Koasati Traditional Narratives

Contents

v Contents List of Illustrations ix The Narrators xi Preface xvii On the Translation xviii Koasati Versification xix Koasati Pronunciation xx Part One Mythological Narratives Chapter 1. Rabbit Stories 3 Rabbit Steals Fire (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 4 Rabbit Tricks Great-One-Who-Eats-Human-Beings (Selin Williams) 11 Rabbit Switches Dung with Great-One-Who-Eats-Human-Beings (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 16 Rabbit and Great-One-Who-Eats-Human-Beings Have a Dung Contest (Bel Abbey) 20 Rabbit Tricks Great-One-Who-Eats-Human-Beings Overseas (Bel Abbey) 25 Rabbit and Box Turtle Run a Race (Martin Abbey) 28 How Rabbit Made the Water Run Crooked (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 32 Rabbit and Deer Swap Feet (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 34 The Bungling Host (Bel Abbey) 36 Vulture “Cures” Rabbit (Martha John) 42 Chapter 2. Origin Tales 47 The Origin of the Koasati (Pahá:ca [George Henry]) 48 The Origin of Crow (Selin Williams) 50 The Origin of the Stars in the Sword and Belt of Orion (Selin Williams) 56 The Origin of the Pleiades (Selin Williams) 57 The Thunderer and the Man (Selin Williams) 58 The Origin of Deer (Selin Williams) 63 The Origin of Illness (Selin Williams) 66 Corn Woman (Selin Williams) 68 The Origin of Corn (Martha John) 70 How Opossum Got a Bare Tail (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 72 Turkey and Owl Swap Calls (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 75 vi NARRATORS vi The Two Winds (Bel Abbey) 77 The Origin of Deciduous Trees (First Version) (Martha John) 82 The Origin of Deciduous Trees (Second Version) (Martha John) 84 How Bat Received His Wings (Bertney Langley) 86 Chapter 3. Monster Stories 95 The Obstacle Flight (Selin Williams) 96 Eater-of-the-Living (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 101 The Great Lizard (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 105 The Great Lizard (Martha John) 110 The Clawed Witches (Martha John) 116 Chapter 4. Animal Tales 125 A Man Switches Lives with Vulture (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 125 The Orphan and the Bear (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 128 The Bear-Kidnapped Child (Martha John) 134 The Traveling Orphan (Selin Williams) 138 Peregrine Falcon and Great Horned Owl (Martha John) 146 Wolf and Box Turtle Run a Race (Sam Thompson) 150 Great Blue Heron and Hummingbird Race (Martin Abbey) 154 Barred Owl and Mouse (Bel Abbey) 157 The Contest of Heat and Cold (Martha John) 162 The Contest of the Elf, Human, Panther, and Wildcat (Sacowáyhki [Jackson Langley]) 165 Bear Is Tricked by Jay (Myrna Wilson) 169 Chapter 5. Medicine Origin Tales 173 Bear Medicine (Bel Abbey) 174 Chapter 6. Christian Tales 179 Adam and Eve (Ruth Poncho) 179 The Origin of the Races (Solomon Battise) 184 How Far Is It to Hell? (Asa Poncho) 189 Part Two Semihistorical Narratives Chapter 7. Encounter Stories 195 The First Meeting of the Indians and the Europeans (First Version) (Bel Abbey) 196 The First Meeting of the Indians and the Europeans (Second Version) (Martha John) 204 The Origin of the Name “Koasati” (Bel Abbey) 211 CONTENTS vii The Origin of Black People (Martha John and Ed John) 223 Chapter 8. War Stories 229 The Attack of the Tonkawa Cannibals (Azilie Langley) 230 Comanche Horse-Stealing Raids (Martha John) 233 Outwitting the Comanche (Soyá [Ellisol Battise]) 236 The Grandfathers’ Revenge (Soyá [Ellisol Battise]) 241 Rescuing the Kidnapped Girl (Soyá [Ellisol Battise]) 245 Chapter 9. Other Semihistorical Stories 249 The Drought (Azilie Langley) 251 The Drowned Village (First Version) (Martha John) 254 The Drowned Village (Second Version) (Sam Thompson) 255 The Boy and the Pygmy Rattlesnake (Bel Abbey) 258 How a Man Lost His Breechcloth to a Bull (Bel Abbey) 262 Appendix 1. Linguistically Analyzed Texts 271 Corn Woman 271 The Great Lizard 273 Barred Owl and Mouse 278 The Boy and the Pygmy Rattlesnake 285 How a Man Lost His Breechcloth to a Bull 290 Appendix 2. Transcriptions of Swanton’s Texts 295 The Great Lizard 295 Corn Woman 299 References 301 ...