1 Origin Myth of the Acoma
Patricia Bostian
Introduction
For more than a millennium, the Acoma have lived in pueblo settlements on a mesa outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, like many Indian people, they suffered at the hands of Spanish conquerors, enslaved and succumbing to smallpox, among other infectious diseases. They also periodically fought with Apache, Comanche, and Ute who raided their community. Forced to adopt Roman Catholicism by the Spanish, they combined elements of their beliefs with those of Christianity.
The creator god of the Acoma is associated with the sun, which along with the earth and the surrounding mountains, serve to provide balance in the world. Common to creation myths of the American Southwest, the emergence motif provides the structure for the Acoma story. In emergence myths, creatures emerge through several levels under the earth into the current world above. The reasons for the move upward are various: lack of food, crowding, or even a maturation process from “seed” to “plant.” The creatures are usually animals of various sorts and become totems when they emerge. The earth itself is seen as a womb, and the opening into this world is considered sacred.
Other motifs exhibited in the Acoma story are that of two creators, this time two females named Iatiku and Nautsiti’, and the introduction of death as part of the life cycle into the world. Once the women have emerged, they create food, animals, mountains, and even directions. The establishment of claims is also completed, so that the two female deities are considered culture heroes as well. Culture heroes are deities that bring civilization to their people (foods, rituals, societal rules and structures, farming, fire, etc.).
Our selection is taken from Matthew W. Stirling’s Origin Myth Of Acoma And Other Records, 1942.
Acoma Creation Myth
In the beginning two female human beings were born. These two children were born underground at a place called Shipapu. As they grew up, they began to be aware of each other. There was no light and they could only feel each other. Being in the dark they grew slowly.
After they had grown considerably, a Spirit whom they afterward called Tsichtinako spoke to them, and they found that it would give them nourishment. After they had grown large enough to think for themselves, they spoke to the Spirit when it had come to them one day and asked it to make itself known to them and to say whether it was male or female, but it replied only that it was not allowed to meet with them. They then asked why they were living in the dark without knowing each other by name, but the Spirit answered that they were under the earth; but they were to be patient in waiting until everything was ready for them to go up into the light. So they waited a long time, and as they grew they learned their language from Tsichtinako.
When all was ready, they found a present from Tsichtinako, two baskets of seeds and little images of all the different animals th