Post by ArwingAce21 on Sept 6, 2008 17:38:50 GMT -8
This is a small story I had to write not too long ago in the style of early Native American creation myths. I figured I recycle it here and let some others read it, rather than let it collect cyber-dust in my documents folder. Have fun.
Long ago, in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, there lived a man named Sekequoia. Sekequoia was considered far and wide to be the best woodworker in the entire tribe. The canoes he carved were always sturdier than any others; the weapons he fashioned were stronger and lasted longer than those of any tribe. Sekequoia’s tribe relied on him to provide the tools they needed to win wars and catch enough fish to provide for their needs. Sekequoia in turn relied on the forest to provide for his needs.
Every morning, Sekequoia would walk out into the forest to retrieve his most precious possession: a knife that the elders said was handed down to the tribe by the Great Spirit himself. The knife bore the sign of the Great Spirit: a tree with five branches. At the end of his daily labors, Sekequoia would rest the knife on the stump of the first tree he ever cut down, since it was said that the knife must be returned to the forest each night or it would lose its power. This special knife granted Sekequoia his unmatched carving abilities.
Every day, knife in hand, Sekequoia would set to work carving spears, hewing canoes out of logs, or cleaving arrow shafts from branches. Soon, Sekequoia grew complacent and arrogant. He stopped giving thanks to the Great Spirit for the abilities the knife granted him. He began to believe that it was his own skill that made his work superior. The Great Spirit recognized this change in Sekequoia and saw fit to take the power of the knife away from him.
The next day, when Sekequoia went to reclaim the knife from its resting place, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to draw the sacred knife from the stump. Undaunted, Sekequoia went to work that day using his other tools. He later returned to try to retrieve the knife once again, but was shocked to see the knife had grown considerably and was covered in bark, as if it was becoming a tree. Without the knife, Sekequoia’s weapons broke like brittle branches, and his canoes buckled under the slightest burden. Sekequoia’s tribe grew weaker as the fishermen were unable to catch enough fish and the hunters powerless to procure enough meat.
As the tribe weakened without sturdy tools, the knife-tree only grew taller. It soon towered over the pines and oaks that populated the forest. One day, a neighboring tribe attacked the previously invulnerable tribe of Sekequoia. However, without their special weapons, Sekequoia’s tribe was incapable of defending itself. The attacking tribe was soon victorious, and took the defeated tribe’s land for its own.
When the new tribe discovered the gigantic knife-tree, they were astounded by its size. A few survivors from Sekequoia’s tribe told them of its origin. The tree came to be called “The Tree of Sekequoia’s Defeat” by the triumphant tribe, and acted as a monument of their victory over the tribe of Sekequoia. Over the years, the tree produced seeds and spread its kind throughout the forests of the Pacific Northwest. When American settlers first discovered the massive trees, they asked the native peoples of the region what they were called. They replied that the full name of the trees had been lost to time, but they called them “Sekequoias.” The Americans corrupted the name over time and came to call the towering trees “Sequoias,” as they still do to this day.
The Knife of Sekequoia
Long ago, in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, there lived a man named Sekequoia. Sekequoia was considered far and wide to be the best woodworker in the entire tribe. The canoes he carved were always sturdier than any others; the weapons he fashioned were stronger and lasted longer than those of any tribe. Sekequoia’s tribe relied on him to provide the tools they needed to win wars and catch enough fish to provide for their needs. Sekequoia in turn relied on the forest to provide for his needs.
Every morning, Sekequoia would walk out into the forest to retrieve his most precious possession: a knife that the elders said was handed down to the tribe by the Great Spirit himself. The knife bore the sign of the Great Spirit: a tree with five branches. At the end of his daily labors, Sekequoia would rest the knife on the stump of the first tree he ever cut down, since it was said that the knife must be returned to the forest each night or it would lose its power. This special knife granted Sekequoia his unmatched carving abilities.
Every day, knife in hand, Sekequoia would set to work carving spears, hewing canoes out of logs, or cleaving arrow shafts from branches. Soon, Sekequoia grew complacent and arrogant. He stopped giving thanks to the Great Spirit for the abilities the knife granted him. He began to believe that it was his own skill that made his work superior. The Great Spirit recognized this change in Sekequoia and saw fit to take the power of the knife away from him.
The next day, when Sekequoia went to reclaim the knife from its resting place, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to draw the sacred knife from the stump. Undaunted, Sekequoia went to work that day using his other tools. He later returned to try to retrieve the knife once again, but was shocked to see the knife had grown considerably and was covered in bark, as if it was becoming a tree. Without the knife, Sekequoia’s weapons broke like brittle branches, and his canoes buckled under the slightest burden. Sekequoia’s tribe grew weaker as the fishermen were unable to catch enough fish and the hunters powerless to procure enough meat.
As the tribe weakened without sturdy tools, the knife-tree only grew taller. It soon towered over the pines and oaks that populated the forest. One day, a neighboring tribe attacked the previously invulnerable tribe of Sekequoia. However, without their special weapons, Sekequoia’s tribe was incapable of defending itself. The attacking tribe was soon victorious, and took the defeated tribe’s land for its own.
When the new tribe discovered the gigantic knife-tree, they were astounded by its size. A few survivors from Sekequoia’s tribe told them of its origin. The tree came to be called “The Tree of Sekequoia’s Defeat” by the triumphant tribe, and acted as a monument of their victory over the tribe of Sekequoia. Over the years, the tree produced seeds and spread its kind throughout the forests of the Pacific Northwest. When American settlers first discovered the massive trees, they asked the native peoples of the region what they were called. They replied that the full name of the trees had been lost to time, but they called them “Sekequoias.” The Americans corrupted the name over time and came to call the towering trees “Sequoias,” as they still do to this day.
