Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 23, 2008 17:34:01 GMT -5
Her Brother Becomes Her Husband - Apache / White Mountain
One time a man and his wife were living together in a wickiup. This man's wife became sick. Her husband tried out for her all kinds of medicine, but she could not get well. All the different shamans sang over her, but still she did not get well. Then they held a ga-n dance for her, but it did not cure her.
The husband sat down there and began to think. It seemed as if there was nothing that could be done for the woman. Over beyond the camp was a" little hill and his wife told him to carry her up on that hill, as she would like to be there, on top. So the man started carrying his wife and got to the top of the hill with her just at sunset. After she had been there a while, she told her husband to carry her back to camp again. After that, very often she would ask her husband to carry her to the top of this little hill and leave her there for a while. Now she had been this way for a long time. This woman was not sick, she was just lying about it and pretending that she was sick. This way she kept on telling her husband to carry her to the top of the hill every day, leave her there for a while, and then come back and get her.
There were two men around that place. Both these men wore turkey feather capsi and both looked well. One of them was this woman's own brother. When the woman's husband carried her to the top of the hill she would tell him to go back and stay at home for a while, then when it was sunset to come and get her and take her home again. That's the way she was doing it. The husband did not like all this, and by his camp he sat down and looked over toward the hill. Pretty soon he saw those two men, wearing their turkey feather caps, coming up on the other side of the hill When the woman saw the men with the caps, she stood up and went to one of them. Then she started off a little way and stopped under a tree. Now her husband had come around where he could watch what was going on. The man the woman had gone to, came to her under the tree and lay close with her there. It was this man's own sister that he was lying with. When the husband saw this he just went off home. When he got there he sat inside his wickiup and thought about all this. He did not like it. [Incest is a heinous crime and closely associated with witchcraft. The description of the investigation and punishing - except the dancing - are identical with actual cases occurring in the past] That woman's brother was good looking and this was the reason she had pretended to get sick, so she would have the chance to go with her brother this way.
After the woman had been with her brother a while, she came back on top of the hill and sat there as before. At sunset the husband did not want to go and get his wife on the hill. When it came evening the woman hollered to him, "My husband, come here and take me back to camp!" But the man would not answer her and just sat there. When it started to get dusk the woman began crawling back to camp, pretending, and still calling for her husband Come and carry me home!" After a while the woman stopped and hollered again. She kept on calling and calling, but the man would not answer. After a while he heard her getting closer There was a mano lying there and he picked it up and laid it down close by where he sat. He was thinking that he would hit his wife on the head with it when she got close enough. Now the woman said, "My old man always used to carry me back. What's the matter with him? He must have heard something." Finally she got to the entrance of the wickiup and when she did, the man took the mano and threw it at the woman, but she dodged it. The woman got up and ran away from the camp.
After this happened, that man told all his relatives about his wife having lain with her brother. He told everyone about it. Now the chief there heard of it and said, "Bring this woman here to me' When the woman had come there to him, he said, "Let all the people come here and meet," and all the people did. There was a big crowd, and that woman was right in the middle. One of the men with the turkey feathers caps was there, but he was not the brother of this woman. The brother was not there. Then the chief sent a man to tell the brother to come, but the brother did not want to come. So the chief said, "Have him come here right away,' and so the brother had to come. When the brother got there, the husband said to his wife, "Take off your clothes, all of them,' and so the woman took off her clothes. Now her husband put a belt around her with metal jingles attached to it, hanging down in front. He tied a mano to each of her legs, just below her knees. When he had fixed her this way, he ordered her to dance right there before all the people. "When you dance, go to the man you have been lying with. Dance and sing towards him," he told her. So the woman started to dance and the manos kept bumping against her shins as she danced. The dangles from the belt kept hitting her between the legs. This way the woman danced around towards where her brother was. She came around in a circle towards him. When she got close, she danced back and forth in front of him, facing him (natculge-de). As she danced, she sang, "Let them kill us both," and she sang her brother's name. Now all the people said, "She has just pretended to be sick so she could go out and lie with her brother. She must be a witch and we are better to kill both of them." ,
Right there they killed that woman and her brother, that's the way it was. Since that time this is how people have done. If some one sees a man and woman going together this way, who are brother and sister, they report it and hold a meeting about it. If the two deny that they have been doing this way, they tie them up in a tree by the wrists, with a hair rope, and while they are tied this way ask them again about what they have been doing. If they still won't admit it, they build a fire under them. The rope on their wrists stops the blood from flowing. When they can't stand up any more, they will admit it and then they are killed.
My yucca fruits lie piled up
Taken from Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache by Grenville Goodwin, 1939
One time a man and his wife were living together in a wickiup. This man's wife became sick. Her husband tried out for her all kinds of medicine, but she could not get well. All the different shamans sang over her, but still she did not get well. Then they held a ga-n dance for her, but it did not cure her.
The husband sat down there and began to think. It seemed as if there was nothing that could be done for the woman. Over beyond the camp was a" little hill and his wife told him to carry her up on that hill, as she would like to be there, on top. So the man started carrying his wife and got to the top of the hill with her just at sunset. After she had been there a while, she told her husband to carry her back to camp again. After that, very often she would ask her husband to carry her to the top of this little hill and leave her there for a while. Now she had been this way for a long time. This woman was not sick, she was just lying about it and pretending that she was sick. This way she kept on telling her husband to carry her to the top of the hill every day, leave her there for a while, and then come back and get her.
There were two men around that place. Both these men wore turkey feather capsi and both looked well. One of them was this woman's own brother. When the woman's husband carried her to the top of the hill she would tell him to go back and stay at home for a while, then when it was sunset to come and get her and take her home again. That's the way she was doing it. The husband did not like all this, and by his camp he sat down and looked over toward the hill. Pretty soon he saw those two men, wearing their turkey feather caps, coming up on the other side of the hill When the woman saw the men with the caps, she stood up and went to one of them. Then she started off a little way and stopped under a tree. Now her husband had come around where he could watch what was going on. The man the woman had gone to, came to her under the tree and lay close with her there. It was this man's own sister that he was lying with. When the husband saw this he just went off home. When he got there he sat inside his wickiup and thought about all this. He did not like it. [Incest is a heinous crime and closely associated with witchcraft. The description of the investigation and punishing - except the dancing - are identical with actual cases occurring in the past] That woman's brother was good looking and this was the reason she had pretended to get sick, so she would have the chance to go with her brother this way.
After the woman had been with her brother a while, she came back on top of the hill and sat there as before. At sunset the husband did not want to go and get his wife on the hill. When it came evening the woman hollered to him, "My husband, come here and take me back to camp!" But the man would not answer her and just sat there. When it started to get dusk the woman began crawling back to camp, pretending, and still calling for her husband Come and carry me home!" After a while the woman stopped and hollered again. She kept on calling and calling, but the man would not answer. After a while he heard her getting closer There was a mano lying there and he picked it up and laid it down close by where he sat. He was thinking that he would hit his wife on the head with it when she got close enough. Now the woman said, "My old man always used to carry me back. What's the matter with him? He must have heard something." Finally she got to the entrance of the wickiup and when she did, the man took the mano and threw it at the woman, but she dodged it. The woman got up and ran away from the camp.
After this happened, that man told all his relatives about his wife having lain with her brother. He told everyone about it. Now the chief there heard of it and said, "Bring this woman here to me' When the woman had come there to him, he said, "Let all the people come here and meet," and all the people did. There was a big crowd, and that woman was right in the middle. One of the men with the turkey feathers caps was there, but he was not the brother of this woman. The brother was not there. Then the chief sent a man to tell the brother to come, but the brother did not want to come. So the chief said, "Have him come here right away,' and so the brother had to come. When the brother got there, the husband said to his wife, "Take off your clothes, all of them,' and so the woman took off her clothes. Now her husband put a belt around her with metal jingles attached to it, hanging down in front. He tied a mano to each of her legs, just below her knees. When he had fixed her this way, he ordered her to dance right there before all the people. "When you dance, go to the man you have been lying with. Dance and sing towards him," he told her. So the woman started to dance and the manos kept bumping against her shins as she danced. The dangles from the belt kept hitting her between the legs. This way the woman danced around towards where her brother was. She came around in a circle towards him. When she got close, she danced back and forth in front of him, facing him (natculge-de). As she danced, she sang, "Let them kill us both," and she sang her brother's name. Now all the people said, "She has just pretended to be sick so she could go out and lie with her brother. She must be a witch and we are better to kill both of them." ,
Right there they killed that woman and her brother, that's the way it was. Since that time this is how people have done. If some one sees a man and woman going together this way, who are brother and sister, they report it and hold a meeting about it. If the two deny that they have been doing this way, they tie them up in a tree by the wrists, with a hair rope, and while they are tied this way ask them again about what they have been doing. If they still won't admit it, they build a fire under them. The rope on their wrists stops the blood from flowing. When they can't stand up any more, they will admit it and then they are killed.
My yucca fruits lie piled up
Taken from Myths and Tales of the White Mountain Apache by Grenville Goodwin, 1939