EVIL AND GOOD DEEDS
"A comprehensive discussion of Chumash ethical theory must, by necessity, include cosmology. Life for humans on the earth is impacted by influences from supernatural forces, from both above and below.
Humans are often morally corrupted and overwhelmed by these forces which impact both the physical body and the mind. Too often, the craving for food, sex, and other affairs of the body override our better moral judgment. We succumb to the influence of related 'demons' throughout our lives. But the wise Chumash knew that the demons even threatened us after death. The soul outlives the physical body, and begins a celestial journey to the Land of the Dead. By overcoming the celestial demons that await among the stars, the soul can achieve reincarnation."
"But what becomes of the Chumash soul, after it is reborn into another human body? Is it not once again plagued by demons? A number of Chumash narrative explore these problems in discussions of ethical pessimism. This is a viewpoint held by many Protestant Americans. In some sects, traditions of negativity and pessimism go back to the Puritans, Calvinist obsessions with personal sin, and stern New England consciousness. And it also apppeared in the teachings of early Protestant ministers who came to California in the Gold Rush of the 1850's.
L.Y. Nutu, who was from the Santa Barbara area, provides some interesting commentary on the problem of evil and spiritual pessimism. She tells a story about the Tiger of the Sea. The species of this saltwater 'tiger' is not identified directly but is presumedly a shark. This fierce ocean beast had been washed upon the shore and was found by a Chumash man. Feeling benevolent, the human pushed the Tiger back into the water so that he could regain his strength. Instead of thanking the man and swimming away happily, the demon seized the man's hand and threatened to eat him, explaining "Well, it like this, a good deed is repair with evil." [Nutu's narrative goes on to tell how, after a number of misadventures, Coyote tricks the demon to release the man. The man takes Coyote home and feeds him, as a reward for saving his life. But he then turns his dogs on Coyote, who runs for his life. Nutu concluded her story with the moral that a good deed is repaid with evil].
"The lighter side of Chumash stories involved the audience, soliciting laughter at the frailties of human existence. Typically, comic Chumash narratives involve the antics of Coyote, but other tales taught the importance of laughing at ourselves and the need for overcoming our fears.
A story about the one-legged Paka Asil demon, for example, teaches a related moral. In this classic demon narrative, an old woman finds herself lost on a trail, all alone in the night. But this tenacious grandmother refuses to be frightened, when she first hears the thumping sounds of the approaching Paka Asil devil. She hold her own against seemingly overwhelming odds and would not stand aside from the path to allow the monster to proceed on its journey. Through the heroics of this decrepit old woman, the audience learns not only to laugh at the predicaments of others, but also recognize similar dilemmas in their own lives. Laughter lightens the burden of human travail" (Anderson, page 19)
through the John M. Anderson Library Project.
