Post by Okwes on Jun 3, 2007 15:38:26 GMT -5
Cut-Out-Of-Belly Boy - Nez Perce
The land people [wu' lawtalikin- four-footed people] and the denizens of the
air [rviyi''wtalikin - flying people] engaged in war. One old woman's
daughter was on the side of the land people, and she was killed. The old
woman knew that she was with child. So she cut open her daughter's belly and
brought forth a boy, Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy [itsat'v' xtshatswal] The boy
grew, and grew, and grew.
One day Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy said to his grandmother, "Where did I come
from? Where are my mother and father?"
His grandmother wept and said to him, "Long ago there were many people and
they engaged in war. They killed your father and mother. I cut open your
mother, took you out, and raised you here. That is how you came to be,
grandson."
"Yes," Cut,-0ut-of-Belly Boy replied, "it is well that you tell me." Now
then he purified himself.1 He bathed every day, every day, every day. "Now I
seek vengeance. Now I prepare to go. I will go forth to attack them." One
morning he said to his grandmother, "I am leaving you now."
His grandmother wept and said to him, "You are doing a foolish thing; you
defy dangerous ones. Your wish to avenge yourself all alone is hopeless.
They are many, and they vanquished all the people." The old woman only wept.
He said to her, "I am leaving you now." He traveled along. The denizens of
the air were holding many land people in slavery, Coyote among them. All
these who had been conquered were being held in pitiful subjection.
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy knew where many people of the air were living.
As he went along he heard the drumming ["t'l' pipip, t'l' pipip"} and words
of Pheasant of the blackbrush [waswasno' na]. "Do they say Cut-Out-of-Belly
Boy is greatly to be feared? Thus I am going to do to him." And he drummed
viciously ["t'l' pipip, t'l' pipip].
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy went over in that direction, and he seized the Pheasant
suddenly. "This one made a waif of mel" He plucked out all the wing feathers
and threw them all into the bush. "This pompous one tries to make himself
fearsome."
He went on from there again. He heard shouting as he went along and heard
boys again, "Get him from the other side for the terrible one! Get him from
the other side for the terrible one!"
He thought, "For what terrible one are they doing this?" He came upon them
suddenly and said to them, "What are you doing, boys?"
"It is for Owl, the terrible one [saxlata' mono.]. He is holding us, and he
makes us go hunting for rabbits. Then even if we bring in some rabbits he,
alone, eats and tells us, 'If you ever take any, I will kill you.' " They
had sores all over their bodies. They were burnt and beaten, very pitifully
so. Coyote was among them.
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy said to them, "Pick up wood!" Now he built a fire. "Now
give me rabbits!" Then he prepared food for them and anointed their chapped
skins.
They were frightened. "Owl will kill us; he is very terrible."
"I will follow you later. Hurry, eat!" he assured them. He made them eat
heartily all of that which they had caught. "Now go home empty-handed." He
followed them. "Now go inside." He waited and listened outside.
Owl had a conical lodge. He sat there and with such large eyes glared at
them. "So you ate your own kill! So you ate your own kill! Ate your own
kill! Then eat your own kill! Then eat your own kill!" he chanted to them.
They stood agape with fright. Owl had a dried mouse filled with pebbles. Its
mouth was pried open. This he rattled and rattled ["sa' yayay, sa' yayay"]
to frighten them.
Outside, Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy thought that they had been frightened enough.
He entered gently, went inside. Then Owl glared. "Oh, so it was you then who
caused them to eat! Caused them to eat! Then cause them to eat! Then cause
them to eat!" He held his dried mouse up to Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy's face and
rattled it and rattled it ["sa' yayay, sa' yayay"].
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy moved his face from one side to the other. "Aside with
it! You might strike my eyes. Aside with it, Owl!" Now Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy
seized him. Then in the same manner as he had done to Pheasant before, he
plucked the feathers from Owl's wings. "This one talks himself into
fearsomeness! This one made a waif of me!"
He threw Owl out through the smoke-hole to fall into the brush, to hang
there and moan ["han-, han-, han-"]. "Only a short time away the human race
is coming. People will say, 'Already it is this time of the year for the
moaner is moaning,' " Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy addressed him.
Turning to the boys he said to them, "Inform me!"
"Many people of the air live over there, in that direction." Then they all
went from there and followed Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy. Coyote placed himself in
front to inform him that this and that was the situation. They arrived. Oh,
there were so many lodges, all laid out in a great circle.
When he arrived there, the people knew already that Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy was
greatly to be feared. He had two arrows. He shot one arrow in that direction
and demolished all; he shot the other arrow in this direction and demolished
all; he exterminated them all. When they had learned that Cut-Out-of-Belly
Boy was coming, the denizens of the air had lined up in a formation of two
files thinking that from such a position they could charge best. But,
instead, he shot all the men because they were grouped in exactly the right
way for him.
Now all those who had been conquered before rushed to the scene of action
and went into the lodges to capture the women who were left unprotected.
Meanwhile, Coyote charmed himself, "Become a man, handsome and big." So a
great many of the air people's women became his wives. Thus it was that
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy avenged himself.
Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon Press;
Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated between
1912 and 1949]
The land people [wu' lawtalikin- four-footed people] and the denizens of the
air [rviyi''wtalikin - flying people] engaged in war. One old woman's
daughter was on the side of the land people, and she was killed. The old
woman knew that she was with child. So she cut open her daughter's belly and
brought forth a boy, Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy [itsat'v' xtshatswal] The boy
grew, and grew, and grew.
One day Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy said to his grandmother, "Where did I come
from? Where are my mother and father?"
His grandmother wept and said to him, "Long ago there were many people and
they engaged in war. They killed your father and mother. I cut open your
mother, took you out, and raised you here. That is how you came to be,
grandson."
"Yes," Cut,-0ut-of-Belly Boy replied, "it is well that you tell me." Now
then he purified himself.1 He bathed every day, every day, every day. "Now I
seek vengeance. Now I prepare to go. I will go forth to attack them." One
morning he said to his grandmother, "I am leaving you now."
His grandmother wept and said to him, "You are doing a foolish thing; you
defy dangerous ones. Your wish to avenge yourself all alone is hopeless.
They are many, and they vanquished all the people." The old woman only wept.
He said to her, "I am leaving you now." He traveled along. The denizens of
the air were holding many land people in slavery, Coyote among them. All
these who had been conquered were being held in pitiful subjection.
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy knew where many people of the air were living.
As he went along he heard the drumming ["t'l' pipip, t'l' pipip"} and words
of Pheasant of the blackbrush [waswasno' na]. "Do they say Cut-Out-of-Belly
Boy is greatly to be feared? Thus I am going to do to him." And he drummed
viciously ["t'l' pipip, t'l' pipip].
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy went over in that direction, and he seized the Pheasant
suddenly. "This one made a waif of mel" He plucked out all the wing feathers
and threw them all into the bush. "This pompous one tries to make himself
fearsome."
He went on from there again. He heard shouting as he went along and heard
boys again, "Get him from the other side for the terrible one! Get him from
the other side for the terrible one!"
He thought, "For what terrible one are they doing this?" He came upon them
suddenly and said to them, "What are you doing, boys?"
"It is for Owl, the terrible one [saxlata' mono.]. He is holding us, and he
makes us go hunting for rabbits. Then even if we bring in some rabbits he,
alone, eats and tells us, 'If you ever take any, I will kill you.' " They
had sores all over their bodies. They were burnt and beaten, very pitifully
so. Coyote was among them.
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy said to them, "Pick up wood!" Now he built a fire. "Now
give me rabbits!" Then he prepared food for them and anointed their chapped
skins.
They were frightened. "Owl will kill us; he is very terrible."
"I will follow you later. Hurry, eat!" he assured them. He made them eat
heartily all of that which they had caught. "Now go home empty-handed." He
followed them. "Now go inside." He waited and listened outside.
Owl had a conical lodge. He sat there and with such large eyes glared at
them. "So you ate your own kill! So you ate your own kill! Ate your own
kill! Then eat your own kill! Then eat your own kill!" he chanted to them.
They stood agape with fright. Owl had a dried mouse filled with pebbles. Its
mouth was pried open. This he rattled and rattled ["sa' yayay, sa' yayay"]
to frighten them.
Outside, Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy thought that they had been frightened enough.
He entered gently, went inside. Then Owl glared. "Oh, so it was you then who
caused them to eat! Caused them to eat! Then cause them to eat! Then cause
them to eat!" He held his dried mouse up to Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy's face and
rattled it and rattled it ["sa' yayay, sa' yayay"].
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy moved his face from one side to the other. "Aside with
it! You might strike my eyes. Aside with it, Owl!" Now Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy
seized him. Then in the same manner as he had done to Pheasant before, he
plucked the feathers from Owl's wings. "This one talks himself into
fearsomeness! This one made a waif of me!"
He threw Owl out through the smoke-hole to fall into the brush, to hang
there and moan ["han-, han-, han-"]. "Only a short time away the human race
is coming. People will say, 'Already it is this time of the year for the
moaner is moaning,' " Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy addressed him.
Turning to the boys he said to them, "Inform me!"
"Many people of the air live over there, in that direction." Then they all
went from there and followed Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy. Coyote placed himself in
front to inform him that this and that was the situation. They arrived. Oh,
there were so many lodges, all laid out in a great circle.
When he arrived there, the people knew already that Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy was
greatly to be feared. He had two arrows. He shot one arrow in that direction
and demolished all; he shot the other arrow in this direction and demolished
all; he exterminated them all. When they had learned that Cut-Out-of-Belly
Boy was coming, the denizens of the air had lined up in a formation of two
files thinking that from such a position they could charge best. But,
instead, he shot all the men because they were grouped in exactly the right
way for him.
Now all those who had been conquered before rushed to the scene of action
and went into the lodges to capture the women who were left unprotected.
Meanwhile, Coyote charmed himself, "Become a man, handsome and big." So a
great many of the air people's women became his wives. Thus it was that
Cut-Out-of-Belly Boy avenged himself.
Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon Press;
Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated between
1912 and 1949]