Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 21, 2008 10:24:15 GMT -5
Five Friends of Takochai - Yaqui
THERE lived in the land of the Yaqui an Indian called Teta Hiapsi and he was
very industrious. He enjoyed building good things. For this reason, he
talked one day with a large group of Yaquis to see if they would work for
him if he paid them a fair salary. In those days, there were no dollars, or
half-dollars. Instead, the Yaquis used for money some silver discs, lacking
any stamp, discs about four inches in diameter and an inch thick. They
called them te'okita, which means pure silver. They also used similar discs
of gold which they called sawai tomi, which is the same as saying yellow
money.
All of the Indians wanted to work with Teta Hiapsi, so he put them to work
cutting sticks and branches to make a serco, or fence. This serco was
twenty-four kilometers in circumference and in its center, a little creek
ran all the time. In this corral there were lions, bears, tigers, and snakes
of many sizes. In fact, Teta Hiapsi's serco surrounded an immense forest
containing in it a number of water-holes.
Thus Teta Hiapsi considered himself very rich indeed. Also he had a cave,
quite wide and deep, full of te'okita and sawai tomi. From it he paid his
workers every Saturday.
One Saturday arrived and he paid all of his workers except one Yaqui whose
name was Takochai. To Takochai he said, "You didn't get any money. So you
may do anything you want to me to get even." Teta Hiapsi was a very curious
man. He enjoyed jokes and pranks, and he knew that Takochai was a clever
trickster. He knew that something would happen.
Well, Takochai went away to think of something to do to Teta Hiapsi to get
even.
To a little stream which lies west of Cumuripa among some low hills, to a
little valley fertile and picturesque, Takochai took his bow and arrows. In
this place he met a big Indian. This Indian was so strong that to amuse
himself he walked along tearing up mesquite trees by the roots as if they
were onions. He would give one jerk and the tree with all its root would
come up and he would toss it off into the distance. He did the same with
sahuaros. This Yaqui was very strong.
Takochai came up to him and said, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just pulling up these little sticks," answered the Indian, Hoso
Hoseli.
"May I go along with you?" asked Takochai.
"Why yes, it would give me pleasure," said Hoso Hoseli, and the two walked
on a little distance together. It was late and they stopped to sleep under a
tree.
The next day they took to the road again. They had only traveled a little
distance when they met a Yaqui who was pointing an arrow at a mountain range
which was so far away that it could hardly be seen.
"What are you doing?" asked Takochai.
"I wanted to kill a deer that was over there in those mountains, but you
disturbed me and the deer has gone."
"Oh, but how distant are those mountains!" exclaimed Takochai. "They are
barely visible."
"More distant deer have I killed," responded the hunter whose name was
Mekkata'obia, which means Light that Illumines the Distance. Takochai
invited Mekkata'obia to come along with him and Hoso Hoseli, and the three
adventurers went off.
They soon met a tall, thin Indian. He was standing on one foot holding a
rope made of hide and tying the other leg which was doubled up. They saluted
him and asked, "What are you doing, tying up your leg like that?"
He answered, "I am tying up this leg so I won't walk so fast. With two legs
I run as fast as the wind, and with one tied I can walk about as fast as a
light breeze." This Yaqui was called Yuku Beo'oti, or Lightning. Takochai
and Hoso Hoseli and Mekkata'obia invited Yuku Beo'oti to accompany them, and
the four went on together. They went on until it was late and they stopped
to sleep.
The next day they again took to the road. After walking only a short
distance they met a very short little Yaqui who wore a skin cap. One side of
this cap was decorated with red feathers and the other side with green ones.
When he put it on with the red feathers to the right the weather became hot,
and when he put it on with the green feathers to the right it became cold.
He kept making this change every minute, never stopping. This little fellow
was called Tasa'a Bali, which means Cool Summer. He is called this because
he made heat and cold by moving his headdress of two colors.
The four companions invited Tasa'a Bali to come along with them, and now
there were five.
The next day they encountered a man on top of a little hill. He stood with
his feet upon a rock and one hand against a tree. With the other hand he
stopped up one of his nostrils. Through the other nostril he blew mightily,
a volcano of air. The travelers came up to him and asked him what he was
doing.
The man on the hill said that over on the other side of the green monte were
many Yaquis milling earth and rock to take out the gold. "I make the mills
run by blowing with this nostril. There are four mills for the stone and
three to draw up water. When I stop blowing, those windmills stop. Right now
while I am chatting, they are quiet."
His name was Hekkateni'a.
Takochai and his companions invited this great blower to come along with
them.
So the six companions all went on to the serco of Teta Hiapsi.
Takochai greeted Teta Hiapsi and said, "I have come to bet with you, Teta
Hiapsi, to win from you all that you own."
And Teta Hiapsi agreed to run a race.
Now, Teta Hiapsi had a daughter who was something of a witch woman. It was
known that she knew how to fly like a bird. But Takochai was now the chief
of five clever men.
Many Indians, men and women and boys, gathered to see the race between the
witch and the swiftest of the companions, Yuku Beo'oti. Since Takochai had
no money, he put up his life against this witch whose name was Sochik,
meaning Bat.
The race was to be from ili bakam to bemela ba'am, such a great distance
that a man on a good horse traveling at a run does not arrive there in one
long summer day.
The people gathered and the racers were ready. Someone gave the shout to
start. Sochik flew off through the air as fast as she could, and Yuku
Beo'oti disappeared like the wind. He soon arrived at bemela ba'am, filled
his canteen with water and started back. This was the agreement. He who
should arrive there and fill his canteen and be the first back in ili bakam
was to win the race.
When Yuku Beo'oti was about half way back, he lay down to sleep, putting his
head on a stump.
Sochik had hardly started for bemela ba'am. When she came upon Yuku Beo'oti
and saw him sleeping, she threw the water out of his canteen and went on her
way toward the waterhole. Then Mekkata'obia, from the great distance saw
that the water had been thrown out and he shot an arrow into the tree trunk
that served Yuku Beo'oti as a pillow. Yuku Beo'oti awoke and noticed that
his water had been thrown out. Taking his canteen, he ran past Sochik to the
waterhole, filled it, and returned to ili bakam with the water. Thus Yuku
Beo'oti won the race and Sochik lost, for she arrived very late.
"I have lost," said Teta Hiapsi pleasantly. And he gave Takochai half of a
cave full of silver and gold. "Now, in order for you to win from me all that
I own, you and your men must sleep inside of that oven all night."
The oven was big and square. It was used to cook large animals in. There
were no windows in it. It was on top of four big flat stones.
Takochai looked at the oven and said, "Very well, we shall all sleep there.
And tomorrow you must give me all of. your money and your well and your
animals."
Takochai and his five companions entered the oven, and Teta Hiapsi, with the
help of other Indians, covered it. They put firewood below and above and lit
the fire and it burned all night.
When the men inside began to feel the heat, Tasa'a Bali put his cap on with
the green side to the right and they felt no more heat.
Dawn came and Teta Hiapsi thought that they must be well cooked. But when he
opened the door they all stepped out, alive and shivering from cold.
Thus Teta Hiapsi had to give all of the gold and silver in his cave to
Takochai. The companions made a huge purse of many skins. In it they put the
money and Hoso Hoseli tossed it up on his shoulders as if it were nothing.
He was very strong, Hoso Hoseli, that man who pulls up mesquite trees.
"Now, let us go," said Takochai to his companions. "We will come back for
the rest later." And they marched away in triumph.
Teta Hiapsi then gathered together some six hundred Yaquis to follow and
kill Takochai and his men. But Mekkata'obia, who could see far, discovered
them. The friends stopped at the foot of a little hill above a large plain.
When the Yaquis of Teta Hiapsi came across the plain, Takochai ordered
Hekkateni'a, he of the great wind, to blow at them. Hekkateni'a covered one
nostril and blew so strongly that the Yaquis were blown high into the air,
very high. Then he stopped blowing and the Yaquis fell to the earth like
stones. Here ends this tale.
Yaqui Myths and Legends, by Ruth Warner Giddings; Illustrated by Laurie
Cook; University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ (Univ. Ariz. Anthropological
Paper No. 2) [1959] [1959, Copyright not registered or renewed] and is now
in the public domain.
THERE lived in the land of the Yaqui an Indian called Teta Hiapsi and he was
very industrious. He enjoyed building good things. For this reason, he
talked one day with a large group of Yaquis to see if they would work for
him if he paid them a fair salary. In those days, there were no dollars, or
half-dollars. Instead, the Yaquis used for money some silver discs, lacking
any stamp, discs about four inches in diameter and an inch thick. They
called them te'okita, which means pure silver. They also used similar discs
of gold which they called sawai tomi, which is the same as saying yellow
money.
All of the Indians wanted to work with Teta Hiapsi, so he put them to work
cutting sticks and branches to make a serco, or fence. This serco was
twenty-four kilometers in circumference and in its center, a little creek
ran all the time. In this corral there were lions, bears, tigers, and snakes
of many sizes. In fact, Teta Hiapsi's serco surrounded an immense forest
containing in it a number of water-holes.
Thus Teta Hiapsi considered himself very rich indeed. Also he had a cave,
quite wide and deep, full of te'okita and sawai tomi. From it he paid his
workers every Saturday.
One Saturday arrived and he paid all of his workers except one Yaqui whose
name was Takochai. To Takochai he said, "You didn't get any money. So you
may do anything you want to me to get even." Teta Hiapsi was a very curious
man. He enjoyed jokes and pranks, and he knew that Takochai was a clever
trickster. He knew that something would happen.
Well, Takochai went away to think of something to do to Teta Hiapsi to get
even.
To a little stream which lies west of Cumuripa among some low hills, to a
little valley fertile and picturesque, Takochai took his bow and arrows. In
this place he met a big Indian. This Indian was so strong that to amuse
himself he walked along tearing up mesquite trees by the roots as if they
were onions. He would give one jerk and the tree with all its root would
come up and he would toss it off into the distance. He did the same with
sahuaros. This Yaqui was very strong.
Takochai came up to him and said, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm just pulling up these little sticks," answered the Indian, Hoso
Hoseli.
"May I go along with you?" asked Takochai.
"Why yes, it would give me pleasure," said Hoso Hoseli, and the two walked
on a little distance together. It was late and they stopped to sleep under a
tree.
The next day they took to the road again. They had only traveled a little
distance when they met a Yaqui who was pointing an arrow at a mountain range
which was so far away that it could hardly be seen.
"What are you doing?" asked Takochai.
"I wanted to kill a deer that was over there in those mountains, but you
disturbed me and the deer has gone."
"Oh, but how distant are those mountains!" exclaimed Takochai. "They are
barely visible."
"More distant deer have I killed," responded the hunter whose name was
Mekkata'obia, which means Light that Illumines the Distance. Takochai
invited Mekkata'obia to come along with him and Hoso Hoseli, and the three
adventurers went off.
They soon met a tall, thin Indian. He was standing on one foot holding a
rope made of hide and tying the other leg which was doubled up. They saluted
him and asked, "What are you doing, tying up your leg like that?"
He answered, "I am tying up this leg so I won't walk so fast. With two legs
I run as fast as the wind, and with one tied I can walk about as fast as a
light breeze." This Yaqui was called Yuku Beo'oti, or Lightning. Takochai
and Hoso Hoseli and Mekkata'obia invited Yuku Beo'oti to accompany them, and
the four went on together. They went on until it was late and they stopped
to sleep.
The next day they again took to the road. After walking only a short
distance they met a very short little Yaqui who wore a skin cap. One side of
this cap was decorated with red feathers and the other side with green ones.
When he put it on with the red feathers to the right the weather became hot,
and when he put it on with the green feathers to the right it became cold.
He kept making this change every minute, never stopping. This little fellow
was called Tasa'a Bali, which means Cool Summer. He is called this because
he made heat and cold by moving his headdress of two colors.
The four companions invited Tasa'a Bali to come along with them, and now
there were five.
The next day they encountered a man on top of a little hill. He stood with
his feet upon a rock and one hand against a tree. With the other hand he
stopped up one of his nostrils. Through the other nostril he blew mightily,
a volcano of air. The travelers came up to him and asked him what he was
doing.
The man on the hill said that over on the other side of the green monte were
many Yaquis milling earth and rock to take out the gold. "I make the mills
run by blowing with this nostril. There are four mills for the stone and
three to draw up water. When I stop blowing, those windmills stop. Right now
while I am chatting, they are quiet."
His name was Hekkateni'a.
Takochai and his companions invited this great blower to come along with
them.
So the six companions all went on to the serco of Teta Hiapsi.
Takochai greeted Teta Hiapsi and said, "I have come to bet with you, Teta
Hiapsi, to win from you all that you own."
And Teta Hiapsi agreed to run a race.
Now, Teta Hiapsi had a daughter who was something of a witch woman. It was
known that she knew how to fly like a bird. But Takochai was now the chief
of five clever men.
Many Indians, men and women and boys, gathered to see the race between the
witch and the swiftest of the companions, Yuku Beo'oti. Since Takochai had
no money, he put up his life against this witch whose name was Sochik,
meaning Bat.
The race was to be from ili bakam to bemela ba'am, such a great distance
that a man on a good horse traveling at a run does not arrive there in one
long summer day.
The people gathered and the racers were ready. Someone gave the shout to
start. Sochik flew off through the air as fast as she could, and Yuku
Beo'oti disappeared like the wind. He soon arrived at bemela ba'am, filled
his canteen with water and started back. This was the agreement. He who
should arrive there and fill his canteen and be the first back in ili bakam
was to win the race.
When Yuku Beo'oti was about half way back, he lay down to sleep, putting his
head on a stump.
Sochik had hardly started for bemela ba'am. When she came upon Yuku Beo'oti
and saw him sleeping, she threw the water out of his canteen and went on her
way toward the waterhole. Then Mekkata'obia, from the great distance saw
that the water had been thrown out and he shot an arrow into the tree trunk
that served Yuku Beo'oti as a pillow. Yuku Beo'oti awoke and noticed that
his water had been thrown out. Taking his canteen, he ran past Sochik to the
waterhole, filled it, and returned to ili bakam with the water. Thus Yuku
Beo'oti won the race and Sochik lost, for she arrived very late.
"I have lost," said Teta Hiapsi pleasantly. And he gave Takochai half of a
cave full of silver and gold. "Now, in order for you to win from me all that
I own, you and your men must sleep inside of that oven all night."
The oven was big and square. It was used to cook large animals in. There
were no windows in it. It was on top of four big flat stones.
Takochai looked at the oven and said, "Very well, we shall all sleep there.
And tomorrow you must give me all of. your money and your well and your
animals."
Takochai and his five companions entered the oven, and Teta Hiapsi, with the
help of other Indians, covered it. They put firewood below and above and lit
the fire and it burned all night.
When the men inside began to feel the heat, Tasa'a Bali put his cap on with
the green side to the right and they felt no more heat.
Dawn came and Teta Hiapsi thought that they must be well cooked. But when he
opened the door they all stepped out, alive and shivering from cold.
Thus Teta Hiapsi had to give all of the gold and silver in his cave to
Takochai. The companions made a huge purse of many skins. In it they put the
money and Hoso Hoseli tossed it up on his shoulders as if it were nothing.
He was very strong, Hoso Hoseli, that man who pulls up mesquite trees.
"Now, let us go," said Takochai to his companions. "We will come back for
the rest later." And they marched away in triumph.
Teta Hiapsi then gathered together some six hundred Yaquis to follow and
kill Takochai and his men. But Mekkata'obia, who could see far, discovered
them. The friends stopped at the foot of a little hill above a large plain.
When the Yaquis of Teta Hiapsi came across the plain, Takochai ordered
Hekkateni'a, he of the great wind, to blow at them. Hekkateni'a covered one
nostril and blew so strongly that the Yaquis were blown high into the air,
very high. Then he stopped blowing and the Yaquis fell to the earth like
stones. Here ends this tale.
Yaqui Myths and Legends, by Ruth Warner Giddings; Illustrated by Laurie
Cook; University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ (Univ. Ariz. Anthropological
Paper No. 2) [1959] [1959, Copyright not registered or renewed] and is now
in the public domain.