Post by Okwes on May 23, 2007 10:35:46 GMT -5
Gray Archway - Squamish
"Yaada was the loveliest daughter of the Haida tribe. Young braves from all
the islands, from the mainland, from the upper Skeena country came, hoping
to carry her to their far-off lodges, but they always returned alone. She
was the most desired of all the island maidens, beautiful, brave, modest,
the daughter of her own mother.
"But there was a great man, a very great man -- a medicine man, skillful,
powerful, influential, old, deplorably old, and very, very rich; he said,
'Yaada shall be my wife.' And there was a young fisherman, handsome, loyal,
boyish, poor, oh! very poor, and gloriously young, and he, too, said, 'Yaada
shall be my wife.'
"But Yaada's mother sat apart and thought and dreamed, as mothers will. She
said to herself, 'The great medicine man has power, has vast riches, and
wonderful magic, why not give her to him? But Ulka has the boy's heart, the
boy's beauty, he is very brave, very strong; why not give her to him?'
"But the laws of the great Haida tribe prevailed. Its wise men said, 'Give
the girl to the greatest man, give her to the most powerful, the richest.
The man of magic must have his choice.'
"But at this the mother's heart grew as wax in the summer sunshine -- it is
a strange quality that mothers' hearts are made of! 'Give her to the best
man -- the man her heart holds highest,' said this Haida mother.
"Then Yaada spoke: 'I am the daughter of my tribe; I would judge of men by
their excellence. He who proves most worthy I shall marry; it is not riches
that make a good husband; it is not beauty that makes a good father for
one's children. Let me and my tribe see some proof of the excellence of
these two men -- then, only, shall I choose who is to be the father of my
children. Let us have a trial of their skill; let them show me how evil or
how beautiful is the inside of their hearts. Let each of them throw a stone
with some intent, some purpose in their hearts. He who makes the noblest
mark may call me wife.'
"'Alas! Alas!' wailed the Haida mother 'This casting of stones does not show
worth. It but shows prowess.'
"'But I have implored the Sagalie Tyee of my father, and of his fathers
before him, to help me to judge between them by this means,' said the girl.
'So they must cast the stones. In this way only shall I see their innermost
hearts.'
"The medicine man never looked so old as at that moment; so hopelessly old,
so wrinkled, so palsied: he was no mate for Yaada. Ulka never looked so
god-like in his young beauty, so gloriously young, so courageous. The girl,
looking at him, loved him -- almost was she placing her hand in his, but the
spirit of her forefathers halted her. She had spoken the word -- she must
abide by it. 'Throw!' she commanded.
"Into his shriveled fingers the great medicine man took a small, round
stone, chanting strange words of magic all the while; his greedy eyes were
on the girl, his greedy thoughts about her.
"Into his strong, young fingers Ulka took a smooth, flat stone; his handsome
eyes were lowered in boyish modesty, his thoughts were worshipping her. The
great medicine man cast his missile first; it swept through the air like a
shaft of lightning, striking the great rock with a force that shattered it.
At the touch of that stone the 'Gray Archway' opened and has remained opened
to this day. "'Oh, wonderful power and magic!' clamored the entire tribe.
'The very rocks do his bidding.'
"But Yaada stood with eyes that burned in agony. Ulka could never command
such magic -- she knew it. But at her side Ulka was standing erect, tall,
slender and beautiful, but just as he cast his missile the evil voice of the
old medicine man began a still more evil incantation. He fixed his poisonous
eyes on the younger man, eyes with hideous magic in their depths --
ill-omened and enchanted with 'bad medicine.' The stone left Ulka's fingers;
for a second it flew forth in a straight line, then as the evil voice of the
old man grew louder in its incantations the stone curved. Magic had waylaid
the strong arm of the young brave. The stone poised an instant above the
forehead of Yaada's mother, then dropped with the weight of many mountains,
and the last long sleep fell upon her.
"'Slayer of my mother!' stormed the girl, her suffering eyes fixed upon the
medicine man. 'Oh, I now see your black heart through your black magic.
Through good magic you cut the 'Gray Archway,' but your evil magic you used
upon young Ulka. I saw your wicked eyes upon him; I heard your wicked
incantations; I know your wicked heart. You used your heartless magic in
hope of winning me -- in hope of making him an outcast of the tribe.
You cared not for my sorrowing heart, my motherless life to come.' Then,
turning to the tribe, she demanded: 'Who of you saw his evil eyes fixed on
Ulka? Who of you heard his evil song?'
"'I,' and 'I,' and 'I,' came voice after voice. "'The very air is poisoned
that we breathe about him,' they shouted. 'The young man is blameless, his
heart is as the sun, but the man who has used his evil magic has a heart
black and cold as the hours before the dawn.'
"Then Yaada's voice arose in a strange, sweet, sorrowful chant: My feet
shall walk no more upon this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My mother sleeps forever on this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My heart would break without her on this island, With its great, Gray
Archway.
My life was of her life upon this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My mother's soul has wandered from this island, With its great, Gray
Archway.
My feet must follow hers beyond this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
"As Yaada chanted and wailed her farewell, she moved slowly towards the edge
of the cliff. On its brink she hovered a moment with outstretched arms, as a
sea gull poises on its weight -- then she called: "'Ulka, my Ulka! Your hand
is innocent of wrong; it was the evil magic of your rival that slew my
mother. I must go to her; even you cannot keep me here; will you stay, or
come with me? Oh! my Ulka!"
"The slender, gloriously young boy sprang toward her; their hands closed one
within the other; for a second they poised on the brink of the rocks,
radiant as stars; then together they plunged into the sea."
www.aniwaya.org/html/stories/north/northern/story059-nw-Squamish.html
"Yaada was the loveliest daughter of the Haida tribe. Young braves from all
the islands, from the mainland, from the upper Skeena country came, hoping
to carry her to their far-off lodges, but they always returned alone. She
was the most desired of all the island maidens, beautiful, brave, modest,
the daughter of her own mother.
"But there was a great man, a very great man -- a medicine man, skillful,
powerful, influential, old, deplorably old, and very, very rich; he said,
'Yaada shall be my wife.' And there was a young fisherman, handsome, loyal,
boyish, poor, oh! very poor, and gloriously young, and he, too, said, 'Yaada
shall be my wife.'
"But Yaada's mother sat apart and thought and dreamed, as mothers will. She
said to herself, 'The great medicine man has power, has vast riches, and
wonderful magic, why not give her to him? But Ulka has the boy's heart, the
boy's beauty, he is very brave, very strong; why not give her to him?'
"But the laws of the great Haida tribe prevailed. Its wise men said, 'Give
the girl to the greatest man, give her to the most powerful, the richest.
The man of magic must have his choice.'
"But at this the mother's heart grew as wax in the summer sunshine -- it is
a strange quality that mothers' hearts are made of! 'Give her to the best
man -- the man her heart holds highest,' said this Haida mother.
"Then Yaada spoke: 'I am the daughter of my tribe; I would judge of men by
their excellence. He who proves most worthy I shall marry; it is not riches
that make a good husband; it is not beauty that makes a good father for
one's children. Let me and my tribe see some proof of the excellence of
these two men -- then, only, shall I choose who is to be the father of my
children. Let us have a trial of their skill; let them show me how evil or
how beautiful is the inside of their hearts. Let each of them throw a stone
with some intent, some purpose in their hearts. He who makes the noblest
mark may call me wife.'
"'Alas! Alas!' wailed the Haida mother 'This casting of stones does not show
worth. It but shows prowess.'
"'But I have implored the Sagalie Tyee of my father, and of his fathers
before him, to help me to judge between them by this means,' said the girl.
'So they must cast the stones. In this way only shall I see their innermost
hearts.'
"The medicine man never looked so old as at that moment; so hopelessly old,
so wrinkled, so palsied: he was no mate for Yaada. Ulka never looked so
god-like in his young beauty, so gloriously young, so courageous. The girl,
looking at him, loved him -- almost was she placing her hand in his, but the
spirit of her forefathers halted her. She had spoken the word -- she must
abide by it. 'Throw!' she commanded.
"Into his shriveled fingers the great medicine man took a small, round
stone, chanting strange words of magic all the while; his greedy eyes were
on the girl, his greedy thoughts about her.
"Into his strong, young fingers Ulka took a smooth, flat stone; his handsome
eyes were lowered in boyish modesty, his thoughts were worshipping her. The
great medicine man cast his missile first; it swept through the air like a
shaft of lightning, striking the great rock with a force that shattered it.
At the touch of that stone the 'Gray Archway' opened and has remained opened
to this day. "'Oh, wonderful power and magic!' clamored the entire tribe.
'The very rocks do his bidding.'
"But Yaada stood with eyes that burned in agony. Ulka could never command
such magic -- she knew it. But at her side Ulka was standing erect, tall,
slender and beautiful, but just as he cast his missile the evil voice of the
old medicine man began a still more evil incantation. He fixed his poisonous
eyes on the younger man, eyes with hideous magic in their depths --
ill-omened and enchanted with 'bad medicine.' The stone left Ulka's fingers;
for a second it flew forth in a straight line, then as the evil voice of the
old man grew louder in its incantations the stone curved. Magic had waylaid
the strong arm of the young brave. The stone poised an instant above the
forehead of Yaada's mother, then dropped with the weight of many mountains,
and the last long sleep fell upon her.
"'Slayer of my mother!' stormed the girl, her suffering eyes fixed upon the
medicine man. 'Oh, I now see your black heart through your black magic.
Through good magic you cut the 'Gray Archway,' but your evil magic you used
upon young Ulka. I saw your wicked eyes upon him; I heard your wicked
incantations; I know your wicked heart. You used your heartless magic in
hope of winning me -- in hope of making him an outcast of the tribe.
You cared not for my sorrowing heart, my motherless life to come.' Then,
turning to the tribe, she demanded: 'Who of you saw his evil eyes fixed on
Ulka? Who of you heard his evil song?'
"'I,' and 'I,' and 'I,' came voice after voice. "'The very air is poisoned
that we breathe about him,' they shouted. 'The young man is blameless, his
heart is as the sun, but the man who has used his evil magic has a heart
black and cold as the hours before the dawn.'
"Then Yaada's voice arose in a strange, sweet, sorrowful chant: My feet
shall walk no more upon this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My mother sleeps forever on this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My heart would break without her on this island, With its great, Gray
Archway.
My life was of her life upon this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
My mother's soul has wandered from this island, With its great, Gray
Archway.
My feet must follow hers beyond this island, With its great, Gray Archway.
"As Yaada chanted and wailed her farewell, she moved slowly towards the edge
of the cliff. On its brink she hovered a moment with outstretched arms, as a
sea gull poises on its weight -- then she called: "'Ulka, my Ulka! Your hand
is innocent of wrong; it was the evil magic of your rival that slew my
mother. I must go to her; even you cannot keep me here; will you stay, or
come with me? Oh! my Ulka!"
"The slender, gloriously young boy sprang toward her; their hands closed one
within the other; for a second they poised on the brink of the rocks,
radiant as stars; then together they plunged into the sea."
www.aniwaya.org/html/stories/north/northern/story059-nw-Squamish.html