Unknown Mexico Part 15

The Tarahumares were fighting among themselves and Tata Dios sent much rain, and all the people perished. After the flood he sent three men and three women to people the earth. They planted corn at once, bringing three kinds, the same varieties still found here--soft corn, hard corn, and yellow corn.

Giants

On the heights once lived giants. They were as big as pine-trees and had heads as big as bowlders. They taught the Tarahumares how to plant corn, by cutting down trees and burning them, but they ate children.

A woman bore a giant in a cave, which was situated very high up on the side of a valley. She died, because the child was so large, and he was taken care of by his grandmother. Once when she was asleep, she turned over and crushed him.

From Wasivori (near Cusarare) came giants to Nararachic to ask alms. Tesvino they liked very much. They worked very fast, and the Tarahumares put them to hoe and weed the corn, and gave them food and tesvino. But the giants were fierce, and ravished the women while the latter were under the influence of the Moon; therefore the Tarahumares got very angry and they mixed a decoction made from the chilicote-tree with the corn that they gave the giants to eat, and the giants died.

Tata Dios and the Devil--The Sheep and the Deer--Why the c.o.c.ks Crow in the Morning [6]

Tata Dios came down into the world, and he had in his house many large jars filled with strong tesvino. On the other side of the river Huerachic, in the big arroyos, lived the Devil. He was very poor, and he had only one small jar with tesvino, and that was bad. The Devil and his brother invited Tata Dios to come and drink tesvino with them. Tata Dios went to the Devil's house, and they gave him the jar and the drinking-gourd, and he sat down to drink; but he did not get intoxicated because there was not enough tesvino. When he had emptied the jar, Tata Dios said: "Now we will go to my house and drink tesvino; I have some, too." They accepted the invitation, and all went away together, and Tata Dios gave them a large jar full of tesvino and the drinking-gourd. They drank much, and the Devil and his brother sang like the Mexicans, until they lay down on the ground completely overcome. Later in the night the Devil rose, and he went to the wife of Tata Dios. And when she awoke, she was very angry, and roused her husband, and he fought with the Devil, until Tata Dios got killed. But after a while he rose and said to the Devil, "Now go away, go below." "I am going home to get my weapons," said the Devil. But first he went into the house of Tata Dios and robbed him of his money, and [noticing the reporter's book] of his books and everything. He hid all the things in his house and Tara Dios came to look for them. Tata Dios again was very angry, and they fought until he was killed. But this time, too, he rose and said to the Devil, "Go below," and the Devil went below and remained there, and Tata Dios went home.

One day at dawn the people saw the lands full with sheep everywhere. On a flat stone Tata Dios drew figures like the tracks of the deer, and from them all the deer originated.

When Tata Dios returned to heaven, he carried in his right hand a rooster, which he placed on top of a palm-tree. The c.o.c.k crowed three times while Tata Dios ascended to heaven. After this, whenever the sun rises in the morning, the c.o.c.ks on earth respond when they hear the c.o.c.ks in heaven crow.

After Tata Dios had gone to heaven he never came back. He is angry with the Tarahumares, and he wants to destroy the world, but the Virgin says: "Let the people alone; I pity the family we left behind." This is the reason why the world stands.

When Tara Dios went away, he said, "I will leave two crosses here." He then put up a cross where the sun sets at the end of the world, and another where the sun rises. The cross in the east he uses when he rises to heaven and when he comes to visit the Tarahumares, and the cross in the west is for the Tarahumares when they die and go to heaven. Between these two crosses the Tarahumares live. They would like to go to the crosses and wors.h.i.+p before them, but they are prevented from doing so by large bodies of water. They therefore set up small crosses in front of their houses, and before them they hold their dances, and G.o.d comes to eat near these crosses. He only eats the soul or substance of the food, and leaves the rest for the people.

The Giants, the Crow, and the Blackbird

The Crow, who is very knowing, told the following story to the Parrot, who told it to the pagans:

The Blackbird and the Crow, long, long ago, saw a contest between two giants, who made a bet as to which of them could throw a stone farthest. The stakes were four deer. One giant, called Goli, carried a bird in his hand and threw it instead of the stone; so he won; then he returned to where the Blackbird and the Crow were standing. The Blackbird said to the Crow, "They will not do us any harm until they stoop to pick up a stone." But the Crow replied, "Maybe they bring the stone in their hands." So they flew away, and while they were flying the Crow said, "I am going to the mountain to look for my wife and my son. They went away and have been lost for six days."

The Deer, the Toad, and the Crow

The Crow set out for the mountain, where the Deer and the Toad were making a bet. "Let us try," they said, "who can see the sun first in the morning." The stakes were twenty-five Gadflies, and they asked the Crow to be a witness to the contest. In the morning they were ready to watch for the sun. The Toad was looking westward from the highest mountain, but the Deer looked to the east. The Toad said, "Look here, Brother Crow, I have already seen the sun starting," and the Crow said to the Deer: "Brother Deer, you have lost. Give him the twenty-five Gadflies." The Deer asked one day's time to catch the Gadflies, but the Toad thought he was not going to pay him, and said to the Deer, "Let us have a race, that you may settle your bet." The Deer readily consented to this, and a stone was put up as the goal. The Toad went away to call many other toads, and placed them at intervals toward the goal, and when the Deer arrived at the stone the Toad was already sitting on it, and said, "Brother Deer, you have lost." And the Deer went away.

Then the Toad said to the Gadflies: "Go and sting the Deer much, that he may have to run quickly. If you will sting him much, I will never eat you." The Gadflies were vexed with the Deer, because he had put them up on a bet, therefore they were very willing to sting the Deer, and they have been stinging him ever since.

Story of the Coyote

The Coyote asked permission from Tata Dios to come into the world, and Tara Dios asked him what he would do there. The Coyote replied that he would steal the animals and the corn from the Tarahumares. Then Tata Dios gave him permission to go and make a living in this way, because the Coyote did not know how to work.

The Mountain Lion, the Coyote, and the Grey Fox

The Coyote challenged the Mountain Lion to a contest, that they might see which of them had the better eyesight and was the smarter. The Lion said, "Let us see who can first shoot an animal." Then he proposed that they should go to a water-hole, and to this the Coyote agreed; so they started out on the hunt. The Lion climbed up on a tree, but the Coyote remained below on the ground, and paid no attention to what the Lion was doing. A deer came, and the Lion struck it dead. The Coyote saw this from where he was hunting, and by and by he found a dead mare. When they met again the Lion said to the Coyote, "Well, how did you get on?" The Coyote replied: "Very well; I killed a mare." But the mare had been dead so long that she was smelling. Therefore the Lion said to the Coyote, "Don't be a liar,"

and he chased him off, and the Coyote was ashamed of himself.

The Coyote next met the Grey Fox, and told him to go and challenge the Lion. The Grey Fox went to the Lion and said: "How do you do, Brother Lion? I hear you got the best of Brother Coyote." The Lion replied: "No, Brother Grey Fox; the Coyote made a fool of himself." Then the Grey Fox said: "Let us see whether you can get the best of me, and which of us can catch a rabbit first." So they went to the mountain to look for rabbits. At sunrise the Lion took a position facing the north, and the Grey Fox faced south, and both of them watched for rabbits. After spying for a while, the Lion saw one, but by that time the Grey Fox was asleep alongside of him. So the Lion said to the rabbit: "Pa.s.s right between us, and then go to the hole in the oak-tree on the rock, and act as if you wanted to go into the hole, but go away to one side." Then the Lion woke up the Grey Fox and said: "Over there is a rabbit. He went into a small hole into which I cannot follow him; but you are small, and you can catch him." The Grey Fox just saw the rabbit's tail disappearing behind the rock, but the rabbit hid himself, and did not enter the hole, as the Lion had told him. "All right," said the Grey Fox, "I will go; but, as you saw the rabbit first, you have won the bet." But the Lion said: "No; you go into the hole, and fetch the rabbit out and eat him." Then the Grey Fox entered the hole, and the Lion made a fire in front of it, and when the Grey Fox came out again he was burned, and his feet were sore from the fire. That is why the Grey Fox always walks so lightly. And he reproached the Lion, saying that he was very bad, and begged him to let him go and not to kill him. He cried and went to hide himself in a cave, because he was afraid of the Lion. Then the Humming-bird who lived in the cave stung him in the face with his bill and in the eyes, and he went away and never came back again.

The Hens, the Grey Fox, and the Coyote

The Woodp.e.c.k.e.r made a guitar and gave it to the b.u.t.terfly to play on, and the c.o.c.k danced a pascual, and the Cricket danced with the Locust, and the Hen was singing. While the dance was going on, the Coyote came to see what he could get from the feast, and the Grey Fox also came, and he brought some tunas (fruit of the nopal cactus). They were very nice and sweet, and he gave one to the Coyote and said, "Here, Brother Coyote, take this nice mouthful." He had well rubbed off the spines, and the fruit tasted well to the Coyote. It made his heart glad, and he wanted more. The Grey Fox said to the Coyote, "I will give you more tunas, but you must eat them with your eyes shut." He gave him some tunas from which he had not cleaned off the spines, and as the spines hurt the Coyote he became very angry and wanted to eat the Grey Fox. But the Fox said to him: "Don't be angry, Brother Coyote: I will give you a drink; and don't howl, because there are dogs around." He went to the c.o.c.k and to the Hen, and asked them for tesvino, and he brought it to the Coyote and said, "Here, Brother Coyote, drink this." The Coyote drank two gourdsful, and then a third one, and when he had finished this he began to howl, because he was very drunk, and he asked the Grey Fox, "Why are they all dancing?" The Grey Fox replied: "They dance, because Miss Cricket married Mister Locust; therefore the b.u.t.terfly is playing on the guitar, and the c.o.c.k dances with delight, and the Hen is singing." But the Coyote said: "I don't want the Hen to sing; I want to eat her." Then the Grey Fox took the Coyote into the arroyo and told him to remain there, while he went to fetch the Hen. But instead of the Hen he got two very fierce dogs and put them in a bag, and carried them into the arroyo, where the Coyote was waiting. He was very drunk and very angry, and he said to the Grey Fox, "Why did you keep me waiting so long, you cursed old Grey Fox t" The Grey Fox replied: "Don't be angry, Brother Coyote; here I bring you some very nice Hens. I was looking for many of them, that is why I remained away so long. Now, shall I let them out one by one, or do you want them all at once?" The Coyote replied, "Let them out all at once, that I may have a good old time with them." Then the Grey Fox opened the bag, and out came the two fierce dogs; and they caught the Coyote and bit him and tore him to pieces. The Grey Fox ran away and hid himself, but afterward he came and got the paws of the Coyote and threw them into a water-pool.

The Mountain Lion and the Bear

The Mountain Lion killed a deer, and the Bear wanted to take it away from him. They fought, and the Lion won, and the Bear asked his pardon, because the Lion is more powerful than the Bear.

The Frog and the Coyote

The Frog and the Coyote made a wager as to which of them would gain in a foot-race. They were to run along a ridge, and return to a point close by the starting-point. The Coyote lost, because the Frog jumped directly over to the finis.h.i.+ng-point. This happened twice, and the Coyote wanted to kill the Frog, but the Frog dived into a water-hole, where the Coyote could not catch him.

The Bears, whose skin is of the same color as the Tarahumares, are called "grandfathers," amuli, and are so to speak their forebears. In ancient times they danced on top of the mountains, where they have roads yet.

Often the bears are sorcerers, who, after death, a.s.sumed the shape of these animals. In fact, there are two kinds of bears, one that is real, and another one that is a dead Tarahumare. The people do not know which is which. Only the shamans can make the distinction, and it is useless to try and kill the man-bear, because he has a very hard skin, and arrows cannot pierce it. He is the very devil.

The following curious incident happened near Nararachic a few years ago: A bear had done much damage to a Tarahumare's corn-field. Some forty Indians with over fifty dogs gathered together to kill the bear. In order to make the dogs ferocious, the Indians set them to fight among each other, by way of preparing them for the hunt. The Indians now divided themselves into several parties, and presently one lot encountered the bear. They asked the shaman who was with them whether the creature was a bear or something else, and he replied, "Let the dogs on and see." As the dogs had never seen a bear, they were timid, and did not bark or attack the beast; therefore the shaman said: "This is not a bear. All is lost. The dogs do not know him, and the bear does not see the dogs with his eyes. He is from h.e.l.l, and he is a devil, who came here in the shape of a bear, because he wants to eat us. Let him alone and let us all go away." And they all retreated.

The mountain lion is a good animal and watches over the people. When he sees an animal such as the bear or the coyote approach a man, he roars to warn the man; and if the man pays no attention, the lion attacks the animal to save the man; therefore strips of his skin are worn around the ankles and the neck as a protection.