MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF
There are other gods living in the House of the Sun. Two of them wake man after sleep; without their help nobody could awaken from sleep. One of them is the guardian of the Moon. Every month she restores the Moon to her full size; and she cleans the face of the Moon after an eclipse. Because when the Moon performs religious ceremonies, she paints her face black.
The Mother of Flowers lives also in the House of Sun. Every spring she sends all the new young flowers down to the earth.
There are four brothers who live in the House of Sun. They are always busy in carving and painting. They taught men to make boxes, to build houses, to carve wood, and to paint. They also taught him to hunt, and they made fish for him to catch.
The Daughter of Sun invented the art of working cedar bark. She has a song which she sings when the bark is brought to her and she breaks it over the edge of a stick, so that it may be woven into mats and clothing. First she sings, "Bring me the board on which to break the bark," and then when she begins to work, she sings another song. Part of it is, "Behold me, ye who are not initiated. I am the Cedar-bark Breaker, the Daughter of Sun."
Many other people live in the House of Sun. One of them visits houses and steals provisions.
58
