Zuni mythology
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The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in the southwest of the United States.
Awonawilona is the creator god. He made the clouds and ocean, which was covered with green algae that hardened, split and became Awitelin Tsita and Apoyan Tachu.
Apoyan Tachu and Awitelin Tsita are the sky father and earth mother and the parents of all life on Earth.
Achiyalatopa is a monster with knives for feathers.
Amitolane is a rainbow spirit.
Yanauluha is a culture hero, who brought agriculture, medicine and all the customs of the Zuni people.
Uhepono is a hairy giant that lived in the underworld; it has huge eyes and human limbs.
Kokopelli is a god worshipped in many southwestern tribes. He was a humpbacked flutist. He was a rain god for the Zuni and was also known as Ololowishkya. He frequently appeared with Paiyatamu, another flutist, in maize grinding ceremonies.
[edit] Creation
The first humans came from four caves in the underworld. The Earth was a dangerous place, covered with water and monsters. The children of the sun took pity on mankind and hardened earth with lightning, then turned many animals into stone, leaving only the modern ones.
[edit] Zuni mythology in popular culture
- The Zuni religion plays a prominent role in the 1973 novel Dance Hall of the Dead, by the American writer Tony Hillerman.
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