aADi.N] SOCIAL ORGANIZATION SPECIFIC CLANS 247 



ORIGIN MYTHS 

 FIRST VERSION (toLD BY A MEMBER OF THE CLAN) 



This is the origin story of the Deer people. In the beginning a 

 black deer accompanied by an elk appeared in the center of the 

 earth, and they went in the direction of the east. There they were 

 gomg. Then the black deer said, "My dear younger brother, I am 

 heavy on accoimt of my excessive fatness, go you alone and I will 

 remain here." So he remained there and did not go; and then to 

 the center of the earth, to the ])lace from which they started, he 

 returned. Then he came back to the earth, and again they asked 

 him. Four times they asked. There the necklace of money orna- 

 ments he recognized, the black deer did.^'' Thus the Deer clan beat 

 them, and therefore they have the name BlacJc-Deer-cMef. As they 

 went so they returned again. Again the necklace made of money 

 he (the black deer)-^ recognized. The earth they went around. 

 Then again the black deer went to the east. It was a large one who 

 went ahead, and as he was going along, to his astonishment, they 

 reached the place from which they had started. 



"My younger brother," said Black-deer, "you try to do it." ^° 

 And the second-born went ahead and the others followed, and again 

 they were drawn back to the place from which they started. Then 

 the third-born went first and the others followed and the same thing 

 happened. Then they told the fourth-born to go first, and he went 

 in front and suddenly he struck his horn, the one on the right, upon 

 the earth, and, behold, grass suddenly appeared. It was a very 

 white bud that he had caused to appear. Then he struck his left 

 horn on the earth, and he made a tree appear and the fruit of this 

 tree was meant to be eaten. Then they ate the fruit of the tree. 

 The top of the tree there thej' ate. Thus they said. And they 

 call a woman even to-day She^olw-eats-the-top-of-the-tree. And then 

 they began to walk and the earth trembled from their walking. 

 Toward the east side they went. From this fact they have a name, 

 He^who-slialces-the-earth. And again as some of the brothers were 

 small they have the name Small-deer. They also have the name 

 Walkhig-leader. And they also have names She-^Tio-comes-haclc and 

 He^who-comes-hacJc, because in the beginning they always came back 

 to the place from which they started. Whatever actions they went 

 through, from these they derived their names. 



-* The thought is not quite clear here, due to the fact that scmethijig has probably been omitted by the 

 narrator. 



2» There seems to be a contest between the deer and the elk as to who would be able to see the "money- 

 necklace" first. Under the term "money-necklace" they evidently mean the medallions distributed by 

 the American Government to those whom they recognized as chiefs. The recognition of the "money- 

 necklace" is evidently going to decide the chieftainship between the deer and the elk. 



5« Some power is evidently drawing them back to the place from which they started. 



