Post by yellowhair1850 on Mar 5, 2014 16:12:46 GMT -5
(This is for lgarcia)
"In the beginning, before the creation of the Earth, the gods resided in the sky, and humans lived in darkness. Chief among the gods is Takuskanskan, the Sun, who is married to the Moon; he has one daughter, Wohpe. Old Man and Old Woman, whose daughter, Ite is wife to Wind, to who she gave four sons, the Four Winds.
“Of the other spirits, the most important is Inktomi, the devious trickster. Inktomi conspired with Old Man and Old Woman to increase their daughter's status by arranging an affair between the Sun and Ite. His wife’s discovery of the affair lead Takuskanskan, to give the Moon her own domain, and by separating her from himself, created time.
“Old Man, Old Woman and Ite – who was separated from Wind, her husband – were banished to Earth. Ite, along with her children, the Four Winds and a fifth wind, the child of Ite, but not of Wind, established space. The daughter of the Sun and the Moon, Wohpe, also fell to earth and later resided with the South Wind. The two adopted the fifth wind, called Wamniomni.
“Alone on the newly formed Earth, some of the gods became bored. Ite prevailed upon Inktomi to find her people, the Buffalo Nation. In the form of a wolf, Inktomi went beneath the earth and discovered a village of humans. Inktomi told them about the wonders of the Earth and convinced one man, Tokahe, to accompany him to the surface. Tokahe did so, and upon reaching the surface through a cave, saw the green grass and blue sky. Inktomi and Ite introduced Tokahe to buffalo meat and showed him tipis, clothing, hunting clubs, and bows and arrows. Tokahe returned to the underworld village and appealed to six other men and their families to go with him to the Earth's surface.
“When they arrived, they discovered that Inktomi has deceived them. The buffalo were scarce; the weather had turned bad, and they found themselves starving. Unable to return to their home, but armed with a new knowledge about the world, they survived to become the founders of the Seven Council Fires."
