REMAKING THE WORLD
There was a world before this world. But, the people in it did not
know how to behave themselves or act like humans.
The Creating Power was not happy with that earlier world.
The Creator said to itself, "I will make a new world."
The Creator had the pipe bag and the chief pipe.
The pipe was put on the pipe rack
which had been made in the sacred manner.
The Creator took four dried buffalo chips and placed three of them
under the three sticks and saved the fourth stick to light the pipe.
The Creating Power said to itself,
"I will sing three songs which will bring a heavy rain. Then I will sing
a fourth song and stomp four times on the earth. The earth will crack
wide open. Water will come out of those cracks and cover all the land."
When the first song was sung, the rains began.
When the second was sung, the rains poured.
With the third song, the rivers overflowed.
And, when the fourth song was sung and the Creator stomped,
the earth split open in many places
and the water flowed out until it covered the earth.
The Creating Power floated on the Sacred Pipe and the pipe bag.
Carried by the waves and the wind, the Creator drifted for a very long time.
The rain finally stopped and by then all life had drowned.
Only the crow, Kangi, survived.
Kangi was very tired as he had been busy surviving
and there had been no place to rest.
Above the pipe he flew and said,
"Tunkashila, Grandfather...soon I must rest."
And three times crow asked the Creator to make a place for it to light.
Creating Power thought,
"It is time to unwrap the pipe and open the pipe bag."
The wrapping and the bag held all manner of birds and animals.
The Creator selected four animals known for their ability to
stay underwater for a long time.
First, Creator sang a song and pulled loon from the bag.
Loon was commanded to dive and bring up a lump of mud.
The loon dove into the waters but brought up nothing.
"I dived and dived but could not reach the bottom," Loon said.
"I almost died for the water is too deep."
NEXT
BACK
HOME
LIST
CHAT
GRAPHICS BY
