UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS AMERICAN A CHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY VOL. 4 No. 4 INDIAN MYTHS OF SOUTH CENTRAL CALIFORNIA. BY A. L. KROEBER. CONTENTS. PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION ------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 169 . - ., () ~, I 7. Pohonichi Miwok. The Beginring of the World ------------------------ 8. Pohonichi Miwok. The Thell't of Fire ------------------------------------------ -0- 9. Pohonichi Miwok.. The Ori,o-in of Death -------------------------------------- 203 10. Pohonichi Miwok. The Pear -ind Deer Children ----------- ------ ------- 1-03 III Abstracts 245 I 202 7.-POHONIC11I MiwoK. THE BEGINNING OF TUE WORLD. Told among the Cliukebansi Yokuts. Before there were people there was only water everywhere. Coyote looked aniong the ducks and sent a certain species (Chulceliansi: Yinielt) to dive. At first it said it was unable to. Then it went down. It reached the bottoin, bit the earth, and e0lile, UP 1110'ain. Covote took the earth froin it and sent it for chanit (Yoku-ts name) seeds. When the duck brou- Jit these lie iiiixed tlieni with the earth -and water. Tben the niixture swelled until the iN:,ater bad disappeared. The earth was there. 8.-PO1f0_'QCHI _11INVOK. 'PflE T11EFT oF FIRE.. TOM aniong the Oluk-01.111si Yoklits. -At first, there was no fire. The turtle bad it all. Ile s8t on it aiid (~overed it iip. Ile lived far up in the east M the iiiouii- tp.ills- Coyote N'vellt to that place. Ile, hly (10AN-11 like ~] piece of iv(-)(A. '-Plie peolfle wbo lived there oillm, 1)-', 1,111d s""w "I fi)f; dke t1i's piece of wood, " they said. They took Iiiiii lioiile put hiiii iii the fire. C-ovote tried to get into the fire iinder 7 the turtle. The turtle said: "Stop ptish1*110, -01V Covote g, o t soiiie of tfie fire. Then lie ran down-hill with it lvestw~ I 203 into this country, where then there was no fire and it was cold. He caught a quail and with its fat he made his fire blaze up. Now the people first all became warm. The Mono (Shoshoneans) were far back up in the hills; the Chukchansi (Yokuts) in the middle; the Pohonichi (Miwok) were the ones who received the fire. Coyote was one of them. That is why the Mono cannot speak well; it is too cold where they live. Coyote made the eagle the chief of the people. They enjoyed themselves and made dances. They were warm now because they had fire. They lived well. They wore no clothes. Some men wore a blanket of rabbit skins or of deer skin; others wore nothin-. They used bollow stones to cook in, made of soft red stone. The ea,gle told thern : " Go out and catch rabbits," and then they caught rabbits to cat. To get salt they went beyond the North Fork of the San Joaquin. 9.-Pono,Nicni Aliwoic. THE ORIGIN OF DEATH. Told aniong the Chukeliansi Yokuts. When the first person died Covote was south of hiin, the meadoN,~T-lark to the iiorth. '_N7ow the dead person beoan to stljik-. The ineadow-lark si- nelled it. He did not like it. Coyote said: "I think I AN-111 imake him -et up. " The meadow-lark said: " No, do not. There be too niany. They will becoine so bun-,-rv that, they iv' 11 cat e,,~ich other. Coyote said: "That is nothlin, I do not like people to die. " But the meadow-lark told L1111: "No, it is not well to have too jiiaii y. 'I - 'here -,NTill be others instead of those that die. A man NN-111 have niany children. The old people AN-III die but the youm, will live." Then. Covote said nothill" 111ore. So frol-I'l tjl(,)t. tiiiie on people have aN(I.Vs died. Coyote said: "It will be best to put them into the fire." Aiid so the dead Avere buriied. 10-Pono-Nici-ii _Aljwoi.~. TUE BEAR AND DEER CHILDRE.N_ Toldamong the Cliukehansi Yokuts. The thunders n-ere two boys Avith supernatural powers. Thell, iiiother was the deer. The (rrizzly bear also had two children. The two woiiieii went to the creek looking for clover (Chuk chansi: 111alich). NoiN 7 N - thei loused each other. Then the bear 204 bit the back of the deer's neck and killed her. The two deer- children made a little sweat-house. After the bear had killed and eaten their mother, they killed the two bear-children in this sweat- house with fire. Then they struck the ground and made a noise and fled to their grandfather. He was powerful and had a large sweat-house. The bear pursued them. She had nearly caught them when they escaped into the sweat house. The bear put in her head looking for them. Her hind legs were still outside. The boys' grandfather had supernatural powers with fire; his amulet was a white rock at the top of the house. When all the bear's body except her hind legs was in the house as she looked about for the two boys, the white fire-rock entered her anus and burned her to death inside. Then the two young deer became thunders. After awbile they also had supernatural powers. They made so much noise in the house that their grandfather was afraid. They went up above, where they still are.' The half-Chul~chansi from whom. the Pohonichi tales just -iveii were obtained did not seem to ]-~_-now any story of thesteal- im- of the sun. of a hero who is dug out of the --round as a child, and of a contest between the co rote and the lizard deterininin" the sbape of the human band. Tlie Ali,~vok of Yosemite also st~ite that the tbiA 11 ders -,.,re tvvo boys who Nvere (leer. They control snow and rain. 245 III. ABSTRACTS. 7. P01-1 ?*chi At first there is only water. CoNlote selids a duck to dive and it briiigs up e-m-th, from vddeli lie makes the -,A-orll. ( Cf. 1, 11, 15, 25, 37.) S. P~)Ilo?l , *(-hi 11ilcok. The turlie, f:ti- i!i the mountaiiis, alome lias fire. %vood, s put the fire. rims Co,vote turps himell' '11fo ') p off A-vith it to the -AIIIN-oh. (cf. 1(i., 9. Po 11 Om . Chi 1h?,-OT-. 01i flie fii-st (icath, Covote Avishes to revive the person, but the mo,:,,dow Lirk, there IN-111 be ito room wi the. earth, prevails flwt meii should die. Coyote institutes cl,cmation of the d ea (I. (Cf. 12, 17, 38.) 10. Poho~izchl' The ,-~-r;izly lw.ir md the deer,, two -Nvonien,, each have two chil(Ireii. The two ~vomeii go out together aild the grizzly be:Ir kills the (leer. ,rjie (leer ch I ld!vii J~ 111 the Two ],(,-.ir cliiblre7i in a swciit-11,11sel' and flee 1'roni the grizz1v he:tr to) 1h(,,ir -randfather. A-s she ei-iters his sive-at-11011se slie is hillf"I I,,,- . ills superm:.Jural power. The two boys 1)ecoltle thunders. (For the flimiflor tmiis, cf. 23. Cf. the 1~-\vakhitl, Qatloltq, Thwiip- son, Kathlaniet, and Lutmum parallels cited by Dixon, 341; also Dlxoii, 79., and Powers, 341.)