First Man and First Woman?Äôs Dog: A Coyote Tale
An excerpts from the book
The Mythology of Dogs
by Gerald and Loretta Hausman
IN THE BEGINNING, the first beings were all friends.¬Ý They worked together to make the world, if not better, at least brighter; because it was very dark in the beginning.¬Ý In fact, it was pitch-patch black.¬Ý And the animal people and the two-legged people and the insect people kept bumping into one another.
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First Man and First Woman were there, however, to make things better.¬Ý They had help, too, from the one called Coyote.¬Ý He was always around, at that time, poking his nose into things.¬Ý He stole Water Monster?Äôs two children, if you remember: He tucked them up under his arm and walked away with them.¬Ý That made Water Monster so mad, she caused the Great Flood.
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Yet, after all was said and done, the Great Flood was good because it pushed the People - animals, two-leggeds, and insects - up through a hollow reed into the next world, the world of light.¬Ý There, things were not so dark, but still, it was hard to see, and the People stumbled around much of the time.
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First Man then told the People to put some offerings on Bat?Äôs wings.¬Ý This they did, scattering little bits of bright-colored corn pollen all over them.¬Ý And Bat fluttered up into the heavens, and the offerings on his wings became the stars; but they still did not shine.¬Ý They barely glittered, even though Bat stayed up there for a time, polishing them with his darting little wings.
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Then, First Woman said to First Man, ?ÄúI think we had better do something else because it is still too dark to see and those stars up there are not bright enough.?Äù
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First Man called forth the two Pollen Boys, for they could sing very sweetly: ?ÄúWe will have them sing the stars into being alive,?Äù First Man explained.¬Ý So the Pollen Boys started to sing, but no song came from them.
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?ÄúWhat mischief is this??Äù¬Ý First Woman asked, thinking she already knew.¬Ý
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?ÄúCome over here Coyote,?Äù First Man ordered.¬Ý He discovered that Coyote had stolen the voices of the Pollen Boys, so their song had no sound.
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Coyote felt ashamed of himself now because he had done two bad things: He had stolen Water Monster?Äôs children, which made the Great Flood, and he had taken the Pollen Boys?Äô voices so the stars would not shine.
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?ÄúIf you are as ashamed of yourself as we are ashamed of you, then you will fix what you have done.?Äù¬Ý First Man chastised Coyote, who said he would make up for it.
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He motioned to everyone.¬Ý ?ÄúListen to me.¬Ý I can sing as well as the Pollen Boys.¬Ý I can polish stars just as well as Bat.¬Ý I can make the world into a brighter place, you will see.?Äù
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Then Coyote sang to the different directions, which was something altogether new.¬Ý He sang to the east, to the south, to the west, and to the north.¬Ý Then he gently breathed light into the stars.¬Ý And, for the first time, they flickered.¬Ý They glowed and, at last, burned.
?ÄúThis is good,?Äù First Woman said.¬Ý ?ÄúWe can prepare our food with such light.¬Ý Coyote, you are not such a bad person after all.?Äù
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Coyote received the praise of the People.¬Ý He enjoyed being praised more than anything.¬Ý He walked about with his chest puffed out and his tail flying high.
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Then it was time to put up the Milky Way First Man and First Woman arranged the constellations on a velveteen cloth spread upon the sand.¬Ý Coyote, though, was still puffing about the camp, telling everyone what a fine thing he had done with the first rows of stars.¬Ý But, now, as he was strutting self-importantly, he tripped and fell onto the constellation cloth - and the stars of the Milky Way spilled everywhere.¬Ý They ran like white rivers into the sand.¬Ý First Man and First Woman had to go around, gathering the rivers of stars.¬Ý This time, they put them up in the heavens before Coyote could trip on them again.
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Naturally, Coyote felt bad, but mostly, he just felt sorry for himself.¬Ý The animal people and the two-leggeds got so tired of hearing Coyote?Äôs whining that they patted him on the back.
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?ÄúYou are still our friend,?Äù they said, ?ÄúJust be more careful where you put your hands and feet.?Äù
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Coyote promised.¬Ý Then he told them that he had many secret powers they did not know about.
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?ÄúI am the one who will make rain when you plant corn,?Äù he explained.¬Ý ?ÄúAnd when babies are born, I will be there to help.¬Ý And whenever you hear me cry out, you will know it is the end of day of night.¬Ý I will be useful to you, you shall see.?Äù
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In the days to come, Coyote ?Äúhelped?Äù with the sun and the moon and the gathering of the First Food known as Corn.¬Ý But, try as he might, be could not help himself - once he stole the sun and burned his tongue.¬Ý And he was very jealous of the moon, whose light was bright without his help.
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Yet, in spite of those things, Coyote did prove himself useful, just as he promised.¬Ý Selfish and foolish, he does what no other can.
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Who but Coyote can call up the sun and chase away the dark?¬Ý Who but Coyote falls off a cliff and sews himself back together with the thread of the wind?¬Ý Who but Coyote has such names as Stink Breath, Baggy Pants, and First Angry?¬Ý And who but Coyote makes you laugh until your sides hurt?
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AFTERWORD
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Coyote isn?Äôt a breed of dog.¬Ý He is, however, the archetypal dog.¬Ý No one knows when our relationship with coyotes began, but it must have been far back in our hunter-gatherer past.¬Ý European storytelling traditions have mostly ignored this wily creature, the cousin of all domestic dogs.¬Ý Yet Native Americans have made Coyote into a culture hero who is equal to any of their primary gods.¬Ý In some stories there is the Creator and the great void of stars.¬Ý The Creator extracts Coyote from His breast and casts him into the emptiness. Coyote then floats down to Earth and becomes the first animal person.
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Most American Indian tribes have coyote tales.¬Ý Usually, though, he is a master of misdeeds, an adventurer whose misadventures cause misfortune.¬Ý However, as Coyote bumbles and stumbles through the first days of life, a valuable moral is taught.¬Ý Coyote?Äôs errors ?Äì foolish and funny ?Äì have a positive outcome.¬Ý The Navajos believe, for instance, that Coyote?Äôs mistakes brought about adaptations, which made the world a better place in which to live.¬Ý This curious aspect of Coyote?Äôs behavior ?Äì doing had things that turn out good ?Äì is celebrated in the Warner Brothers?Äô ?ÄúWile E. Coyote?Äù cartoons, which were originally influenced by American Indian myths.
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The coyote tale that we have retold here was told to us by Navajo storyteller and artist Bluejay DeGroat of Crownpoint, New Mexico.
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