The Stories. The Snake People : p. 62 THE SNAKE PEOPLE LONG AGO there lived a Yaqui by the name of Habiel Mo'el. He was an orphan, but he had many relatives all over the Yaqui country. This man did not enjoy hunting as most young Yaqui men did. Instead, he liked lo travel from house to house and from pueblo to pueblo, attending...
The Stories. The Spirit Fox : p. 160 THE SPIRIT FOX AN INDIAN lived in the region of the hill west of Bacum. This man's name was Ba'ayoeria. Alone, he and his woman lived. They had neighbors a little distance away to the north, and others farther away to the south. Ba'ayoeria was not a hunter. He lived from collecting roots...
The Stories. Sun And Moon : p. 52 SUN AND MOON THE SUN loves the moon. She is his sweetheart. He wants her for his wife. But once the moon said to him, "I will marry you, but only on the condition that you give me a gift. Anything suits me, but it must be to my measurement." "What kind of a gift would you like?" asked...
The Stories. In Rabbit's House : p. 131 IN RABBIT'S HOUSE RABBIT had a house. Into this house crawled a snake. He stayed there, waiting for the owner to return so he could eat him. When the rabbit came home, he saw the track of the snake going into his house. So, to deceive whoever was inside, he spoke to his house, saying, "Good...
The Stories. Why The Animals Remain Animals : p. 143 WHY THE ANIMALS REMAIN ANIMALS BAI'IKURI was tall and very strong. He worked hard to support his children. Sometimes he would go to the sea to get fish and oysters. Other times he would go into the sierra and gather honey, roots of various kinds, and also fruit. Part of these things he...
The Stories. Malinero'okai : p. 95 MALINERO'OKAI THE SPANIARDS had just entered the Yaqui sierra. It was just when they battled the Indians in the heights of the Batachim sierra that Malinero'okai, with her little girl, descended into the depths of a canyon at the foot of the hill where they were fighting. Malinero'okai w...
References : p. 177 REFERENCES BEALS, RALPH 1932a The Comparative Ethnology of Northern Mexico before 1750. "Ibero-Americana": 2. University of California Press, Berkeley. 1932b Aboriginal Survivals in Mayo Culture. "American Anthropologist", Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 28-39. Menasha. 1933 Modern Serpent Beliefs...
The Stories. Heron And Fox : p. 128 HERON AND FOX IN THE DAYS when animals talked proper Yaqui, a fox and a heron formed an intimate friendship. The fox, in order to show her sharpness and wit, said to the heron one day, "Do come and visit me tomorrow." "I will," answered the heron. The following day the heron flew...
The Stories. The Calabazas Funeral : p. 137 THE CALABAZAS FUNERAL ONE TIME I sowed lots of corn and beans and squashes, many, many squashes. When I harvested, I filled my whole house full of squashes. When I had put them all away, I fell sick. But I wasn't sick for very long, because I died. By afternoon, just about time for the sun...
Introduction : p. 3 INTRODUCTION NO THOROUGH collection or study has been made of the folk traditions of the Yaquis. Only about a score of Yaqui stories are to be found in published form. Alfonso Fabila has printed five stories and three songs (Fabila 1940: 202-205, 212-243). Spicer reviews a half-dozen stories...
The Stories. Peace At Pitahaya : p. 93 PEACE AT PITAHAYA Pitahaya, Rio Yaqui, January 9, 1909 PEACE WAS made at Pitahaya with the eight pueblos of this tribe while Luis Buli was General of the Yaquis. Yzbal was governor, and the generals of the Mexican forces were Lorenzo Torres and Luis Torres. Also there were some people...
The Stories. War Between The Yaquis And The Pimas : p. 91 WAR BETWEEN THE YAQUIS AND THE PIMAS LIKE ALL OTHER tribes, the Pimas recognized the Yaquis as their supreme authority. However, in life no thing is perfect nor lasting; so it happened that one day at the fiesta celebrating San Juan's day, the Yaquis and the Pimas had a terrible quarrel...
The Stories. Suawaka : p. 138 SUAWAKA IN EARLIER times, there used to be serpents with seven heads. These lived northeast of Guaymas near a hill that has two little points; it is called Takalaim. Serpents with seven heads also lived in another hill, down-river and near the seashore, called So'ori. The people of the old...
The Stories. The First Deer Hunter : p. 100 THE FIRST DEER HUNTER THIS is the story of the first Yaqui deer hunter. He is called Yebu'uku Yoeme. This man, since he was very young, lived alone with his mother in a place called Poobetame'aka'apo. Yebu'uku Yoeme was a very good hunter. He had great power over the deer. He dominated them...
The Stories. Tesak Pascola's Watermelons : p. 135 TESAK PASCOLA'S WATERMELONS WELL, GENTLEMEN, this horse of mine became very old. I let him out for a few days so that he might rest. But one day I saddled him again, to take a little turn through the monte. I traveled almost a whole day, and in the afternoon I took off the saddle. I noticed...
Cultural Setting : p. 5 CULTURAL SETTING LANGUAGE THE YAQUIS are a Sonoran tribe. They are Cahitan-speaking peoples, affiliated linguistically with the Tarahumaras, Opatas, Conchos, Mayos, and other nearby tribes. Aboriginally, the Yaquis and the Mayos occupied the flood plain areas from the town of Sinaloa north...
The Stories. The Five Mended Brothers : p. 151 THE FIVE MENDED BROTHERS IN THE SIERRA of Toma'arisi there lived a Yaqui named Wiloa Bakot. This sierra, both high and low and all about it, was populated by people. Of them, many thousands were Yaquis. Quite a number of Yaquis lived also in the nearby hills. Their chief was called Bak...
The Stories. Two Little Lambs : p. 117 TWO LITTLE LAMBS LONG AGO there were two little lambs who were not quite full grown. They were walking about out in the country in the sierra on a large plain, when a very hungry coyote walked out of the forest and came straight toward one of them. "How are you, cousin?" said the coyote...
The Stories. The Wars Against The Mexicans : p. 88 THE WARS AGAINST THE MEXICANS TOMAS CUPIZ traveled with his soldiers; there were forty. Beneath him was Francisco Flores, called Chico Matachini. His aide was Apolinar Pina, called Poli Soso'oki. These Indians left their families in the sierra of Chikurim in the care of Alejandro Rodrigues...
Yaqui Story Telling : p. 15 YAQUI STORY TELLING STORY TELLING among the Yaquis today is quite informal. There appears to be no socially determined time or place for relating the myths or tales except in the case of "pascola" stories, which are told at fiestas. Nor are there special persons who are supposed to tell...
The Stories. The Cricket And The Lion : p. 120 THE CRICKET AND THE LION EARLY one morning a young lion was out taking a walk through the fresh monte when suddenly he came upon a large plain and a big lagoon full of fresh, crystal water. After looking for a while, he went on his way. He stopped and grubbed in a little hill of dry trash...
The Stories. Kaiman : p. 78 KAIMAN DOWN on the Yaqui River the waters of the sea once rose and reached far up into the monte where many things were growing, such as "sinam", "choan", and "ono'em". Among all these natural plants, the water came and carried with it the great turtle, Kaiman. Thus has it been said. When...
The Stories. Duck Hunter : p. 134 DUCK HUNTER ONE DAY out by a lake I was duck hunting. I had a gun but I wanted to save bullets so I thought of another way to catch them. I had some string which I fastened around my waist. Then I swam under water to where the ducks were swimming above the water. I tied the ducks' legs...
The Stories. Five Friends Of Takochai : p. 53 FIVE FRIENDS OF TAKOCHAI THERE lived in the land of the Yaqui an Indian called Teta Hiapsi and he was very industrious. He enjoyed building good things. For this reason, he talked one day with a large group of Yaquis to see if they would work for him if he paid them a fair salary. In those...
The Stories. The Big Bird : p. 81 THE BIG BIRD THIS is Yaqui belief. A great bird lived on the hill of Otam Kawi. Every morning he would fly out in search of food. He caught men, women and little children and carried them back to Otam Kawi to eat. In those days the people always were watchful. They couldn't have fiest...
The Stories. Coyote And Rabbit : p. 126 COYOTE AND RABBIT ONE DAY rabbit was out on a plain eating when Coyote came up. "I am very hungry," said Coyote. "I am going to eat you." "No, wait here and I will bring you a really good meal of chicken. They are cooking it over there." Rabbit ran off toward the monte and Coyote happily...
The Stories. The Yaqui Doctor : p. 163 THE YAQUI DOCTOR AN OLD Yaqui man had twelve sons. When the thirteenth son came along, no one in the village wanted to take him as a god-son. Thirteen sons was just one too many. The father became angry. "I go now," he said. "I don't care for this pueblo." He went off in the directi...
The Stories. The Man Who Became A Buzzard : p. 59 THE MAN WHO BECAME A BUZZARD NEAR the pueblo of Bacum there once lived a Yaqui called Malon Yeka, which means Prairie Dog Nose. He was a man with deep and profound desires to know much and have many things within his power. He wanted to have all sorts of things, without working. He had...
The Stories. Juan Sin Miedo : p. 67 JUAN SIN MIEDO JUAN SIN MIEDO was so called because he could not conceive of what it was to be afraid of anything. Once he was asked to be caretaker of a certain house which the owner could not get anyone to stay in overnight. It was said to be full of spirits and ghosts. Juan said that he...
The Stories. Bobok : p. 148 BOBOK IN ANCIENT TIMES in the Yaqui region, water became scarce for a long period of time. Yaquis were suffering from the thirst which devastated them. Water holes dried up. They made wells and couldn't find water. Rocks resembled coals of fire. All the Yaqui region was burning up from lack...
The Stories. Maisoka And Hima'awikia : p. 119 MAISOKA AND HIMA'AWIKIA MAISOKA was in his house one day and about the time that he stuck his head out of his door, Hima'awikia was walking about. Maisoka said, "Who walks on top of the house of the King?" He said this because he considered himself a king. Maisoka means tarantula. It is...
The Stories. The Snake Of The Hill Of Nohme : p. 171 THE SNAKE OF THE HILL OF NOHME IN A LARGE waterhole under the hill of Nohme there lives a big snake with a cross on its forehead. This monster lives on water animals but sometimes it eats cattle, goats, and even people. It makes a great wind with its indrawn breath and sucks them right...
The Stories. Omteme : p. 65 OMTEME WHEN YOMUMULI took her people, the Surem, and went away to the north because she did not like the things said by the talking stick, she left governors behind for each region. These chiefs lived on the tops of mountains along the Rio Yaqui. There was one governor who lived in the hill...
The Stories. Coyote And The Friendly Dogs : p. 132 COYOTE AND THE FRIENDLY DOGS A COYOTE who was very hungry was walking about the outskirts of a field. He was discovered by a few dogs who were taking care of the crops. With the dogs were some little quail. This was in the time when animals talked like people and all of them understood one...
The Stories. Yuku : p. 32 YUKU IN THE TIMES when there was no corn, the blackbird told man about this corn that is sown. He knew where corn was and that the Devil had it. Man sent the blackbird up there after it because he knew that this bird was very good at stealing. The blackbird went to the house of Yuku and s...
The Stories. The Wax Monkey : p. 37 THE WAX MONKEY IN A CERTAIN part of the Yaqui region lived a farmer who had many watermelons ripe in his field. He noticed that every morning some of his best, his prettiest, and his largest watermelons were missing. Finally he said, "I would like to know who it is that is eating my...
The Stories. The Two Bears : p. 45 THE TWO BEARS ONCE IN THE land of the Yaquis there were two very amusing men. One was called Anoki'ichi and the other, Bali'ichi. Anoki'ichi was even funnier than Bali'ichi. The two friends were inseparable. Together, they traveled everywhere. One day while walking about the countryside they...
The Stories. San Pedro And The Devil : p. 114 SAN PEDRO AND THE DEVIL JESUCRISTO had many apostles and prophets the Devil was constantly trying to tempt. Jesucristo would help them and give them advice. One day San Pedro was standing by a big cottonwood tree. The Devil came up to him and said, "I hear that you are very powerful. I...
The Stories. San Pedro And Cristo : p. 110 SAN PEDRO AND CRISTO ONE TIME San Pedro and Jesucristo were walking along, and Jesucristo sent San Pedro up to a near-by house to get a cooked chicken. On the way back Pedro ate one leg of the chicken. When Jesucristo saw what San Pedro had brought back, he asked, "Why has this chicken but...
The Stories. The Wise Deer : p. 30 THE WISE DEER THERE ONCE lived a large deer. He was very strong, and very wise. So wise was he that when hunters searched for him, wherever he might hide himself, they could never find him. They might pursue him closely, but he, in his wisdom, would hide wherever he chose. The hunters would...
The Stories. The False Beggar : p. 39 THE FALSE BEGGAR HE WAS FALSE because though he was not poor he asked for alms. Abahta Chaheme was a tall, healthy man but he pretended to be old, dressed as a beggar, and asked for charity. This man had an only daughter, now grown, whose name was Wokkoi Masa. Abahta Chaheme had many sheep...
The Stories. The Ku Bird : p. 28 THE KU BIRD AMONG the Yaquis there was once a bird who, from birth, was very poor. So poor was this little one that he had not one single feather on his whole body. Often he sighed, especially in the winter time, because of his lack of protecting feathers. Many years passed, until one day he...
Title Page : YAQUI MYTHS AND LEGENDS COLLECTED BY RUTH WARNER GIDDINGS HARRY BEHN, EDITOR ILLUSTRATED BY LAURIE COOK The University Of Arizona Press Tucson, Arizona Originally Issued As Anthropological Paper No. 2, University Of Arizona, 1959 Scanned , September, 2004. John Bruno Hare Redactor. This Text Is...
The Stories. Tukawiru : p. 172 TUKAWIRU WE KNOW that all animals have a father, or a leader of their kind, the eagles, buzzards, all. The chief of the Buzzards is called Tukawiru, or Night Buzzard. No one knows where Tukawiru lives, not even the birds themselves. It happened that a young man entered into a game with...
The Stories. Pedro De Ordimales : p. 113 PEDRO DE ORDIMALES PEDRO DE ORDIMALES and Jesucristo were walking along a road. Pedro, who was following behind, picked some figs and put them in his bag, not mentioning the action to Cristo. When he was hungry, he reached into the bag and pulled out a fig and ate it. Jesucristo, without...
The Stories. The Cat And The Monkey : p. 129 THE CAT AND THE MONKEY AMONG the Yaquis there was one who had as curious pets an educated cat and a very intelligent monkey. The man's name was Oname'a. He understood the language of the animals. One day the cat and the monkey were quarreling. The monkey said to the cat, "You aren't worth...
The Stories. Tasi'o Sewa : p. 31 TASI'O SEWA THERE was once, here in the region of the Yaqui, a native girl who was more beautiful than any other. It is said to this day that there has never been seen such a pretty girl as Tasi'o Sewa. She married a man called Wi'i Labeleo who made songs, and she had a brother called...
The Stories. When Badger Named The Sun : p. 34 WHEN BADGER NAMED THE SUN AT THE BEGINNING of the era of the Surem, nobody knew the name of the sun and they wanted a name for it. For this reason they held a council on the bank of the Surem river. Everyone gave his opinion but no name was found for the sun. Every day they studied...
The Stories. Yomumuli And The Little Surem People : p. 25 THE STORIES YOMUMULI AND THE LITTLE SUREM PEOPLE LONG BEFORE the Conquest of the Spaniards, when all of the land which is now Mexico was wild, this country was called Sur. It was thus called because it was populated by the Surem, children of Yomumuli. All Indians, the Hueleves, the Op...
The Stories. Grasshopper And Cricket : p. 123 GRASSHOPPER AND CRICKET THE CRICKET invited the grasshopper, saying, "Let's go over to that banquet. We will see lots of wine. I'll get you some wine to drink and then we can ride horseback all night long through the monte singing." "Well, let's go," said the grasshopper, and they went...
The Stories. Turtle And Coyote : p. 124 TURTLE AND COYOTE ONE DAY IN the very hot month of August, the season of picking pitahayas, a turtle was walking along under the branches of the pitahaya plants. She was eating from the pitahayas which were ripe and which had fallen to the ground. She was walking along with her mouth all...
The Stories. The First Fiesta : p. 145 THE FIRST FIESTA YOMUMULI WAS a hunter who lived near the pueblo of Juirivis. He was an old man, and he had twin sons who were called Yomumulim. The old man, walking one day through the monte, heard the beat of a drum. Although he drew near to where the drum was sounding, although he made...
The Stories. Jesucristo And San Pedro : p. 111 JESUCRISTO AND SAN PEDRO JESUCRISTO walked about talking with sick men. When Lazaro was dead, Jesucristo brought him to life. San Pedro was always envious thinking how sad it was that Jesucristo never charged a fee for his services in curing and bringing people to life. "Oh, how sad," he...
The Stories. Mochomo : p. 35 MOCHOMO ONCE there was a mochomo, a chieftain of the ants who was driving a mule train of little mochomos. One night it turned very cold and snowed, and the snow killed every one of his train of mules. "I shall go to the king of the snow," said Mochomo, "He has killed all of my mules!" He...
The Stories. Coyote Woman : p. 144 COYOTE WOMAN NEAR Ousekari is an arroyo called Ba'atcbem. Here once lived a Yaqui called Mangwe Wakira, or "Manuel the Weak." Also in this place there was a little ranchera. Among those who lived there, was a Yaqui woman who enjoyed practicing the art of witchcraft. She would turn herself...
The Stories. Topol The Clever : p. 141 TOPOL THE CLEVER IN A PLACE called Sikchibei, which is situated about two kilometers from Torim toward where the sun sets, there in ancient times one of the greatest fiestas of the Yaquis took place. People from the eight pueblos attended. It was dedicated to the three divinities, Father...
The Stories. Father Frog : p. 116 FATHER FROG WHEN A YAQUI man who is old and well off lies on his death bed, it is the custom for his family to gather about him. Sometimes one of his sons will ask the sick man, "If you should die in whose hands would you leave your land?" "Who is my best friend?" asks the man. With...
The Stories. The Flood And The Prophets : p. 106 THE FLOOD AND THE PROPHETS HERE PRESENTED is what was adopted for the martyrology of the period of the universal flood. Out of this catastrophe were saved those from whom sprang the generations of Yaitowi, a just and perfect man. Yaitowi, in his time, walked with Dios when came to pass...
The Stories. The Twins : p. 166 THE TWINS THESE TWINS were born near the hill of Huri Kawi, near here and not very far from the railroad track. Their mother was called Hekka Nibino. She died when they were born. The grandparents brought them up. One twin they named Cho'i and after a time he learned to be a cowboy. He came...
The Stories. The Black Horse : p. 133 THE BLACK HORSE I HAD BEEN riding my black horse through the thickets of pitahaya from early morning until past midday. I had no water and the sweetness of the pitahaya honey caused me great thirst. There was no place within one hundred and sixty kilometers where I could get any water. I...
The Stories. The Walking Stone : p. 49 THE WALKING STONE THERE was a beautiful young woman by the name of Sawali Wiikit, or, "Little Yellow Bird," who had lovely, long hair, and eyes as shining as a star. But there was one thing about her that was bad. She was disobedient, and she liked to walk about with her friends at night...
The Stories. Cho'oko Baso : p. 176 CHO'OKO BASO NEAR the hill of Maatale lived a Yaqui named Cho'oko Baso who worked at collecting bark from trees with which to make dyes and to tan hides. The hides he sold for fruit and roots with which to feed his sons. One day he was walking over a stretch of coarse sand and, on passing...
The Narrators : p. 21 THE NARRATORS AMBROSIO A. CASTRO Age, 54. Born in La Palma, Sonora, and lived there or near Cocorit most of his early life. His father was from Cocorit and his mother from Bacum. During his youth he lived with his paternal grandmother, a curer or "good witch." From her, he learned many...
The Stories. The Boy Who Became A King : p. 69 THE BOY WHO BECAME A KING THREE BOYS decided to leave their mother and father and go away to work. Their mother made a lunch for each of them and they left. They came to a place where there were some fig trees; here, they ate lunch. At this place the road branched three ways. After lunch...
The Stories. The First Fire : p. 158 THE FIRST FIRE NOW THERE IS fire in all rocks, in all sticks. But long ago there wasn't any fire in the world, and all of the Yaquis and the animals and the creatures of the sea, everything that lived, gathered in a great council in order to understand why there was no fire. They knew th...
The Stories. The Death Of Kutam Tawi : p. 103 THE DEATH OF KUTAM TAWI THERE LIVED in the pueblo of Potam a Yaqui captain named Tawachime'a. He had been a captain a long time when he married a very beautiful native girl with an enchanting appearance who was called Kuku Tosa, which means Dove Nest. From this marriage a very handsome...
The Stories. The Stick That Sang : p. 42 THE STICK THAT SANG ON THE RIO YAQUI lived two brothers. They lived with their mother and father. One day they went to some hill, I don't know just where, to pan gold. There were two canyons at this place; one came from the north, and the other from the east. The canyons met there. When it...