Aw-Aw-Tam Indian Nights Part 14

I confess that I am not very confident of my rendering of those of the opening sentences of Ee-ee-toy's speech between "And he had made an earth" and the statement "And they shot him," etc. My Indians seemed to get hopelessly tangled over archaic words and other impediments here and not at all sure of what they told me. The rest I think is correct.

Here we came to the mystic colors of the four quarters, North, South, East and West and of the zenith, the Above, which the Pimas reckoned evidently as a cardinal point. If their mystic power was derived from the cardinal points, might not their inclusion of the zenith make five also sometimes a mystic number? I think that it perhaps was.

Brinton says that among the Mayas of Yucatan, East is Red, West is Black, North is White and South is Yellow.

The Speaker: It was customary in the villages of the Awawtam for some individual, perhaps a chief, or a mahkai, or some representative of these, to mount on a kee, or other high place, and in a loud voice shout news, orders, advice, or other important matters to the people. This was the Speaker, a sort of town crier.

To step on the rus.h.i.+ng young maid who gathered the cactus fruit was a blow at the enemy's subsistence.

It seems to have been a custom among the mahkais to have pet animals to a.s.sist them in their magic.

A circle of bushes, stood up in the earth, forming a screen for shelter or privacy, was called an onum. One or more may be found near almost any Pima hut.

To work witchcraft on a foe, so that he be left weaponless and helpless, and off his guard against attack, seems to have been the favorite dream of whoso went to war. Treachery was idolized. There was no notion of a fair fight.

Stories of mythical beings who, tho repeatedly killed, persist in coming to life again, are common among many Indian tribes.

STORIES OF THE THIRD NIGHT

THE STORY OF EE-EE-TOY'S ARMY

And after Ee-ee-toy was thru speaking Juhwerta Mahkai addressed him, and promised him his help, and that he would lead out to earth again his people, who had sunk down before the flood, that these might fight against the people whom Ee-ee-toy had made and who now had turned against him.

So when his people heard this they gathered together all their property that they could carry, to take to earth with them.

And Juhwerta Mahkai said to Ee-ee-toy: "You go ahead of the people and I will follow."

And they went out in bands.

The first band was called the Mah-mahk-Gum. These were led by Ee-ee-toy, and their color was red.

The second band was called Ah-pah-pah Gum. And their colors were white and yellow.

The third band was called Vah-vah Gum. And their color was red.

The fourth band was called Ah-pah-kee Gum. And their colors were white and yellow.

The fifth band was called Aw-glee Gum. And their color was red.

And the sixth band was called Ah-pel-ee Gum. And their colors were white and yellow.

And these bands were so called because it was by these names they called their fathers.

As they were going to start they sent the Yellow Gopher ahead to open a way for them to this earth.

And the gyih-haws were loaded with their belongings, and stood up beside the ranks. And the bands went thru, one by one.

And when the fifth band was partly thru Toe-hahvs looked back and saw the gyih-haws walking beside the ranks, and he was amused and said: "I don't think there will be enemies enuf for us to kill, we are so many, and there are these other things, beside us, that look so funny." And he began to laugh.

And as soon as he laughed the gyih-haws stopped walking, and ever since they have never walked, and the women have been obliged to carry them.

And after these words, too, the earth closed up, so that the sixth band and part of the fifth band were left behind. And Juhwerta Mahkai was left behind, also, and only Ee-ee-toy and Toe-hahvs, and some other powerful men, went thru to lead the people.

And after they had come out a little way they came to a place called the White Earth. And Ee-ee-toy stopped then and the others camped with him.

And there the powerful men all sang, and the people joined in, and all dressed themselves in their war-bonnets, and attired themselves for war, and had a great war dance together.

And they went on again, another journey, and camped at the place called Black Mountain, and again sang and danced a war dance.

So they went on, slowly, camping at one place, sometimes, for many days or several weeks, making their living by hunting game.

And whenever they stopped they sent scouts and spies ahead to look out for the next stopping-place, so that they might go ahead safely. And this went on for many years.

And there were no deer in those days, and Ee-ee-toy said to the wood-rat: "Let me make a deer of you." And the wood-rat said: "Moevah Sophwah" (all right). But when Ee-ee-toy took out his knife and began to cut at his skin to change him into a deer, he cried out so hard that Ee-ee-toy let him go. And you may see the knife mark on his chest and neck to this day.

And Ee-ee-toy asked another rat, the little one with coa.r.s.e hair, called Geo-wauk-kuh-wah-paw-k.u.m, if he might make him into a deer, and the little rat said "Moevah Sophwah!" And this little rat was brave, and let Ee-ee-toy cut and change him, and he became a deer. And Ee-ee-toy said: "You shall not be like some animals, that love to roam all over, you shall love only one spot and wish to stay there." And that is why, to this day, the deer do not care to leave their own places and wander as coyotes do.

So there were now plenty of deer, and the people had something new to live upon.

And there were two brothers who were especially good at hunting the deer. Their names were Hay-mohl and Soo-a-dack Cee-a-vawt. And they hunted as the people marched, and kept them well supplied with deer-meat.

And there was a doctor among them who took the ears and tail of the deer and worked such witchcraft on them that the deer could hide away so well that the hunters could not see them. They hunted, as the people journeyed along, but all in vain.

And the hunters in their trouble sought to get help from a doctor, and they happened to go to the very one who had helped the deer, and they told him they wanted help to find the deer, for the children were crying and hungry and they wanted meat to feed them. And the doctor said: "I guess the trouble is that you look for the deer in the old places, where you have already killed them. If you will hunt for them in the 'cheeks' (the outlying flanks) of our line of march, you will find them." And the hunters hunted for the deer in the cheeks but could not find them.

And they went that evening to the same doctor and told him of their bad luck, and the doctor said: "If you will look for them next time in the little valleys between the hills, I think, you will find them, for they like to go there."

And the hunters went the next day and looked in the little valleys, but could not find the deer, and they came that evening and told the doctor of their bad luck. And he said: "If you hear of anyone who chances to kill a deer, even if it is only a fawn, bring me the tips of its ears, and of its tail, and of its nose."

And the doctor said: "I want you to bring me these because a deer feels first with his tail that some one is after him, and, second, hears with his ears that some one is near, and, third, smells danger with his nose. And that is why I want you to bring me these."

The next day these brothers were in a crowd and heard that a fawn had been killed, and went to it and cut off the tips of its tail and of its ears and of its nose and brought these to the doctor. And the doctor took these, and then he took those which he had used at first to hide the deer with, and with these in his hand he began to sing.

And in his song he asked one of the brothers, Haymohl, for the turquoise earrings which he wore; and then he asked Sooadack Ceeavawt for the beads which were around his neck. But the brothers kept on listening to his song and did not understand what he meant.

And he told them to hunt the next day near the crowd of people, and they did so and killed a fawn, and took it home and had meat with their family. And then they went again to the doctor; who again sang his song, asking for the same gifts. And this time the brothers understood him and Haymohl said: "O, I never thought of these," and took off his ear rings and gave them to him. And Sooadack Ceeavawt took off his necklace of beads and gave them to him. And the doctor told them that the next day they were to hunt near the crowd, and they would find plenty of deer anywhere they might hunt for them. And he went to where the fawn skin was, and took pieces of its skin and made medicine-bags for the brothers, out of the cheek pieces of the fawn stretched out and made into soft buckskin, and filled these with the sc.r.a.pings of the buckskin and the tips of the fawn's ears and of his tail and nose and gave one to each of the brothers.

And the brothers took these bags, and wore them at their belts, and the next day they went out hunting and in a little while killed a deer, and went on a little further and killed another, and after that found plenty of deer; and from that time on the people had plenty of venison again.