The Kiowa nation has at least two different versions of their origin myth concerning death: How Death Came into the World and Why the Ant is Almost Cut in Two. Both explain the origin of death but differ significantly in characterization, especially concerning the sympathy shown by the central character of the trickster Saynday.
The Saynday tales of the Kiowa are similar to the Wihio tales of the Cheyenne or the Iktomi tales of the Lakota Sioux (and many those of other Native peoples of North America) in that they deal with the adventures of a supernatural trickster figure, Saynday in this case, who takes on different roles depending on the focus, plot, and final message of the tale. Sometimes Saynday stands in for the Creator God, sometimes he is a wise man, other times he is a hero, a rogue, or a clown. In every Saynday tale, however, there is an element of transformation, either of the central character, of another, or of the world.
The Kiowa & Death-Origin Tales
The Kiowa are an indigenous nation of the Great Plains Indians who famously allied themselves with the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche to defend their lands from Euro-American invasion in the 19th century. Their name is usually translated from the Kiowa language as "Principal People" though sometimes as "Coming Out People" or "Coming Out Rapidly" in reference to one version of their Creation Story in which they came up out of the ground quickly to the earth's surface until a pregnant woman became stuck; and so some Kiowa are understood as still living below the earth of their ancestral lands, remembered and honored by those who live above them. Scholar Adele Nozedar briefly describes their migration to the Great Plains:
Originally from the western part of Montana, the Kiowa gradually migrated south in the 17th and 18th centuries, finally arriving in the Southern Plains in the 19th century before being relocated to a reservation in the Indian Territory of Oklahoma in the 1860s. (245)
As they traveled, they carried their stories with them, tales of the past and of supernatural entities which helped define their culture. Among the more popular stories are the Saynday tales, including those dealing with the origin of death.
How Death Came into the World and Why the Ant is Almost Cut in Two not only explain the origin of death but also clarify how the ant came to look as it does today. The death-origin myths of many Native American nations follow this same model of providing multiple messages along with the central focus. These myths and legends also always include at least two characters arguing over the nature of death and what part it should play in the operation of the world.
One character will always advocate for death as a temporary state while the other claims it must be permanent. The one arguing for death's permanence is then usually faced with great personal loss, but, because the decision has been made, it cannot be reversed and so they must live with their choice of death as a permanent state.
Although the death-origin tales of North American Native peoples share similarities, especially the above-noted, they are significantly different. The Modoc nation has its own death-origin myth with the same title as the Kiowa – How Death Came into the World – but it is a very different kind of story with significantly varied detail. In many of these tales, if not all of them, animals and insects play a vital role and so it is with the Kiowa myths when Saynday encounters Red Ant.
Saynday & the Ant
In the two versions of the origin of death myth, Saynday is depicted as an authority figure with the power to determine mortality, and Red Ant, who is not identified as possessing any kind of supernatural powers, is his interlocutor in a discussion on the duration of death. Saynday proposes death as a temporary state from which people could return to life after four days; Red Ant rejects this proposal, claiming there would then be too many living things on the planet, and insists on death as a permanent state.
Although it might seem strange for Saynday to seek out or accept advice from an ant, ants are understood as messengers and powerful spirit beings by many Native American nations. Cherokee, Karuk, and Seneca scholar Bobby Lake-Thom writes:
Ant represents super strength, intelligence, psychic abilities, telepathic communication, sharp thinking, and planning. The big Black Ant warns of earthquakes. Red biting Ants are bad powers and challengers. Other kinds of Ants can be messengers and allies.
(131)
In both versions of the tale, Red Ant acts in its traditional role as a challenger, questioning Saynday's decision on death as temporary and arguing for its permanence. Saynday accepts the counsel of Red Ant because of the ants' reputation for intelligence, but also precisely because of its traditional role as a challenger of accepted thought and action.
Although adherence to tradition was – and is – valued by the Kiowa, so are innovative thought and respectful challenges to established authority and accepted knowledge. At the same time, in accordance with the definition given by Lake-Thom, the Red Ant can be seen as a "bad power" whose arrogance and lack of sympathy for others influence the challenge to Saynday's proposal.
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The following versions of the Kiowa myth come from American Indian Mythology by Alice Marriott and Carol K. Rachlin (How Death Came into the World) and from the website of A. J. Alberts, Club Shiloh Enterprises (Why the Ant is Almost Cut in Two). The central purpose of any death-origin tale is to provide comfort to the bereaved – just as one was grieving, so, too, have others in the past, even the one responsible for the permanence of death – but the grief of the character in the tale is always handled somewhat differently. As noted, the most significant difference between the two versions below is how sympathetic Saynday is toward Red Ant's grief as the story progresses. The meaning behind Saynday's response is left open to each individual reader to interpret.
How Death Came into the World
Saynday was coming along, and as he came, he met the red ant. In those days, the red ant was as round as a ball, like a lot of Kiowa women. It was a hot day. Saynday made himself small, no bigger than the ant, and they sat down in the shade of a prickly pear to talk.
"I've been thinking," Saynday said.
"What about?" asked the ant. Like most other people, she wanted to make sure what Saynday had on his mind before she said anything herself.
"Well, I've been thinking that some of the old people and animals in my world are beginning to die," answered Saynday. "It's too bad. Nobody should have to die. I believe I could work out a way so that they could come back to life after four days."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ant asked.
"Why not?" inquired Saynday.
"Well, I think that if you keep bringing people back to life that way, over and over, the world will get too full. If you keep on bringing people and animals back to life, there won't be a place for anyone to go. I say that, when people die, they should stay dead."
"I think you are wrong," Saynday argued.
"I think I'm right," Ant insisted. "The old people have lived their lives. They're tired. I don't believe they even want to go on living."
"But what about the young ones?" Saynday demanded. "If a boy gets killed in a hunting accident or on a war raid, or if a young woman dies in childbirth, wouldn't they have the right to come back and take up their lives? They've just begun to live."
Ant set her jaw stubbornly. "Saynday," she said. "You always want your own way. Now, this time, I think you're wrong. When people die, let them stay dead. Don't try to bring them back."
"If that's the way you want it, that's the way it shall be," Saynday replied. "If someday you regret your decision, remember it was yours. If you make your decision, you have to keep it. From now on, you will have to mourn like all other people."
"That's the way I want it," Ant insisted, and Saynday got up and went away and left her, sitting under the prickly pear.
Four days later, Saynday was coming back along the same track. Suddenly the air was filled with sorrow, with tiny sobs and wails. He made himself small again, and found himself sitting beside Ant, under the same prickly pear.
Remove AdsAdvertisement"What in the world is the matter?" Saynday asked.
"He's all dead," Ant sobbed. "A buffalo stepped on him and he's all dead. There wasn't enough left of him to scrape up. Oh, my poor boy."
"I warned you," Saynday scolded her. "If you had let me have my way, I could have brought him back to life in four days. But no. You women are all the same. You know the best and you're bound to have your own way. If you hadn't been so stubborn yourself, your son wouldn't have had to die."
"Oh, my poor boy!" Ant wailed again, and she drew her butchering knife from its sheath at her belt. Before Saynday could move to stop her, she began cutting herself in two, just below the head.
"Now look here," Saynday scolded, grabbing the knife, before she could cut her head completely off. "We've had enough dying around here for one day. Cutting yourself to pieces won't bring your sone back; it will just make other people feel worse."
"Now, listen to what I say: From now on, when Kiowa women mourn, they should cut themselves – their arms, their legs, their hair – even cut off a finger joint, because a woman brought death forever into the world. But no woman shall ever kill herself for sorrow."
Remove AdsAdvertisementAnd that's the way it was, and that's the way it is, to this good day.
Why the Ant is Almost Cut in Two
Saynday was coming along and, as he came, he saw little Red Ant with a big sack over her shoulder. Little Red Ant was different in those early days. Her head and her body were all in one piece, with no neck between them. When she carried her big, round sack, it looked like one ball carrying another and rolling along the ground.
"Hello, there," said Saynday. "You look as if you were hot."
"I am not," said little Red Ant. "It's a hot day."
"Sit down and rest," said Saynday, "and let's talk things over."
"All right," said little Red Ant.
They sat down and rested in the shade of a prickly pear and Saynday made himself small enough to talk comfortably to little Red Ant.
"I've been thinking a lot," said Saynday.
"What have you been thinking about?" asked little Red Ant.
"I've been thinking about death," said Saynday. "My world and my people have been going on quite a while now, and things are beginning to get old and die sometimes."
"What's wrong with that?" said little Red Ant. "It makes room for new people."
"The people who die don't like it," said Saynday.
"There isn't any way to make them stop dying," said little Red Ant.
"No, but there might be a way to bring them back," said Saynday. "I've been thinking and thinking and thinking about it and I think I know a way to bring them back when they've been dead four days."
"Well, it sounds rather silly to me," said little Red Ant.
"I don't see anything silly about it," said Saynday.
"I think it is," said little Red Ant. "The way things are now, the people who die off are old. They've had a good time and lived life out. When they go, it doesn't hurt them. Then there is a place for a new person to come along and enjoy life. I think the new ones ought to have a turn."
"That's the way it is now," said Saynday. "But maybe it won't always be that way. Maybe some of the young people will get killed off by accident. Then we ought to have some way to bring them back so they can enjoy full lives."
"I don't think you need to," said little Red Ant. "If they're so stupid they go and get killed, it's just their own faults."
Remove AdsAdvertisement"All right," said Saynday. "I wanted to know what you thought. Now that I know, I will let there be death. When things and people die, they won't come back to this world anymore. Now I have to go and see some more of my world. Goodbye."
And he and little Red Ant went their separate ways.
Four days later, Saynday was coming back, and he came to that same prickly pear. There was mourning and crying all around. He looked down on the ground and saw little Red Ant. She was sitting in the shade of the prickly pear and crying as if her heart would break. Saynday made himself little again and sat down beside her.
"What's the matter?" said Saynday.
"Oh, it's my son," said little Red Ant.
"What happened to your son?" said Saynday.
"A buffalo stepped on him," answered little Red Ant, "and now he's all gone dead."
"That's too bad," said Saynday.
"It's terrible," said little Red Ant.
And, before Saynday could do anything, she pulled his knife out of his belt and cut herself almost in two, just above her shoulders. Saynday thought there had been enough dying for one morning, so he took the knife away before she could cut herself clear in two.
"There," he said. "You see how it is. That's the way people feel when someone they love dies. They want to die too. If you'd let me have my way, your son would have come back at the end of four days. But you thought there would be too many people in the world if that happened. So, now you know why I wanted to do that. For the rest of the world, people will keep on dying. And, for all the rest of the world, you will go around cut almost in two, to remind you of what you did to everybody."
And that's the way it was, and that's the way it is, to this good day.
