Week 11 Reading: California and the Old Southwest, Part A

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The Great Fire/Origin of Light:
  • man wanted to marry 2 women but they didn't want to
  • man went north, made a tule boat, then set world on fire--escaped by boat
  • fire burned very very fast and burned everything
  • Old Coyote saw the fire so he tried to put it out by taking honey-dew and spitting it on the fire
  • became very thirsty but no water--took Indian sugar and made water again

  • no light--animals and birds ran but always bumped into each other
  • Hawk and Coyote tired of darkness--Coyote made ball of tule reeds with flint and Hawk took ball and sent it around the world
  • nights were still dark, so made another one, but the reeds were damp--so moon not as bright as sun
The Fable of the Animals:
  • Kareya made world--made fishes in water and animals on land, then man
  • first, animals were equal in power--no food source
  • Kareya ordered meeting to rank power
  • man on top--made bows and arrows to give longest to most powerful animal and shortest to least powerful
  • Coyote wanted power so he pretended to sleep--but fell asleep by morning
  • cougar=longest then bear then last=frog except coyote who wasn't there
  • man felt bad bc he knew coyote was better than frog so gave him cunning to be smartest--became man's best friend

(Coyote photo by Matt Knoth)
The Course of the Sun:
  • spider told sun to go around world and report back
  • sun did not like from north to south--west to east was okay--loved east to west
  • spider said to do that every day--stop midway to center for breakfast and center for dinner, then 3/4 for supper
  • sun wears deerskin, bow and arrow, and mask
  • moon also wears mask
The Theft of Fire:
  • no fire--Karoks were cold
  • east was a box of fire with two hags--Coyote stole it for Indians
  • animals strongest near fire (lion) to weakest near Kanoks (frog)
  • Coyote went to hags and asked to sit by fire--they agreed
  • pretended to sleep to try to steal but didn't have chance
  • went to council with Indians and told him to attack--went back and asked to sit again then Indian created distraction while Coyote grabbed fire
  • went down line of animals (chipmunks burned on shoulders=black stripes on back)
  • frog spit fire on pile of driftwood--why fire needs wood
Coyote and the Tortillas/Coyote and the Mesquite Beans:
  • very tall and wide river--Indian woman with tortillas on head going thru river waist high--Coyote afraid of water so climbed tree and asked for tortillas
  • woman refused, coyote threatened to shoot with bow, she believed him, so woman said he had to come down and get them
  • coyote couldn't make it bc of his fear of water
  • woman stood on log and tricked coyote that it was shallow--jumped and drowned

  • water of flood gone down
  • brother told coyote not to touch black bug or eat mesquite beans bc it is bad to harm stuff that survived
  • coyote ate bug and went to beans and ate all--swelled in stomach and killed him
Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson (1912).

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