Sacred Texts  Native American  Hopi  Index  Previous  Next 


The Traditions of the Hopi, by H.R. Voth, [1905], at sacred-texts.com


2.--HURÚING WUHTI AND THE SUN.

Hurúing Wuhti lives on small piece of land in west, and owns moon, stars, and all hard substances. She sends Moon for Sun in east. He goes to her, and they agree to own all things together. The y take skins of all kinds of birds, and Hurúing Wuhti places them on floor. She then rubs small scales from her cuticle between palms of hands and places scales on feathers and skins and covers them with native cloth. Sun kindles fire at east side. They

p. 274

wave four corners of cloth, Hurúing Wuhti singing, four times, and things begin to move and emit sounds as birds do. On removal of cover birds fly out into air, but return. Hurúing Wuhti gives them to Sun, who places them in jar of transparent stone. Sun places different kinds of hair on floor with small quantity of his paints. He lets his beard drop upon objects and shakes wings towards them. They cover things up, each holding two corners of covering, and Suit sings song. Antelope and other animals jump up and run around. Sun tells Hurúing Wuhti they are hers, and they afterwards consider her as their mother. Sun returns under earth to east and makes land by turning over land of Hurúing Wuhti which is under water. He sees beings come out of water whom he calls White People, Spaniards and Mormons. He pours bird-; out of jar and they fly around in air and increase. Sun returns to Hurúing Wuhti's house in west. She creates little maiden and little boy from pieces of her cuticle. She sends them away to live on earth, and names youth Múyingwa and maiden Yáhoya. With scale matter from her umbilicus Hurúing Wuhti makes another maiden. She calls her Sand Clan Member and Lizard Clan Member, and sends her after other two, giving her grain of shelled corn. Hurúing Wuhti now rubs her face and inside of nose, and from scales makes child that cries like Hopi child would cry, and another that cries like coyote. She says maiden shall be Burrowing Owl Clan Member and youth Coyote Clan Member. She gives them each grain of shelled corn and tells them to follow others. Again Hurúing Wuhti creates as before, and they hear somebody grunt and another one angry. The former is child like Hopi, and she names it Bear-Clan Member. She gives him grain of corn and sends him on. The other, Head-with-the-Hair-Pushed-over-it-Backward, is Navaho. She gives him piece of spoiled meat and sends him on. Sun returns to east, and next day he sees smoke arising at different places and people camping. He sees maiden and youth traveling along very tired. He gives them water to drink and little corn for food. He calls youth Sun Clan Member and maiden Forehead Clan Member and tells them to travel eastward.


Next: 3.--Coming of the Hopi From the Under-world.