"Truly now, truly," said the elders to one another; "but how shall
we find, and how prevail on our father Paíyatuma to aid us, when so
grievous is ours the fault? Which same, moreover, he warned us of in
the old time."
Of a sudden, for the sun was rising, they heard Paíyatuma in his
daylight mood and _‘hlímnan_. Thoughtless and loud, uncouth of mouth,
was he, as he took his way along the outskirts of the village. Joking
was he, as today joke fearlessly of the fearful, his children the
Néwe-kwe, for all his words and deeds were reversals (_íyatï‘hlna
pénawe_) of themselves and of his sacred being. Thus, when quickly
the warrior priests were sped to meet him, and had given to him their
greetings and messages, he sat him down on a heap of vile refuse,
saying that he was about to make festival thereof, and could in no wise
be disturbed. "Why come ye not?" said he, "cowards and followers of
the people?"
"Nay, but we are Priests of the Bow, the twain who lead them, father,
and we do come."
"Nay, but ye do not come!"
"Yea, verily we do come, and to seek thy favor, asking that ye
accompany us to the council of the elders," said the two priests.
"Still I say ye nay, and that ye are children, all; and that if ye did
come, ye could not summon me, and that if ye did summon me, go would
I not, forsooth, to a council of little children; nay, not I!" said
he, rising and preparing forthwith to follow them, as it were, but
immediately taking the lead, and striding rudely into the presence
of the fathers whom he greeted noisily and with laughter like one
distraught, and without dignity or shame.
"My poor little children," said he to the aged priests and the white
haired matrons, "good the night to ye all" (albeit in full dawning);
"ye fare happily, I see, which perplexes me with sorrow."
"Comest thou, father?" said the chief priest; "pity thou our shame and
sorrow."
"Father yourself; nay, not I!"
"Father," said the chief priest once more, "verily we are guilty, but
lo! yet the more sad from much seeking in vain for our maidens the
mothers of seed; and we have summoned thee to beseech the light of thy
wisdom and favor, earnestly, O, father, notwithstanding our fault which
thou thyself warned us in olden time to beware, yet do we beseech thee!"
"Ha! how good that I find ye so happy, guileless, arrogant and so
little needing of my counsel and helping."
"But we beseech the light of thy favor, O, father, and aid in the
finding of our beautiful maidens."
"Oh that is all, is it? But why find that which is not lost, or summon
those who will not come? Even if they were lost and would come, look
now! I would not go to seek them. And if I went to seek them I could
not find them, and if I found them and called them they would not
hearken and follow, and even if they would I should bid them bide in
Summerland if they were there, and tell them ye cared naught for their
presence, having too preciously cherished them."
"Lo, now!" said he, looking down and at the fathers; "I see that thine
old ones, those whom ye follow, are all wise, while ye have been
foolish and negligent, not preparing sacredly the plumes of the spaces,
nor setting them in order before the uplifted terrace, nor yet here
behind the winding lines of the seed trays and the walkers by them,"
said he as he stooped to pluck up the very plumes he had said were not
there and withal in front of the reclining terrace and the straight
rows of patient sitters. One--the yellow, that of the north--he took,
and breathed thereon. "Evil, all evil and ill made," quoth he, shaking
his head over its sacred completeness and beauty. Then he took up
another, that of the west, then the red of the south and the white of
the east. And gathering them in his arms he said, turning to go, "Now
verily we approach."
As he thus turned to go, Pékwina the master, Speaker of the Sun, who,
all wise, well knew the meaning of these lying speeches, arose, and
taking two plumes, the banded wing-tip feathers of the turkey, the
right and the left, shifted them as he advanced toward Paíyatuma,
taking the left one in his right hand and the right one in his left
hand. And nearing Paíyatuma he stroked him with the tips of the
feathers, upward, breathing from them each time. Four times he stroked
him, and then laid the feathers on his lips. And Paíyatuma spat upon
them and breathed upon them, and all the people spat by his sign of
command, uprising. Then the master-priest took the right feather in
his right hand and the left feather in his left, and casting abroad
the lying spittle, himself spat lightly and blew upon the feathers,
and with them stroked the lips, then the person, of Paíyatuma, this
time downward, breathing upon them. And this he did four times, and the
face of Paíyatuma grew grave, and he lifted himself upward; and when he
had so uplifted himself, lo! he was aged and grand and straight, as is
a tall tree shorn by lightnings. Then placing the plume wands in the
hands of the father, he took the banded plumes from him and breathed
in from them, and out on the hands of the father, and folding his arms
held upright in each hand the feather pertaining thereto. Then he spake:
"Thanks this day, thou father of the people. Thou art wise of thought
and good of heart, divining that my evil of speech and act were but
the assumption of the evils in thy children who, had they not turned
false to good and fickle of their duties commanded, had else been
followers of thee as are the fawns unerringly followers of the deer in
the mountains and plains; and whose falsity, therefore lyingly, as it
were, I did take unto myself and spit forth that they might be turned
unto thee yet again and set straight in the paths of right commandment.
From out of me, haply, thou hast now withdrawn the breath of reversal,
and from out of me the speech of lying, even as thy children have spat
forth, by my will and example, their wronging of commandments.
"Thanks this day; and therefore, in that ye, O, ye fathers, have kept
thine hearts steadfastly right and straight of inclination, therefore
will we show unto ye the light of our favor.
"Verily I will summon from Summerland, for there methinks they bide,
once more the beautiful maidens, that ye look once more upon them and
make offering in plumes of sacrifice meet for them, and that they
consummate the seedfulness of the seed of seeds, presenting them all
perfected, to ye; for lost are they as dwellers amongst ye, even as I
warned ye aforetime they would be, if not held precious of person.
"Disperse, therefore, from this thy custom when ye shall have completed
as is due and meet the song-lines and sacred speeches, and the making
ready thereby of the offerings of sacred plume-wands (_télikinawe_)
and sacred water (_k‘yáline_). Choose then, four youths, so young that
they have neither known nor sinned aught of the flesh, and being of the
Seed and Water kinties are meet to bear to the Shrine of the Middle,
called Hépatinane, these offerings of good meaning and influence to
the Earth-mother, the Maidens of Corn, and the Beloved of the Ancient
Spaces. Them four ye shall accompany, ye fathers of the people, they
in thy midst, bearing the things precious, the elder Master-priest of
the Bow leading, and the other following, the elder before, the younger
behind. Ye shall walk about the shrine four times, once for each region
and the breath and season thereof, and set within the shrine and round
about it with perfect speech and in order, as ye would regulate the
plantings of grains, these signs of thine hearts and of the custom ye
cherish. Rest ye contentedly thereafter until, with the final moon's
full growing, ye await our return-coming. Ye and the others, fathers of
this custom of the seed, shall then await us as for far-coming runners
bearing messages of import, wait ye thus in the sacred gathering place
of the north, which is the first, and which ye call Héin Kíwitsinan.
There shall ye bide our coming in good and perfect council, that ye
receive perfectly the perfected seed of seeds."
Again the father bent low, and Paíyatuma breathed upon him, and saying
"Thus much it is finished ere I depart," turned him about and sped away
so fleetly that none saw him when they went forth to see.