Suzette Crous's Blog

evil follows good
hatred and chaos ensue
     repent to gain peace
          the fire burns within the heart
abundance, our legacy 

A poem inspired by the following legend. The About Section at the poem listed under my poems, does not cater for the full text. 

Wishing everyone a splendid month of December and hope that you get to spend some time with your families. 

Love

Su 

Many years ago, when the children of the Great Spirit were spreading across the land, there was an great man called Sahale, who resided over a tribe whose name is no longer remembered. He had two sons who constantly quarreled, and their father did not approve of this discord between brothers. Sahale asked the Great Spirit what he should do, and He told the chief to take his two sons on a journey to a great river.

They traveled for many days with their tribe, and at last came to that great river. Sahale took his bow and arrows. One arrow he shot north, across the river. The other one he shot to the west, on this side of the river. The land on both sides of the river was beautiful and bountiful, and Sahale pointed to the vast expanse before them. 'One of you, go across the river and find the arrow. There you will have the land. And the other shall remain on this side of the river, and where my arrow landed, you shall have that land.'

So the sons obeyed their father, for they knew that he was guided by the Great Spirit, and that their quarrel needed to end. One son went down the wide plain and became the ancestor of the Klickitats. The other one went up into the valley, becoming the ancestor of the Multnomahs.

So that the two halves of the original tribe not be cut off from the other, the Great Spirit guided Sahale to raise a great stone bridge over the river, so that the tribe of Sahale would remain friends. This bridge was the Bridge of the Gods, 'Tomanowos'. On this bridge he set a woman chosen from the tribe for her wisdom, and commanded that she guard the sacred fire.

Sahale joined the Great Spirit, and in time, so did his sons. The two tribes grew, and the sacred fire remained guarded by the wisest women of the tribes. Over time, the tribes started to quarrel, which displeased the Great Spirit. They quarrelled over land, animals, and women. Such discord should not exist when the land was bountiful, but evil had a way of following good. The tribes listened to whispers of hatred and chaos, and fighting occurred more and more often. They filled their days with fighting, gambling, and raiding. The Great Spirit was displeased when He saw this, for it was not right that one man should go against another, for then they forgot Him and what He had given them.

So to remind them who cared and provided for them, He extinguished all the fires within the hearths, and drew a thick cloak of clouds to obscure the sun. This grieved them, and angered the evil spirits, for without people, they could not draw sustenance.

The only fire that continued to burn was within the hearth of the wise woman of the bridge, Loo-wit. She alone held the fire, for she served the Great Spirit and was wise, staying out of the conflict and refusing to get involved with either side. Although she would attend to the injured from either tribe, she showed no preference, for they were all children of the Great Spirit. She guarded her fire carefully, and told them that only when did they realize why their own fires had disappeared could she share with them.

The people were reminded just who had taken care of them and provided for their warmth and well-being. They repented, and drove the evil spirits away from their tribes. And Loo-Wit shared her fire, welcoming everyone to take some until every home in both tribes had their own.

Source: Internet