30 iBUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 48 



of the folklore of the Choctaw is preserved in the form of songs, of 

 which they have (so they say) a great many, adapted to various 

 occasions. 



Creation Myth '^ 



Many generations ago Aba, the good spirit above, created many men, all Choctaw, 

 who spoke the language of the Choctaw, and understood one another. These came 

 from the bosom of the earth, being formed of yellow clay, and no men had ever lived 

 before them. One day all came together and, looking upward, wondered what the 

 clouds and the blue expanse above might be. They continued to wonder and talk 

 among themselves and at last determined to endeavor to reach the sky. So they 

 brought many rocks and began building a mound that was to have touched the 

 heavens. That night, however, the wind blew strong from above and the rocks fell 

 from the mound. The second morning they again began work on the mound, but 

 as the men slept that night the rocks were again scattered by the winds. Once more, 

 on the third morning, the builders set to their task. But once more, as the men lay 

 near the mound that night, wrapped in slumber, the winds came with so great force 

 that the rocks were hurled down on them. 



The men were not killed, but when daylight came and they made their way from 

 beneath the rocks and began to speak to one another, all were astounded as well as 

 alarmed — they spoke various languages and could not understand one another. Some 

 continued thenceforward to speak the original tongue, the language of the Choctaw, 

 and from these sprung the Choctaw tribe. The others, who could not understand this 

 language, began to fight among themselves. Finally they separated. The Choctaw 

 remained the original people; the others scattered, some going north, some east, and 

 others west, and formed various tribes. This explains why there are so many tribes 

 throughout the country at the present time. 



Kwanoka'sha ^ 



Kwanoka^sha is the name of a little spirit — a man, but no larger than a child two or 

 three years of age. His home is in a cave under large rocks, in a rough, broken part of 

 the country. 



Now, when a child is two or three or even four years old, it is often sick, and then 

 runs away from its home and goes among the trees. When the little one is well out 

 of sight of home Kwanoka^sha, who is on the watch, seizes it and leads it away to his 

 dwelling place. In many instances they have to travel a considerable distance 

 through the country. When Kwanoka^sha and the child enter the spirit's home they 

 are met by three other spirits, all very old, with white hair. Approaching the child 

 the first offers it a knife; the second a bunch of herbs, all poisonous; the third a bunch 

 of herbs yielding good medicine. Now, if the child accepts the knife he is certain to 

 become a bad man, and may even kill his friends. If he takes the bunch of poisonous 

 herbs he will never be able to cure or otherwise help others; but if he waits and accepts 

 the good herbs, then he is destined to become a great doctor and an important and 

 influential man of his tribe, and to have the confidence of all his people. In this event 

 Kwanoka'sha and the three old spirits tell him how to make use of the herbs — the 

 secrets of making medicines of the roots and leaves and of curing and treating various 

 fevers and pains. 



"Version related by Pisatuntema (Emma) at Bayou Lacomb, April 15, 1909. 



b This legend, as related to the writer by Ahojcobe (Emil John), is given by the Choctaw as explain- 

 ing why some men do good and help others, while many are ignorant and harm those whom they 

 should assist. The existence of a "spirit" such as Kwanoka'sha was evidently believed firmly by all, as 

 it is by the few now living at Bayou Lacomb. 



