The man from the Mohave tribe was the oldest of all who were present. Other tribal members brought him from California to the Meeting Place with a horse-drawn wagon. This man had never known any other lifestyle that that of the traditional Native American. He refused to assimilate into the new society at all. He had never been in a car,nor had he eaten  processed food. Everything he had was from Mother Nature. He only spoke Mohave, which is a Yuman language. He had his grandson translate for him, but as the other translator, he was separated from the four sharing their stories and only present for this story. His sitting position was a traditional Mohave sitting position. He leaned against the wall with his legs straight out. His face was worn and tired for he was almost one hundred years old. His hands and feet were rough and his muscles still firm.

"My name is Masipa," he said. This was the only English he had ever known. The translator began after he said this. "My name is Coyote," he said.

Our story has been told only to Native American spirits and souls for many years. Only recently has the story made it outside of the Native American tribes. Our world began with the sky and the earth. The sky, like a man and the earth, like a woman. These two beings met in the West. From these two, two sons were created. These sons were in the form of humans, but had powers of their creators. Matevilye was the first born and he was the leader. Next was Mastamho, the younger brother. Then the people, animals, and plants were created. All of these were led by Mastamho. From the west all of these traveled to the east.

As the others traveled to the East, Matevilye wandered about and found the center of the earth with his senses. He walked differently so it took him some time to find it. He would take four steps at a time. Matevilye got very sick as time went on. His sickness could not be healed by anyone, nor would he let anyone try. He knew it was a sign of the sky and the earth. When he died all were present for the burning of his body. The people and animals sent the coyote away because they feared he would try to eat the dead, even though it was not known because he was the first to die. To the surprise of everyone, the coyote returned as Matevilye's body was engulfed in flames. The coyote leaped over the others and into the fire and ripped the heart from Matevilye. Since his body and soul were not burned, everyone was afraid. Mastamho thought they should have a mourning ceremony since the soul would not be at rest.

Mastamho created the elements of weather after the death of Matevilye. The elements were to rid the land of the sense of death and also to provide life. Then he gathered many men to inhabit the Earth. He took these men and went towards the oceans. Along the way he created six different tribes of men. Then he sent the men in different directions. He gave orders for the men to go to in their directions and shout in all four directions on the fourth day. This caused the sun, moon, day and night to be created. Five of the tribes were sent to different continents to inhabit the land, following specific orders of how to live. The Mohave stayed in what was known as the Land of the Mohave. Mastamho ordered them to build houses close together and be a great family. After he had spread the men about the world, he wondered what to do. He knew he had to leave his human form, and he tried several ways but all failed. Finally he spread his arms in frustration and feathers began to grow. He tried once to fly and failed. He tried twice more and was still unable. He tried with all his might on the fourth time and soared into the sky. This was the end of Mastamho, but he left the world as it is today.


Author's Note: My retelling of the Mohave creation story is very similar to the original version. I found several versions that were very long and it probably would have taken days to tell the whole story. I used a condensed version of the story and followed it closely. I kept the names of the two brothers and their duties. The actions of the brothers are somewhat similar as well. This story was difficult to get creative and change aspects without losing the importance of the story. This story is very important to the Mohave tribe and they hold it as true to this day. I tried to respect their emotions and connection with the story in my retelling. The symbolism of four reappeared several times in this story. This story fit into my storybook because it contained the symbolic meaning of four. The Mohave tribe is from the western United States and connected with the frametale this way. All four tribes came from different directions, where they actually reside today. This story did not describe the creation of the world per-se, but it does tell how the world today came about. It starts off with the sky and the earth, which are the subject of other creation stories. I was okay with this because I was really focused on the creation of man.

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Bibliography
Story: The Mohave Account of Origins
Book: Two Myths of the Mission Indains of California
Year: 1906
Websource. Sacred Texts Archive



Old Native American. Websource.
Soaring Bird. Websource