painting by Ernie Smith, Tonawanda Seneca artist
Iroquois Stories of the Bear
Origin of the ConstellationsA party of hunters were once in pursuit of a bear, when they were attacked by a monster stone giant, and all but three destroyed. The three together, with the bear, were carried by invisible spirits up into the sky, where the bear can still be seen, pursued by the first hunter with his bow, the second with the kettle, and the third, who , farther behind is gathering sticks. Only in fall do the arrows of the hunters pierce the bear, when his dripping blood tinges the autumn foliage. Then for a time he is invisible, but afterwards reappears.
(The bear is the bowl of the Big Dipper. The hunters are the handle. The dripping blood is the time of autumn, when the constellation turns upside down. In the spring the constellation reappears.)
Why the Chipmunk has the Black Stripe on his BackOnce upon a time, the porcupine was appointed to be the leader of all the animals. Soon after his appointment, he called them all together and presented the question, “Shall we have night all the time and darkness, or daylight with its sunshine?” This was a very important question, and a violent discussion arose, some wishing for daylight and the sun to rule, and others for continual night.
The chipmunk wished for night and day, weeks and months, and night to be separate from the days, so he began singing, “The light will come; we must have light,” which he continued to repeat. Meanwhile the bear bean singing, “Night is best; we must have darkness.”
While the chipmunk was singing, the day began to dawn. Then the other party saw that the chipmunk was prevailing, and were very angry; and their leader, the bear, pursued the chipmunk, who managed to escape uninjured, the huge paw of the bear simply grazing his back as he entered his hole in a hollow tree, leaving its black imprint, which the chipmunk has ever since retained. But night and day have ever continued to alternate.
Myths of the Iroquois
Second report of US Bureau of Ethnology 1880-1881
Erminnie Smith
Here is one other story about how the Bear gave the chipmunk its stripes. This story is from Mongolia.Why the Chipmunk Has Stripes
Do you know why the Chipmunk has stripes?
Once in spring, the bear crawled out of his den. He had got very thin during the winter, and he could hardly stand up on his feet, he was so hungry. But there was nothing to eat, no grass and no berries. The ground was still frozen and so he could not get any roots either. What was he to do? Perhaps go the chipmunk? He could pin his hopes only on him. And so the bear went to the burrow where the chipmunk lived and said:
“You’re a good and thrifty fellow. Couldn’t you give me something to eat?”
The chipmunk was happy that the bear had come to him to beg for something and he led the bear to his pantry. There was a supply of cedar nuts in it, which the chipmunk had prepared the previous autumn. The bear loves nuts, more than honey and even more than raspberries. And so he took handfuls of them and ate them. His host was delighted.
When the bear is full he is good. He is satisfied with everything. He began to thank the chipmunk and to caress him with his paw.
“Thank you, dear, thank you.”
But from beneath every claw of the bear, blood appeared on the back of the poor chipmunk. Then it clotted. That is how five black stripes have remained on the chipmunk’s back to this day.
From the book: How did the great bear originate? : folktales from Mongolia. 1988