Biography

The Pima, or Akimel O'odham, lived in the Arizona desert along the Gila and Salt rivers, a remote location which helped them resist European influence. They were named "Pima" in the fifteenth century by the Spanish, who later recorded their first narratives. No creation stories were transcribed until the early twentieth century, when Edward H. Wood, a full-blood Pima, met J. W. Lloyd at the Pan-American Fair in Buffalo and asked his help in preserving the legends of Wood's grand-uncle, Thin Leather. Lloyd traveled to Arizona to record Thin Leather's tales and published Aw-aw-tam, Indian Nights, Being the Myths and Legends of the Pimas of Arizona in 1911.

Explorations

The Pima creation story takes us to a landscape on the other side of the North American continent, to a people who favored stability, settlement, and peace and whose artistic traditions were long and rich. At the time that this story was collected, the Pima were particularly skilled in agriculture and in making sophisticated crafts. Perhaps this information will help us understand the very different experience that this creation story provides.

1. In the Pima story of the flood, what images or details indicate imbalance in the social order? Why might the story be linked to the birth of the child from the young man who turns into a pregnant woman?

2. How can we account for Juhwertamahkai's behavior during and after the flood? The two doctors, Juhwertamahkai and Ee-ee-toy, and the person/animal Toehahvs (Coyote) face directions that may imply territories or tribal lands, and they make new dolls, or persons, to replace those who have drowned. Juhwertamahkai deliberately makes dolls that will not survive "because he remembered some of his people had escaped the flood thru a hole in the earth, and he intended to visit them and he did not want to make anything better than they were to take the place of them." But the defective dolls break into pieces; Juhwertamahkai turns into waste and excretion. Why might such events be included in a creation story?

3. The Judeo-Christian accounts of the beginning of the world emphasize a grand design and purpose and an essential order in the natural world. Do these Native American creation stories put similar importance on the centrality of humankind and on an overall plan? Where do you see similarities and differences with regard to this theme?

Other sites to consult:

• Native Web, a comprehensive site about the experience and culture of Native Americans and other indigenous peoples, offers an online directory of traditional short stories.
• The Pima story of "The Flood on Superstition Mountain". One of many stories on the Indigenous Peoples' Literature site.
• Native American ArtPages is an independently maintained site that can link you to displays of both traditional and contemporary art from many sources.