Yuri E.Berezkin
AMERINDIAN MYTHOLOGY with parallels in the Old World
Classification and Areal Distribution of Motifs. The Analytical Catalogue
18. Woman Falls from the Sky. .43.-.46.50.66.
Woman who is pregnant or has a small son falls from the sky; she or the daughter she bears dies. Her (grand)child(ren) is (are) grown up.
Coast-Plateau.
[Brothers and their wives escape to the sky from the incestuous sister; on the earth she puts their house ablaze; people fall dawn to the fire; their mother finds alive babies in her dead daughter-in-law's belly; children grow up, revenge on their aunt]. See motif K43 (Klamath [boy and girl]; Modoc [twin boys]).
Midwest.
Chippewa [every night girl visits her brother; he smears her hips with something; in the morning she sits on the ground; he wishes her clothes catch fire, sees his mark; he wants her to sink through the earth; she falls on big Turtle in the ocean; bears a daughter, Turtle marries her; she bears twins, one of them is Flint, kills her when coming from mother's womb; another is Wenebojo, he kills Flint; in Jones 1917, 1919, pt.1: 431: W.'s grandmother is Mother Earth; she is often called Toad-woman]: Barnouw 1977, no.5: 73-74; Plains Cree [as in Plains; six girls dig wild turnips, one is lost; Sun brings her to his lodge, marries her; she bears his son; digging turnips comes to an old woman; old woman instructs her to find buffalo chip that covers the hole in the sky, gives her a rope; she descends with her son; Sun throws stone killing her; she falls to the ground; her son remains alive; devastates old woman's garden; old woman adopts him; he finds two bladders with blackbirds and swallows, kills and cooks the birds; these are old woman's children, she mourns their death, drives the boy away; he kills ten rattlesnake youths, they prove to be old woman's sons too; she pursues him, Sun produces heat, she abandons the chase; the boy always sits on a stone; once sits on a ground, snake crawls into him; Sun produces heat again making it go out of his son's body; takes him to the sky]: Bloomfield 1930, no.21: 185-194.
The Northeast.
[Man throws pregnant woman from the sky into primeval ocean; birds catch her up; animals bring mud from the bottom, put on the Turtle; earth grows; woman or her daughter bears twins; the wicked one comes out of her side; she dies giving birth]. See motif B3A (Huron [husband throws his pregnant wife from the sky into primeval ocean; she bears twins]; unspecified Iroquois [in the sky all flowers and fruits grow on one tree; Great Ruler uproots it, sends pregnant woman down through the hole; she bears twins]; Seneca [in the sky blossoms that give light grow on a tree; Chief believes that his wife is untrue; uproots the tree, throws her through the hole; she bears a daughter who bears twins]; Onondaga [as in Seneca]; Oneida [brother and sister live in the sky country; sister becomes pregnant, people blame the brother for it; he orders to uproot the tree with light-giving flowers, to through his sister into the hole]); Delaware: Bierhorst 1995, no.10 [col. 18th c.; woman cast out from the upper region by her husband fell down; shortly after she was delivered of twins, from whom the inhabitants of this land are decsnded], 11 [the name of one of the twins born to the woman that was thrown from heaven was Tschimammus, that is hare; he made the land upon the Indians live and was their ancestor], 14 [as in (10)], 15 [as in (10)], 30 [in the sky world, there was a sun-like body called great cornstalk, a woman had a child; she was sick; though she could be cured if the cornstalk could be pulled up; when it was pulled, there was total darkness; vexed, the people threw the woman and her child down the hole where the cornstalk had been; the two were caught on the back of hawks, who lowered them on the back of a turtle; a loon dived into the sea and brought back earth], 44 (Munsee) [a husband in the sky world is jealous of Comet; when the sky tree is uprooted, the husband pushes his pregnant wife through the hole; as she falls, she grabs a handfull of earth with hucklberry bushes; Comet hands her seed corn, a kettle, a beaver bone, a pestle, a mortar; as she falls towards the water below, Pike offers to support her, but the manious only ridicule him; Turtle is chosen to support her; her daughter is born; she spreads the earth over Turtle's back; her daughter is impregnated by Wind, gives birth to twins, Flint and Moskim (hare, or rabbit); Flint exits though his mother's navel, killing her; the grandmother buries the mother with her head to the west, thus establishing the path of souls, who travel westward after death]: 30, 30-31, 31, 34-35, 38.
Plains.
Girl gets to the sky, bears son from the sky dweller; he or she breaks tabu to dig roots or to move buffalo chips, makes a hole in the sky; if not otherwise: sees the earth; mother and son descend by the rope made of buffalo sinews; husband throws stone killing the woman but spares his son; boy makes mischief at the old woman's garden; lives in her house; kills monsters; turns into star. Gros Ventres [Sun and Moon are brothers; Sun prefers Frogs because they do not grimace looking at him; Moon prefers human girls; disguised as porcupine, lures a girl up to a tree, then to sky; mother of Sun and Moon suggests competition, daughters-in-law must chew meat with noise; girl wins having good teeth; Frog tries to crunch charcoal, her black saliva drops, she urinates all the time; Sun is insulted, throws Frog into Moon's face, takes Moon's wife and their baby son for himself; girl escapes with her son descending from sky by rope; it is too short; Sun kills his wife throwing stone; she falls, dies, her son survives; steals crops from old woman's garden; she catches him adopts; some women turn into snakes, he kills them; one escapes, crawls into his anus; Moon sends cold rain to drive snake out; lad and his mother revive]: Kroeber 1907b, no.21: 90-94; Crow: Lowie 1909a: 52-57 [Sun and Moon are brothers; Moon prefers frogs, marries one; Sun prefers Hidatsa girls; two sisters ask the third one to climb after porcupine in a tree; she gets to the sky, Sun marries her; mother of Sun and Moon suggests competition, who of two daughter-in-laws chew meat with more noise; girl wins; Frog tries to crunch firewood bark; Moon throws Frog out three times because she was bad eater; the fourth time she jumps on his back, remains forever; the Hidatsa woman bears a boy; despite warning, digs wild turnip making hole through the sky vault; Sun gives her sinews, Spider makes a rope; woman with son descend, rope is too short, they get to the top of a tree; Sun throws a stone telling it to kill the woman but spare his son; boy pillage old woman's garden; old woman lets an arrow and a shinny stick to know is it a boy or a girl; he takes an arrow, she catches and adopts him; she gives corn to two Otters, he kills them; they have been old woman's husbands, she mourns their death; boy kills dangerous beings; a snake crawls into his head; heat produced by Sun makes it to come out; boy makes snakes less dangerous; turns into Morning Star], 57-69 [one of two sisters climbs a tree after porcupine, gets to the sky; marries Sun (?), bears a boy; despite warning, moves buffalo chip, a hole in the sky is under it; gets pregnant again; her husband lets her to descend; rope is too short, they get to the height of tree tops; Sun tells a man to throw a stone and kill the woman but spare his son; boy pillage old Moon-woman's garden; she gives him to eat, adopts him; she feeds to her Alligator husband; boy discovers him in her house, kills him; kills dangerous beings; a snake crawls into his head; heat produced by Sun makes it to come out; boy makes snakes less dangerous; boy revives his mother and his brother that has been in her womb; they follow him to the sky, all of them turn into Pleiades(?)], 69-74 [as in 52-57]; Hidatsa [as in Crow; girl marries Moon; her son digs the root; boy kills deer and other animals who are Old Woman's servants and help grow the plants, she revives them; boy turns into Morning Star]: Beckwith 1938, no.13: 117-130; Lowie 1942 [girl marries Moon; her son digs a root making a hole in the sky, they see the earth; make a rope of sinew, it is too short; Moon kills the woman throwing a stone, her son remains alive; lives at an old woman; kills monsters; bald man comes out of a tree hollow, shouts, all the meat becomes sour; youth turns into spider, climbs up the tree, transforms the man into owl, now it makes no harm; white Raven warns buffaloes when hunters come; youth turns into wounded buffalo, leads them to people, goes away into prairy, shams death; crows and magpies come, their chief the white Raven is the last one; youth grasps him by legs, pulls all his feathers off, throws one into the air, it turns into white raven, youth paints it black; comes to a village where people have tiny eyes and mouths; he makes them large; dangerous elk had sharp teeth, youth pulls out all of them besides two; turns into the Morning Star]: 2-7; Mandan [as in Hidatsa; woman digs a turnip; tells her son to ask his father Moon to give him sinews; makes the rope to descend; Moon kills her throwing a stone; her son survives; comes to the Old Woman's garden; Old Woman adopts him; her husband is snake who lives in her bed; she gives him corn mush; the boy kills him with an arrow; kills or transforms dangerous animals; a snake crawls into the boy's head; heat produced by Sun makes it to come out; boy makes snakes less dangerous; marries two girls in his mother's village; returns to the sky, turns into bright star]: Bowers 1950: 200-205; Oglala Dakota: Beckwith 1930, no.12 [two girls look at the sky, one wishes big, another little star as a husband; two men appear, girls agree to come with them to the sky; husbands warn them to dig but female, not male turnips; the older girl is pregnant, breaks tabu, falls down to earth through the hole, dies; her child survives, Badger-woman rears him up; names him Shooting Star; Bear takes all game from her, Shooting Star kills him with an arrow; all girls want to marry the boy, he marries one; Iktomi ties him to two poles, wants people to cut him; he asks his father for help,
I. is destroyed by thunder and wind]; Wallis 1923, no.19 [Thunder steals two girls, marries them on the sky; the younger is warned not to pull the wild carrot; she breaks tabu, falls through the hole down to earth, dies; the son in her womb survives, small bird rears him up; see motif K35]: 85; Santee Dakota [two girls sleep out; one wishes for large and bright, another for dim star as husband; both are taken up, bright star is a large man, another is a young man; large man's wife becomes pregnant; her husband warns her not to dig up Psoralea esculenta roots; she digs, falls through the openingm , dies; her baby son survives; an old man picks him up, his wife raises him; old man swings him around the tent, he becomes a young man; kills buffaloes; travels, destroy monsters; see motif K18B]: Riggs 1893: 90-94; Northern Cheyenne [two girls sleep out; First wants the brightes star, Second another star as a husband; porcupine lures First Girl up a tree to the sky; turns into middle-aged man, marries the girl; warns her not to dig a certain white turnip; she breaks tabu, sees her camp down through the hole; descends by a grass rope, it is too short, she falls, dies, her unborn son survives; Meadowlark woman adopts him; he grows up, comes to his human grandmother; lets Water Monster swallow him, cuts him from the inside, releases the swallowed people; comes to another camp; white Crow warns buffaloes against hunters, people starve; Falling-Star turns into dead buffalo, catches Crow, smokes him dead in the smokehole; marries a girl]: Grinnell 1921: 308-312 in Edmonds, Clark 1989: 188-192; Arapaho [see motif A5; as in Mandan; despite warning, woman digs a withered root or digs too deeply; makes a rope of sinew, descends with her baby son]: Dorsey 1903; Old-Woman-Night names the boy Little-Star; she feeds her lover; boy discovers an animal with two horns, kills him with arrow and club; grows up, goes to travel; kills snakes, one snake crawls into his rectum, then into his skull; he produces a prolong sunshine; it crawls out, he extracts it, lets it live; becomes Morning Star], 136 [=Dorsey 1903]: 220-228, 332-338; Dorsey, Kroeber 1903, no.134 [man finds the boy, brings to his grandparents]: 321-239; Pawnee: Dorsey 1904b, no.16 (Skiri) [two girls sleep outdoors; one wants a bright star for a husband; awakes in the sky, sees middle-aged man near her; he asks her to dig turnips upon the hills, not in the valley; she breaks tabu, sees her house on earth through the hole; makes a sinew rope, begins to descend with her little son; husband kills her with a lightning; she falls dead, boy remains alive, preserves a picture of star on his forehead; steals corn and squashes from a garden of a witch; she is happy to adopt him; her snake husband plans to eat him; boy throws a bag with corn into the house; snake bites the bag; he kills the snake, it turns into the witch's husband; he kills or captures and brings to the witch pumas, bears, snakes; she releases them; he comes to a village; returns to the sky, turns into a star]: 60-65; 1906, no.13 (Kitkehahki) [two girls sleep on top of an arbor; one wishes certain star for her husband; awakes in the sky; gives birth to a boy; husband tells her to be careful digging wild tunips; she digs, makes a hole, sees earth; makes a rope of sinews; takes her son, climbs down, the rope does not reach ground; Star kills her with a stone, she falls to earth; boy nurses his dead mother; comes to old woman who has grandson of the same age as star boy; she asks them not to go to certain places; every time they go, lingtning kills monsters for the; bear; they make a dummy, bring it to the woman, she is scared; another monster (not described); they kill themselves pumas and other animals; come to people; Star-Boy disappears, probably returns to the sky]: 56-58; Kiowa: Marriott, Rachlin 1968 [Sun sees girl bathing in river, sucks her right up to the sky, marries her; they have a son; Sun warns her not to dig wild potatoe bitten by buffalo; she breaks tabu, sees earth and people in a hole, makes rope of sinews, descends with her son; rope is too short, she remains to hang in the air; Moon man tells Sun about it; Sun throws a target ring of willow, it kills the woman, saves the boy, both fall to the ground; boy steals food of Spider Woman; she leaves a ball and a bow with arrows, child takes the bow, she understands that it is a boy; catches him; warns him not to throw a loop above; he throws, it falls splitting him and making two boys; Spider Woman tells them to go away and destroy the monsters]: 78-89; Mooney 1898b [girl climbs in a tree after porcupine; tree grows up to the sky; porcupine turns into Sun's son, marries her; warns not to dig root Psoralea esculenta if its top has been bitten by buffalo; she breaks tabu, sees earth and people in a hole, makes rope of sinews, descends; husband throws a buffalo hoof or a stone killing her; her son survives in her womb; Spider Woman rears him up; he throws up gambling wheel that cuts him in two, turns into twins; twins destroy monsters; one disappears in a lake, another turns into medicine]: 238-239; Parsons 1929 [as in Mooney; boy steals Spider Woman's cooked corn; takes a bow, she understands it's a boy; turns into stone, he feels her presence; into tipi pole, catches him; twins are not suffocated in a house full of smoke; gets reeds fro arrows from under the falling rock; dodge from Thunderbird's lightnings, he gives them his nestlings' feathers for arrows; turn into moles, dig a tunnel under the lying monstrous buffalo, gnaw his hide, kill with a sharp stick, take sinews for bow; get arrow points that are guarded by snakes; Spider Woman gives food to her Snake paramour; twins find him in tipi, kill him; come to blind people, make them see], no.1, 2 [girl climbs after bird]: 1-8.
Great Southwest.
Zuni [eagle carries the Sun's wife to the sky; war gods hit her with arrows, she falls; badgers grow up the twins; they revive their mother]: Cushing 1901: 440-444.
Montana.
Amahuaca [lighting makes a crack in the sky; woman falls; crab grows up twin boy and girl; they revenge their mother's death]: Cordova-Rios, Lamb 1971: 121.