The Valley Nisenan (20 pages)

276 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn, [Vol. 24 dead.’? ‘‘Dear kee (younger cross-cousin), no, I can’t do it now.’’ Coyote brought out all his belongings, all his wealth. ‘‘It is too late,’’ Haikat sai **T can’t make things over and over. We shall have to bury her. Let us do i now.’? ‘ : As this episode was told the first time, the informant named Wekwek, the falcon, instead of Haikat. Coyote called Haikat poci. Coyote was always getting killed. Whatever he attempted, he readily died from it. Fire-——There was no fire. Across the sea was Condor-mountain. People all ~ looked toward it, but only the two mice saw smoke. They told, but no one else ~ could see it. So Wekwek sent the mice on a raft to steal fire. They took punk for tinder, firewood, and mud (for a hearth). So they went far across the sea On the shore of the mountain were many rafts. They gnawed through the gra vine lashings of these. Then they entered every house and gnawed the bowstrings In a great assembly house in the mountain, the condors guarded their fire, huddled over it with their wings spread. At last the mice gnawed their way in through their wing feathers. They caught fire in a stick, ran away, jumped into thei canoe-raft, pushed off. The condors followed but their balsas fell apart and they rolled into the water; those that tried to shoot found their bows stringless So the mice came back with fire. Then Haikat put it into trees, wood, and stones, and there it can be found now. Even some stones spark when struck. Wekwek was mentioned as above in one version obtained, Haikat in the other : Salmon.—The river used to be like a lake, without current. Two boys kil ee Laniers Their mother’s brother made ornaments of the (orange many y red) quills and put these on them. Then he threw them into the river. They _ARSG a Dinca that is why the meat is red; (and the current began to flow). Their uncle watched them and was glad: ‘‘You have a good place to liy now.’? Thunder.—Two boys were always playing shooting their hoop. Their fathe: and mother were dead; their mother’s father raised them. He did not eat food of this earth but only of the sky, where he had his kin. He would speak in spirit (k’akin) language, acorn bread would come down, and last him a month. One the boys followed him away from the house and saw this. Then they wanted some of the bread. He gave them a very little and said it was enough. The. thought it the best they had ever eaten. He said, ‘‘You have plenty of other . food; don’t touch this.?? They thought, ‘‘We will eat some more when he is gone.’’ So they went out to play. When they came in again, the old man was not there. So they helped themselves; but it did not replenish as it had before When their grandfather came back from the k’um, the bread was nearly gone and he knew what they had done. He called them, gave them arrows, and told them to shoot a yellowhammer. When they brought it in, he divided the feathers those of the right wing to the older, of the left wing to the younger; the tail he split, six feathers to each. Then he made them headbands, put them on them, tightened their belts, and sent them out to play. He told their hoop to lead them to a good place to live. They threw, and it rolled and rolled. They ran after but. could not overtake it. When they slowed, it rolled gently; when they ran, it rolled faster. So they went over the mountains. Then the younger began to sing: Dear my older brother, it is taking us away Haike nida, huniiniinini. The old man heard them like thunder on the highest mountains. Then they took off their belts, made them into slings, threw a stone up, broke the sky, the Kroeber: The Valley Nisenan 277 hoop rolled up, and they climbed. The old man heard them: ‘«Now they are in a good place where there is no trouble and there is better food than here.”? It thunder when they roll the hoop. : : Grizsly-bear and Antelope.—Grizzly-bear and Antelope were sisters-in-law. rizzly-bear had a baby, Antelope two boys. The two women went out to pick greens, leaving the children at home. After a time they sat down. ° ‘‘Louse me,’? aid Antelope. Grizzly-bear found none. ‘Nibble all around the edge of my hair.?? ‘¢Perhaps I might bite your neck.’’ So she bit along until she bit through ‘her neck. Then she ate her up, except the head, and this she put in the bottom of her carrying basket, loaded clover over it, and pressed it down. The Antelope boys were waiting. ‘‘Our mother is coming now.’? ‘Only one’ is coming!?’ They asked her, ‘‘ Where is our mother??? ‘‘Your mother met her relatives. She g staying with them. She will be here tomorrow. Come, eat clover. But take + from the top only.’’ They ate; but the younger brother dug to the bottom of the basket. ‘‘Our mother’s head is in here!’?’ The older saw it too and they ried. ‘*Why do you ery? Your mother is coming home tomorrow.’’ That ight they burned all her Ublongings. ‘‘What are you ‘purning?’’ she asked. “Oh, we are only burning pine bark,’’ they told her.In the morning she went outdoors. ‘‘Take care of my baby,’’ she said. They ‘heated stones, boiled water, put the baby in. When it was cooked, they set’ it before the door. ‘‘The baby is asleep. We are going to gather firewood,’’ they told her. They spat in a place. ‘<We are piling up wood here, aunt,’’ they called o her. Four times they did this. ‘‘We are coming now,’’ they called. But they went up on a high hill, She came back to the house. ‘‘Oh, see, they have had un with my baby, they have painted it black in the face!’’? When ‘she picked it up, it fell apart. She ate it. Then she followed them. . ‘‘Where are you, na’uno???? ‘Here we are!’? But when she came there it was only their spittle. Four times their spittle deceived her. Now they had heated stones on the hill. She was climbing up, panting. ‘‘Open your mouth wide, aunt!’’ they called. The older threw a hot stone with a sling. ‘‘ What was that??? she called, as it missed her. ‘‘That was a hummingbird whirring. Don’t be afraid! Open widel?? He threw again and missed, and again. Three stones were gone; only * one was left. Grizzly-bear was nearly at the top. .The younger brother said, «Let me try!’’? They scuffled, but he took the stone from his older brother. He was left-handed. ‘‘Open wide!’’ he called, and slung the hot stone into her mouth. It came out behind and killed her. They danced. ‘‘ Now what, shall we do??? They cooked her and ate her up. Only tho gall they. could not eat and threw it away into the mountains, where it turned into grizzly bears. O’mlakai is the hill where this happened. Her tracks are visible there now. , ‘¢Where shall we go to live??? ‘‘Let us try to go to the sky.’’? ‘How shall we do that??? They slung a stone with a cord on it and climbed up that. In the sky they made a little hoop and began to play. It rolled and rolled, into their mother’s lap. The younger brother found her first. ‘‘Come on,’?’ he called, ‘our mother is here.’? They sat one on each of her knees. The women called each other nik’epe’. The boys called the Grizzly-bear ka‘ti; she them, kam; they the baby, kee. Skunk.—Two great bear brothers were killing people all about. Skunk went out to put an end to this. An old man went with him. They got to a country full of bears. Skunk was chirping and whistling to himself. Inside the k’um the two big bear brothers heard him and sent people out. Skunk hid under a log. Then he whistled and talked to himself again. The bears sent people out once more, with orders to turn everything over. This time they found Skunk and >

276 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn, [Vol. 24 dead.’? ‘‘Dear kee (younger cross-cousin), no, I can’t do it now.’’ Coyote brought out all his belongings, all his wealth. ‘‘It is too late,’’ Haikat sai **T can’t make things over and over. We shall have to bury her. Let us do i now.’? ‘ : As this episode was told the first time, the informant named Wekwek, the falcon, instead of Haikat. Coyote called Haikat poci. Coyote was always getting killed. Whatever he attempted, he readily died from it. Fire-——There was no fire. Across the sea was Condor-mountain. People all ~ looked toward it, but only the two mice saw smoke. They told, but no one else ~ could see it. So Wekwek sent the mice on a raft to steal fire. They took punk for tinder, firewood, and mud (for a hearth). So they went far across the sea On the shore of the mountain were many rafts. They gnawed through the gra vine lashings of these. Then they entered every house and gnawed the bowstrings In a great assembly house in the mountain, the condors guarded their fire, huddled over it with their wings spread. At last the mice gnawed their way in through their wing feathers. They caught fire in a stick, ran away, jumped into thei canoe-raft, pushed off. The condors followed but their balsas fell apart and they rolled into the water; those that tried to shoot found their bows stringless So the mice came back with fire. Then Haikat put it into trees, wood, and stones, and there it can be found now. Even some stones spark when struck. Wekwek was mentioned as above in one version obtained, Haikat in the other : Salmon.—The river used to be like a lake, without current. Two boys kil ee Laniers Their mother’s brother made ornaments of the (orange many y red) quills and put these on them. Then he threw them into the river. They _ARSG a Dinca that is why the meat is red; (and the current began to flow). Their uncle watched them and was glad: ‘‘You have a good place to liy now.’? Thunder.—Two boys were always playing shooting their hoop. Their fathe: and mother were dead; their mother’s father raised them. He did not eat food of this earth but only of the sky, where he had his kin. He would speak in spirit (k’akin) language, acorn bread would come down, and last him a month. One the boys followed him away from the house and saw this. Then they wanted some of the bread. He gave them a very little and said it was enough. The. thought it the best they had ever eaten. He said, ‘‘You have plenty of other . food; don’t touch this.?? They thought, ‘‘We will eat some more when he is gone.’’ So they went out to play. When they came in again, the old man was not there. So they helped themselves; but it did not replenish as it had before When their grandfather came back from the k’um, the bread was nearly gone and he knew what they had done. He called them, gave them arrows, and told them to shoot a yellowhammer. When they brought it in, he divided the feathers those of the right wing to the older, of the left wing to the younger; the tail he split, six feathers to each. Then he made them headbands, put them on them, tightened their belts, and sent them out to play. He told their hoop to lead them to a good place to live. They threw, and it rolled and rolled. They ran after but. could not overtake it. When they slowed, it rolled gently; when they ran, it rolled faster. So they went over the mountains. Then the younger began to sing: Dear my older brother, it is taking us away Haike nida, huniiniinini. The old man heard them like thunder on the highest mountains. Then they took off their belts, made them into slings, threw a stone up, broke the sky, the Kroeber: The Valley Nisenan 277

hoop rolled up, and they climbed. The old man heard them: ‘«Now they are in a good place where there is no trouble and there is better food than here.”? It thunder when they roll the hoop. : : Grizsly-bear and Antelope.—Grizzly-bear and Antelope were sisters-in-law. rizzly-bear had a baby, Antelope two boys. The two women went out to pick greens, leaving the children at home. After a time they sat down. ° ‘‘Louse me,’? aid Antelope. Grizzly-bear found none. ‘Nibble all around the edge of my hair.?? ‘¢Perhaps I might bite your neck.’’ So she bit along until she bit through ‘her neck. Then she ate her up, except the head, and this she put in the bottom of her carrying basket, loaded clover over it, and pressed it down. The Antelope boys were waiting. ‘‘Our mother is coming now.’? ‘Only one’ is coming!?’ They asked her, ‘‘ Where is our mother??? ‘‘Your mother met her relatives. She g staying with them. She will be here tomorrow. Come, eat clover. But take + from the top only.’’ They ate; but the younger brother dug to the bottom of the basket. ‘‘Our mother’s head is in here!’?’ The older saw it too and they ried. ‘*Why do you ery? Your mother is coming home tomorrow.’’ That ight they burned all her Ublongings. ‘‘What are you ‘purning?’’ she asked. “Oh, we are only burning pine bark,’’ they told her.In the morning she went outdoors. ‘‘Take care of my baby,’’ she said. They ‘heated stones, boiled water, put the baby in. When it was cooked, they set’ it before the door. ‘‘The baby is asleep. We are going to gather firewood,’’ they told her. They spat in a place. ‘<We are piling up wood here, aunt,’’ they called o her. Four times they did this. ‘‘We are coming now,’’ they called. But they went up on a high hill, She came back to the house. ‘‘Oh, see, they have had un with my baby, they have painted it black in the face!’’? When ‘she picked it up, it fell apart. She ate it. Then she followed them. . ‘‘Where are you, na’uno???? ‘Here we are!’? But when she came there it was only their spittle. Four times their spittle deceived her. Now they had heated stones on the hill. She was climbing up, panting. ‘‘Open your mouth wide, aunt!’’ they called. The older threw a hot stone with a sling. ‘‘ What was that??? she called, as it missed her. ‘‘That was a hummingbird whirring. Don’t be afraid! Open widel?? He threw again and missed, and again. Three stones were gone; only * one was left. Grizzly-bear was nearly at the top. .The younger brother said, «Let me try!’’? They scuffled, but he took the stone from his older brother. He was left-handed. ‘‘Open wide!’’ he called, and slung the hot stone into her mouth. It came out behind and killed her. They danced. ‘‘ Now what, shall we do??? They cooked her and ate her up. Only tho gall they. could not eat and threw it away into the mountains, where it turned into grizzly bears. O’mlakai is the hill where this happened. Her tracks are visible there now. , ‘¢Where shall we go to live??? ‘‘Let us try to go to the sky.’’? ‘How shall we do that??? They slung a stone with a cord on it and climbed up that. In the sky they made a little hoop and began to play. It rolled and rolled, into their mother’s lap. The younger brother found her first. ‘‘Come on,’?’ he called, ‘our mother is here.’? They sat one on each of her knees. The women called each other nik’epe’. The boys called the Grizzly-bear ka‘ti; she them, kam; they the baby, kee. Skunk.—Two great bear brothers were killing people all about. Skunk went out to put an end to this. An old man went with him. They got to a country full of bears. Skunk was chirping and whistling to himself. Inside the k’um the two big bear brothers heard him and sent people out. Skunk hid under a log. Then he whistled and talked to himself again. The bears sent people out once more, with orders to turn everything over. This time they found Skunk and >