Reading Notes: California and the Old Southwest, Part B

Tu-Tok-A-Nu'-La (El Capitan) 

Yosemite Valley

Two young boys play in the river and then climb up onto a rock to sleep in the sun. They sleep so well (and, apparently, for so long) that the rock grows and grows upward until they can't come down.

I like that the measuring worm, who is the underdog when it comes to jumping, is the one that rescues the boys with his diligent crawling. I wonder how he was able to bring the boys down from the rock, because it's not like they could have gone on his back! The story doesn't explain this which kind of bothered me. I also wonder whether the worm received praise or retaliation for outdoing the lion and the grizzly bear.

Navajo women with sheep. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

The Boy Who Became a God

Navajo (New Mexico)

I like that the boy is patient when his brothers don't believe his stories, and he eventually proves that he was always telling the truth. I wonder whether his brothers were a little jealous because of his stories or whether they simply didn't believe them at all. 

Why did the brothers leave the youngest one (the one who tells stories) at the camp while they went to hunt? Is it because they thought he was crazy or just because he was too young?

The boy's story was indeed strange. The crows danced and sang, and even the god Hasjelti spoke there. The crows discussed the killing of twelve deer and two crows by humans, which is what proved the boy's story to his brothers later.

What caused the brother-in-law to believe the boy when no one else did?

The boy goes off with sheep who are really gods and learns to dance and sing in a certain way. I thought it was interesting that his brothers blamed themselves and their disbelief for his absence, when to me it seemed like he went because the gods told him to, and no one would turn down a journey with the gods. 

I was happy that the boy returned to his brothers and gave them lessons and material things from his journey. The story might be more interesting if he faced conflict on his journey or on the way back. Also, I wonder what it was like for him to be a sheep!

Bibliography: Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Berry Judson. Link to the reading online.