|
Canku Ota |
|
(Many Paths) |
||
An Online Newsletter Celebrating Native America |
||
April 19, 2003 - Issue 85 |
||
|
||
The Coyote and the Locust |
||
by Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Folk Tales, 1901 |
||
In the days of the ancients, there lived south
of Zuñi, beyond the headland of rocks, at a place called Suski-ashokton
("Rock Hollow of the Coyotes"), an old Coyote. And this side of the headland of rocks, in the bank of a steep arroyo, lived an old Locust, near where stood a piñon tree, crooked and so bereft of needles that it was sunny. One day the Coyote went out hunting, leaving his large family of children and his old wife at home. It was a fine day and the sun was shining brightly, and the old Locust crawled out of his home in the loam of the arroyo and ascended to one of the bare branches of the piñon tree, where, hooking his feet firmly into the bark, he began to sing and play his flute. The Coyote in his wanderings came along just as he began to sing these words:
"Delight of my senses!" called out the Coyote, squatting down on his haunches, and looking up, with his ears pricked and his mouth grinning; "Delight of my senses, how finely you play your flute!" "Do you think so?" said the Locust, continuing his song. "Goodness, yes!" cried the Coyote, shifting nearer. "What a song it is! Pray, teach it to me, so that I can take it home and dance my children to it. I have a large family at home." "All right," said the Locust. "Listen, then." And he sang his song again:
"Delightful!" cried the Coyote. "Now, shall I try? "Yes, try." Then in a very hoarse voice the Coyote half growled and half sang (making a mistake here and there, to be sure) what the Locust had sung, though there was very little music in his repetition of the performance.
"Ha!" laughed he, as
he finished; "I have got it, haven't I?" "Now, then, let us sing it over together." And while the Locust piped shrilly the Coyote sang gruffly, though much better than at first, the song. "There, now," exclaimed he, with a whisk of his tail; "didn't I tell you?" and without waiting to say another word he whisked away toward his home beyond the headland of rocks. As he was running along the plain he kept repeating the song to himself, so that he would not forget it, casting his eyes into the air, after the manner of men in trying to remember or to say particularly fine things, so that he did not notice an old Gopher peering at him somewhat ahead on the trail; and the old Gopher laid a trap for him in his hole. The Coyote came trotting along, singing: "Shohkoya, shohkoya," when suddenly he tumbled heels over head into the Gopher's hole. He sneezed, began to cough, and to rub the sand out of his eyes; and then jumping out, cursed the Gopher heartily, and tried to recall his song, but found that he had utterly forgotten it, so startled had he been. "The lubber-cheeked old Gopher! I wish the pests were all in the Land of Demons!" cried he. "They dig their holes, and nobody can go anywhere in safety. And now I have forgotten my song. Well, I will run back and get the old Locust to sing it over again. If he can sit there singing to himself, why can't he sing it to me? No doubt in the world he is still out there on that piñon branch singing away." Saying which, he ran back as fast as he could. When he arrived at the piñon tree, sure enough, there was the old Locust still sitting and singing. "Now, how lucky this is, my friend cried the Coyote, long before he had reached the place. "The lubber-cheeked, fat-sided old Gopher dug a hole right in my path; and I went along singing your delightful song and was so busy with it that I fell headlong into the trap he had set for me, and I was so startled that, on my word, I forgot all about the song, and I have come back to ask you to sing it for me again." "Very well," said the Locust. "Be more careful this time." So he sang the song over. "Good! Surely I'll not forget it this time," cried the Coyote; so he whisked about, and away he sped toward his home beyond the headland of rocks. "Goodness!" said he to himself, as he went along; "what a fine thing this will be for my children! How they will be quieted by it when I dance them as I sing it! Let's see how it runs. Oh, yes!
Thli-i-i-i-i-p,
piu-piu, piu-piu! fluttered a flock of Pigeons out of the bushes at his
very feet, with such a whizzing and whistling that the Coyote nearly tumbled
over with fright, and, recovering himself, cursed the Doves heartily,
calling them "gray-backed, useless sage-vermin"; and, between
his fright and his anger, was so much shaken up that he again forgot his
song. No sooner had the Coyote recovered his equanimity to some extent than, discovering the loss of his song and again exclaiming "No doubt he is still there piping away; I'll go and get him to sing it over,"--he ran back as fast as he could. "Ah wha!" he exclaimed, as he neared the tree. "I am quite fatigued with all this extra running about. But, no matter; I see you are still there, my friend. A lot of miserable, gray-backed Ground-pigeons flew up right from under me as I was going along singing my song, and they startled me so that I forgot it; but I tell you, I cursed them heartily! Now, my friend, will you not be good enough to sing once more for me? He paused for a reply. None came. "Look here, are you going to sing for me or not?" continued the Coyote, getting angry. No reply. The Coyote stretched out his nose, wrinkled up his lips, and snarled: "Look here, do you see my teeth? Well, I'll ask you just four times more to sing for me, and if you don't sing then, I'll snap you up in a hurry, I tell you. Will--you--sing--for me? Once. Will you sing--for me? Twice. Two more times! Look out! Will you sing for me? Are you a fool? Do you see my teeth? Only once more! Will--you--sing--for me?" No reply. "Well, you are a fool!"
yelled the Coyote, unable to restrain himself longer, and making a quick
jump, he snapped the Locust skin off of the bough, and bit it so hard
that it crushed and broke the teeth in the middle of his jaw, driving
some of them so far down in his gums that you could hardly see them, and
crowding the others out so that they were regular tusks. In the days of the ancients the Coyote minded not his own business and restrained not his anger. So he bit a Locust that was only the skin of one with a stone inside. And all his descendants have inherited his broken teeth. And so also to this day, when Locusts venture out on a sunny morning to sing a song, it is not infrequently their custom to protect themselves from the consequences of attracting too much attention by skinning themselves and leaving their counterparts on the trees. Thus shortens my story. Print
and Color Your Own Locust Picture |
Locusts |
Locusts are part of a large group of insects commonly called grasshoppers which have big hind legs for jumping. Locusts belong to the family called Acrididae. Locusts differ from grasshoppers in that they have the ability to change their behaviour and habits and can migrate over large distances. Grasshopper
and locust are the same type of insect. However, a locust is a changed
grasshopper in that it has different behaviors and coloration. What triggers
these changes is not completely understood, but recent evidence suggests
that the individuals of a group influence each other. In some locales,
locust develop periodically while in others, just the normal grasshopper
appears. Both have wings. However, the developing grasshopper takes several
months to become an adult. They hatch as very small grasshoppers and grow
over the summer months. This is "incomplete metamorphosis",
unlike the metamorphosis of butterflys, moths, etc. Adult locusts have wings, and they fly with a buzzing sound. The wings are actually quite pretty in flight, showing flashes of bright colors. This is surprising for an otherwise olive-drab insect. The larvae lok a lot like the adults, but they do not have wings. They can hop just like the adults, however. Acrididae
are small to large insects, varying from short and stout to long and slender.
They are usually gray, brownish or green in colour, some have brightly
coloured hind wings. The front and hind wings are fully developed or totally
lacking. The ovipositor is short. Here are a few local recipes from locust-affected countries. Tinjiya (Tswana recipe): remove the wings and hindlegs of the locusts, and boil in a little water until soft. Add salt, if desired, and a little fat and fry until brown. Serve with cooked, dried mealies (corn). Sikonyane (Swazi recipe): prepare embers and roast the whole locust on the embers. Remove head, wings, and legs, in other words, only the breast part is eaten. The South Sotho people use locusts especially as food for travellers. The heads and last joint of the hindlegs are broken off and the rest laid on the coals to roast. The roasted locusts are ground on a grinding stone to a fine powder. This powder can be kept for long periods of time and is taken along on a journey. Dried locusts are also prepared for the winter months. The legs, when dried, are especially relished for their pleasant taste. Cambodia: take several dozen locust adults, preferably females, slit the abdomen lengthwise and stuff a peanut inside. Then lightly grill the locusts in a wok or hot frying pan, adding a little oil and salt to taste. Be careful not to overcook or burn them. Barbecue (grilled): prepare the embers or charcoal. Place about one dozen locusts on a skewer, stabbing each through the centre of the abdomen. If you only want to eat the abdomen, then you may want to take off the legs or wings either before or after cooking. Several skewers of locusts may be required for each person. Place the skewers above the hot embers and grill while turning continuously to avoid burning the locusts until they become golden brown. |
|
||
|
||
Canku Ota is a free Newsletter celebrating Native America, its traditions and accomplishments . We do not provide subscriber or visitor names to anyone. Some articles presented in Canku Ota may contain copyright material. We have received appropriate permissions for republishing any articles. Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monetary gain to those who have expressed an interest. This is in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. | ||
Canku Ota is a copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Vicki Lockard and Paul Barry. |
||
The "Canku Ota - A Newsletter Celebrating Native America" web site and its design is the |
||
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 of Paul C. Barry. |
||
All Rights Reserved. |