Fire is a Spy!
Manataka American Indian Council
Choctaw Legends III
Fire is a Spy!
The word for the Great Spirit, Hashtali, means "noon day sun."
It was believed the sun holds the power of life and
death over people. There is a
legend that says Hashtali and Fire are friends. In fact, it was believed that
they are always in touch with one another. Fire tells the sun about everything
it hears and sees on Earth, especially when it learns of wrong-doing. The people
knew that if they did anything naughty near a fire, Hashtali would know of it
before they could take even one step. Choctaw children were always very good
around a fire!
From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.
Kowi Anukasha - Forest Dwellers
A long time ago in
ancient time, while the Choctaw Indians were living in Mississippi, the Choctaw
legends say that certain supernatural beings or spirits lived near them. These
spirits, or "Little People," were known as
Kowi Anukasha or "Forest Dwellers." They were about two or three feet tall.
These pygmy beings lived deep in the thick forest, their homes were in caves
hidden under large rocks.
When a boy child is two, three, or even four years old, he will often wander off
into the woods, playing or chasing a small animal. When the little one is well
out of sight from his home, "Kwanokasha", who is always on watch,
seizes the boy and takes him away to his cave, his dwelling place. Many times
his cave is far away and Kwanokasha and the little boy must travel a very long
way, climbing many hills and crossing many streams.
When they finally reach the cave Kwanokasha takes
him inside where he is met by three other spirits, all very old with long white
hair. The first one offers the boy a knife; the second one offers him, a bunch
of poisonous herbs; the third offers a bunch of herbs yielding good medicine.
If the child accepts the knife, he is certain to become a bad man and may even
kill his friends. If he accepts the poisonous herbs he will never be able to
cure or help his people. But, if he accepts the good herbs, he is
destined to become a great doctor and an important and influential man of his
tribe and win the confidence of all his people.
When he accepts the good herbs the three old spirits will tell him the secrets
of making medicines from herbs, roots and barks of certain trees, and of
treating and curing various fevers, pains and other sickness. That is
the reason the "'Little People" take the boy child to their home in the
wilderness, in order to train Indian doctors, transmitting to them their special
curative powers and to train them in the manufacture of their medicines. The
child will remain with the spirits for three days after which he is returned. He
does not tell where he has been or what he has seen or heard. Not until he
becomes a man will he make use of the knowledge gained from the spirits, and
never will he reveal to others how it was acquired. It is said among the
Choctaws that few children wait to accept the offering of the good herbs from
the third spirit, and that is why there are so few great
doctors and other men of influence among the Choctaws.
It is also said the the "Little People" are never seen by the common Choctaws.
The Choctaw prophets and herb doctors, however, claim the power of seeing them
and of holding communication with them. During the darkest
nights in all kinds of weather you can see a strange light wandering around in
the woods. This light is the Indian doctor and his little helper looking for
that special herb to treat and cure a very sick tribesman.
Submitted by Blue Panther Keeper of Stories