The Mythago Starfield...
It's raining, it's pouring, my old man is snoring...
I ran across a beautiful tribal myth today, from Iroquois lore: this is the story of one hunter, who chased a star until he could chase her no more, into the very deep of the sky. Who can ever know why he chose her as his hunt, but fly he did, a mere mortal man chasing a star-being in the heavens. When he arrived in the heavens, he was thwarted, and this hunter whose name was Sosondowah, which means "great night," was captured by the hunted, and his new mistress Dawn, his captor, made him the guardian of her lodge in the sky. Forever, he would remain in the sky, to watch over her mansion of light.
But this was not enough for him, for he still thirsted deeply for that essence he lost when he became part of the sky. He saw a young woman, very beautiful, on the earth, and night after night he would descend to her and speak with her. In the summer, he descended from the heavens and became a bluebird, and would stay by her side and speak with her. In the autumn, he became a night hawk, and flew to her. And then one autumn day, he took the mortal girl into the skies with him on his back, for he wanted to be with her in the heavenly realm.
But his mistress was jealous and angry. She saw him with the girl, and she, being Dawn, the great and mighty Dawn, turned the poor girl into a star, forever distant, so that the hunter could never touch her flesh again, or even her soul. And then Dawn, being vengeful, branded that star of the girl onto the hunter Sosondowah's forehead, so that he may always know she is near, but so that he never could speak with her or touch her or understand her. He continues to live with this star on his forehead, to shine in the dark sky.
I ran across a beautiful tribal myth today, from Iroquois lore: this is the story of one hunter, who chased a star until he could chase her no more, into the very deep of the sky. Who can ever know why he chose her as his hunt, but fly he did, a mere mortal man chasing a star-being in the heavens. When he arrived in the heavens, he was thwarted, and this hunter whose name was Sosondowah, which means "great night," was captured by the hunted, and his new mistress Dawn, his captor, made him the guardian of her lodge in the sky. Forever, he would remain in the sky, to watch over her mansion of light.
But this was not enough for him, for he still thirsted deeply for that essence he lost when he became part of the sky. He saw a young woman, very beautiful, on the earth, and night after night he would descend to her and speak with her. In the summer, he descended from the heavens and became a bluebird, and would stay by her side and speak with her. In the autumn, he became a night hawk, and flew to her. And then one autumn day, he took the mortal girl into the skies with him on his back, for he wanted to be with her in the heavenly realm.
But his mistress was jealous and angry. She saw him with the girl, and she, being Dawn, the great and mighty Dawn, turned the poor girl into a star, forever distant, so that the hunter could never touch her flesh again, or even her soul. And then Dawn, being vengeful, branded that star of the girl onto the hunter Sosondowah's forehead, so that he may always know she is near, but so that he never could speak with her or touch her or understand her. He continues to live with this star on his forehead, to shine in the dark sky.