The Cahuilla people live within a diverse region of desert and mountain country in Southern California, beginning just east of Redlands, extending on both sides of the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains, and occupying the whole northwestern half of Coachella Valley. This is a region with sparse resources and the Cahuilla people lived in a fragile balance with the natural world, developing complex material and social cultures that were uniquely fitted to their situation. Their creation story suggested many elements of both material and social cultures, as well as rationalizing many features of the harsh world in which they lived.
Birth of Mukat and Tamaioit
The origin of all is in darkest space invaded only by lightening; this is primal power and the essence of being alive.
When the two embryos have appeared out of the power of lightening, they still miscarry twice and only barely develop full term on the third time. Life is always fragile at best.
The gods, Mukat and Tamaioit, are born. Why two? Why not just one? Is creation fundamentally dualistic?
Creation of Light
In this section, we see the beginning of a dispute between Mukat and Tamaioit regarding their age. Each strives to secure the honor of being the eldest. Thus, the story establishes the crucial connection of age with wisdom and power. The twin gods now begin the process of creation. Mukat reaches into and through his mouth and withdraws each creature from his heart. In other words, the creative act (power working) comes from the god's life force (heart) and proceeds through the mouth (channel of breath). The creatures share in the creator's power, but they only have almost the same power. So the chain of life in creation, as well as in time, is a story of ever-diminishing power.
When they are enough creatures, they attempt to drive the darkness away to the east and they get their first glimpse of light; however, it is too powerful for them and the darkness returns.
Smoking Tobacco
Mukat and Tamaioit decide to have a smoke. Each one creates a form of tobacco and a kind of pipe, piercing a smoke hole by using a whisker from his face. Hence, both tobacco and pipe are comparable to living creatures and possess spiritual power, coming as they do from the hearts of the twin gods. (Note that the theme of duality continues in this creative act.)
The twins play a game with their pipes, in the darkness, and it is a version of a very popular Indian game, often played in gambling. There are many ways to play this game, hiding the hands behind one's back or under a blanket. The opponent guesses which hand holds an object. The Cahuilla look upon success in this game as more than sheer luck; it is an indication of spiritual power. So, in this story, Tamaioit claims great wisdom and power since he was able to trick Mukat.
Creation of the Physical World
While the rivalry for status continues between the two, they set to making the physical world as we know it. Part of this is simply beautiful imagery --- the lifting of the sky by erection of a great center pole --- but part is also suggestive --- naming various creatures and entities, mostly common things in the Cahuilla world, that are now seen as present from creation. It should not be ignored that everything continues to come from the mouths and hearts of these two gods; thus, everything, even in the physical world, is empowered. We should also note that the world is the product of dual creation and possesses elements of black and white, evil and good.
Creation of People
Now, the twin gods decide to make people, to give them "someone to talk to and play with." Along the way, Mukat creates the sun, which escapes temporarily, and both jointly create the moon, Menily . Both are intended to help them see.
Once seen, Tamaioit's people are strange creatures, indeed, being the same both front and back, with webbed hands and feet. Mukat's people are elegant versions of people as we know them. As Mukat criticizes Tamaioit's people, they fall into a lengthy argument regarding the virtues of each. It is important to note that Mukat is definitely seen as the older and wiser of the two and that he has worked very slowly and carefully in creating his people. In contrast, Tamaioit has acted rashly and made his people in a very short time.
This whole portion of the story adds to the development of the theme of age and wisdom. Another aspect of this theme is the way Mukat continually consults Tamaioit. The latter always views this as weakness on Mukat's part. But is it weakness? In traditional wisdom, the elder rarely dictates or commands. It is a sign of wisdom that the person engages, questions, weighs issues, ponders, and urges forward in collective action. Tamaioit's reaction to Mukat's inquiries actually demonstrates his rashness and lack of wisdom.
This section includes another crucial story, namely, the origin of sickness and death. While Tamaioit wants people to live eternally, Mukat observes that this will not work. The world has just so many resources and so there should be just so many people. Balance is essential. The after-birth introduces (and maintains) sickness and disease among the people; people will die in various ways; and this will keep the world well balanced. (Dealing with the origin of death is something that almost all creation stories deal with; and the idea that people begin immortal and lose their immortality in some way is common.)
Toward the end of this section, they create a shaman who will have powers over the wind, rain, and growth of plants. There is an obvious division, here, between the female principles of earth and moon and the male principles of sky, rain, and wind. (Interestingly, while the shamans who dealt with weather and other cosmic events were usually male, the shamans who dealt with sickness were usually female.)
At the end of this section, with a multitude of creatures and people created, Mukat and Tamaioit's arguments become so heated that Tamaioit withdraws into the underworld, carrying with him most of is entourage of creatures. The event is cataclysmic, leading to earthquakes, floods, etc. By the end, the physical world has appeared in its present form. Among Tamaioit's creatures who are left behind are Palm (very important for food and housing materials), Coyote (perhaps the most important animal), Duck (food but also having webbed feet), and Moon (extremely important, as we will see). We also have the creation of Telmekish , the land of the death, in a form that is common to most of the southern half of the state.
Life with Mukat
In this period, we have the essential formation of culture. Mukat lives with his people in the "big house," initiating the tradition that the chief of each village lives in and maintains a big house, storing ritual paraphernalia and hosting major celebrations. Animals and humans live together, setting the stage for the later sense of co-habiting in the natural world.
Moon, or Menily , emerges in this period as the creator of human social culture. She teaches the people games, like Cat's Cradle (an enormously popular game in California), dancing, and singing. She also shows them how to make clothing and ornamentation, and how to cook their food. Of greatest importance, she teaches them about marriage, procreation, and raising children. She divides the Cahuilla people into two moieties (a form of totemism), Coyote (?istam) and Wildcat (tuktum); and she sets the patrilineal rules for exogamous marriage. (Note that the printed text is less complete in this discussion than the audio tape.)
But Mukat is not entirely benevolent in his relations with the people, and the people become increasingly ambivalent to his gifts. In fact, in addition to the fact that it was he who insisted on human mortality, he does three really bad and destructive things that lead the people to arrange for his death. First, he gives rattlesnake teeth with which to bite and poison others. Second, he violates the incest taboo by desiring to marry Moon; this prompts Moon to leave the people forever. Third, he gives the people bows and arrows and encourages them to shoot at each other, allowing a number to be killed.
Death of Mukat
Having decided to kill Mukat, they set about doing so by exercising spiritual power over him. This is done by capturing part of his body, in this case, his excrement. With this power established over him, Mukat becomes progressively more ill and prepares to die. While Coyote nurses the failing Mukat, it is clearly self-interest that motivates him, hoping that he can capture some of Mukat's spiritual power. Hence, Mukat establishes the Cahuilla's custom of cremation by arranging for his own, telling the people to lure Coyote away at the crucial time. Nevertheless, the plans misfire and Coyote successfully grabs Mukat's heart, the center of his power, and runs off, dripping sacred blood.
Mukat is dead and Coyote has emerged to his full importance as a character in the Cahuilla world. As we will see when we examine coyote stories, later, Coyote takes many forms --- creative, destructive, good, bad, serious, and joking. Coyote helps the people adjust to their new life, alone in the world. The big house is burned and a new one is constructed, establishing a new human chief (net ). Coyote then helps the people bring together the crucial things for the net 's ritual paraphernalia, the so-called sacred bundle (m‹svut ) which is kept rolled in the big house and used only in ritual ceremonies. The ceremonies for Mukat set the tradition for the nukil , the Cahuilla's ceremony for the dead, which is their most sacred annual ritual tradition.
In the aftermath of the death of their god, Mukat, the Cahuilla people discover the plants that will nourish them as well as tobacco, which they will smoke. They migrate throughout the regions of Southern California and finally settle in traditional Cahuilla territory, a story that is told in a lengthy and complex tradition of "bird songs."
Copyright 1996, 1998 by Tad Beckman, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
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