Native American Legends
The Two War Gods and the Two Maidens
A Hopi Legend
A long time ago Pöokónghoya and his little brother
Balö'ngahoya lived north of the village at the shrine of the
Achámali.
One day they heard that two beautiful maidens were watching some
fields west of the village of Hû'ckovi, of which the ruins
may still be seen a few miles north-west of Oraíbi. They
concluded that they would go hunting and at the same time visit
those two maidens.
When they arrived there the maidens joyfully greeted them and they
were joking and teasing each other. The maidens believed that the
two brothers had come with the intention to marry them, and they
said, in a half-jesting manner, to their suitors: "We will
cut off an arm from each one of you, and if you do not die you may
own us."
The younger brother was at once willing, saying to his elder brother:
"They are beautiful; let us not be afraid of having our arm
cut off." The elder brother hesitated, saying, that they would
hurt. So the younger brother said, "I am willing," laid
his right arm over the edge of the milling trough at which the maidens
had been working, and one of the maidens struck the arm with the
upper milling stone and cut it off, the arm dropping into the trough
or bin.
His elder brother hereupon laid his arm over the edge of the bin,
which consisted of a thin, sharp slab, and the other maiden also
cut his arm off with her milling stone. Now the two brothers said:
"If we recover, we shall come after you. Hand us our arm, now."
The maidens did so and the two brothers left, each one carrying
his severed arm, Arriving at their home north of Oraíbi,
they told their grandmother what had happened.
"There," she said, "you have been in something again
and have done some mischief." "Yes," they said, "We
met two beautiful maidens and liked them very much, and so we allowed
them to cut off our arms. Very well, she said, "I am going
to set you right again." So she asked them to lay down north
of the fireplace.
She placed the two arms by their sides, covered them up, whereupon
she commenced to sing a song. When she was through singing, she
told them now to get up. They did so and found their arms healed.
The next day they proceeded to the house of the maidens, who were
surprised to see them fully recovered. The older of the two sisters
was the prettier one and Pöokónghoya wanted to choose
that one.
His younger brother protested, saying: "Yesterday you were
not willing to have your arm cut off, as you were then afraid, and
now you want to have the first choice. I had my arm cut off first
and I am going to choose first," to which his elder brother
finally consented. They slept with the maidens that night and then
left them and returned to their home north of Oraíbi.
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