The Short, Swift Time of Gods on Earth: The Hohokam Chronicles

by Donald M. Bahr, Juan Smith (Editor), William Smith Allison (Editor)

In the spring of 1935, at Snaketown, Arizona, two Pima Indians recounted and translated their entire traditional creation narrative. Juan Smith, reputedly the last tribesman with extensive knowledge of the Pima version of this story, spoke and sang while William Smith Allison translated into English and Julian Hayden, an archaeologist, recorded Allison's words verbatim. The resulting document, the "Hohokam Chronicles," is the most complete natively articulated Pima creation narrative ever written and a rare example of a single-narrator myth.

Now this extraordinary work, composed of thirty-six separate stories, is presented in its entirety for the first time. Beautifully expressed, the narrative constitutes a kind of scripture for a native church, beginning with the creation of the universe out of the void and ending with the establishment in the sixteenth century of present-day villages. Central to the story is the murder/resurrection of a god-man, Siuuhu, who summoned the Pimas and Papagos (Tohono O'odham) as his army of vengeance and brought about the conquest of his murderers, the ancient Hohokam.

Donald Bahr extensively annotates the text and supplements it with other Pima-Papago versions of similar stories. Important as a social and historic document, this book adds immeasurably to the growing body of Native American literature and to our knowledge of the development of Pima-Papago culture.

Genres: Mythology, Native American

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 1994

Reviews

[Bill Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scholarily work that brings together all the know folklore and myth of not only the Hohokam but also the Pima and Pagago (Tohono O'odham).

[Dalia Maeroff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating documentation of the documenting of the O'odham origin story, as well as the origin story itself.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for all interested in the O’odham (Pima-Papago) and the Hohokam archaeology of Southern Arizona. This scholarly work provides a critical edition of the complete mythology recounted by Juan Smith and William Allison in 1935 at the Snaketown archaeological site, and also includes alternate versions of multiple stories by other O’odham storytellers such as Thin Leather.

Aside from the creation myths and legends of the cultural hero/god Siuuhu, this also contains remarkably detailed stories of the end of the Hohokam civilization and the war that destroyed it complete with known locations. Bahr as editor has provided various concordances that contrast the various accounts complete with modern site locations. This is a story that is incredibly compelling and frequently overlooked. It is of course of great historical and archaeological interest, but these are also quite fascinating and good stories in their own right. I found myself alternating between pure pleasure and intellectual insight throughout. They are elegantly presented and Bahr’s notes are quite useful, interesting, and informed.

[Monette Bebow-Reinhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the mythology of the Hohokam with plenty of interpretive notes included. It's a keeper on my bookshelf, and parts will appear in my presentation and copper manual.