Sacred Texts Native American California Index Previous Next
When Tu-chai-pai made the world, the earth is the woman, the sky is the man. The sky came down upon the earth. The world in the beginning was pure lake covered with tules. Tu-chai-pai and Yo-ko-mat-is, the brother, sat together, stooping far over, bowed down under the weight of the sky. The Maker said to the brother, "What am I going to do?"
"I do not know," said Yo-ko-mat-is.
"Let us go a little farther," said the Maker.
Then they went a little farther and sat down again. "Now, what am I going to do? " said Tu-chai-pai.
"I do not know."
All this time Tu-chai-pai knew what he would do, but he was asking the brother.
Then he said, "We-hicht, we-hicht, we-hicht," three times; and he took tobacco in his hand, and rubbed it fine, and blew upon it three times, and every time he blew the heavens rose higher above their heads. Then the boy did the very same thing, because the Maker told him to do it. The heavens went high, and there was the sky. Then they did it both together, "We-hicht, we-hicht, we-hicht;" and both took the tobacco, and rubbed it, and puffed upon it, and sent the sky up, so-- (into a concave arch).
Then they placed the North, South, East and West. Tu-chai-pai made a line upon the ground.
"Why do you make that line?"
"I am making the line from East to West, and I name them thus, Y-nak, East; A-uk, West. Now you may make it from North to South."
Then Yo-ko-mat-is was thinking very much.
"Why are you thinking?"
"Oh, I must think; but now I have arranged it. I draw a line thus (a crossline), and I name it Ya-wak, South; Ka-tulk, 1 North."
"Why have we done this?"
"I do not know."
"Then I will tell you. Three or four men are coming from the East, and from the West three or four Indians are coming."
The boy asked, "And do four men come from the North, and two or three men come also from the South?"
Then Tu-chai-pai said, "Now I am going to make hills and valleys, and little hollows of water."
"Why are you making all these things?
The Maker said, "After a while, when men come and are walking back and forth in the world, they will need to drink water, or they will die." He had already put the ocean down in its bed, but he made these little waters for the people.
Then he made the forests, and said, "After a while men will die of cold unless I make wood for them to use. What are we going to do now?"
"I do not know."
"We are going to dig in the ground, and take mud, and make the Indians first." And he dug in the ground, and took mud, and made of it first the men, and after that the women. He made the men very well, but he did not make the women very well. It was much trouble to make them, and it took a longtime. He made a beard for the men and boys, but not for the women. After the Indians he made the Mexicans, and he finished all his making. Then he called out very loud, "You can never die, and you can never be tired, but you shall walk all the time." After that he made them so that they could sleep at night, and need not walk around all the time in the darkness. At last he told them that they must travel towards the East, towards the light.
The people walked in darkness till he made the light. Then they came out and searched for the light, and when they found it they were glad. Then be called out to make the moon, and he said to the other, "You may make the moon as I have made the sun. Some time it is going to die. When it grows very small, men may know that it is going to die, and at that time all men, young and old, must run races."
All the pueblos talked about the matter, and they understood that they must run these races, and that Tu-chai-pai was looking at them to see that they did this. After the Maker did all this he did nothing more, but he was thinking many days.
182:1 Or Ka-tulch; it has a guttural sound.