Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms

Legends

The Earth Dragon

Before this world was formed, there was another world with a sky made of sandstone rock. Two gods, Thunder and Nagaicho, saw that old sky being shaken by thunder.

"The rock is old," they said. "We'll fix it by stretching it above, far to the east."

They stretched the sandstone, walking on the sky to do it, and under each of the sky's four corners they set a great rock to hold it up. Then they added the different things that would make the world pleasant for people to live in. In the south they created flowers. In the east they put clouds so that people wouldn't get headaches from the sun's glare. To form the clouds they built a fire, then opened a large hole in the sky so that the clouds could come through. In the west they made another opening for the fog to drift in from the ocean.

Now the two gods were ready to create people. They made a man out of earth and put grass inside him to form his stomache. They used another bundle of grass for his heart, round pieces of clay for the liver and kidneys, and a reed for the windpipe. They pulverized red stone and mixed it with water to form his blood. After putting together man's parts, they took one of his legs, split it, and turned it into a woman. Then they made a sun to travel by day and a moon to travel by night.

But the creations of the gods did not endure, for every day and every night it rained. All the people slept. Floodwaters came, and great stretches of land disappeared. The waters of the oceans flowed together; animals of all kinds were drowned. Then the waters completely joined, and there were no more fields or mountains or rocks, only water. There were no trees or grass, no fish or land animals or birds. Human beings and animals all had been washed away. The wind no longer blew through the portals of the world, nor was there snow, or frost, or rain. It did not thunder or lightning, since there were no trees to be struck. There were neither clouds nor fog, nor did the sun shine. It was very dark.

Then the earth dragon, with its great, long horns, got up and walked down form the north. It traveled underground, and the god Nagaicho rode on its head. As it walked along through the ocean depths, the water outside rose to the level of its shoulders. When it came to shallower places it turned its head upward, and because of this there is a ridge near the coast in the north upon which the waves break. When it came to the middle of the world, in the east under the rising sun, it looked up again, which created a large island near the coast. Far away to the south it continued looking up and made a great mountain range.

In the south the dragon lay down, and Nagaicho placed its head as it should be and spread gray-colored clay between its eyes and on each horn. He covered the clay with a layer of reeds, then spread another layer of clay. On it he put some small stones, and then set blue grass, brush, and trees in the clay.

"I have finished," he said. "Let there be mountain peaks on the earth's head. Let the waves of the sea break against them."

The mountains appeared, and brush sprang up on them. The small stones he had placed on earth's head became large, and the head itself was buried from sight.

Now people appeared, people who had animal names. (Later when Indians came to live on the earth, these "first people" were changed into their animal namesakes.) Seal, Sea Lion, and Grizzly Bear built a dance house. One woman by the name of whale was fat, and that is why there are so many stout Indian women today.

The god Nagaicho caused different seafoods to grow in the water so that the people would have things to eat. He created seaweed, abalones, mussels, and many other things. Then he made salt from ocean foam. He caused the water of the ocean to rise up in waves and said that the ocean would always behave that way. He arranged for old whales to float ashore so that people would have them to eat. He made redwoods and other trees grow on the tail of the great dragon, which lay to the north. He carved out creeks by dragging his foot through the earth so that people would have good fresh water to drink. He created many oak trees to provide acorns to eat. He traveled all over the earth making it a comfortable place for men. After he had finished, he and his dog went walking to see how the new things looked. When they arrived back at their starting point in the north, he said to his dog: "We're close to home. Now we'll stay here."

So he left this world where people live, and now he inhabits the north.
 
 

 - Based on E. W. Gifford's 1930 account.

Because so many California tribes were shattered so early on by contact with Europeans, decimated by disease and displaced from their traditional lands, many of their stories have been recorded only as fragments, and it is often difficult to attribute some to specific tribes. We can only note the general region of origin.