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Traditions of the Arikara

Chapter 81: FOOTNOTES:
By George A. Dorsey
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Archaeology & AnthropologyMythology, Legends & Folklore

About This Book

A collection of Arikara myths and oral narratives gathers creation accounts, emergence variants, and a long series of transformer legends that explain origins of people, animals, dances, and sacred objects. Stories recount land brought into being by animal and culture figures, people fashioned by spiders, visits of a corn spirit, escapes from buffalo, marriages between humans and celestial or animal beings, and the deeds of trickster figures alongside a recurrent culture-hero poor boy. Many tales also serve as etiologies for ceremonies, dances, medicine societies, and ritual powers, often linking human life with animal and cosmic forces.

39. THE WOMAN WHO TURNED INTO A STONE.[40]

In the village there was a nice-looking young woman, daughter of one of the chiefs. They all liked her and had much admiration for her. Many young men made great efforts to get the young girl to marry, but she would not consent. After many failures on the men’s side the young woman’s father tried to persuade her to marry some young man. After all their advice the young woman refused to marry. Again the old mother related to her daughter that it was most enjoyable to live with a man, to have a man to support her, to cherish her, and to protect her from all troubles. The young woman accepted the mother’s advice at last, and she said she would marry.

One young man, a very good hunter, came to the young girl, and after a long conversation persuaded her to promise that she would marry him. The young woman told her mother, and she was glad, and willing that her daughter should marry him; for the young man was capable and qualified to support a family. Finally the young man was called, and came to their lodge. Puellam in matrimonium duxit. Cum nox esset, ad lectum genialem venerunt. Iuvenis gavisus est quod tandem puellæ amore potiturus esset. Cum autem cum uxore sua concumbere conaretur, non poterat. Per noctem totam frustra conabatur. Postridie puella ad matrem venit, eique ostendit cur virum habere noluisset. Deinde tunicam sustulit ostenditque se helianthes pro volva habere. Mater autem vidit quo iuvenis helianthi nocuisset dum cum uxore concumbere conabatur. So the young woman took her bundle on her back, journeyed to a certain place, sat down and turned to stone, because she was ashamed.

FOOTNOTES:

[40] Told by Hawk.