Dawn of the World by C. Hart Merriam (1910) C. Hart Merriam Copyright, 1910, by C. Hart Merriam Dawn of the World by C. Hart Merriam (1910) Table of Contents The Dawn of the World......................................................................................................................................1 Summary..................................................................................................................................................1 Contents...................................................................................................................................................1 Part I: Ancient Myths...............................................................................................................................2 Hoi-ah'-ko Tales of the Southern Mewuk................................................................................................2 Part 2: Present Day Myths.......................................................................................................................3 Beliefs Concerning Animals....................................................................................................................3 Beliefs concerning Ghosts and the Sign of Death...................................................................................3 Beliefs Concerning Natural Phenomena..................................................................................................4 Beliefs Concerning Witches, Pigmies, Giants, andr other Fabulous Beings...........................................4 The Rock Giants......................................................................................................................................4 Bibliographical Information.....................................................................................................................5 The Dawn of the World......................................................................................................................................8 C. HART MERRIAM..............................................................................................................................8 Contents.............................................................................................................................................................10 Illustrations........................................................................................................................................................16 Preface................................................................................................................................................................19 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................21 Fundamental Elements of Mewan Mythology.......................................................................................21 Minor Beliefs.........................................................................................................................................23 Local or Tribal Myths............................................................................................................................24 Characteristics of the First People perpetuated inr r their Final Forms.................................................24 Distribution of the Mewan Indians 5.....................................................................................................25 Differences in Language........................................................................................................................25 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................26 Note.....................................................................................................................................................................29 Part I: Ancient Myths.......................................................................................................................................31 Stories of the First People—People who lived before Real People were createdr................................31 How Wit'-tab-bah the Robin got his Red Breast...........................................................................................33 How Wit'-tab-bah the Robin got his Red Breast....................................................................................33 how Ah-ha'-le stole the Sun for the Valley People.........................................................................................35 how Ah-ha'-le stole the Sun for the Valley People................................................................................35 How Ah-ha'-le stole the Morning....................................................................................................................41 How Ah-ha'-le stole the Morning..........................................................................................................41 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................42 i Dawn of the World by C. Hart Merriam (1910) Table of Contents How Tol'-le-loo got the Fire for the Mountain People...................................................................................44 How Tol'-le-loo got the Fire for the Mountain People..........................................................................44 Why the Lizard Man did not restore Dead People to Life............................................................................48 Why the Lizard Man did not restore Dead People to Life.....................................................................48 The Coyote and the Lizard...............................................................................................................................51 The Coyote and the Lizard.....................................................................................................................51 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................52 How the People got Five Fingers; How they obtained Fire; and How they broke up into Tribes............54 How the People got Five Fingers; How they obtained Fire; and How they broke up into Tribes.........54 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................56 The Birth of Wek'-wek and the Creation of Man..........................................................................................58 The Birth of Wek'-wek and the Creation of Man..................................................................................59 Ke'-lok and his Han-na'-boo............................................................................................................................64 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................68 The Creation of Man........................................................................................................................................70 How they got the Fire.......................................................................................................................................73 Fragment of a Hoo'-koo-e'-ko Version..................................................................................................73 How Kah'-kool the Raven became a Great Hunter.......................................................................................75 How Kah'-kool the Raven became a Great Hunter................................................................................75 Footnotes................................................................................................................................................78 How Kah'-kah-loo the Ravens became People...............................................................................................80 How Kah'-kah-loo the Ravens became People......................................................................................80 The Bear and the Fawns...................................................................................................................................82 The Bear and the Fawns.........................................................................................................................82 The Bear and the Fawns...................................................................................................................................88 The Bear and the Fawns.........................................................................................................................88 How the Children of He-le'-jah became People.............................................................................................91 How the Children of He-le'-jah became People.....................................................................................91 The greed of His'-sik the Skunk......................................................................................................................93 The greed of His'-sik the Skunk.............................................................................................................93 Nek'-na-ka'-tah the