Morning Star and His Friend

Morning Star and His Friend

Version 1

told by John Harrison

translation based on the interlinear of Oliver LaMère

Captain John Harrison

(92) A man sat down in the back part of a tent with his blanket around him and with his arrow. The door was facing the rising sun. "Ho! what am I?" he said, "I wonder what I am. What am I? What is this?" They say that he was afraid of the arrow and he tried (93) to set the arrow in the bow. "My arrow, go!" he told it, but it would not go. Now the end of the arrow he set on the bowstring. He pulled his arm back until the string was tight, and letting it loose, the arrow disappeared. He went outside after his arrow. It was the first time (94) that he had been outside. There he saw a deer, and this deer had been shot with the arrow and killed. He stood there looking at it, and thought that he might eat a piece of it. He tasted it raw and did not like it, so he laid live coals on top of it. He cooked and ate it, and it seemed very delicious. (95) Thus he did.

A human being shouted, "Ho!" "What said it? What called for me? Therefore, I will speak towards it," he said. Out he went and he called back to him. That having been done, he went back inside. Then the other one arrived and said, "Ho, someone called to me, was it you?" "And I also call back when (96) I live here. When I live here." "Kará! the place I came from, let us go there. We are all alone. You will be company for us there." "Well, I will come there later." "Ho! if that is so it will be good," he said. Then this man went home.

Afterwards he went there. Then four men he met who said to him, "With these arrows (97) we bless you. You will not miss anything to the fourth hill." "I have some too, and they are the same, but because you said that, I am going to take them." He took them. He went to his friend's, and when he got there he went in; and his friend, the one he was with, he was different, and a little one she had. "I am (98) in the likeness of a little one." It was very funny. "How can it be a little one? I am going to ask my friend and I am going to hold this little baby." Now he laid his arrows somewhere, and he gave his friend the arrows that had been given to him. "You will not miss anything with them to the fourth hill." And now he picked up the little baby in his arms. (99) He liked him very much. "I wonder how I am that a little one came to be my friend. I will go hunting with him and will ask him in the morning." He went hunting with him. "My friend, how did you two have this kind of little one?" "Well, I got married is why (100) I had this kind." "What do you mean?" "Well, because I got married is how it came about." "Well, how can it be?" "We laid down, and then we had it. If you marry a woman, then you can have one. The place you came from, there we will go."

They came to a town there. There an old woman lived. (101) They went in there. Then the yųgiwi (princesses) came with wood on their backs and they peeped in at them. There sat a great man with a blanket wrapped around him. These women went home. When they arrived home they told of it: "A great man with a blanket wrapped around him sat in the old woman's house." There Turtle sat gambling. Turtle listened to the women (102) and so he said, "You womanly ones can have this back, today my friend is to come," he said. It was about time for him to come to the old woman's house. There came Turtle, great man that he was. "Hoją́! I thought so. I said that my friend always wraps himself in a blanket. (103) 'How does he do it?' they said. My friend it is that I am going to hear. My friend, you said that you would come today, and just now you arrived," he said. "Yes, I have come." "Koté! At that place Turtle told us before, he was saying. Koté! he must have told the truth, when they went and told of it," they said. Turtle said, "My friend, these princesses have come here often. I myself used to whisper with them. Tonight we are going there, (104) are we not?"

At night they went there. Turtle told Hinųga, "Yųgiwi, my friend and I came together. We will marry. We said that your sister will marry my friend," and the woman liked it, so they did it. Turtle liked it very much, (105) so he laughed all the time. Then daylight came, and he went home with a woman. There was an old woman. In the morning the woman gave presents to the old woman. The men went son-in-lawing, and that man went hunting. At the big valley there they gathered them, and killed them. Then his friend Turtle arrived. (106) He told him and his friend Turtle told him and also Turtle said, "My friend has been hunting small deer which he killed," he said. He meant this valley. "Tomorrow all you are able to carry you must go and carry," he said, "the crier must say it that way to them." The entire village was happy. In the morning they all went and brought them back. They were plentifully supplied. (107) The second time it was elk that he killed in the valley, and again they went out to transfer the meat, and were even more plentifully supplied. The third time he went again to the valley and there a large herd of buffalo he killed. They were even more plentifully supplied. The fourth time that he went, he killed many beaver. Now the hunting was done.

(108) His friend Turtle was with him. A boy child they had for each one of them and also different human beings came, and they came and said, "Where shall we live?" "Live where you are now," they said. Then early in the morning they challenged them to gamble. The chief did not answer them. "Ho! we will be there," Turtle told them. His friend was saying, "Giants (Man-Eaters) are they (109) who are challenging us to gamble." "What kind of gambling will we do?" "They mean a ball game." In the morning they went and when they got there they said, "Ho! What will we bet? We don't have anything to gamble with." "We meant that they should bet Turtle's body." Then they bet one for one, making each the same. (110) "And where is the ball?" said Turtle. "There it is," they told him. They meant a large, round, black stone. "Huhú-i! how can we lift this up?" [said] Turtle, "when we win from the other, we will knock each other down with this baldheaded warclub." There they stuck.

Now then, the game started, (111) and Coyote was a son-in-law on the other side. He took the ball and ran, but Wolf took off after him and caught up with him, and bit him in two, and he threw one through the goal. Again the second time Little Pigeon Hawk took it for the other side, but Black Hawk took after him, and when he caught up to him he split him in two and threw the ball for a goal. (112) The third time Mink took the ball for the other side, but Otter took out after him. Into the reeds he went, but Otter caught up with him and took the ball away and threw the goal. The fourth time the Giant princess took off with it at a run, but Man Faces as Earbobs (Wañgíšjahorùšika) took after and caught up with the princess who looked back and saw Man Faces as Earbobs. (113) The earbobs were laughing, sticking their tongues out, and winking at her. It struck the princess as so funny that she couldn't run. He took the ball from her and ran, but she caught up. But when she looked back they winked and stuck out their tongues, and she could not run, it being so funny. She watched as the goal was made. Thus, the fourth time the Giants admitted that they were beaten. (114) They used the baldheaded warclub to kill those who were wagered.

"Ho! tomorrow we will play you again." "Ho! what will we do?" "Tomorrow we will tell you," they said. In the morning they arrived. They said, "Diving Endurance is what we will play." This time they bet the dead against those who were alive. (115) Turtle and Otter were the combatants. They won. They killed those who were wagered. The third time they were to wrestle. He who used to be girded in blankets they made the combatant. He broke the back of the Giant. Again they won. Those who were wagered, they again killed. The fourth time they were to run. (116) He who Girds Himself with Blankets (Wa-iñkipíraka) and his friend were the contestants. They won for the fourth time in a row. The Giants gave up and ran away in the night. He who Girds Himself in Blankets along with his friend ran after them. They killed them. A little girl with a little boy they left alive, and he threw them across the sea where the sun does not go. "Never a second time will you come here. The next time you do so, you will be ended," he told them. It was Girded in Blankets who said this. The Great Star [Morning Star] is Girded in Blankets.

The end.¹

Morning Star and His Friend

Version 2

from the collection of W. C. McKern

Original manuscript pages: | 219 | 220 | 221 | 222 | 223 | 224 | 225 | 226 | 227 |

(219) There was a lodge containing one human being. He thought that he didn't know what he was. He wondered what kind of a creature he was. So he was surprised. Bare handed he was, with no implements for hunting or warfare except a bow and arrow. But he was a swift runner and he was very powerful. He never ate any meat because he had no weapon. Only fruit he ate. When he saw other animals he used to talk to them, but they did not answer him. He could not understand what they were. He had been accustomed to catch the animals and talk to them, against their will, but they would not talk back. While he was wandering around the country, he used to come home rapidly, he was such a good runner. He used to pull up trees by the roots, he was so powerful.

Then he met some Indians, a man, his wife and brother-in-law. They went out hunting and camped where this man was. Finally, he met them out hunting. Then he looked at them and at himself. "There are men like me," he said. he was a very good shot with the bow and arrow. The two Indians came from a nearby Indian village. They asked this man where he came from. He understood their speech. While they were (220) talking, a bear walked by, some distance away. The new men shot at it, but missed. This stranger also shot at the bear, and killed him the first shot. Then he ran to the bear and carried it to the Indians. He gave the bear to them. They were astonished to see him carry the heavy bear. This made them afraid. Then he invited them to visit his lodge, and see where he lived. He had many berries stored away, and he gave them some berries. When they were ready to go home, he wanted to visit their village to see how they lived. On the way home, they scared up three deer that the Indian missed. The stranger ran after them. he caught the two deer alive and dragged them to the Indian. The Indian then killed the deer. They butchered them and [dressed] them so that they could carry them. The parts that they could not carry, the stranger carried for them. When they all came to their village, he saw their women. This astonished him. He watched them closely. Then he saw some children. He had never seen the like before. One of these Indians said, "Why friend, these are what we call 'women'. They are different from us men." He looked at the children and he liked them very much. So he took (221) one boy upon his legs. he was greatly pleased with him. When they invited him to their lodge, they boiled some deer meat. They invited him to taste it. He found that he liked it very well.

The Indians said they were going home. They had plenty of meat now. He answered that the would stay where he was. Early in the morning, he came over to them again, just before they left. When they started away, he carried some of their stuff for them far away. Half way there he left them and returned to his place. When he left them, they left many of their goods at this pace, and returned for them later. They could not carry them all.

Upon returning to their village, they gave a feast. This they usually do on returning from the hunt. They told the people there of the man that they saw who ran so swiftly and caught deer alive. Some of them did not believe the yarn. They were told to go and see for themselves. So some went up to see this man. So they met (222) the stranger. They told him that they came up to try to get some deer. Then he went off and drove some deer up to them. He asked them if they wanted any bears. Then he went and carried two live bears to them. Then they believed the story that had been told of him. He used to go often with his two friends. Some of the fellows at the village told these two to bring the stranger back to the village so that they could all see him. They thought to make much of him. So then two invited him back to the village, so that he would see many women and children. This he did. Then, when they got close to the village, he offered to get some more deer for them. So he went after a drove of them. These he drove up to the men and they killed them, butchered them and left them there. The two invited this man to live at their house while he was in the village. He did not go visiting, but stayed about the lodge playing with the children. He loved to see them. There two asked him if he wanted to hunt, so that he would see the country around the village. There was no game right around the village. He said that he would kill deer any time. That (223) was nothing to him. He told them to wait there. Then he went far away and soon returned driving a herd of deer.

All the men tried to get him to marry one of their women. So they asked the chief if his daughter might marry this stranger. The chief was willing to accept him as a son-in-law. The two told him that if he married this woman he could have a child like one of these others. They explained then to him how a man and wife lived. Then he married the chief's daughter. They told him, when a young man married a woman, they generally went out early that morning to hunt deer and bear. So he went out hunting the next morning. He was gone quite awhile. He told his friends to stay there until he drove up to them. Finally, he came with a large herd. They asked for more. So again he drove some more deer up. He got some bears also. There was more meat than they could carry. When they returned to the village, a caller asked all the people to go out and help carry in the deer and bears which this man had killed. On the second morning he fetched a drove of buffalo. The third day, he fetched a herd of elk. (224) That much of elk he drove to the hunters. In the early days, they urged children to fast so as to have good success in all things. That is why the chief's daughter had such a good husband, who fed the whole village, because she fasted when she was a girl.

Some man-eating giants came to the village. Then the people of the village were very frightened, for they thought they would all be eaten. Then giants were not then accustomed to fail right away. They would play a game with them, and when the Indians lost, the giants would carry them off. The giants always won. These giants had a scout. He came to the village and asked for the chief, in order to get a place to erect lodges. By nightfall, they came to the chief and asked for a game to start the next morning. They challenged them to shoot bows and arrows. The chief had ten sons. In the morning all repaired to the game grounds. The chief's ten sons hesitated to wager with the giants. They were afraid. But the stranger told them not to fear; he guaranteed that they would win. The chief's youngest son and the stranger prepared to gamble with the giants. (225) They set up a mark quite a ways off. The mark had two concentric rings. This was far away from the shooters stand. The stranger asked the giants to shoot first, since the other side had challenged. One giant shot and hit in between the rings. Then the younger son shot and beat the giant's shot. Then another giant shot, and beat the mark of the younger son. Now the stranger shot. He hit the mark exactly in the center. So they won the game. Then they claimed the forfeited lives of the giants and killed them both. They cut their heads off and roasted them over the fire, according to the instructions of the stranger. He told them that this would dry up the brains and they would turn into wampum. He told them how to take care of these so as not to break them. They used to shake them to hear the sound. He told them not to shake the heads too much or they would all be broken into short pieces. The younger son shook his head too often and all the pieces were short. The other was better. Then all the old people appreciated what the stranger had done for them: defended them from the giants.

The next day, the giants wanted to wrestle for wagers. One of the giants challenged one Indian to wrestle. They asked the Indian if they would bet on the dead giants again. They offered odds of two to one. These giants were very large men. The biggest (226) of all they chose to wrestle. The stranger prepared to meet him. When they wrestled, the stranger broke the back of the giant in two. Then they cut off the heads of the two forfeited giants. The same evening, the giants' scout came again and challenged them to a race. Two giants were to race two Indians. The stranger and the younger son came to race the giants. They were to start from here to the shore of the ocean and break and fetch back the top of a great white oak which grew there. The stranger reached the shore of the ocean and met the other three, running even, on his way back, half way to the shore. They were way behind. So the Indian won the race. So they killed those two, cut of their heads and made beads of their brains, as before. Towards night, a giant scout came again to challenge them for a wrestling match again. Next morning they met. They bet the same as before. Then they selected the largest of all the giants. The stranger told the giant to take his hold first. Then the stranger took his hold last. "Now I am going to throw you," said the stranger. Then he broke the giant's back. So he won this match too.

Then the giants gave up. At night, they went away. Then the stranger chased them, (227) caught up with them and killed them all. The only ones he left were a woman and a little boy. There he told them not to come again. "I would kill you, but for the sake of the Great Spirit, who may not want you all to perish, I will let you off this time. But stay in your own land across the sea."

The stranger and the chief's daughter had two boys. The stranger said, "I shall now leave you to go back to the land whence I came. My sons, you shall be like me, to protect the land against their enemies, and to be great hunters for them. I know that these giants were coming to destroy you. That is why I came, to protect you from them. Now they will come no more to molest you."

The stranger was Morning Star.²

Commentary

Version 1

"blanket" — the blanket in which Morning Star habitually wraps himself is a representation of the clouds. See below.

"four men" — as we also learn from the variant story, the "Little Human Head," Morning Star comes suddenly into being on earth and has no knowledge of anything, not even of the bow and arrow which is present in his lodge. We also learn from the other waiką that the four men that he meets are some of the Heroka, a fact that we can deduce from the present story. They are a lilliputian race who have extraordinary skills in hunting, and can give hunting blessings to vision seekers.

"the likeness of a little one" — this is ambiguous and complicated. Taken literally, the friend has turned himself into a baby without loosing his adult capabilities. The friend, therefore, not only has the powers of the Heroka, but has the further power of transforming himself into a baby. This is the defining mark of the Little Children Spirits, who are otherwise called "Those who Turn Themselves into Babies." Elsewhere it is said that they possess the same powers as the Heroka, which shows that the four men whose arrows he acquired were indeed the Heroka. The arrow is particularly associated with the Chief of the Heroka, known both as "Redhorn," and in this story as "Man Heads as Earbobs." One of the sons of Redhorn is also Chief of the Little Children Spirits.

However, what is said subsequently definitely establishes that the friend has a baby. So it seems that by "I am in he likeness of a little one," he means that the baby looks exactly like him, in the sense of family resemblance. Nevertheless, this ambiguity may have the purpose of establishing that he is one of the Little Children Spirits without explicitly saying so. The matter is further complicated by the fact that in the variant story of the "Little Human Head," the friend is the Lice Spirit.

"arrows" — the arrows of the Heroka never miss their mark. They give Morning Star four such arrows, which he transfers to his friend. His friend therefore possesses the same powers as the Heroka. Redhorn, the Chief of the Heroka, is intimately bound up with directionality, which is partly symbolized by the arrow. That Morning Star should temporarily hold the arrows of the Heroka shows that he too is a directional spirit, as would be demonstrated in any case by the fact that the star is always found in the east where the sun rises. For a period, from time to time, the Morning Star is not seen in the sky, a fact symbolically expressed by the giving away of his arrows (of directionality).

"my friend" — Turtle is the creator and special patron of war. Morning Star is one of the primary War Controller deities, and therefore has some affinity with Turtle, although he lacks the buffoonish nature of Turtle.

"son-in-lawing" — the Hocągara have no system of dowries, but to offset the value of the woman acquired in marriage, and to cement the ties with her parents, the son-in-law performs useful services, primarily hunting for the extended family. He usually remains with the wife's family until his first child is able to walk.

"Giants" — the Hocąk term for this race is Wągerucge, "Man-Eaters." They also happen to be of large proportions, the males said to be four times the height of a common human being, although the women are thought to be of normal height. It is said that their cannibalism is caused by a block of ice about the size of a fist that lays in their stomachs.

"a large, round, black stone" — this is often the description of the lacrosse "ball" in a mythological setting. In more than one case it is said to be painted red (1, 2). This is because it probably represents the sun. Black stones are, when heated red-hot, the most conspicuously red. So such a stone makes a good symbol of the sun, even if it does not rest on a theory that the sun is such a stone. Small, round, black stones are analogously identified with thunder stones, the red-hot embodiments of lightning.

"Coyote" — the competition isn't between predator and prey, but between nature's competitors, all of whom are predators of some kind. So, Wolf: Coyote :: Black Hawk : Little Pigeon Hawk :: Otter : Mink. The last set in this series is < Man Faces as Earbobs, Giant princess >. The members of this ordered pair are known elsewhere as "Redhorn" and "Pretty Woman." The suspicion is that Pretty Woman is the dawn, who is in the north among the Giants, then in the south with Redhorn (as the star Alnilam of Orion, a southern constellation). I have suggested in other Commentaries that Redhorn's "horn" or queue is the red dawn. So that would make Redhorn and Pretty Woman competitors, but the pairs of oppositions find mediation in the fact that Redhorn and the Giantess end up being married. He completes the unity by making her vomit up the large ice cube that makes her eat people.

"bit him in two, and he threw one through the goal" — this exemplifies the Hocąk Conquest Myth, which is found in the Eastern Hemisphere in the form of the Bisected Man ritual (see the Commentary and Comparative Material to "Hawk Clan Origin Myth," and the Commentary to "Hare Visits the Bodiless Heads.") In the Bisected Man ritual, an enemy or a victim symbolizing the enemy, is cut in two, and the two parts of his body are placed on the opposite sides of the road while the army marches between them on its campaign. The idea is that the army occupies the center of the enemy, the center being the place of control and power, as opposed to the periphery which is the place of subordination. In Hocąk symbolism, the same holds true, but in addition conquest is symbolized by swallowing, as in the Fast Easting Contest, where the members of a warparty mystically swallow the souls of their enemies in the course of eating this sacred meal. In primordial times, when the first Hawk Clansman was served his first meal, he ate the natural prey of hawks, the fish. The Hawk Clan is more commonly known as the "Warrior Clan." This first Warrior ate the fish, leaving the head and tail on opposite sides of the plate, thus reproducing the same situation that is achieved in the Bisected Man ritual. The ghost on the road to Spiritland performs an action of the same meaning (q.v.). At his wake, he is told that when he encounters an animal across his path, that he should gnaw it in two, and throw it behind him. That way, his clansmen will recieve his animal as a victim of the hunt. In our present story, the "road" is the lacrosse pitch. Wolf explicitly gnaws the body of his opponent in two. The ball, symbolic of the sun, is hurled to the periphery of the pitch along with the upper body (tcą) of the opponent. The concluding peripheral station of the sun is its setting in the west, so the head, which carries and stands for the soul or ghost, also goes west, which is the land of the dead. Wolf, in this moment of victory, also stands in the victorious center between the peripheral parts of his opponent's body, thus replicating the Conquest Myth of the Warrior Clan.

"Wañgíšjahorùšika" — in contemporary orthography, this would be Wągíšjahorúšika, from wąk, "male, man, human, humanoid"; hišja, "face, eyes"; horušik, "that which hangs from the ears"; and -ka, a definite article used in personal names. Many people have attempted to identify Morning Star with Redhorn, but this is a particularly steep climb, since both personages occur together here simultaneously. In "Įcorúšika and his Brothers," he is identified with a fixed star, probably Alnilam (ε Orionis) of Orion's Belt.

"Diving Endurance" — the object of this competition is to dive into the water and remain submerged for as long as possible. Of course, both turtles and otters are capable of holding their breath for long periods of time.

"wrestle" — why Morning Star should be so skilled at wrestling, a fact attested elsewhere, is less clear. This may be, however, associated with the power of the wind, a phenomenon with which Morning Star is strongly associated. It is an intriguing possibility that the Little Children Spirits, who are swift, directional, and who can vary in size and age, may represent time itself, which has all of these attributes. However, the same may be said of the wind.

"Wa-iñkipíraka" — in contemporary orthography, this would be Wa’įkipíraka. The first syllable is from wa’į́, "blanket," and the second syllable is the reflexive, -ki-, "himself." The ending, -ka, is the definite article used in personal names. The remainder of the name is made from hipirak, the ki-hiparak-ka, reducing to kiparaka. The term hipirák denotes a (bark) belt. Used as a verb, therefore, it best corresponds to the English "gird." So the name Wa’į-ki-hipírak-ka means, "He who Girds Himself with Blankets." The blankets are clearly clouds, which are capable of occluding Morning Star, and in the morning occur in abundance at the horizon. Morning Star has some affinity to clouds, since all his brothers were turned into clouds save he alone. He, however, founded the Thunderbird Clan, whose patron Thunders manifest themselves as clouds, whence they shoot the lightning. We also know that a blanket can symbolize clouds, since the daughter of the Chief of the Thunders, who is called simply Yųgiwi (Princess), lends Day her polychrome blanket when he sets in the west. This is a rather obvious reference to clouds. The Great Star usually has clouds below him, so that they form a belt rather more than a wrap or cloak.

"his friend" — in the selection of players, the particular virtues of their species have matched the requirements to win the competition into which they were entered. Turtle and Otter are able to hold their breath for a long time, and so are suitable for a game of Diving Endurance. Therefore, the friend should have the virtue of speed, since he was selected to run. This should mean that the friend to which the narrator makes reference here is not Turtle, but the friend that Morning Star made first on earth. In the variant of this story in "The Little Human Head," this friend is the Lice Spirit. It is not clear that lice are good runners. Would the Little Children Spirits be deemed any more swift? In a well known story about Redhorn, who is the Chief of the Heroka, he turns himself into an arrow, and by shooting hiimself through the air, he is able to beat virtually everyone in the world in a race. This is because he is one of the Heroka, the spirits of the arrow. Inasmuch as the Little Children Spirits have the attributes of the Heroka, it would seem that they too should possess this power of sagittal metamorphosis. Therefore, that Morning Star's friend should be chosen to run in a race where he proves victorious over those who take giant steps, suggests that he may well be one of the Little Children Spirits.

"ran away in the night" — the Giants are associated with ice and therefore the far north. Morning Star throws the two surviving Giants "where the sun does not go." The Hocągara no doubt knew that the higher polar regions were sometimes in darkness for long periods (they knew, for instance, of the auk, a bird of the arctic).

"the sea" — this is the Te Ją, the "Encircling Lake," which is the Ocean Sea that surrounds the single continent of earth.

"where the sun does not go" — the northlands, where the sun does not go, are therefore also the lands where the sun's companion, the Morning Star, also does not go. Therefore, the Giants stand in particular opposition to the Morning Star. That the Morning Star (along with the sun) does finally trek back to the northlands is reflected in the fact that he chases down the Giants as they flee in the dark. Its ability to rise into the sky is expressed as skill in running.

Commentary

Version 2

"a herd" — McKern writes, "(hopasétco = four corners = a large drove of animals)." This should be hopasé jop.

"giants" — McKern adds later, "(giants: wãk lútckĕ́ = man eater)."

"concentric rings" — according to McKern's notes, this set of rings was called a wagá. This corresponds to our standard target form.

"wampum" — McKern adds, "(wolucíki)" for worušík.

"Morning Star" — McKern adds, "(wilakóckĕ cĕtĕ)," for wiragošgexete. This is the Morning Star of Venus.

Links: Morning Star, Giants, Heroka, Little Children Spirits, Turtle, Redhorn, Pretty Woman, Wolf & Dog Spirits, Otters, Coyote, Minks, Pigeon Hawk, Black Hawks, Hawks, The Redhorn Panel of Picture Cave. An American Star Map.

Stories: featuring Morning Star as a character: Little Human Head, Bladder and His Brothers, Grandfather's Two Families, The Origins of the Milky Way; about stars and other celestial bodies: The Dipper, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, The Seven Maidens, Little Human Head, Turtle and the Witches, Sky Man, Wojijé, The Raccoon Coat, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater, The Star Husband, Grandfather's Two Families, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Children of the Sun, Heną́ga and Star Girl, The Origins of the Milky Way, The Fall of the Stars; about two male friends: Wazųka, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, The Lame Friend, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Worúxega, The Fleetfooted Man, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Lake Wąkšikhomįgra (Mendota): the Origin of Its Name, The Spirit of Maple Bluff, Hare Kills Sharp Elbow, Tobacco Man and Married Man, Mighty Thunder; featuring the Little Children Spirits as characters: The Chief of the Heroka, Redhorn's Sons; featuring lilliputian people: The Chief of the Heroka, Iron Staff and His Companions, The Red Man; featuring the Heroka as characters: The Chief of the Heroka, The Red Man, The Oak Tree and the Man Who was Blessed by the Heroka, The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Little Human Head, The Claw Shooter, Redhorn's Sons, The Origins of the Milky Way; mentioning Redhorn: The Redhorn Cycle, Redhorn's Sons, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Redhorn's Father, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Spirit of Gambling, The Green Man, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, cp. The Cosmic Ages of the Hocągara, Heroka, Redman; featuring Turtle as a character: The Mission of the Five Sons of Earthmaker, Turtle's Warparty, Turtle and the Giant, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, Turtle and the Merchant, Redhorn's Father, Redhorn's Sons, Turtle and the Witches, The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Trickster Soils the Princess, Grandfather's Two Families, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Kunu's Warpath, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Redhorn and His Brothers Marry, The Skunk Origin Myth, The Hocąk Migration Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, The Creation of Man, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee, The Chief of the Heroka, The Spirit of Gambling, The Nannyberry Picker, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Markings on the Moon (v. 2), The Green Man, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, The Coughing Up of the Black Hawks, The Petition to Earthmaker, The Origins of the Milky Way; featuring Giants as characters: A Giant Visits His Daughter, Turtle and the Giant, The Stone Heart, Young Man Gambles Often, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Old Man and the Giants, Shakes the Earth, White Wolf, Redhorn's Father, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, The Roaster, Grandfather's Two Families, Redhorn's Sons, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, Little Human Head, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Origins of the Milky Way, Ocean Duck, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Wears White Feather on His Head, cf. The Shaggy Man; featuring Pretty Woman (or a Giant princess with red or yellow hair): Redhorn's Sons (red hair), Redhorn Contests the Giants (red hair), Redhorn's Father (red hair), The Hocągara Contest the Giants (red-yellowish hair), The Roaster (yellow hair); featuring Black Hawk as a character: The Creation Council; mentioning black hawks: Hawk Clan Origin Myth (v. 2), The Dipper, The Thunderbird, Partridge's Older Brother, The Woman who Loved her Half-Brother, Waruǧábᵉra, The Boy who was Captured by the Bad Thunderbirds, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Coughing Up of the Black Hawks, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, Heną́ga and Star Girl, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, Keramaniš’aka's Blessing, The Race for the Chief's Daughter; having Wolf as a character: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, A Man and His Three Dogs, Redhorn's Sons, The Twins Join Redhorn's Warparty, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Dogs of the Chief's Son, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, Kunu's Warpath, The Healing Blessing, The Origins of the Milky Way; relating to dogs or wolves: The Gray Wolf Origin Myth, A Man and His Three Dogs, White Wolf, Wolves and Humans, The Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Old Man and His Four Dogs, Worúxega, The Dogs of the Chief's Son, The Dog that became a Panther, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Wild Rose, The Man Whose Wife was Captured, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, The Canine Warrior, The Dog Who Saved His Master, The Raccoon Coat, Wojijé, The Big Eater, Why Dogs Sniff One Another, The Healing Blessing, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, Trickster Loses His Meal, Sun and the Big Eater, Redhorn's Sons, Trickster, the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Meadow Lark, Hog's Adventures, Holy One and His Brother, The Messengers of Hare, Pete Dupeé and the Ghosts, Grandmother's Gifts, The Hocąk Migration Myth, Bladder and His Brothers, The Stench-Earth Medicine Origin Myth, The Old Man and the Giants, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Kunu's Warpath, Black Otter's Warpath, Black Otter’s Sacrifice to a Thunder, Chief Wave and the Big Drunk, Peace of Mind Regained (?); featuring Otter as a character: Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Turtle's Warparty, The Origins of the Milky Way, Redhorn's Sons, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men (v. 2), Kunu's Warpath, Įcorúšika and His Brothers; mentioning otters: Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Fleetfooted Man, The Dipper, The Two Children, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Turtle's Warparty, The Origins of the Milky Way, Redhorn's Sons, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Kunu's Warpath, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, The Woman who Loved Her Half Brother, The Chief of the Heroka, The Animal Spirit Aids of the Medicine Rite, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men (v. 2), Wojijé, Holy Song II, A Waterspirit Blesses Mąnį́xete’ų́ga I, The Story of the Medicine Rite; mentioning (spirit) bears (other than were-bears): White Bear, Blue Bear, Black Bear, Red Bear, Bear Clan Origin Myth, The Shaggy Man, Bear Offers Himself as Food, Hare Visits His Grandfather Bear, Grandmother Packs the Bear Meat, The Spotted Grizzly Man, Hare Establishes Bear Hunting, The Woman Who Fought the Bear, Brass and Red Bear Boy, Redhorn's Sons, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, The Wolf Clan Origin Myth, Hocąk Clans Origin Myth, The Messengers of Hare, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Hocąk Migration Myth, Red Man, Hare Recruits Game Animals for Humans, Lifting Up the Bear Heads, Hare Secures the Creation Lodge, The Two Boys, Creation of the World (v. 5), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Brown Squirrel, Snowshoe Strings, Medicine Rite Foundation Myth, East Enters the Medicine Lodge, Lake Winnebago Origin Myth, The Spider's Eyes, Little Priest's Game, Little Priest, How He went out as a Soldier, How the Thunders Met the Nights, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, Trickster's Tail, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Warbundle Maker, cf. Fourth Universe; mentioning minks: Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, A Mink Tricks Trickster, Mink Soils the Princess, The Lost Blanket; mentioning lacrosse (kísik): Redhorn's Father, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Roaster, Redhorn's Sons, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, The Shaggy Man, How the Thunders Met the Nights; making reference to the baldheaded warclub: Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, Wears White Feather on His Head; mentioning oak: Thunderbird Clan Origin Myth, The Oak Tree and the Man Who was Blessed by the Heroka, Wolf Clan Origin Myth, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Children of the Sun, Turtle's Warparty, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, Old Man and Wears White Feather, Waruǧábᵉra, The Creation Council, The Man Who Would Dream of Mą’ųna, Young Man Gambles Often, Sun and the Big Eater, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Roaster, Little Human Head, The Shaggy Man, Wears White Feather on His Head, Peace of Mind Regained, The Dipper (leaves); mentioning white oaks: Bear Clan Origin Myth (v. 12); mentioning shells: The Gift of Shooting, The Markings on the Moon, The Shell Anklets Origin Myth, The Arrows of the Medicine Rite Men, Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Wild Rose, Young Man Gambles Often (wampum), Wolves and Humans (oyster), Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Lost Child, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (v. 2), Turtle's Warparty, The Lost Blanket (mussel), The Annihilation of the Hocągara I, Hare Visits the Bodiless Heads (crab); mentioning wampum: The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Young Man Gambles Often, Little Human Head, Turtle and the Giant, Snowshoe Strings, The Chief of the Heroka, The Markings on the Moon, The Medicine Rite Foundation Myth (v. 2), Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, Bird Clan Origin Myth, The Blessing of Kerexųsaka, Black Otter's Warpath (bone-bead belt); mentioning the Ocean Sea (Te Ją): Trickster's Adventures in the Ocean, Hare Retrieves a Stolen Scalp (v. 1), Otter Comes to the Medicine Rite, The Rounded Wood Origin Myth, The Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, Trickster and the Children, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, Wears White Feather on His Head, White Wolf, How the Thunders Met the Nights (Mąznį’ąbᵋra), Bear Clan Origin Myth (vv. 2a, 3), Wolf Clan Origin Myth (v. 2), Redhorn's Sons, Grandfather's Two Families, Sun and the Big Eater, The Journey to Spiritland (v. 4), The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father (sea), The Dipper (sea), The Thunderbird (a very wide river), Wojijé, The Twins Get into Hot Water (v. 1), Redhorn's Father, Trickster Concludes His Mission, Berdache Origin Myth, Thunder Cloud is Blessed, How the Hills and Valleys were Formed.

This story is a variant of the latter part of Little Human Head.

Themes: a spirit comes into existence as a fully mature human being but in a state of total amnesia: The Nannyberry Picker, Wears White Feather on His Head, Little Human Head; a young man who has never shot an arrow before, fixes it in his bow and orders it to go (then later places it in a fork of a tree and issues it the same command): Redhorn's Father, Hare Acquires His Arrows; someone fires a "blind shot" with an arrow and fells a deer: Old Man and Wears White Feather; someone has an arrow that never misses its mark: The Chief of the Heroka; dragging a deer to the kill by hand: The Dipper, How the Thunders Met the Nights; acquiring a holy arrow: Hare Acquires His Arrows, Owl Goes Hunting, Little Human Head; a spirit turns into a person of radically different age: The Messengers of Hare, The Dipper, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Chief of the Heroka; (three or) four young women, one of whom is a princess, encounter a suitor while they are bringing wood to an old woman's lodge: Redhorn's Father, Trickster Soils the Princess, The Nannyberry Picker, The Two Boys, The Father of the Twins Attempts to Flee; Turtle interrupts his gambling game to go meet friends he says that he was expecting yesterday: Redhorn's Father, Trickster Soils the Princess, The Nannyberry Picker; marriage to a yųgiwi (princess): The Nannyberry Picker, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Race for the Chief's Daughter, The Daughter-in-Law's Jealousy, The Big Stone, Partridge's Older Brother, Redhorn's Sons, The Seduction of Redhorn's Son, The Resurrection of the Chief's Daughter, River Child and the Waterspirit of Devil's Lake, The Roaster, Soft Shelled Turtle Gets Married, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle, White Wolf, The Two Boys, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Shaggy Man, The Thunderbird, The Red Feather, The Orphan who was Blessed with a Horse, The Birth of the Twins (v. 3), Trickster Visits His Family, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, Redhorn's Father, Old Man and Wears White Feather, Thunderbird and White Horse, Rich Man, Boy, and Horse, Shakes the Earth, The Nightspirits Bless Ciwoit’éhiga; hunters kill an entire herd of animals: Redhorn's Father, The Roaster, The Twins Visit Their Father's Village, Old Man and Wears White Feather, The Nannyberry Picker, Snowshoe Strings, The Two Boys; contests with the Giants: Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Redhorn's Father, White Wolf, The Roaster, Young Man Gambles Often, Little Human Head, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Redhorn's Sons, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, The Old Man and the Giants, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Shakes the Earth, The Origins of the Milky Way, The Shaggy Man, Grandfather's Two Families s; head hunting: White Fisher, Big Thunder Teaches Cap’ósgaga the Warpath, A Man's Revenge, How Little Priest went out as a Soldier, Little Priest's Game, Bluehorn's Nephews, The Twins Retrieve Red Star's Head, The Boy who was Blessed by a Mountain Lion, Young Man Gambles Often, The Dipper, The Four Slumbers Origin Myth, Porcupine and His Brothers, Turtle's Warparty, Ocean Duck, The Markings on the Moon, Wears White Feather on His Head, The Red Man, The Chief of the Heroka, Thunderbird and White Horse, The Man with Two Heads, Brave Man, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, Redhorn's Sons, Fighting Retreat, The Children of the Sun, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Mijistéga’s Powwow Magic and How He Won the Trader's Store, The Were-Grizzly, Winneconnee Origin Myth; the heads of Giants are found to be full of wampum: Young Man Gambles Often, The Meteor Spirit and the Origin of Wampum, Turtle and the Giant; anthropophagy and cannibalism: A Giant Visits His Daughter, Turtle and the Giant, The Witch Men's Desert, The Were-Grizzly, Grandfather's Two Families, The Roaster, Redhorn's Father, Hawk Clan Origin Myth, The Lost Blanket, Young Man Gambles Often, White Wolf, The Shaggy Man, The Twins Get into Hot Water, Partridge's Older Brother, The First Fox and Sauk War, The Fox-Hocąk War, The Hocągara Contest the Giants, Baldheaded Warclub Origin Myth, The Seven Maidens, Šųgepaga, The Reincarnated Grizzly Bear, The Woman who Loved Her Half-Brother, The Blessing of a Bear Clansman, Shakes the Earth, The Stone Heart, Thunder Cloud is Blessed; a game of lacrosse is played with a stone ball (painted red): Redhorn's Father (red), Spear Shaft and Lacrosse (red); certain spirits help the Giants in a (lacrosse) game with human lives at stake because they have married Giant women: Redhorn's Father, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, Redhorn Contests the Giants, Redhorn's Sons; a spirit has faces on each earlobe: Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Sons of Redhorn Find Their Father, The Dipper (hummingbirds), Redhorn's Father, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, The Hocągara Contest the Giants; a Giant (Wągerucge) princess has her game disturbed by her attraction to a hero: Redhorn Contests the Giants, The Roaster, Redhorn's Father, Redhorn's Sons; racing to the end of the world and back: Old Man and Wears White Feather, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Green Man, The Roaster, Young Man Gambles Often, Sun and the Big Eater, The Big Eater; contestants race to an oak tree at the edge of the world and back: Old Man and Wears White Feather, Young Man Gambles Often, Sun and the Big Eater, Spear Shaft and Lacrosse, The Roaster; Morning Star is a fast runner: Grandfather's Two Families; good people (and spirits) completely annihilate a race of bad spirits except for two, whom they allow to live (so that they do not undo the work of the Creator): Grandfather's Two Families, Sun and the Big Eater, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, How the Thunders Met the Nights, Bluehorn Rescues His Sister, Redhorn's Father, Eats the Stinking Part of the Deer Ankle; someone is, or becomes, a star: The Seven Maidens, The Dipper, Grandfather's Two Families, Heną́ga and Star Girl, Turtle and the Witches, Įcorúšika and His Brothers, The Star Husband.

Notes

¹ John Harrison, The Giant or The Morning Star, translated by Oliver LaMere, in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3892 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society) Winnebago III, #11a, Story 8: 92-117.

² W. C. McKern, Winnebago Notebook (Milwaukee: Milwaukee Public Museum, 1927) 219-227.