Post by Okwes on Apr 14, 2008 13:16:16 GMT -5
Gluskonba Makes the People - Abenaki
After Gluskonba had traveled around for some time, he began to notice that
something was still missing from the world. He wanted to hear the voices of
people.
"It is time," he said, "to make human beings."
So he gathered together some red earth and began to shape it. He formed it
just as he had formed himself out of the dust, which fell from Tabaldak's
hands. First he made a head, which was pointing towards the north. To this
day the Indian people always sleep with their heads to the north. Then he
shaped two arms, one towards the east and one towards the west. Towards the
south he made two legs. Last of all, he shaped the body and connected all of
the parts of the first human together. Finally he breathed upon his creation
and the first person became alive and sat up. That person, though, was alone
and lonely, even though Gluskonba tried to amuse this new person and keep
this first human being company. So Gluskonba had to make another human
being. Then, now that there were two people in the world, a woman and a man,
they were no longer lonely.
This is one store of how the human beings were made by Gluskonba, but there
is another story, too. This story tells how Gluskonba made the first people
out of stone. Because they were made of stone they were very strong. They
did not need to eat and then never grew tired or slept. Their hearts, too,
were made of stone. They began to do cruel things. They killed animals for
amusement and pulled trees up by their roots. When Gluskonba saw this he
knew he had made a mistake. So he changed them back into stone. To this day
there are certain mountains and hills which look like a sleeping person.
Some old people say those are the first ones Gluskonba made, whom he turned
back into stone.
Then, instead of making more stone people, Gluskonba looked around for
something else to make human beings. He saw the ash trees. They were tall
and slender and they danced gracefully in the wind. Then Gluskonba made the
shapes of men and women in the trunks of the ash trees. He took out his long
bow and arrows and shot the arrows into the ashes. Where each arrow went in,
a person stepped forth, straight and tall. Those people had hearts which
were growing and green. They were the first Abenakis. To this day those who
remember this story call the ash trees their relatives.
www.abenakination.org/gluskonbab.html
After Gluskonba had traveled around for some time, he began to notice that
something was still missing from the world. He wanted to hear the voices of
people.
"It is time," he said, "to make human beings."
So he gathered together some red earth and began to shape it. He formed it
just as he had formed himself out of the dust, which fell from Tabaldak's
hands. First he made a head, which was pointing towards the north. To this
day the Indian people always sleep with their heads to the north. Then he
shaped two arms, one towards the east and one towards the west. Towards the
south he made two legs. Last of all, he shaped the body and connected all of
the parts of the first human together. Finally he breathed upon his creation
and the first person became alive and sat up. That person, though, was alone
and lonely, even though Gluskonba tried to amuse this new person and keep
this first human being company. So Gluskonba had to make another human
being. Then, now that there were two people in the world, a woman and a man,
they were no longer lonely.
This is one store of how the human beings were made by Gluskonba, but there
is another story, too. This story tells how Gluskonba made the first people
out of stone. Because they were made of stone they were very strong. They
did not need to eat and then never grew tired or slept. Their hearts, too,
were made of stone. They began to do cruel things. They killed animals for
amusement and pulled trees up by their roots. When Gluskonba saw this he
knew he had made a mistake. So he changed them back into stone. To this day
there are certain mountains and hills which look like a sleeping person.
Some old people say those are the first ones Gluskonba made, whom he turned
back into stone.
Then, instead of making more stone people, Gluskonba looked around for
something else to make human beings. He saw the ash trees. They were tall
and slender and they danced gracefully in the wind. Then Gluskonba made the
shapes of men and women in the trunks of the ash trees. He took out his long
bow and arrows and shot the arrows into the ashes. Where each arrow went in,
a person stepped forth, straight and tall. Those people had hearts which
were growing and green. They were the first Abenakis. To this day those who
remember this story call the ash trees their relatives.
www.abenakination.org/gluskonbab.html