Don't Know Much About Mythology - Kenneth C. Davis [234]
Kitchi Manitou (Algonquian, Northeastern woodlands) A manifestation of the Great Spirit, Kitchi Manitou is the divine energy that lives in all things. Man tries to control the “manitou” of small things, such as fire and wood, in order to gain control over the larger forces, such as the sun, wind, and rain.
Kwatee (Kivati) (Puget Sound, Washington) A trickster god, Kwatee transforms the old world that is filled with giant animal people into the world that exists today. When the giant animals discover what Kwatee is doing, they try to kill him. Kwatee then rolls balls of his own flesh into human beings. After his creation is complete, he sits on a rock and leaves the world to join the setting sun.
Nayenezgani (Navajo, Southwest) “Slayer of alien gods,” the translation for Nayenezgani, is the great hero and protector of the Navajo as well as the son of Changing Woman. Together with his twin brother Tobadzastsini, Slayer patrols the world, always on the lookout for evil spirits. While going to visit their father the sun god, the twins meet Spider Woman, who warns them of the dangers they will face on their journey. She gives them two magic feathers: one will subdue any enemy and the other will preserve life.
When they reach the sun god, he tries to kill them. First he throws sharp spikes at them. Then he tries to boil them in a great pot, but the water will not boil. The magic feathers have protected them, but now their power is used up. The brothers are about to die when Caterpillar gives them magical stones and they are saved. Realizing that these boys are powerful warriors, the sun god gives them weapons they can use to protect the Navajo tribe from its enemies.
Raven (Haida and others, Pacific Northwest) A trickster, Raven wants to bring fire to the world when he sees smoke coming from the village of the fire people. With his friends Robin, Mole, and Flea, he tries to steal the fire. But in a series of missteps, Robin’s feathers are scorched and Mole burrows underground. Raven finally decides to steal the chief’s baby and hold it for ransom. To get his baby back, the chief gives Raven fire and two stones with which to make sparks.
Sky Woman (Hurons, Northeast) Atahensic, or Sky Woman, is the central figure in a Creation myth of the Hurons. In the beginning, there is only water below and sky above, where the sky people live. Sky Woman is sick, and her father is afraid that she will die. A member of the tribe dreams that if they dig up the corn tree, and Sky Woman sits next to it, she will be cured. Some of the tribe object, because the tree feeds the tribe. But Sky Woman’s father urges them to help his daughter. When the tree is uprooted, it falls over and opens a dark hole in the ground. A young man gets angry and kicks Sky Woman through the hole.
Falling through darkness toward the infinite sea, Sky Woman is caught by Loon and carried on the back of Tortoise. Tortoise tells the other animals to dive to the bottom of the sea and bring back a little earth from the sea floor. Beaver goes first, then Otter, then Muskrat, who is dead when he surfaces but has a speck of dirt in his mouth. Tortoise gives the dirt to Sky Woman, and she spreads it around his shell until it becomes a fertile island.
With land to walk on, Sky Woman gets well, and then mysteriously becomes pregnant and gives birth to a daughter, Earth Woman. While Earth Woman is digging potatoes, she faces east and the wind impregnates her. She gives birth to twins, a good twin and an evil twin. But the evil