Pau-Puk-Keewis and the Game of
Bowl and Counters
The second of my brothers to visit me was Pau-Puk-Keewis, and his story
of
his life is a lot different from that of my oldest brother. He
was born a
few
years after my oldest brother was born and my father hoped for another
little warrior. My father and mother had reunited to conceive
Pau-Puk-Keewis
and according to my grandmother, my mother swore it would be the last
time. I think that my mother may have really loved my father, but
I
doubt she'll ever admit it. Pau-Puk-Keewis isn't as famous as my
oldest
brother, but he has made his name for himself as a master of fun.
He's
most known for his dancing and his game of chance. My brother
Pau-Puk-Keewis
told me the story of how he found his place in the world and now I will
relate that story to you.
Pau-Puk-Keewis
was originally given a different name when he was born, but no
one can remember it now. As a baby he was happier and more
excited
than Mudjekeewis ever was. Pau-Puk-Keewis grew older and instead
of playing
with bows and arrows or practicing his fighting skills, he was intent
on watching the birds and animals that surrounded him. My father
would
visit and try to encourage Pau-Puk-Keewis to be more like Mujekeewis,
and Pau-Puk-Keewis would try for a little while. However, he was
never fully
successful and my father and brother soon stopped talking. This
is
when my brother got his name Pau-Puk-Keewis which means disowned.
Eventually,
Pau-Puk-Keewis grew into adulthood and his lightheartedness had made
him
into a very funny young man. The women of the village all loved
to
spend time with him, but their fathers made it clear that he was not
marriage material. Instead of staying in the village that offered
him
no future of wife or family, Pau-Puk-Keewis took his show on the
road. He
was known for his dancing and drama that had entertained his
village.
Eventually, Pau-Puk-Keewis was known the world over for his
entertaining
dances and skits. Pau-Puk-Keewis invented the hoop dance that is
so famous
around these parts.
One day
on his journey to another village, he entered the home of Iagoo, and it
was full of other young men of his age. He sat around the
fire
with these young men and they told story after story of Mudjekeewis and
his amazing feats. Frustrated with everyone's focus on his
brother, Pau-Puk-Keewis took out his leather pouch and produced a game
for them to
play. Calling it bowl and counters, he showed the men a heavy
wooden
bowl and thirteen pieces game pieces. The pieces were two
serpents, two men, a war club,
a
fish, and three ducklings painted white on one side and red on the
other. There were four round pieces that were made of brass. He
put
the pieces in the bowl and explained the game to the men surrounding
him.
It was
after explaining the game that Iagoo said, "I have played many
games of chance in different nations and anyone who plays with me must
have fast hands. You, Pau-Puk-Keewis, think you are very
skillful, but I will beat you."
Pau-Puk-Keewis
recognized the challenge and prepared himself for the game.
All the men chose to join the game and they played for wampum and for
clothes. They played for all the nice things they had, but slowly
Pau-Puk-Keewis took all that they had. They played the night
through with Pau-Puk-Keewis losing, but then coming back until
eventually it was clear
that luck was on his side. He finally made one last bet by saying that
he was lonely and asked only one thing. He pointed to the sister
of
Iagoo who had long ago fell asleep and said that he would be all the
clothes and weapons he had won if Iagoo would place his sister as a
bet. Iagoo was sure that he could win this round and agreed to
the bet.
Iagoo
placed the pieces in the bowl and gently shook them before
bringing the bowl swiftly in the air to pound it back on the
ground.
He looked at his pieces and saw his score was just five. In
disgust,
he returned the bowl to Pau-Puk-Keewis who slammed the bowl down on the
ground and watched the pieces fly into the air and quickly back in the
bowl. All twenty sets of eye look into the bowl and saw that the
count
was ten. Pau-Puk-Keewis had won the round and in return received
a wife.
They left the village together and returned to Pau-Puk-Keewis's lodge
with
all his other winnings.
I had
never heard the story of how my brother met his wife Meshinauwa.
Pau-Puk-Keewis's story made me feel a lot better about my future
because like
him I was not overly interested in hunting or being a warrior. It
made
me nervous that my father had disowned him for his disobedience, but I
realized that Pau-Puk-Keewis still had a very fulfilling life without
him.
He had become famous for his entertainment and although my brother
Mudjekeewis was famous for protecting us, it was my brother
Pau-Puk-Keewis who made us laugh. I look forward to seeing my
brother
Cheeby-aub-oozoo next week. I wonder what story he has to tell me.
Author's Note:
I retold the story of
Pau-Puk-Keewis from The Song of Hiawatha by Henry M.
Longfellow. I chose this story because it highlighted the
lightheartedness of Pau-Puk-Keewis. I once again added details to
Pau-Puk-Keewis's
birth and his childhood that weren't mentioned in the story. I
also
added details about why he might have been disowned which weren't
mentioned in this story.
The reason I really liked this story is
because Pau-Puk-Keewis is playing the game of bowl and counters which
most
people call Indian dice today. My family plays this game all the
time - although we usually bet a dime a game instead of all the
clothes
off our backs! Its a really great game and there's always debates
about the best way to flip the pieces or how to hold the bowl the best
way. The set of dice we have is really old and carved from
bone. Its
really hard to find a set of Indian dice today, but my family has a lot
of fun playing it.
I also added the idea of Pau-Puk-Keewis finding a wife.
In the original, he asks Iagoo for his nephew so he'll have someone to
help him in his travels. I thought that it would be more
interesting
for him to ask for a wife because so many of the women in his home
village were told he was not marriage material.
The image I included was of a hoop dancer which is what most people
associate with Pau-Puk-Keewis.
Source: "The Song of Hiawatha" By Henry M. Longfellow.
1855. Web Source: Project
Gutenberg
Image Information: Hoop Dancer. Web Source: Hoopaholic
For a better idea of the intricacies of Hoop Dancing watch this Youtube Video of
one of the best hoop dancer's today.
