“There are some stories that all Kiowa children should know.”
These were the words of my Great Aunt Arletta, my grandfather’s sister, my grandmother in the Kiowa Way. While most of my Grandfather’s stories told of the Kiowa history, my Great Aunts shared songs and stories of Saynday, the Kiowa protector and trickster God.
In my early childhood, Aunt Arletta visited every Friday. She came with a treat and a story. One of the earliest stories I remember is how the Kiowa became Kwu’da the Coming Out People. As with all Saynday stories it started with, Saynday was coming along …
The Kiowa Emerge
Saynday was coming along after the Great Flood. He wandered the world enjoying the company of all that shared this wonderful land with him.
Bears, deer, foxes, coyotes all existed together as brothers and sisters, all created by the Great Spirit, all related.
One day Saynday noticed that the animals all had similar beasts to share the world with.
Eagles had other eagles, bears other bears…why was Saynday the only “People” on Earth?
Saynday sought out Owl, the wisest of all the animals. He explained to Owl his desire to share the World with others of his kind, other People.
Owl told Saynday, “There are others like you, but they live within the world. The People can come out only through a hollow, cottonwood trunk.”
Owl explained that Saynday needed to beat the trunk four times, a powerful number. “Four is a number that respects the Creator’s power, the creation of Sun, Earth, Moon and Wind. This will call the People to the cottonwood trunk.”
Saynday searched through the day for a hollow cottonwood trunk. Finally, he found one. He picked up a branch and banged on the trunk.
One
Two
Three
Four times.
He dropped the branch and Saynday reached into the trunk. He felt something. A hand grasped his. Sanday held on and pulled. Out came a Kiowa. And another and another and another.
Kiowas formed a human chain pulling one Kiowa after another out of the cottonwood trunk.
Then, no more Kiowa came forth. A pregnant Kiowa woman became stuck in the trunk, blocking the way for any others to emerge.
The People looked around the world in wonder.
There was grass with deer grazing, running water with fish jumping, a beautiful sky with birds flying – this was a wonderful new world.
The people celebrated their release to light, rejoiced in their unity. They declared themselves, Kwu’da, the Coming Out People.
Named and with the power of a spoken word, the Kiowa existed.
For cultures with oral traditions, words are sacred. They have power. It is through words we exist.
The Kiowa Emergence Story expresses not just the birth of the people, but the celebration of their existence, their being…their identity, their consciousness.
The Coming Out People became united as a Tribe, the Kiowas.
Read more Stories from Kiowa Grandparents here.