There is much information included in the first few pages of Inlandia, and most of this information seems to discuss the creation of the Inland Empire:
The first two authors (Katherine Saubel and Francisco Patencio) describe the way their people, the Cahuilla, have been told how the tribe came to be. Both authors mention a tribe with supernatural powers, and how the death of their leaders caused them to become mortal. The deaths of these leaders are quite different from each other, however; Saubel explains that the leader (a god) in her version of the story becomes a bit of a menace to his people, and they decide to do away with him, whereas Patencio describes the first leader in his story as being attacked and killed by a mountain lion, and the second tribal leader gives up on living and turns himself into a rock (which is rumored to still contain the body of the leader). Both tales, however different, also discuss the lives of the tribe members after the death of their leader(s); both authors agree that the people settled into the land they finally had chosen as suitable for living, and started families on that land, thus continuing the growth of their people. In both stories, the death of the leader(s) marked the end/loss of the tribes'supernatural powers.
The second two authors (Juan Bautista deAnza and Jose Romero) both made trips through Cahuilla territory, and both believe the Cahuilla to be heathens. De Anza suffered a few casualties caused by the Cahuilla near the river (which caused the riverbed to be fertile enought to sustain the life of much vegetation) he had traveled by, and therefore thought the Cahuilla merciless heathens, but Romero, on the other hand, described them as "friendly heathens," because the Cahuilla acted as guides for Romero's group so as to not get too far away from water during the groups travels through the area (they had already lost a number of horses to a lack of water).
All the stories seem to agree that there is someone or some thing that is the creator of life, whether it was a god, a tribe leaders death, a river, or a local guide (who gave them life by leading them to water).
The first two authors (Katherine Saubel and Francisco Patencio) describe the way their people, the Cahuilla, have been told how the tribe came to be. Both authors mention a tribe with supernatural powers, and how the death of their leaders caused them to become mortal. The deaths of these leaders are quite different from each other, however; Saubel explains that the leader (a god) in her version of the story becomes a bit of a menace to his people, and they decide to do away with him, whereas Patencio describes the first leader in his story as being attacked and killed by a mountain lion, and the second tribal leader gives up on living and turns himself into a rock (which is rumored to still contain the body of the leader). Both tales, however different, also discuss the lives of the tribe members after the death of their leader(s); both authors agree that the people settled into the land they finally had chosen as suitable for living, and started families on that land, thus continuing the growth of their people. In both stories, the death of the leader(s) marked the end/loss of the tribes'supernatural powers.
The second two authors (Juan Bautista deAnza and Jose Romero) both made trips through Cahuilla territory, and both believe the Cahuilla to be heathens. De Anza suffered a few casualties caused by the Cahuilla near the river (which caused the riverbed to be fertile enought to sustain the life of much vegetation) he had traveled by, and therefore thought the Cahuilla merciless heathens, but Romero, on the other hand, described them as "friendly heathens," because the Cahuilla acted as guides for Romero's group so as to not get too far away from water during the groups travels through the area (they had already lost a number of horses to a lack of water).
All the stories seem to agree that there is someone or some thing that is the creator of life, whether it was a god, a tribe leaders death, a river, or a local guide (who gave them life by leading them to water).
No comments:
Post a Comment