How Owl and Coyote Made The World Go Round and Round

How Owl and Coyote Made

The World Go Round and Round

            In the beginning, when the Creator first made the Earth and Sky, and filled the Earth with the Rock People, the Tree People, the Bear People, the Salmon People, the Dolphin People, the Earth Walking People, and all of the other people, the Earth was half Sunny and half dark all of the time.  And, it still is! 

            But, way back then, the sunny side stayed sunny and the dark side stayed dark. Mother Earth did not turn.  The people who lived on the sunny side could never rest because it was always daytime.  The people who lived on the dark side could never rest either, because too cold and too dark to find food, and it was always night on their side of the Earth.  The plants did not grow well on the dark side.  The plants never grew well on the sunny side either, because they would get sunburned.

            All of the people lived on a tiny band of land or water from pole to pole around the Earth. They were soon very overcrowded. They sent their elders to a council to discuss the problem and find a solution. They met at a place between the land and the water so that all of the Earth people could be represented. They met in a place that was not too dark or too bright, but somewhere in between.  Ne'eshjaa, the Great Owl led the gathering.  He spread his dazzling green and yellow wings wide. His iridescent purple eyes gleamed as he said to the elders, “My brothers and sisters, before we seek a solution to this predicament, we must first come to an agreement as to what the problem really is that affects all of us, not just some of us.”

            All the elders nodded in agreement.

            “Once we all agree on what the problem is, we can all work on a solution," Ne'eshjaa, the Great Owl said.

            They agreed.  The Great Bear, Shash, said “The dayside was too hot and too bright.  I’m forced to hide my eyes and then I can’t see.”

            “Why don’t you move to the dark side?” Gah, the rabbit suggested.

            “I went to the dark side but it was too dark to see anything.”

            The Great Dolphin popped his head out of the water. “The waters on the day side were too hot and the waters on the dark side were frozen solid.”

            One of the Tree people said, “There is too little land that is not too hot or too cold for trees and other plants to grow.

            Owl lifted his head and spread his wings. “Can one of us state the problem without telling us the symptom?”

            “I can, I can,” yipped Maii, the Coyote. He stood up showing off his shining deep purple fur. His glowing purple eyes sparkled.

            Several of the elders rolled their eyes. Some whispered to each other. “He’s just a Coyote. What can he possibly say that will be meaningful and not be his usual silly nonsense?”

            “Speak, Maii Coyote, Giver of Imagination,” Ne'eshjaa, the Great Owl said, using Coyote’s title to remind the elders that Coyote was a magical being.

            “The problem is that Shá, the Sun, stays only on one side.”

            The elders were silent. Maii, the Coyote, spoke the truth. Ne'eshjaa asked them to talk among themselves to come up with a solution.

            A few birds spoke together and asked if the Sun could be moved to the night side of the Earth.  Ne'eshjaa told them that the Sun was too hot to move.  Maii, the Coyote, suggested to Ne'esjaa', the Great Owl that Mother Earth be asked to turn herself around.  Hearing this, the elders laughed and laughed, saying, "Oh Maii, you are so funny. How is Mother Earth going to turn herself around? Mother Earth has no arms or legs with which to turn around." 

            The Great Jaguar stood up on all fours and loped to the front. “I appreciate your efforts, oh Giver of Imagination. Even if Mother Earth could turn around, the problem would still be the same. The new night side would be too dark to see anything and the new day side would be too hot.”

            Maii did not despair. “I have listened and I have used the gift that I have given all of you. I have an idea. He suggested that someone could steal a piece of the Sun for the night and find a piece of the night for the day.  The elders laughed and laughed, saying "Oh Maii, you are so funny. Who could steal a piece of the Sun? And who could steal a piece of the night?"

            Ne'eshjaa stretched out his wings, signaling that he was about to speak. "Maii is right. He is clever. He should steal a piece of the Sun and place it on the night side of Mother Earth.  But he should steal only a small piece so that the people living on that side could get some rest."  The elders agreed.  Ne'eshjaa said that he would help Maii by flying him to the Sun.  Nanook, the Snow (Polar) Bear gave Maii a suit of white bear fur to wear for protection from the Sun's heat.  Maii thanked the Nanook Bear for his gift. 

            Ne'esjaa' and Maii went into a sweat lodge to pray to the Great Spirit and ask for her help and protection. While in the lodge they came up with a plan. Ne'esjaa' would fly high above the Sun with his wings so quiet that neither the Sun nor his dragon protectors would ever hear them coming. Owl would drop Maii over the Sun. As Maii passed by the Sun, he could steal a piece of it.  Ne'esjaa' would catch Maii as he dropped beneath the Sun and fly him to the night side of Mother Earth.

            After Maii and Ne'esjaa' finished praying in the sweat lodge, Maii put on the white bear fur and Ne'esjaa' grabbed Maii in his talons and they flew off high above the Sun.  Ne'esjaa' was so quiet, the Sun's guardian dragons never noticed.  Ne'esjaa' dropped Maii as planned.  As Maii grabbed a piece of the Sun, he screamed in pain because, even though he only stole a small piece of the Sun, that small piece was really, really hot.  The guardian dragons heard Maii scream.  Four of the fire-breathing guardian dragons flew out of the Sun in pursuit of the thief who stole a piece of the Sun.  Maii yelled for Owl.  Ne'esjaa' arrived just as the dragons breathed hot fire onto both of them.  Maii's nose which used to be a beautiful purple color got scorched and turned black.  His eyes, which used to be a very pretty purple and turquoise color, were changed to the color of the Sun. When the dragons breathed their fire, they burned tiny black holes in Maii's eyes.  The same thing happened to Ne'esjaa''s eyes and beak. As Ne'esjaa' flew past the Sun his eyes, which used to be a very pretty purple, just like Maii's, were also changed to the color of the Sun. When the guardian dragons breathed their fire at the thief's accomplice, they scorched his beautiful orange beak and turned it black. Their fiery breath was so hot that it bleached Great Owl’s dazzling green and yellow feathers to pure white with tinges of brown. They burned tiny black holes in Ne'esjaa''s eyes. 

            Owl screamed, "Ow ow Whoooooo whooooo where are you" as he grabbed hold of Maii in his talons and flew very quietly and quickly back to Mother Earth.  But not before the guardian dragons breathed their fire again and Maii's protective white bear fur caught on fire and exploded into huge white puffs of smoke.  Father Sky grabbed these puffs of smoke, filled them with water, and used them to shade the sunny side of Mother Earth. And that's how Maii and Ne'esjaa' gave us the clouds.  Maii's beautiful fur which used to be a beautiful teal color got scorched and turned brown and gray. And Owl's feathers were scorched in interesting patterns. 

            They placed the piece of the Sun, that they stole, into the night sky.  They called this new light, La Luna, the Moon.  They arrived back on Mother Earth, changed but wiser.  The people from the night side of Mother Earth thanked Ne'esjaa' and Maii for their brave deed.  But they said that it was still too cold on the night side and it was still too hot on the day side.

            Ne'eshjaa and Maii convened another council. They explained that only half of the solution had been found. Ne'eshjaa lifted his head. “I now see the wisdom of Maii’s first suggestion. We need to come up with a solution to see how we’re going to get Mother Earth to turn around? 

            “I know. I know,” yipped Maii, the Coyote.

            Before the elders could roll their eyes or burst into laughter, Ne'eshjaa spread his wings and said, “Hold your judgment of the Giver of Imagination. Listen to his wisdom.

            “Ne'eshjaa is a magical being,” Maii said. I have felt the power of her talons. I humbly ask Ne'eshjaa to use her talons to grab hold of Tahoma Mountain (Mount Rainier) and fly to the East. I, in turn, will help by pushing Mother Earth as I run to the West.”

            The elders nodded, whispered to each other, and agreed that Maii had, indeed, come up with a wise solution. The elders asked that it be done and so it was. 

            Even today we can witness when the Great Owl and Maii do their work to keep Mother Earth spinning round and round. Sometimes you might notice that even when it is a bright sunny day that you cannot always see Tahoma Mountain. That is because the Great Owl, who is invisible to most of us, is grabbing Mother Earth and keeping her turning around.  And sometimes you might feel Mother Earth shake. That is because Maii is using all his might to push Mother Earth and help her to spin around and around.

            Maii and Ne'esjaa' sing to each other at night.  If you listen, you might notice that they sometimes sing about the time Ne'esjaa', helped Maii steal a piece of the Sun and about how they continue working together to make Mother Earth go round and round.