Corn Mother - A Penobscot Legend

When Kloskurbeh, the All Maker lived on earth, there were no people yet. But one day when the sun was high, a youth appeared and called him,
"Uncle, brother of my mother."

This young man was born from the foam of the waves, foam quickened by the wind and warmed by the sun. It was the motion of the wind, the
moistness of the water, and the sun's warmth which gave him life -- warmth above all, because warmth is life.

The young man lived with Kloskurbeh and became his chief helper.

Now, after these two powerful beings had created all manner of things, there came to them, as the sun was shining at high noon, a beautiful girl. She
was born of the wonderful earth plant, and of the dew, and of warmth. Because a drop of dew fell on a leaf and was warmed by the sun, and the
warming sun is life, this girl came into being -- from the green living plant, from moisture, and from warmth.

"I am love," said the maiden. "I am a strength giver, I am the nourisher, I am the provider of men and animals. They all love me."

Then Kloskurbeh thanked the Great Mystery Above for having sent them the maiden.

The youth, the Great Nephew, married her, and the girl conceived and thus became the first mother. And Kloskurbeh, the Great Uncle, who teaches
humans all they need to know, taught their children how to live.

Then he went away to dwell in the north, from which he will return sometime when he is needed.

Now the people increased and became numerous. They lived by hunting, and the more people there were, the less game they found. They were
hunting it out, and as the animals decreased, starvation came upon the people.

First Mother pitied them.

The little children came to First Mother and said, "We are hungry. Feed us."

But she had nothing to give them, and she wept. She told them: "Be patient. I will make some food. Then your little bellies will be full." But she kept
weeping.

Her husband asked: "How can I make you smile? How can I make you happy?"

"There is only one thing that can stop my tears."

"What is it?" asked her husband.

"It is this: you must kill me," she said.

"I could never do that," he said.

She said, "You must, or I will go on weeping and grieving forever."

Then the husband traveled far, to the end of the earth, to the north he went, to ask the Great Instructor, his uncle Kloskurbeh, what he should do.

"You must do what she wants. You must kill her," said Kloskurbeh.

Then the young man went back to his home, and it was his turn to weep.

But First Mother said: "Tomorrow at high noon you must do it. After you have killed me, let two of our sons take hold of my hair and drag my body
over that empty patch of earth. Let them drag me back and forth, back and forth, over every part of the patch, until all my flesh has been torn from
my body.

"Afterwards, take my bones, gather them up, and bury them in the middle of this clearing. Then leave that place." She smiled and said, "Wait seven
moons and then come back, and you will find my flesh there, flesh given out of love, and it will nourish and strengthen you forever and ever."

So it was done. The husband slew his wife and her sons, praying, dragged her body to and fro as she had commanded, until her flesh covered all the
earth. Then they took up her bones and buried them in the middle of it. Weeping loudly, they went away.

When the husband and his children and his children's children came back to that place after seven moons had passed, they found the earth covered
with tall, green, tasseled plants. The plants' fruit, corn, was First Mother's flesh, given so that the people might live and flourish.

And they partook of First Mother's flesh and found it sweet beyond words. Following her instructions, they did not eat all, but put many kernels back
into the earth. In this way, her flesh and spirit renewed themselves every seven months, generation after generation.

And at the spot where they buried First Mother's bones, there grew another plant, broad leafed and fragrant. It was First Mother's breath, and they
heard her spirit talking: "Burn this up and smoke it. It is sacred. It will clear your minds, help your prayers, and gladden your hearts."

And First Mother's husband called the first plant Skarmunal, corn, and the second plant utarmur-wayeh, tobacco.

"Remember," he told the people, "and take care of First Mother's flesh, because it is her goodness become substance. Take good care of her breath,
because it is her breath turned into smoke. Remember her and think of her whenever you eat, whenever you smoke this sacred plant, because she has
given her life so that you might live. Yet she is not dead, she lives in undying love she renews herself again and again."

Of the girl who married Mount Katahdin and How all the Indians brought about their own rain - A Penobscot Legend

Of the old time. There was once an Indian girl gathering blueberries on Mount Katahdin. And, being lonely, she said, "I would that I has a husband!" 
And seeing the great mountain in all its glory rising on high, with the red sunlight on the top, she added, "I wish Katahdin were a man, and would
marry me!"

All this she was heard to say ere she went onward and up the mountain, but for three years she was never seen again. Then she reappeared, bearing a
babe, a beautiful child, but his little eyebrows were of stone. For the Spirit of the Mountain had taken her to himself, and when she greatly desired to
return to her own people, he told her to go in peace, but forbade her to tell any man who had married her.

Now the boy had strange gifts, and the wise men said that he was born to become a mighty magician. For when he did but point his finger at a
moose, or anything which ran, it would drop dead; and when in a canoe, if he pointed at the flocks of wild ducks or swans, then the water was at once
covered with the floating game, and they gathered them in as they listed, and through that boy his mother and every one had food and to spare.

Now this was the truth, and it was a great wonder, that Katahdin had wedded this girl, thinking with himself and his wife to bring up a child who
should build up his nation, make of the Wabanaki a mighty race. And he said, "Declare unto these people that they are not to inquire of thee who is the
father of thy child; truly they will all know it by seeing him, for they shall not grieve thee with impertinence." Now the woman had made it known
that she would not be questioned, and she gave them all what they needed; yet, for all this, they could not refrain nor restrain themselves from talking
to her on what they well knew she would fain be silent. And one day when they had angered her, she thought, "Truly Katahdin was right; these people
are in nowise worthy of my son, neither shall he serve them; he shall not lead them to victory; they are not of those who make a great nation." And
being still further teased and tormented, she spoke and said, "Ye fools, who by your own folly will kill yourselves; ye mud-wasps, who sting the
fingers which would pick ye out of the water, why will ye ever trouble me to tell you what you well know? Can you not see who was the father of my
boy? Behold his eyebrows; do ye not know Katahdin by them? But it shall be to your exceeding great sorrow that ever ye inquired. From this day ye
may feed yourselves and find your own venison, for this child shall do no more for you."

And she arose and went her way into the woods and up the mountain, and was seen on earth no more. And since that day the Indians, who should
have been great, have become a little people. Truly it would have been wise and well for those of early times if they could have held their tongues.

This remarkable legend was related to me by Mrs. Marie Sakis, a Penobscot, a very clever story-teller. It gives the Fall of Man from a purely Indian
standpoint. Nothing is so contemptible in Indian eyes as a want of dignity and idle, loquacious teasing; therefore it is made in the myth the sin which
destroyed their race. The tendency of the lower class of Americans, especially in New England, to raise and emphasize the voice, to speak continually
in italics and small and large capitals, with a wide display, and the constant disposition to chaff and tease, have contributed more than any other
cause to destroy confidence and respect for them among the Indians.

Since writing the foregoing paragraph, I have read The Abnakis, by Rev. Eugene Vetromile. In his chapter on the Religion and Superstition of these
Indians he gives this story, but, as I think, in a corrupted form. Firstly, he states that Pamola (that is, Bumole), who is the evil spirit of the night air,
was the Spirit of Mount Katahdin. Now these are certainly at present two very distinct beings, which are described as being personally quite unlike.
Secondly, in Vetromile's story the mother and child disappear in consequence of the child having inadvertently killed an Indian by pointing at him. It
will be seen that this feeble, impotent conclusion utterly spoils the manifest meaning of the whole legend.

Of this story Vetromile remarks that "it is, of course, a superstitious tale, made up by the prolific imagination of some Indians, yet we can perceive in it
some vestiges of the fall of the first man in having transgressed the command of God, and how it could be repaired only by God. We can also trace
some ideas of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mixed with fables, superstitions, and pagan
errors. The appearance of God to Moses in the Burning Bush may be glimpsed in Pamole appearing to the Indian on Mount Katahdin, and so forth."

The pilgrims in Rabelais did not point out scriptural coincidences with greater ingenuity than this. It is deeply to be regretted that the reverend
father's entire knowledge of the mythology of the Abenakis was limited to this single story. (Vide Bumole, in chapter on Supernatural Beings.) It may
be, however, observed, that if the name Bumole or Pamola really means "he curses on the mountain," or curse on mountain, it was natural that the
evil spirit should be supposed to be on the mountain. Pamola was perhaps at an early period the spirit of lightning, and thus be very easily confused
with Katahdin.

Blue Jays Skinny Legs- Flathead Legend

It happened a long time ago, before the arrival of the White brothers/sisters. There was a chief who had a very beautiful daughter. He wanted to
make sure that she married a strong and healthy man. As the young men began to come around to flirt with his daughter, he became worried. He
decided to reduce the odds by having a race. He informed all the young men that the one with the strongest legs could marry his daughter.

Coyote was crafty and a good runner with a lot of power, so he came first. He showed how long his legs were and how fast he could run. Then deer
came, a very handsome and strong buck. He showed how powerful his legs were at jumping, although they were somewhat knotted up. Then Grizzly
Bear came along. Bear stood up and growled so everyone could see that he had very powerful and strong legs. So he claimed the girl.

But blue Jay hollered that it was not fair, that others should still be considered. While the others were showing their legs, he hid behind an old log,
where he had gathered a lot of tree moss and used clay to pack it around his legs. they looked larger and stronger than anyone's, even bigger than
Grizzly Bears. But to sweeten the pot, Blue Jay also offered all kinds of beautiful feathers he had obtained from all of his different bird relations.

The old chief was fooled by this and let his daughter go with him. Blue Jay had to carry his new wife across the stream in order to reach his tepee on
the other side. As he began the hard journey, the water softened the moss and clay, so they fell from his legs.

When he climbed up on the other side of the stream bank, everyone began to laugh. Grizzly Bear came down and claimed his prize, and with his
strong legs carried his new wife up the side of the mountain. Anytime he tries to come back and visit, the Blue Jay will start sqyawking all over the
forest, and he makes a terrible noise. He does this because he is jealous and doesn't like to be laughed at.

Here is the same story, told slightly differently.

The chief had a daughter who was old enough to marry. He informed the young men that the one with the strongest legs could have her. Coyote
showed how long and fast he could run and claimed the girl. Bear flexed his leg muscles to show how big and strong they were, and he claimed the
girl. Jay sneaked off into the woods where he gathered some black moss that hangs from trees. He wrapped the moss around his legs to make them
look large. The chief was fooled by his trick and proclaimed him the winner. Jay had to carry his new wife across a stream in order to reach his
tepee, and the water softened the moss so it fell off his legs. When he climbed the bank on the opposite side of the stream, everyone saw his little
skinny legs and they all laughed.

Artwork By Charles Frizzell

Elder’s Meditation of the Day August 17

“If a child hasn’t been given spiritual values within the family setting, they have no familiarity with the values that are necessary for the just and peaceful functioning in society.” –Eunice Baumann-Nelson, Ph.D, PENOBSCOT

When we are born, we start with a beautiful empty mind ready to be given our beliefs, attitudes, habits and expectations. Most of our true learning comes from watching the actions of others. As we watch our family or relatives, whatever their actions and values are, so will be the children’s values and acts. If we see our families living a just and peaceful way of life, so then will the children. If we see our family shouting, arguing, and hateful, so will it be for the children. The cycle of life – baby, youth, adult and Elder is all connected. If the older ones have good values, it will be connected to the children.

Oh my Creator, if there are values I have missed, it is not too late. I can get them from You. Teach me today Your spiritual values. Respect, trust, giving, honesty, wisdom – teach me these.

By: Don Coyhis

If you have been handed a difficult situa-
tion, stand firm. Change can shake you, but it can't
tear you down. Common sense will come in to cre-
ate a safety zone--a haven for a time to adjust.
This is decision time. Speak gently to
yourself and never say you should have known.
Don't lie down and quit and don't go to pieces. You
have spiritual strength whether you know it or
not--rely on it.
This is a time to declare your strength to
use your head, your heart, and your spirit. It is your
right and privilege--so let no one talk you out of it.

The great sea has sent me adrift, it moves me as the
weed in a great river.
UVAVNUK
ESKIMO