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Why the North Star Stands Still And Other Indian Legends

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Look up into to-omp-pi-av, the sky, and there stand poot-see, the stars, when they are not hiding behind the clouds. Look up and find a family of seven with no great one- no father - among them. They are pe-ats, the mother, to-at-sen, the son, and manage pats, five daughters. Once they were Indians and lived on the Earth. And the narro-gwe-nap, the Pahute storyteller, would tell how the star group we know as the Pleiades came to be, and why the coyote looks up when he howls. He would tell how the father, Tu-re-ris, was very angry because his family disobeyed how his wife and children went up into the sky to escape his rage, and how he tried to shoot them down-and, failing that, made them stay up there forever. He would tell how To-at-sen, the son, answered back, "If you make us into starts we can never come down, we will make you into tear-a-sin-ah, the wild coyote, and you can never come up. You will run around in the brush all night, and when the morning daylights begins to come and we fade out of sight, you will be very lonesome. You will be very sad. You will look up and cry and yelp and howl." It was even so. Despite his anger, Tu-re-ris loved his family and mounds for them. Then you are awakened at the first streak of dawn by the soul-piercing cry of the coyote, you will remember that it is the soul of Tu-re-ris crying for his lost loved ones.

118 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
485 reviews155 followers
February 16, 2010

It is a privilege to read these stories, myths, explanations of their world, the World of the Pahute Indians of Utah.

And the only reason we have them is, not surprisingly, because of a human relationship, that of the writer or recorder,William R. Palmer, with a group of Pahute Elders.They grew to trust him and so decided to entrust him with their heritage.

The final chapter entitled Pahute Indian Astronomy is humbling as it is with many Ancient Peoples who were expert astronomers. We watch the bright light of Television.In their times they watched and interpreted and strived to understand the stars.Can you imagine their luminosity in those darkest of nights!!!
Here we are privileged to see evidence of one of the beginnings of science.

The stories are usually titled along the lines of eg., 'Why the North Star Stands Still" or eg.,How The Seasons Were Set. Many concern animals and tribal customs. As with our most familiar Western myths, the Story of Our First Parents, Adam and Eve, their creation and how evil entered our world, we can only admire the ingenuity and often wisdom of the storytellers.
Profile Image for M.M. Hudson.
Author 1 book231 followers
December 16, 2021
It is with honor that I get to read the legends of the Pahute Indians that were only told by word of mouth. It is with great pride that they passed these legends down but were tightly kept among them. These legends tell of how things came to be among the Pahutes and are interesting in the reading.

I hold these legends with great interest, honor, and respect and in keeping truth with the Pahutes themselves but as a book, I review them only as a reviewer can do.

The book can be at times cumbersome as legends told by mouth are often embellished in such a way for the storyteller to make them interesting. The book loses that storyteller feel as the teller would use the elements of the Earth and own body to tell the story.

In any case, the legends are special and it is with honor to have them in print. They would be lost eventually, as younger generations do not want to keep them and as the Nation has dwindled. This book keeps them alive and for that, I am most grateful that the Pahute Elders allowed an original outsider to know them.

At the back of the book is notes about Pahute astronomy which shows they were great astronomers following the sun and the moon. Also included is a legend and terms used throughout the book.

This book gets 4 stars from me.
Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book for my own collections. The views here are 100% my own and may differ from yours. ~Michelle
Profile Image for Gregory.
16 reviews4 followers
June 10, 2016
This is a collection of Paiute legends, originally published by William J. Palmer who, though not a Native American, was adopted into the tribe and allowed to learn these legends in the traditional way. At first the Paiute (or Pahute) did not want the stories published, but later gave him their permission. We are very fortunate that they did. This short volume provides a great deal of insight into the traditions and customs of the indigenous peoples that call Southern Utah home. It is engaging, interesting, and hard to put down.
Profile Image for Allen Bruce.
33 reviews2 followers
June 23, 2023
3.5*
I think it's fascinating how many disconnected cultures have so many stories with related or overlapping themes, messages, etc.

It is difficult to feel like I understand many of the stories and what they meant for the intended audience without additional context at times.

Sometimes, deeper messages are obvious, but sometimes it feels like I'm just reading a story for the sake of a story. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I have the notion that means I'm probably missing some key points.
Profile Image for Mickey.
Author 1 book4 followers
May 26, 2021
At the visitor center at Zion National Park, I wanted to get a book to commemorate our wonderful time there. I couldn't decide between "Why the North Star Stands Still" and "A Zion Canyon Reader," so I got both. They're completely different, so not having to decide between the two was the best option!

When I was a kid, I was entranced by Aesop's fables. This book is a lot like those. Full of 2-4 page stories, most of whose titles begin with "Why..." I'm not normally in the mode of buying children's books, but this one is a keeper, as it really will appeal to all generations.
Profile Image for Kat.
134 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2024
I really enjoyed reading this. I highly suggest this book if you are traveling to Utah because it definitely gives the stories of the land a spirit of the people. Each tale in it is unique and understood. These legends lasted for a reason and it was a great pleasure to read them and be apart of the culture for a moment.
Profile Image for Cassandra Lashae.
87 reviews1 follower
September 4, 2024
What do you do when you get to Bryce Canyon National Park? You ride the bus as far to the top as it will take you! On the way up you listen to the charming bus driver tell the story about how a Mormon farmer came across the area because it was a "helluva place to lose a cow!" When you disembark the bus, you take pictures of the famous hoodoos from above and then... you notice your companion is looking scared and queasy. You try to coax her onto the trail to hike back down to the bottom. However, even the tiniest chipmunk on the path is suddenly transformed into a rabid monster ready to throw her into the abyss of spires from atop the canyon. While she may try to convince you to leave her and go ahead down the canyon by foot where she can meet you at the bottom by bus, you know better...the solution? Get back on the bus and ride back to the bottom for tea, noodles, and a trip to the park's visitor center for.... books!

This book you can read aloud and discuss between her naps under a ponderosa pine whose scent will hitch a ride home to South Carolina on your blanket. Had I come across this book any other way I may not appreciate it as much. It's definitely one I hope to share with my children someday. It reminds me that there are so many fascinating ways to explain the natural world.

Reading it this year, alongside other books about plant intelligence and sensing the trepidation of science to accept the life within plants and trees compared to these accounts that firmly assign life and personality to everything in nature is interesting. Where is my book on rock intelligence? I'm curious to know more about those angry boulders and how they "think" and "feel" and "socialize" as much as I am interested in the flowers and the fungi.
Profile Image for Erik Lundin.
1 review
September 21, 2014
Haven't read it for years had the book growing up but I remember being enraptured by the stories
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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