You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
alternatehistory.com
CHAPTER ONE: THE LOST SHAMAN
And this came to pass; Sky Woman, growing discontent with her life in the clouds, wanted to see what it was like in the waters below. She found a great hole in the clouds, and bent over to look through it. She leaned forward and farther; soon she lost her feet and fell. She fell a great length before- The shaman paused to catch his breath. He had told this story many times, to children and to men. He was growing old now; perhaps, in his youth, he could have told the whole story at one, but he could no longer say it now without pausing many times. He looked back down at the old leather-bound book. He had carried it all his life. It was part of him. And one with him, as well; when he was a young boy, and told his father he wished to be a shaman, he was given the book fresh and new. It had aged as he had aged; its pages were crinkled, its bounds torn and dusty. Like him, he thought. He could not stop now; he breathed in and read. -Before the Great Turtle, seeing her falling, raised his back and caught her. Now Turtle, being a generous character, allowed Sky Woman to live from then on his back. He knew then, though, that she could not live on it alone; she needed food, a place to put her head. She needed Land, so Great Turtle ordered all the animals to fetch some mud from the Lake’s bed. All the Animals tried; all failed, and many died trying to reach the Lake floor. So Little Turtle, the she-Turtle of martyr’s spirit, swam as quickly as she could to reach the bed. She reached the Lake’s bed, and brought in her mouth a clump of dirt. She spat this out onto Great Turtle’s back. Exhaustion overcame Little Turtle, and she died- do not be sad, children! - for she died happily, knowing that her goal was accomplished. Again he paused. He remembered the old days, the times that the words he was speaking were of great significance. Men based their lives on these words- but now, what are they? Stories, things read to children. He did not wish the old days back- the shaman was a practical man. Those days were a time of much suffering, of war and death. He was but fourteen when he was forced to flee from his home, carrying only his knife and his prayer-book. He never told this to the children; they would not understand. And from a good spirit Sky Woman became pregnant. Eagle told the animals the good news; Sky Woman had twin sons. The first-born was Haghwediyu. He was the good son, the one who his mother had loved. The next was the cruel brother- though you may know it, do not speak his name. Then Sky Woman, their mother, died. He had toned down that part for the children; in the book, it read that the Cruel One had ‘torn himself out from his mother’s womb, jealous of his firstborn brother, and thus killed her’. Haghwediyu was a gentle and kind boy and he was much blessed by the spirits. It was he who created on the turtle’s back the pleasant fields, the flowers, the trees and the songbirds. It was he who created the warm valleys and fertile rivers. The cruel one saw the work that Haghwediyu had done, and was very jealous. So he made the cruellest things in the world; it was he who made the thorns of the grasses, the poisonous fruits, he who separated the evil animals from the good. In this way Haghwediyu and the Cruel One created all the world we known today. Soon, though, Haghwediyu learnt of his brother’s treachery. He took a stone then, and killed his brother. Haghwediyu knew that his brother’s work could not be undone by him alone, so he created Man. He created him to be good and hardworking, but even then the Cruel One’s spirit defiled his creation and caused some men to be cruel and lazy. Then Haghwediyu gathered the men, and said to them, ‘You now must undo the work caused by my brother. To you I give all the land, and all the things that I have made. Take them, and use them only to do as I have taught you.’ The First Men took his word, and set to work. They scattered themselves; one man and his woman went to the very centre of the earth, and built from the land what we know as the Centre Tribes. From these tribes the Haudenosaunee were born. The shaman stopped there. He sent the little children away; their lesson had finished. It was noon on a busy day; he was going to give a lesson in history to older children than the ones he had just taught. He was looking forward to that- he would tell them some things they knew already, such as the creation of the alphabet and the confederacy system. He would tell them some things they did not know- European history, of England and France, and of Mexico and Peru. Then he would tell them about Deganawidah.