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And so it goes that long before Elohino, Mother Earth, was
old
and wise as she is now, there was a young man named Iga-e-hinvdo, Sun,
who lived in the East, while in the distant west lived a young woman
named Udosvno-e-hi,Moon. Sun was revered by all as the Creator's young
apprentice and as a fearless traveler who walked the sky searching
for a
magic lake that was said to have great healing powers. It was said
that
when the Creator shaped the world, upon standing back and seeing the
beauty that had been made, the Great One was so moved that teardrops
began to fall from the Creator's eyes, forming the magic lake on that
very spot. This scared place of healing and comfort for those in need,
and allowed one's spirit to see clearly things as they truly are. It
was
said that to seek out the waters of this magic lake and look upon your
own reflection in its rippling surface was to receive your vision and
come into the Medicine.
Even as a young man, Sun intended to become a medicine man, who would offer himself as ahelper to those in need. He knew that in order to be a part of Medicine, one had to walk in harmony and balance, moving higher than Uwohali, Eagle, and lower than Ujiya, Worm. But Sun, who was still young and curious, often wandered the sky appreciating all of the beautiful things there were to see and sometimes forgetting his "purpose." He was happy to be alive. During the days, he would walk on the wind, watching all of the lush greenery falling away beneath the footsteps as he moved, looking for the magic lake and the power held in its deep waters. There was such beauty in this journey of life and so much to learn. During the nights, he spent time in his medicine lodge sweating and praying, singing and listening to the silence of the darkness to know what the Great One intended for him. Moon was a beautiful young woman who seemed to glow in the dim light of the west and become brighter as the dark grew. She was respected by all of her relations for her kindness, compassion, and gentleness. She moved calmly and peacefully, always offering her comforting presence to those around her, though she was desperately shy. Moon had a great love for Sun and secretly wished to be with him. She admired him from a distance, retreated whenever he was around. He was like no other man she had ever known, and his presence made her tingle all over. Sun never paid much attention to her, though. He always seemed to be too busy searching for his Medicine to notice the quiet, unassuming young woman who loved him so. Sun had a lover who used to come to him every month in the dark time of the moon. Since this darkness was supposed to be a scared time for prayer and reflection, they used to meet secretly. She would come to him during the night and leave before daybreak. Together, they would spend much time talking, being close, and sharing beneath the starry sky and velvet darkness. But Sun could never see his lover's face in the darkness, and she would not tell him what her name was. Soon he had fallen deeply in love with this silent woman who made him feel like no one else could. He always got very excited each month when he knew they would be together, and he longed for her painfully when they were apart. Eventually Sun's curiosity about his scret lover's identity grew, and he devised a plan to find out who she was. So came the time once again when Sun sat quietly in prayer in the sacred darkness just beyond the horizon of the sky and his secret lover came to him gently, excitedly, as she always did. And as they were sitting together, Sun reached into the ashes of the fire pit and rubbed some of the blackness on her face without her knowing it, saying, "Your face is cold...you must have suffered from the wind." Time passed quickly that evening, and before long, she slipped quietly away once again as she always did. The next night, when Moon came up in the sky, Sun was watching intently from his hiding place behind the horizon. He peeked though the arch of a shimmering rainbow as it faded, searching the sky for some sign of the one who had been coming to him. Suddenly he noticed that the Moon's face was covered with ashy spots, and he realized that it was Moon who was his secret lover. As he jumped out from his hiding place, Moon knew that she had been found out. Embarrassed, Moon went as far away from Sun as she could and stayed on the other side of the sky all night. Ever since that time, Moon always tries to stay a long way behind the Sun. And when she sometimes has to come close to him she makes herself as thin as a ribbon so that she can hardly be seen. And yet, out of her deep love for Sun and in remembrance of the time when he touched her for an instant, she has never wiped away the ashy spots that he left on her glowing face. If you look closely, you can still see them. And some people say that the stars are glittering teardrops that trickle down Moon's face and fall into the sky when she is missing Sun. Each day, high in the sky, Sun searches for his vision and his lover, Moon, who always seems to be just on the other side of the horizon. And so, it is good. Just wanted to share this story of the elders with you.
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