Myth

In the field of religious studies myths are stories which express religious beliefs,
values, ideals , and desires. For religious folk they are often held as expressions of
ultimate truths despite the historical accuracy or scientific possibility of the depicted
events. This document explores four types: cosmogony, etiology, eschatology, and
trickster.

Cosmogony: This type of myth is foundational and it relates the origins of the
world. This explains how first things and first people (whether they are human,
plant, or non-human animal) came into being during the initial stages of the worlds
development. There are certain themes which characterize many indigenous
cosmogonies.

Dine (Navajo) Cosmogony: Emergence theme

The emergence theme relates how the first beings emerged from the belly/womb of
the earth.

At the beginning, during the time before time (oratorical device which establishes
the authority of the myth) creation began when light misted up from the 4 cosmic
horizons.

From the East, the white early dawn light misted up

From the South, the blue sky noon light misted up
From the West, the yellow sunset light misted up
From the North, the black night light misted up.

These mists were the inner forms of the 4 cosmic directions and the inner forms of
the 4 sacred mountains that mark them: Mt. Blanca in the east, Mt. Taylor in the
south, San Fran Peaks in the west, and Mt. Hesperus in the north. ,
(Here a macrocosm is being established)

From the 4 directions came the Holy Wind which gave life to 1 st man and 1st woman,
the first among the Holy People.

At the beginning the Holy People lived within the 1st world of the underworld, the
womb of the earth, the northern black world.
A series of cataclysms forced their movement from world to world, or level to level.
From the 1st northern black world they ascended to the
2nd western yellow world, and from there they ascended to the
3rd southern blue world.
It was there that the men and women quarreled bitterly and decided live apart, the
men with the men, and the women with the women. Eventually they understood
this as an unbalanced way to live and decided to establish gender roles and rules of
behavior so that they could live together in more agreement. Shortly thereafter a
great flood forced their movement to the
4th eastern white world. Upon this world they emerged from the place
of emergence, a hole which gave way to this 4 th world, the surface of the earth.
The earth was covered with water and they set to work making the earth habitable.
They drained the water, and dried the mud, and proceeded to sing (with their
breath like the wind) the world into existence, into a new order. They knew that a
life-propagating world must be well ordered and they vowed they would not make
the same mistakes of their past. They knew that a disordered world does not
support life.

The first thing they did was build a sweat lodge in order to purify and strengthen
themselves for the tasks at hand.
Sweat Lodges are still used by the Dine today as a therapeutic ritual. These are
structures which function much like saunas. Water is poured over heated rocks
which cause participants to sweat out their impurities, thus strengthening them in
body and mind.

First Man and First Woman carried with them scared bundles which contained soil
and jewels from each of the underworlds. From the soil they built the first Hogan
which not only served as a ceremonial space but also as a smaller model of the
universe, a microcosm.

The Hogan had four pillars which marked the sacred 4 directions (E, S, N, and W)
The rounded floor of the Hogan marked the space of the earth.
The rounded ceiling marked the space of the sky.
The door was placed in the east, as this is directional point of life emerging. (Sun
rises in the East).

They then created a sand painting from the crushed jewels of all four worlds. The
sand painting was a blueprint for the rest of the world to come. First Man and
Woman then chanted (with their breath like Wind) life into the sand painting of their
world to come, thus animating the framework (the bones) of their cosmos to come.
Sand paintings are still used today by medicine people who use them for healing
the sick. Different illnesses correspond to different myths which detail how the
illness was originally healed. Each sand painting tells the story of an illnesss cure,
cures which are rooted in ways of re-establishing balance. Sickness is believed to be
caused by an imbalance in the sick persons life. The medicine people are literally
called singers because they chant over the sick person who is positioned on top of
the painting. They use their breath like wind to re-animate the sick person into a
state of balance. The chants like the sand paintings are based on the myth of the
illnesss cure.

First Man and First Woman then began to balance the world with pairs. For instance
they sent male/female pairs of holy people to each of the sacred mountains to
provide them with more support, to make sure that the 4 lynchpins of the world
remain sturdy.

To the East they send Early Dawn Boy and Early Dawn Girl
They are sent with white shell and the plants and animals of that mountain
To the South they send Blue Daylight Boy and Blue Daylight Girl
They are sent with turquoise and the plants and animals of that mountain
To the West they send Yellow Evening Boy and Yellow Evening Girl
They are sent with abalone shell and the plants and animals of that mountain
To the North they send Folding Darkness Boy and Folding Darkness Girl
They are sent with jet stone and the plants and animals of that mountain

First Man and First Woman continued to balance the world.

The created the sun and moon, day balanced by night.
They created the seasons of life and the seasons of death, spring and summer
balanced by fall and winter.
They continued in this way creating a world of perfect order, a world of great
balance, a world of great beauty. In other words, a world in HOZH0. The four winds
stemming from the one great wind (Nilchi) swept through this creation and their
power, like breath, gave it life.
Hozho is the Dine world for balance which literally translates into beauty. To live in
balance is understood by the Dine as to walk the beauty way.

This cosmogony not only illustrates an emergence theme but more importantly it
says something very profound about how life is to be ordered and how it is to be
lived. In the Dine cosmology a well ordered universe is one made up of elements
that correspond to each other. The most basic is the pairing of opposites. At the
same time directions correspond to certain colors, stones/shells, plants and animals,
winds, phenomena, worlds, etc. Correspondences must be maintained as a way of
maintaining balance in other words, everything in its proper place. This is order
which is synonymous with life, NOT chaos which is synonymous with death. When
things are not balanced and not in their proper places, this gives way to the
monsters of chaos which take the form of natural and unnatural disasters, illness,
and even death. The monsters of chaos can be combated by restoring the individual
and/or the world into a state of balance. Chanting is one way as it corresponds to
the life giving powers of the Wind. Sand paintings may also be used as their power
is rooted in the authority of this cosmogony.

Onondowaga (Seneca) Cosmogony: Earth Diver theme

The earth diver theme talks about the creation of the world as a result of someone
diving into waters to find mud in order to create a dry world.

In the beginning before there was an earth world there was a world in the sky. At the center of
the sky world there existed a large radiant tree with its roots running deep through the skys
crust, running deep in the four directions and anchoring the tree firmly in its center place. The
lofty branches of the tree extended upwards and their leaves emitted a luminosity which kept the
sky people out of darkness. The tree also produced all manner of fruits and nuts which kept the
sky people well nourished. This was a self sustaining world and well balanced and in that manner
it was also a perfect world.

There was a man among the people who whose longhouse was nearest to the tree and this great
proximity to the mysterious and sacred tree of life bestowed upon the man a chief authority
among his people. His closeness to the Tree allowed him more opportunities to gather unto
himself the powers of the tree which he shared with his people. But people change and thus the
world also changes, giving birth to new worlds and new people. And a time came when the man
of authority no longer shared all the power he gathered unto himself. The change in the man of
chiefly authority was a change from selflessness to desire. And so when in a dream the man was
moved by a desire for a young woman who walked among the people he acted upon this desire in
his waking life. He sought out the young girl and took her as a new wife despite the fact that he
already had a wife but she was a wife aged in body having lived many seasons, having walked
through many moons.

Unbeknownst to him, the young woman whose name is Sky Woman, was already pregnant with
another persons child, in this case the child of the Great Wind. When he discovered his new
wifes pregnancy his desire for her turned to dismay which then turned into jealousy and then
turned into anger. Again he dreamed and received instruction through the power of the dream to
uproot the tree and somehow this action would quell his anger and despair.

With the help of the people this man of authority uprooted the tree thus creating a hole within the
skys crust. Sky Woman, his new wife, was present and in her curiosity to know what lay beneath
the sky eagerly peered into the hole. The man of chiefly status could no longer bear the sight of
her and pushed her through the hole. As she began to fall through the hole she extended her arms
outward and clutched at the roots of the tree and in this way she was able to gather all manner of
the tree seeds and even some of the root matter itself which smelled like burning tobacco.

She began to spiral downwards into the abyss of the below, holding tightly the seeds and roots of
life she had managed to gather. As she continued to fall a flock of ducks sighted this strange
figure and flew towards her. They huddled together so that their backs and extended wings could
serve as a platform of safety for Sky Woman, and it is here where Sky Woman landed. Without
such a resting place she surely would have drowned for all around beneath the vault of the sky
was water and more water and water as far as the eyes could see. The animals of the water realm
were alerted to the new presence in their world and they held council in order to determine the
proper place for this new person in their world, as they knew the ducks would only be able to
endure her weight for so long. The great turtle of the underworld was summoned and it was
decided that he would provide his back for the creation of a new world for this new person and
for the coming of the new child. The animals knew that this new person would need to walk on a
world covered with earth matter. And so they began to dive through the waters in search of the
mud at the bottom of the waters. Many animals failed in this task but finally the muskrat who
managed to smoothly glide over the waters bottom procured enough mud on his nose for the
task of building a new earth world. As the mud was spread over the Turtles back, Sky Woman
mixed in the seeds and roots she had brought with her from the sky world. And with this material
added to the mud, the mud began to grow exponentially and in turn the turtles back grew for its
support. The mud dried and Sky Woman was able to give birth to a daughter on the dry
firmament of the earth.

The mother , Sky Woman, and her daughter lived on this earth sustaining themselves with the
potatoes they grew The mother warned her daughter to always face west when digging for
potatoes and this way the Great Wind would not be able to enter and impregnate her as had
happened to her in the sky world. Of course the daughter paid little heed to her mother's direction
and indeed she was impregnated with twin boys as the Wind entered her body.

When it was time for the twins to be born, one was born in the natural manner but the other one
was impatient to be born and burst through the mothers armpit which caused her death. Sky
Woman, now a grandmother, buried her daughter and from the decomposition of her body, from
the change from life to death, the earth yielded corn. The grandmother named the twins, Good
Mind and Bad Mind. Of course the twin who was born in the natural manner was Good Mind
and the twin which caused his mothers death was named Bad Mind.

The twins grew up together and although they frequently quarreled they both agreed that the
earth needed shaping and more forms of life. And so Good Mind created well formed humans
from the dirt of the earth. Bad Mind was a terrible craftsman and his attempts to fashion humans
came out as ugly animals. In his jealousy he vowed to create animals that would devour the
humans.

Good Mind created the natural features of the earth that were hospitable for human life but Bad
Mind created areas full of ledges, rocks and dangerous precipices. Good Mind created animals
that were fat and slow moving, animals easy for humans to hunt but Bad Mind created small and
fast animals as well as mosquitoes. Good Mind created the rivers which ran in both directions so
that travel on the rivers would be easier for humans but Bad Mind reversed this.

Bad Minds creative energies were spent attempting to undo the good works of his brother. He
even introduced sickness and death into the world but ultimately he was unable to unravel the
entire fabric of his brothers handiwork.

Eventually the two brothers met in order to settle their struggles through the form of a contest.
The victor of the contest would be the one who could move the Rocky Mountains. Bad Mind
managed to move the mountains just a bit. When Good Minds turn arrived he asked his brother
to face away from him. He then moved the Mountain very close to his brother and asked his
brother to turn around. Bad Mind was so close to the mountain that when he turned around he
smashed his face on the mountain and broke his nose.

Bad Mind conceded to his loss and pleaded for his brother to spare his life. Good Mind agreed to
this on the condition that Bad Mind would from now on help humans contend with disease,
misfortunes and all other forms of malevolence.

This story reflects several traditional Seneca values and it provides social commentary to its
listeners. Firstly with regard to Chief of the sky, a world can only continue in harmony when
power is shared among all people. The Man of authority began to hoard power, an act which
caused the power to have a negative effect on his personality. Secondly he should not have
abandoned his wife for a younger wife. These mistakes cost him and his people an existence in a
once perfect world. Thirdly when daughters do not listen to their mothers then bad things can
happen, in this case the very loss of ones life. And fourthly what is evaluated as good is that
which follows the natural pattern of life as in being born properly. What is evaluated as a bad is
that which defies the natural rhythms of life as in willfully causing an unnatural birth.

At the same time this story folds in several philosophical points on the nature of good and bad.
The breaking of normative behaviors may give rise to chaos and death but all powers are in flux
and the negative powers, those powers which negate life will at some point flow back into
powers which can re-affirm life as evidenced by the origins of corn due to the decomposition of
the mothers body. And so violations of cultural norms are understood as bad but at the same
time there is also the recognition that these violations also contribute in the shaping of the world.
Bad Mind as the epitome of all life negating forces is actually embraced by the Seneca and his
mask is used within the Society of Faces (or False Faces Society), a Seneca masking society
where members wear the masks of malevolent spirits such as Bad Mind but for the effect of
turning them, as in a mirror, back on themselves. The Society of Faces is thus an
institutionalization of life negating forces which provides ways of controlling negative energies
by directly engaging with them. The Society of the Faces, in this sense engages in mythic
enactment thru the masking ceremonies.

Australian Aboriginal Cosmogony: Transformation theme

The transformation theme highlights the transformation of spirits into humans/plants/or non-
human animals and vice versa. Things changing from one thing to another is emphasized

Before the time before time the Dreamings existed. They were asleep and then they awoke.

Dreamings may be understood as creative energies which were unleashed at the beginning of
time.

Some say they awoke, they descended from the skies onto the featureless ground, or they rose
from the featureless ground, or they appeared from over the horizon. The way people choose to
tell this story in detail is knowledge which belongs to those initiated in the Dreaming of their
own country. For that reason this telling is a basic telling which may be recognized in countless
versions of Dreaming Cosmogonies.

Whatever the case, they began to walk on the ground which was completely devoid of any
feature. They walked and walked, traveling on the ground, leaving their tracks in the ground. As
they walked they created. They created mountains, rivers, canyons, cliffs, grass, trees, natural
phenomena, animals, and even humans. Whenever they created something they left behind, in
that creation, deposits of their creative energy. Many times they simply transformed themselves
into animals, and at other times they transformed themselves into humans. Just as they created
and organized the natural landscape of the earth, they also established the right ways for human
people to live among themselves and with other-than-human people, like the animals and plants.
Most importantly they created story-telling, songs, paintings, and other rituals which humans
could use to recount the creative activities of their ancestors (the Dreamings) and by doing this
humans are able to keep the creative energies left behind by the Dreamings in constant flux. It is
this re-enacting of the first acts of the Dreamings which allow human life and the very life of the
earth to continue.

The basic assumption of aboriginal religion is that Dreaming spirits, humans, animals, plants,
and other natural phenomena form a dynamic, interactive, and interdependent matrix. The
present only exists because of the law set forth in the Dreamtime, the primordial time of creation.
The present and future are dependent in a crucial way upon the past. If the past is forgotten if
the Dreamtime ceases to be celebrated in song, art, dance, ritual, myth the present and the
future will die as the power of creativity will cease. For this reason it is the mandate of religious
Aborigines to keep the cosmos alive by constantly unleashing the power of the Dreamings
through their ritual acts and moral ways of living.

Yoruba Cosmogony: Divine Craftsperson theme

This theme highlights a creator being that creates with his/her own hands, just as a craftsperson
would.

In the beginning before the earth existed, Olorun Olodumare, the owner of the sky, decided that
he would transform the watery marsh, the wasteland of chaos below the sky into a habitable
earth. He also decided that humans would be created to fill the new earth. He sent seventeen of
his attendant deities to organize the world. It was his own son, Orisa-nla, among these 17 deities
who was given the task of establishing a dry firmament and shaping humans.

Olorun Olodumare sent his son, Orisa-nla (Obatala) to the watery marsh below with a shell full
of soil, a five toed hen, a chameleon, and some pigeons. Orisa-nla threw the soil onto the watery
marsh and released the hen which spread the soil with its toes, forcing the waters back and
establishing a dry firmament. The chameleon was set loose on the firmament and instructed to
test the firmness and width of the land. After running to and fro on the land he reported back to
Orisa-nla that the land was wide enough. This place was called Ile-Ife that which is wide.

Ile-Ife was considered to be the first city established by Olorun Olodumare and his attendant
deities. Today the city of Ile-Ife remains the center (axis mundi) of Yoruba religious life.
The pigeons were set loose and they multiplied throughout the land. Orisa-nla planted palm trees
to provide food, shade and shelter for the pigeons and all the new people to come.

From the clay dirt he then began to fashion human beings with his own hands but it was his
father, Olorun Olodumare, who breathed actual life into them and assigned each of these first
humans and all subsequent humans their own destinies. The secrets of each persons destiny were
given to another son, Orun-mila.

At one point Orisa-nla began to drink wine which he fermented from the palm trees. He
continued to drink as he worked at shaping human beings and at one point became quite clumsy
in his craft. Some humans became misshapen but they are still regarded as special as they are
also products of his work.

In many traditions Oduduwa, his younger brother, stole his materials and resumed the shaping of
humans and in this way usurped Orisa-nlas authority. Eventually the two deities were
reconciled. This version of the myth reflects the tensions between older and younger brothers. In
at least one tradition Oduduwa is represented as a wife of Orisa-nla and this version may reflect
the tensions between husbands and wives.

Atuot Cosmogony: Paradise Lost theme

This is the classic break a divine commandment and suffer the consequences which are often
pain, suffering, and death.

Atuot

In the beginning the sky and the earth were close together and even connected by a rope ladder.
During that time death did not exist, as when people grew old and began to decay they simply
climbed the rope ladder to meet the creator God, Decau, who infused them with life.

Here a statement is being made: closeness to God is the source of life.

In those times a woman only needed to pound one kernel of corn in order to feed everyone in the
family. As it happened a newly married woman decided to pound more than the one kernel of
corn. In order to pound the extra corn she had to life her pestle higher into the air. In doing so she
hit God in the sky and in his disappointment and irritation with this event he withdrew further
into the sky and sent a sparrow to sever the rope between humanity and Himself.

This is social commentary on the ineptness of newly married women as well as a reflection of an
agricultural danger. The sparrow is a corn eating bird and can destroy corn crops which can in
turn destroy human life. No food= no life. Another statement is being made about food surplus
leading to over-population which would in turn necessitate the existence of death.
Etiology: This type of myth relates the origins of a particular person, place or thing, after the
initial phases of creation have passed. They relate the origins of smaller things but essential
things for a good life and at other times the origins of new evils.

Oceti Sakowin Etiology: The Origins of the Sacred Pipe

There was a time long ago when the people lived on the earth without the cannunpa wakan
(sacred pipe) and without wakan wicohan (sacred acts/rituals). Because of this they had no way
to offer their voices to Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery, and because of this the Buffalo People
no longer showed their faces. Animals are commonly referred to as people in American Indian
traditions. The people grew very hungry as they depended on their Buffalo kin for food. The
chief asked two men to go out and search for the Buffalo.

The men scouted for days. They looked high and low, they searched the four corners of the land
but never saw their Buffalo kin. One day, however, in the distance they saw a figure floating
towards them, and as it came closer they saw that it was a beautiful woman floating through the
air and as she came even closer her feet finally touched the earth. For this reason they knew that
she was lila wakan (very sacred). Her beauty was so tremendous that one of the scouts could not
help but think of her in the lustful manner, a manner disrespectful of her sacredness. Because of
this she created a black cloud which enveloped the man and when it dissipated all that remained
were the bones of this hapless man. To the other scout she said, Make haste to camp. Tell the
people to prepare. I have come to your people with a special gift.

The scout reported back to the chief and the people prepared for her visit as best as they could.
When she arrived she opened her sacred bundle and revealed to them the sacred pipe.

She told the people the pipe bowl was made of red stone and represented the earth. Carved in
the stone was a buffalo calf which represented all four legged creatures. The stem of the pipe was
made of wood and represented all growing things. And the twelve feathers which decorated the
pipe represented the Spotted Eagle and all the winged creatures of the air. All the peoples and
things of the universe would be joined with whoever smoked the sacred pipe (Powers,
William. Oglala Religions. p. 82)

The pipe thus serves as an axis mundi for the people, a center point, through which they can
communicate with Wakan Tanka.

She then revealed to them prayers through which they could offer their voices to Wakan Tanka,
and the first two of their traditional rituals, the Keeping of the Ghost and the Sweat Lodge. She
gave guidance to men, women, and children on how to treat each other with kindness and
respect. She then told the people that she would come back through the ages with more ritual
acts.

She walked up a hill and rolled over and the people were amazed that she had turned into a red
buffalo. The buffalo continued up the hill, rolled over again and this time turned into a brown
buffalo, and then a black buffalo, and then finally a white buffalo (Black Elks account here is
different). The people came to know her as White Buffalo Calf Woman. Shortly after her
departure the hills were full of buffalo and now the people could live.

Without an axis mundi like the pipe, without communication to Wakan Tanka the people would
not survive. Through the pipe, its requisite prayers and through ritual acts the people are able to
draw themselves to Wakan Tanka and participate in its powers something that it necessary to
sustain life. The Buffalo is not only a powerful symbol for life but was in fact, in a literal sense,
the actual source of life in terms of food. White Buffalo Calf Woman continues to be an
extremely important spirit for the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux) American Indians.

Yoruba Etiology: the Origins of Divination

Once long ago the many of the Orisha (this is a collective term which refers all lesser deities in
the Yoruba pantheon of deities) lived on the earth and freely shared their gifts with humans. The
most generous of these Orisha was Olorun Olodumares son Orun-mila who was given the secret
knowledge of all destines assigned to humans. Humans easily consulted with him on which
choices they should make in order to secure a happy and fruitful life.

In this way Orun-mila, the god of divination, serves as an axis mundi but in this particular case
the link is direct and there is no need for an intermediary. At least yet

Unfortunately something happens which changes these fortunate circumstances. Orun-mila

requested the presence of his eight sons to an important celebration in his honor. All eight sons
presented themselves at his royal court. One son, however, the youngest named Olowo refused to
bow before his father, contending that he was just as powerful as his father and therefore did not
need to show deference.

This act of disrespect on Olowos part had devastating consequences for everyone. In a mad rage
Orun-mila seized his sons staff, divesting him of his powers. He then turned his back on the
earth and ascended into the sky by climbing a palm tree. The people were now without direction
and life would surely wither away:

pregnant women no longer delivered/the barren ones remained barren/the sick remained
infirm/small rivers wore garments of leaves/semen got dried up in mens testicles/women no
longer saw their menstruation/ new yam tubers sprouted but could not grow (Ray, Benjamin.
African Religions, p. 17).
The people in their devastation and misery cried out to Orun-mila for pity. Seeing the people in
such pain and turmoil and seeing them honor him with sacrifices performed at the base of the
palm tree he used for his ascension, he decides to send them a gift. He did not respond by
returning to the earth but he did send the people the gift of Ifa (divination).

Through Ifa the people could again link to Orun-milas knowledge of their destinies, albeit
through an indirect link. Ifa, its various ritual tools (divining chain, divination tray, palm nuts,
corresponding poems), and the Babalawo (the human diviner) replace Orun-mila as the earthly
axis mundi. Again, like the Gift of the Sacred Pipe what is being said in this myth is that life is
dependent upon communication with sources of sacredness.

Trickster Stories: Many indigenous religions have a specific trickster being: either a
deity or spirit. Tricksters are agents of change through the tricks that they play: they
destroy the known world in order to make way for a new reality. They are NOT evil but
they sometimes do really, really bad things but sometimes the end consequences of that
act are quite positive. Tricksters represent the reality of the world that good and bad are in
constant flux. Typical characteristics of the trickster are the ability to shape-shift, morally
ambiguous character, motivated by appetites (food, sex, fun, mischief). Trickster stories
often teach moral lessons (typically not to act like the trickster). Some stores portray the
trickster as the hero for the underdog. Some trickster stories are told for just for sheer
comedic entertainment. They embody the human struggle to move beyond
confinement and break the boundaries of order and rules.

Popular Native American tricksters: Coyote, Spider, Raccoon, Raven

Popular African Tricksters: Spider, Hare, Jackal

Popular African-American Tricksters: Brer Rabbit, Eshu

Raven Steals the Light: NW Coast Canada/Alaska

This version was copied and pasted from this website: www.northwest-
art.com/.../StoriesRavenStealstheLight.htm.

There was a time many years ago when the earth was covered in darkness. An inky pitch blanketed the world
making it very difficult for anyone to hunt or fish or gather berries for food. An old man lived along the banks
of a stream with his daughter who may have been very beautiful or possibly quite homely.
The reason why the world was dark had to do with the old man who had a box that contained a box that held
many other boxes. In the very last box was all the light in the universe and this was a treasure he selfishly kept
to himself.

The mischievous Raven existed at that time because he always had. He was none too happy about the state of
the world for he blundered about in the dark bumping into everything. His interfering nature peaked one day
when he stumbled by the old mans hut and overheard him singing about his boxes. He instantly decided to steal
the light but first had to find a way to get inside the hut.

Each day the young girl would go to the stream to fetch water so the Raven transformed himself into a tiny
hemlock needle and floated into the girls bucket. Working a bit of his trickster magic, he made the girl thirsty
and as she took a drink he slipped down her throat. Once down in her warm insides he changed again; this time
into a small human being and took a very long nap.

The girl did not know what was happening to her and didnt tell her father. One day the Raven emerged as a
little boy child. If anyone could have seen him in the dark, they would have noticed that he was a peculiar
looking child with a long beaklike nose, a few feathers here and there, and the unmistakably shining eyes of the
Raven.

Both father and daughter were delighted with their new addition and played with him for hours on end. As the
child explored his new surroundings he soon determined that the light must be kept in the big box in the corner.
When he first tried to open the box, his grandfather scolded him profusely which in turn started a crying and
squawking fit the likes of which the old man had never seen. As grandfathers have done since the beginning of
time he caved in and gave the child the biggest box to play with. This brought peace to the hut for a brief time
but it wasnt long until the child pulled his scam again, and again, and again until finally only one box
remained.

After much coaxing and wailing the old man at last agreed to let the child play with the light for only a moment.
As he tossed the ball of light the child transformed into the Raven and snatching the light in his beak, flew
through the smoke hole and up into the sky.

The world was instantly changed forever. Mountains sprang into the bright sky and reflections danced on the
rivers and oceans. Far away, the Eagle was awakened and launched skyward his target now clearly in sight.
Raven was so caught up in all the excitement of the newly revealed world that he nearly didnt see the Eagle
bearing down on him. Swerving sharply to escape the outstretched talons, he dropped nearly half of the ball of
light which fell to the earth. Shattering into one large and many small pieces on the rocky ground the bits of
light bounced back up into the heavens where they remain to this day as the moon and the stars.

The Eagle pursued Raven beyond the rim of the world and exhausted by the long chase, Raven let go of what
light still remained. Floating gracefully above the clouds, the sun as we now know it started up over the
mountains to the east.

The first rays of the morning sun brought light through the smokehole of the old mans house. He was weeping
in sorrow over his great loss and looking up, he saw his daughter for the first time. She was very beautiful and
he began to feel a little better.

This is an excellent example of how a trickster acts as an agent of transformation. The known world is un-made
(the world of darkness) and re-made through the tricksters actions. At the same time the story reflects a basic
American Indian value, that all gifts should be shared with all the people of the world. In this case the gift is
light. The gift, however, is an accidental and unintended gift from Raven and this is a purer and freer gift in
the sense that there is no need to owe anything to the gift giver. In other words, a gift with no strings attached
and maybe this is important when dealing with such a powerful gift as light.

Eschatology: an eschatology relates the end of the world. They are typically un-developed in indigenous
cultures. The indigenous mandate is to keep the natural world alive and there is no want for an end of the world
scenario as you might find in certain types of Judaisms, Christianities, and Islams. However eschatology did
begin to further develop after the colonial contact and experience.

Oceti Sakowin Eschatology: The End of the Buffalo

The old people used to tell us that a buffalo stands in the east, holding back the waters of chaos. Every age the
buffalo loses a leg, and every year the buffalo loses a hair. The buffalo is now nearly bald and standing on one
leg.
This version was recorded shortly after the near extinction of the buffalo during the late 1800s due to Euro-
American settler activities. It reflects the understanding of the known world coming to an end with the loss of
the buffalo and the loss of a life centered on the buffalo.