Creation of the World (Caddo)
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Caddo creation story, by Acee Blue Eagle. Courtesy of Watson Memorial Library, Northwestern State University.
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The Caddos believe that a very long time ago, men and animals were brothers and lived together below the ground. But at last their leader, a man named Neesh (Moon), discovered the entrance to a cave leading up to the earth’s surface. Neesh told everyone they would have to follow him to the new land. The people divided into groups, each with a leader and a drum. Neesh told the people to sing and beat their drums as they moved along, and he warned them never to look back they way they had come. Soon they reached the opening. First an old man climbed out, carrying fire and a pipe in one hand and a drum in the other. Next came his wife, bringing corn and pumpkin seeds. Then came the rest of the people and animals. But when Wolf climbed out he turned around and looked back. The opening closed, shutting the rest of the people and animals under the ground, where they still remain. Those who had come out into the world of light sat down and cried for their friends left below in the world of darkness. Because their ancestors came out of the ground the Caddos call the Middle World ina’—Mother—and return to it when they die.
We can compare the Osage and Caddo creation stories. The Osage story brought the first people down from the Above World. Such accounts are often told by Indians who get most of their food by hunting. These groups maintain close relations with Above World powers that control wild animals and plants. Groups such as the Caddos, who depend on agriculture as their main food source, maintain close relations with the Earth and its capacity to bring forth domesticated plants. These groups often tell stories identifying the Earth as the source of all life. |
