The Contest of Poker Boy's Wives

THE CONTEST OF POKER BOY'S WIVES ¹⁶

The people were living at Old Pueblo. Poker Boy always went hunting. He was an ugly, untidy boy, and his hair was bushy and singed. His wife was Yellow Woman. Old Ku'iatse saw him coming back home with a deer on his back. She began singing a song. She said, "He doesn't hear me." She sang it again, and danced the same song. 15a

Poker Boy, Poker Boy,
O-O-O! (Exclamation of fear.)
Poker Boy, Poker Boy,
O-O-O!
His hair is singed, but everybody loves him,
Again he is coming with a deer on his back.

Poker Boy's wife lived in the upper story over the old woman, and she heard the old woman singing. She said to herself, "Maybe he is coming." She went to meet him. She took his bow and arrows, and they went into the house together. They carried up the deer and brought it into the house. She began to make a feast for them all for the next morning. She got up early and made the food ready. Then she called all the people in the village to eat the feast that she had made. She said to Poker Boy, "Go and get that old woman who was dancing so that she may eat the eyes of the deer." So the old woman came to the feast. When they had had the feast they all came out of the house.

Yellow Woman's younger sister was Merinaku (Blue Woman). Blue Woman was jealous of her sister, and she wanted to take her husband away from her. She said, "We will have a contest for Poker Boy." An old woman came in and said to her, "Just wait a while, and I shall tell you something. I will take this boy to my house." So Poker Boy went with the old woman. The two girls

p. 50

stayed behind in Poker Boy's house. She told them to grind corn and to bring the finest meal that they could grind to her house where Poker Boy was. They did this, and she took the flour. She put a polished floor-rubbing stone against the wall. She said, "Throw your meal against this stone. ¹⁴ Whoever throws meal that sticks to the stone gets Poker Boy." Yellow Woman threw first. Her meal fell. Blue Woman threw next. Her meal fell. Yellow Woman threw again, and once more the flour would not stick. Blue Woman threw again, and her flour, too, would not stick. Four times they each threw the meal, and each time it fell. Neither of them could win Poker Boy. The old woman told them to parch white corn first, and then grind it fine. They took white corn, parched it and ground it. Again they brought it to the woman's house. She set the shiny floor-rubbing stone against the wall and told them each to throw her flour against it, and the one whose meal stuck should have Poker Boy for her husband. Yellow Woman threw first and her meal stuck. So she got her husband back again.

He went to hunt again. When he was coming home Ku'iatse was singing again. She sang--

Poker Boy, Poker Boy,
O-O-O!
Poker Boy, Poker Boy,
O-O-O!
His hair is singed but everybody loves him,
Again he is coming with a deer on his back.

He was carrying the deer on his back. He took it to his house.

Footnotes

49:16 Informant 2. The story of Corncob Boy, p. 60 (see note 1), was told of Poker Boy by Informant 1.

50:14 See p. 46.