took up his tobacco and filled his pipe. When he was ready he blew some smoke and said to the young man, "Will you smoke with me?" "No," he said. "Where do you come from, I have looked everywhere in this country. Where have people come into existence?" He took up another sack of tobacco and filled another pipe. He smoked and blew the smoke. "Do you want to smoke?" he asked. "No," replied the man. Then he took up another pipe and another sack of tobacco, filled the pipe again, and blew smoke. "Do you want to smoke?" he asked. "No," he answered.

Then the man began to smoke the cigarette he had tied to his belt. The old man smelled the smoke and said, "I wish it was my turn to smoke." He gave him the cigarette and the old man inhaled the smoke. His legs straightened cut. The voting man blew smoke against the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands. He commenced to get up. "That was something good," he was saving as he stood up. "I wish you would bring me much of it from the place where you got it." "That is all there is,," the young man said.

They placed a dish of food before him and he swallowed it at one mouthful.

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[paragraph continues] He took up his arrows and started home. Outside, only one footprint was to be seen. ¹ He came where his turkey was. Then they tracked him to the place where the corn was growing. When he came to the turkey, it was afraid of him. When it was evening he made two cigarettes and tied them to his clothes. He went again where the others were living. He gave the old man the cigarettes to smoke again and then went home the next morning. This time, there were two tracks outside. "I do not think, he is a human being," the old man said. The next evening he went there again. He carried with him a cigarette which he had made. When the old man had smoked it, he said, "That is good." He went into the tipi.

The turkey was going around a little way off, he was afraid of him. That evening the man went back again carrying four cigarettes. The old man smoked them, saying they were good. The next morning the woman went back with him. They both walked across the river on top of the water. They gathered much corn and tobacco. The woman started home. When she came to the river, she took off her moccasins and waded through. She brought the corn to her people. "It is good," he said, "to eat with deer meat." He gave his father-in-law the corn. The father-in-law, in return, gave him the deer which he possessed. ²

The old man's name was DînîdeyînîLt'anne, "Game he raised". The other man who came to him was named AtdiLdeyeseLdlî, "He floated down". Then the deer all ran out. The man and woman moved their camp away. The woman made a brush house but the deer came and ate off all the leaves. She made another brush shelter. The deer ate it again. The woman took up the fire poker and hitting the deer with it, said, "Deer will have a sense of smell." Then they went off a little way from her. The next day they went farther away where they could not be seen.

"Turkeys shall live in the mountains and people will live upon them," she said. Then the woman was hungry and she went to the east saving "What has become of my children, all having the same kind of horns?" Then she went to the south and shouted, "Where have you gone, you that have bodies alike? Come back here." Then she went west. "My children, where have you gone, you that have tails alike, come back here." Then she went to the north, "My children, where have you gone, you that have ears alike, come back here."

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From that direction, from the north, they came running back. They ran and surrounded her. From the west also they came and surrounded her. She killed a large number of them. "Now you may go and live in the mountains. People will live upon you. You shall have a sense of smell. People will live upon you." Then the corn was all that belonged to them.

Footnotes

214:1 Russell secured the first part of this myth in much the form given here, (a), p. 268. The Navajo myth as given by Matthews (Natinesthani, pp. 160-194), is full of details and ii accompanied by songs. It is evidently the myth of an important ceremony.

217:1 He traveled with the lightning was the explanation given of this.

217:2 It was explained that the young man was striving to get the advantage of the old man in the matter of smoking and of the young woman in resisting desire. On the fourth night the girl made the first advance. The young man having won these points, the old man placed the corn beside the meat and pronounced one as good as the other.