Sacred Texts Native American Southeast Index Previous Next
Thunder married a human being. 1 He had a big frog covered up to keep his fire. When Thunder came back from killing someone he hung up an arm, the head and the buttocks. As he went along Thunder sang, "I am flying. I am flying. I am flying. Flying water (i. e., rain) is my child. Flying water is my child. I am flying." He was shooting, and what he used was lightning. If he stayed away all day, the big frog went around the fire and sang "Gaditī'yaoc. He comes flying. He comes flying. Flying water is his child. He comes flying. He comes flying." Since Thunder stayed away all day he was worried lest his wife should be carried off. "Nothing can hurt me myself," he said, "for I am very brave," and he lay down.
But now the arm, the head, and the buttocks hanging up got angry, and the arm sang, "Hånīgū'tsi hå'nigutsi itā'wawa ita'wawa' hānāgānī'" (meaning unknown). The head also sang, "Dū'nuga' dunuga' dunugå'tsi dunuga' ya'ox" (meaning unknown except that the last word signifies that the head was whooping), and gritted its
teeth. The back also sang, "Tsetsē'tataginā'wiyo. Tsetsē'tataginā'wiyo." When Thunder came back from killing people he took the cover off of the fire and the big frog and said to the frog, "Throw them into the ground." So the frog dragged the members away, dug a hole behind the house, and buried them. In that way he had made mounds of earth. That is what they always used to say.
239:1 And that is how the other facts regarding him came to be known.