To all my Brothers and Sisters, a Lakota Story

[1siouxgirl]

pejuta wicasa wicahcalo heca ca paha-tahepi najin na taoyate kin hewicakiya he inyanka yo, inyanka yo ikce wicasa inyanka yo ska wicasa kin auwe lo, wakpala asmaka kin auwe lo, wakpala osmaka ogna inyanka yo tuktehan hel yati kehe nita wakanyeja hel oskalya ounyapi tka wakpala kin ogna inyanka yo blez yela kaluze kin he'. ska wicasa kin ahiye' lo. tatanka kin' iyuha unkici kte pelo. makoce kin iyuha pelo inyanka yo' ikce wicasa inyanka yo'. ska wicasa kin' auwe lo. ca inyanka yo'. inyanka yo ikce' wicasa inyanka yo'. Oyakihi lake' el inyanka yo'. ska wicasa kin au welo. hanhepi opta inyanka yo'. hanhepi kin lila osni. inyanka yo ikce' wicasa inyanka yo'. ska wicasa kin' mazaska zi kin iyeyapelo . ehake hakikta yo makoce wan owang -waste kin he' ska wicasa kin napogna icu pelo' This is written with the english alphabet as we have no alphabet in our language, for those who understand Doksha

1siouxgirl

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```listening a true gift....=-----

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``listening a true gift....=-----

[hogatza (deleted)]

`It is beautiful but I do not understand it xo

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Gluskonba Makes the People


After Gluskonba had traveled around for some time, he began to notice that something was still missing from the world. He wanted to hear the voices of people.
"It is time," he said, "to make human beings."
So he gathered together some red earth and began to shape it. He formed it just as he had formed himself out of the dust, which fell from Tabaldak's hands. First he made a head, which was pointing towards the north. To this day the Indian people always sleep with their heads to the north. Then he shaped two arms, one towards the east and one towards the west. Towards the south he made two legs. Last of all, he shaped the body and connected all of the parts of the first human together. Finally he breathed upon his creation and the first person became alive and sat up. That person, though, was alone and lonely, even though Gluskonba tried to amuse this new person and keep this first human being company. So Gluskonba had to make another human being. Then, now that there were two people in the world, a woman and a man, they were no longer lonely.
This is one store of how the human beings were made by Gluskonba, but there is another story, too. This story tells how Gluskonba made the first people out of stone. Because they were made of stone they were very strong. They did not need to eat and then never grew tired or slept. Their hearts, too, were made of stone. They began to do cruel things. They killed animals for amusement and pulled trees up by their roots. When Gluskonba saw this he knew he had made a mistake. So he changed them back into stone. To this day there are certain mountains and hills which look like a sleeping person. Some old people say those are the first ones Gluskonba made, whom he turned back into stone.
Then, instead of making more stone people, Gluskonba looked around for something else to make human beings. He saw the ash trees. They were tall and slender and they danced gracefully in the wind. Then Gluskonba made the shapes of men and women in the trunks of the ash trees. He took out his long bow and arrows and shot the arrows into the ashes. Where each arrow went in, a person stepped forth, straight and tall. Those people had hearts which were growing and green. They were the first Abenakis. To this day those who remember this story call the ash trees their relatives.

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`the nohli pakowit

[1siouxgirl]

`This is the first Abenakis story i have ever heard, and what a beautiful story it is, Thank you for sharing that. I would love to hear and learn more.......

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Storytelling played and continues to play a number of roles among the Abenakis. Well-told stories amuse and involve the listeners, but just as importantly have long been used to teach a variety of moral and cultural lessons to everyone in the community, not just children. Such practices as respecting elders, caring for children, sharing food and
material possessions, making careful use of plants and game animals, and remaining deeply aware of the natural world around them, are still taught and reinforced by traditional tales. Parents tell these stories, children share them with each other, and now, just as it was long ago, there are some men and women who are known as Storytellers (Nudatlogit).

Stories have also been used as a means of discipline. Because children were never supposed to be mistreated (to the point that early European observers remarked on the fact that Abenaki children were spoiled and allowed to "run wild"), when a child misbehaved or did something dangerous or foolish, that child would be told a lesson story to provide them with guidance. The wise or foolish deeds of Gluskonba (or Gluskabe) and Azeban, the Raccoon, whose greed and boastfulness provide negative examples, have
Long been favorites of Abenaki children.

Abenaki people do not view stories as simple entertainment, but as deeply important cultural tools. In fact, it has been said by some elders that stories are themselves alive and aware of how they are used. Some stories were meant to be told only at certain times (in general, the storytelling season is Fall and Winter). Someone who told a story disrespectfully, or at the wrong time, might be stung by a bee during their telling or become ill afterwards.
yikes!!aho=-----------

[1siouxgirl]

`It takes me back, as a child listening....Eyes wide with Anticipation of the next Words Spoken....The story coming to life Before My Eyes....Oh, the Anticipation....Of the next Words.....And to see the Story come to Life...

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`Raccoon and the Waterfall

Wowigit ndatlokangan wa AAzban. Here camps my story of Azban.
One day, Azban the Raccoon was walking around. There were many things which Zaban could have done back at his own lodge. However, those were boring things, everyday things, things which he was supposed to do. Azban would much rather do things he wasn't supposed to do, especially on a fine day like this one. His long fingers were just itching to get into something. As always, Azban was looking for trouble.
As he walked along through the woods, he heard the chirping of baby birds from the trees above him.
"Little birds," he called up, "Come down and play with your Uncle Azban. I will teach you some new games."
The mother birds, though, looked out of their nests with suspicion. They would not let the little birds go and play with Azban.
"Be careful," they said to their young ones. "Azban is a nest-robber. You cannot trust him."
"Silly birds," Azban said to himself. "Don't they know I just like to play with baby birds and birds' eggs. It isn't my fault if playing makes me hungry some times."
He looked up at the trees and smiled, but he could see that he would have no luck there today. The birds were being too watchful.
"Don't worry, little birds," Azban called back over his shoulder, "I will be back another day."
Azban walked and walked. Soon he was in a valley which led through the hills. Then he cocked his head and listened. He could hear something. It sounded like many people shouting.
"Now, what is that?" Azban said. "I shall have to go and see."
He began to follow the sound, which seemed to be coming from the end of the valley. The closer he came, the louder the sound became. Finally, pushing his way through some brush, Azban found himself on the edge of a cliff, looking down at the Winooski river where it roared and roared. It made a sound like the voices of many people all shouting together.
"Ah-hunh," said Azban, speaking to the waterfall. "So you think you can shout loudly, do you?"
The waterfall did not answer him. It just kept pouring down, splashing on the rocks below.
"Do you think you can outshout me?" said Azban. "I am Azban, the great one, you know."
But the waterfall did not answer him.
"Do you think you can ignore me?" Azban said. "Listen, I shall outshout you!"
Then Azban shouted. "Yiiiiii!" but his little voice was nowhere near as loud as the waterfall.
"Hmm," Azban said, "I see that I shall have to shout louder."
He took a deep breath and shouted even more loudly. "YIIII!" But his little voice was still drowned out by the roar of the waterfall."
"I shall have to get closer," Azban said. He climbed down closer to the edge of the falls, took a very deep breath and shouted again. "YIIIIIIIIIIII!" But his little voice was still lost in the sound of the falls.
"Hmm," Azban said, "I shall have to lean out further." Then he took a very very deep breath. He filled his lungs with as much air as he could and shouted. "YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" He shouted so loud and so long that he became dizzy and lost his balance. Down he fell, into the water. Before he could rescue himself, he was swept over the falls.
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`Gluskonba and the Four Wishes


Now that Gluskonba had done so may things to make the world a better place for his children and his children's children, he decided it was time for him to rest. He and Grandmother Woodchuck went down to the big water. Gluskonba and his Grandmother climbed into this stone canoe and sailed away to an island. Some say that island is in the great lake the people call Petonbowk, others say that Gluskonba went far to the east, beyond the coast of Maine. They say that the fog that rises out there is actually the smoke from Gluskonba's pipe. But wherever it is that Gluskonba and Grandmother Woodchuck went to, it is said that for a time Gluskonba let it be known to the world that anyone who came to him would be granted one wish.
Once there were four Abenaki men who decided to make the journey to visit Gluskonba. One of them was a man who had almost no possessions. His wish was that Gluskonba would make it so that he owned many fine things. The second man was a man who was very vain. He was already quite tall, but he wore his hair piled up high on his head and stuffed moss in his moccasins so that he would be even greater in height. His wish was to be taller than all men. A third man was very afraid of dying. His wish was that he would live longer than any man. The fourth man was a man who spent much time hunting to provide food for his family and his village. But he was not a very good hunter, even though he tried very hard. His wish was that he would become a good enough hunter to always give his people enough to eat.
The four of them set out in a canoe to find the island of Gluskonba. Their trip was not an easy one. The currents were strong and they had to paddle hard against them. The man who owned nothing knew a song to calm the waters and when he sang it the currents ceased and they were able to go on their way. Now a wind began to blow very hard, pushing them back towards shore. But the second man took out some tobacco and offered it to the wind and it became calm enough for them to continue on their way. Soon great whales began to come up near the boat and it seemed as if they would tip the boat over. But the man who was afraid of dying had brought with him a small stone figure shaped like a whale. He dropped it into the water as an offering and the whales dove beneath the surface and were gone. Now the island of Gluskonba was very close, but they could not see it because a fog came up over the ocean and covered everything. The fourth man, who wanted to be a good hunter, took out his pipe and began to smoke it, making an offering of his smoke so that Gluskonba would stop smoking his pipe and let the fog lift. Soon the fog rolled away and they saw the Island of Gluskonba was there before them.
They left their boat on the shore and made their way to the place where Gluskonba sat.
"Kuai!" Gluskonba said. "You have had to work hard to come here to see me. You have earned the right to each make one wish."
"I wish to own many fine possessions," said the first man.
"My wish is to be taller than any other man," said the second.
"I want to live longer than any man," said the third.
"My desire is not so much for myself," said the fourth man. "I want to be a good enough hunter to provide food for my family and my people."
Gluskonba looked at the fourth man and smiled. Then he took out four pouches and gave one to each of the men. "In these you will find what you want. But no not open them before you get home and in your own lodge."
The men all agreed and went back to their canoe. They crossed the waters and reached the land. Then each of them started on his own way home. The first man, who wanted many possessions, took the canoe, which had belonged to the one who wanted to live longer than any man.
"Take this to go home in," said the man who wanted to live long, "I am going to live forever, so it will be easy for me to get another canoe."
As the man who wanted many possessions paddled along he thought about all that he would have. He would have fine clothing of buckskin, he would have ornaments made of shells and bright stones, he would have stone axes and finely made weapons, he would have a beautiful lodge to live in. As he thought of all the things he would have, he grew more and more anxious to see them. Finally, he could wait no longer.
"It will not hurt anything if I just peek inside this pouch," he said. Then he opened it just a crack to look inside. As soon as he did so all kinds of things began to pour out of the pouch. Moccasins and shirts, necklaces and wampaum belts, axes and spears and bows and arrows. The man tried to close the pouch but he could not do so. The things came pouring out and filled the canoe, covering the man. They were so heavy that the canoe sank and the man, tangled in all his possessions, sank with them and drowned.
The second man, who wanted to be taller than all others, had walked along for only a short time before he, too, became curious. He stopped on top of a high ridge and took out the pouch. "How can this make me taller?" he said. "Perhaps there is some kind of magic ointment in here that I can rub on myself to make me grow. There would be nothing wrong with trying out just a little of it before I get home." Then he opened the pouch. As soon as he did so he was transformed into a pine, the tallest of the trees. To this day the pines stand taller than all others, growing on the high ridges, and in the wind you may hear them whispering, bragging about their height, taller than all men.
The third man, too, did not go far before he became curious. "If I am going to live forever," he said, "then nothing will be able to hurt me. Thus there is not reason why I should not open this pouch." He opened it up. As soon as he did so he turned into a great boulder, one which would stand unchanged for thousands of seasons, longer than the life of any man.
The fourth man, though, did not think of himself as he traveled home. He had further to go than the others, but he did not stop. "Soon," he said to himself, "I will be able to feed my people." He went straight to his lodge and when he got inside he opened the pouch. But there was nothing inside it. Yet as he sat there, holding the open pouch, there came into his mind a great understanding. He realized the ways he must proceed to hunt animals. He began to understand how to prepare himself for a hunt and how to show the animals respect so that they would always allow him to hunt. It seemed he could hear someone speaking to him, more than one person. Then he realized what he was hearing. He was hearing the voices of the animals themselves, telling him about their ways. From that day on he was the best hunter among the people. He never took more game than was needed, yet he always provided enough to feed his people. His was truly the best of the gifts given by Gluskonba.
=---------------- I have also heard this story called the four lessons. hope ya enjoy.....M

[1siouxgirl]

`Now that I am Traveling into the Four Directions.....Through the Wide Eyes of Innocence....I am now Starting to See, The Amazing Wonders of our Great Universe....Splendid is the Glory Blessed Upon Us....Thank You for your Wisdom and Kindness....For thru your Words....I have been taken Back and Reminded of all that is Pure and Much Beloved By Many....May I Sleep Now.... And Dream.... .... .... ....