{"id":24023,"date":"2022-10-17T07:31:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T07:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/?page_id=24023"},"modified":"2022-10-17T07:33:54","modified_gmt":"2022-10-17T07:33:54","slug":"iktomi-and-the-fawn","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/iktomi-and-the-fawn\/","title":{"rendered":"Iktomi and the Fawn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/\" role=\"button\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSioux mythology<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpeople.us\/FP-Html-Legends\/IktomiandtheFawn-Lakota.html\" role=\"button\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWiki<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Lakota<\/strong> or Titunwans (&quot;people of the prairie&quot;) or Tetons in English (traditional Dakota\/Wyoming territory) was originally one of the seven council fires. Here is their tale: Iktomi and the Fawn.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/cropped-AlphaOmega-e1602613368367.png\" alt=\"Iktomi and the Fawn\" width=\"25\" height=\"25\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseprofile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/sioux-mythology-lakota-dakota-nakota\/iktomi-and-the-fawn\/#Iktomi-and-the-Fawn\" >Iktomi and the Fawn<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Iktomi-and-the-Fawn\"><\/span>Iktomi and the Fawn<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In one of his wanderings through the wooded lands, Iktomi saw a<br \/>\nrare bird sitting high in a tree-top. Its long fan-like tail feathers<br \/>\nhad caught all the beautiful colors of the rainbow. Handsome in<br \/>\nthe glistening summer sun sat the bird of rainbow plumage.<\/p>\n<p>Iktomi hurried hither with his eyes fast on the bird. He stood<br \/>\nbeneath the tree looking long and wistfully at the peacock&rsquo;s bright feathers.<\/p>\n<p>At length he heaved a sigh and began: &quot;Oh, I wish I had such<br \/>\npretty feathers! How I wish I were not I! If only I were a handsome<br \/>\nfeathered creature how happy I would be! I&rsquo;d be so glad to sit upon<br \/>\na very high tree and bask in the summer sun like you!&quot; said<br \/>\nhe suddenly, pointing his bony finger up toward the peacock, who<br \/>\nwas eying the stranger below, turning his head from side to side.<br \/>\n&quot;I beg of you make me into a bird with green and purple feathers<br \/>\nlike yours!&quot; implored Iktomi, tired now of playing the brave<br \/>\nin beaded buckskins.<\/p>\n<p>The peacock then spoke to Iktomi: &quot;I have a magic power. My<br \/>\ntouch will change you in a moment into the most beautiful peacock<br \/>\nif you can keep one condition.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes! yes!&quot; shouted Iktomi, jumping up and down, patting<br \/>\nhis lips with his palm, which caused his voice to vibrate in a peculiar fashion.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes! yes! I could keep ten conditions if only you would change<br \/>\nme into a bird with long, bright tail feathers. Oh, I am so ugly!<br \/>\nI am so tired of being myself! Change me! Do!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Hereupon the peacock spread out both his wings, and scarce moving<br \/>\nthem, he sailed slowly down upon the ground. Right beside Iktomi<br \/>\nhe alighted. Very low in Iktomi&rsquo;s ear the peacock whispered, &quot;Are<br \/>\nyou willing to keep one condition, though hard it be?&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes! yes! I&rsquo;ve told you ten of them if need be!&quot; exclaimed<br \/>\nIktomi, with some impatience.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Then I pronounce you a handsome feathered bird. No longer<br \/>\nare you Iktomi the mischief-maker.&quot; saying this the peacock<br \/>\ntouched Iktomi with the tips of his wings. Iktomi vanished at the<br \/>\ntouch. There stood beneath the tree two handsome peacocks. While<br \/>\none of the pair strutted about with a head turned aside as if dazzled<br \/>\nby his own bright-tinted tail feathers, the other bird soared slowly upward.<\/p>\n<p>He sat quiet and unconscious of his gay plumage. He seemed content<br \/>\nto perch there on a large limb in the warm sunshine. After a little<br \/>\nwhile the vain peacock, dizzy with his bright colors, spread out<br \/>\nhis wings and lit on the shame branch with the elder bird. &quot;Oh!&quot;<br \/>\nhe exclaimed, &quot;how hard to fly! Brightly tinted feathers are<br \/>\nhandsome, but I wish they were light enough to fly!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Just there the elder bird interrupted him. &quot;That is the one<br \/>\ncondition. Never try to fly like other birds. Upon the day you try<br \/>\nto fly you shall be changed into your former self.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oh, what a shame that bright feathers cannot fly into the<br \/>\nsky!&quot; cried the peacock. Already he grew restless. He longed<br \/>\nto soar through space. He yearned to fly above the trees high upward<br \/>\nto the sun.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oh, there I see a flock of birds flying thither! Oh! oh!&quot;<br \/>\nsaid he, flapping his wings, &quot;I must try my wings! I am tired<br \/>\nof bright tail feathers. I want to try my wings.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;No, no!&quot; clucked the elder bird. The flock of chattering<br \/>\nbirds flew by with whirring wings.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oop! Oop!&quot; called some to their mates.<\/p>\n<p>Possessed by an irrepressible impulse the Iktomi peacock called<br \/>\nout, &quot;He! I want to come! Wait for me!&quot; and with that<br \/>\nhe gave a lunge into the air. The flock of flying feathers wheeled<br \/>\nabout and lowered over the tree whence came the peacock&rsquo;s cry.<\/p>\n<p>Only one rare bird sat on the tree, and beneath, on the ground,<br \/>\nstood a brave in brown buckskins. &quot;I am my old self again!&quot;<br \/>\ngroaned Iktomi in a shad voice.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Make me over, pretty bird. Try me this once again!&quot;<br \/>\nhe pleaded in vain.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Old Iktomi wants to fly! Ah! We cannot wait for him!&quot;<br \/>\nsang the birds as they flew away.<\/p>\n<p>Muttering unhappy vows to himself, Iktomi had not gone far when<br \/>\nhe chanced upon a bunch of long slender arrows. One by one they<br \/>\nrose in the air and shot a straight line over the prairie. Others<br \/>\nshot up into the blue sky and were soon lost to sight.<\/p>\n<p>Only one was left. He was making ready for his flight when Iktomi<br \/>\nrushed upon him and wailed, &quot;I want to be an arrow! Make me<br \/>\ninto an arrow! I want to pierce the blue overhead. I want to strike<br \/>\nyonder summer sun in its center. Make me into an arrow!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Can you keep a condition? One condition, though hard it be?&quot;<br \/>\nthe arrow turned to ask.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes! Yes!&quot; shouted Iktomi, delighted.<\/p>\n<p>Hereupon the slender arrow tapped him gently with his sharp flint<br \/>\nbeak. There was no Iktomi, but two arrows stood ready to fly.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Now, young arrow, this is the one condition. Your flight<br \/>\nmust always be in a straight line. Never turn a curve nor jump about<br \/>\nlike a young fawn,&quot; said the arrow magician. He spoke slowly<br \/>\nand sternly. At once he set about to teach the new arrow how to<br \/>\nshoot in a long straight line. &quot;This is the way to pierce the<br \/>\nBlue overhead,&quot; said he; and off he spun high into the sky.<\/p>\n<p>While he was gone a herd of deer came trotting by. Behind them<br \/>\nplayed the young fawns together. They frolicked about like kittens.<br \/>\nThey bounced on all fours like balls. Then they pitched forward,<br \/>\nkicking their heels in the air.<\/p>\n<p>The Iktomi arrow watched them so happy on the ground. Looking quickly<br \/>\nup into the sky, he said in his heart, &quot;The magician is out<br \/>\nof sight. I&rsquo;ll just romp and frolic with these fawns until he returns.<br \/>\nFawns! Friends, do not fear me. I want to jump and leap with you.<br \/>\nI long to be happy as you are,&quot; said he.<\/p>\n<p>The young fawns stopped with stiff legs and stared at the speaking<br \/>\narrow with large brown wondering eyes.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;See! I can jump as well as you!&quot; went on Iktomi. He<br \/>\ngave one tiny leap like a fawn. All of a sudden the fawns snorted<br \/>\nwith extended nostrils at what they beheld. There among them stood<br \/>\nIktomi in brown buckskins, and the strange talking arrow was gone.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oh! I am myself. My old self!&quot; cried Iktomi, pinching<br \/>\nhimself and plucking imaginary pieces out of his jacket. &quot;Hin-hin-hin!<br \/>\nI wanted to fly!&quot;<\/p>\n<p>The real arrow now returned to the earth. He alighted very near<br \/>\nIktomi. From the high sky he had seen the fawns playing on the green.<br \/>\nHe had seen Iktomi make his one leap, and the charm was broken.<br \/>\nIktomi became his former self. &quot;Arrow, my friend, change me<br \/>\nonce more!&quot; begged Iktomi.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;No, no more,&quot; replied the arrow. Then away he shot through<br \/>\nthe air in the direction his comrades had flown.<\/p>\n<p>By this time the fawns gathered close around Iktomi. They poked<br \/>\ntheir noses at him trying to know who he was.<\/p>\n<p>Iktomi&rsquo;s tears were like a spring shower. A new desire dried them<br \/>\nquickly away. Stepping boldly to the largest fawn, he looked closely<br \/>\nat the little brown spots all over the furry face.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oh, fawn! What beautiful brown spots on your face! Fawn,<br \/>\ndear little fawn, can you tell me how those brown spots were made<br \/>\non your face?&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes,&quot; said the fawn. &quot;When I was very, very small,<br \/>\nmy mother marked them on my face with a red hot fire. She dug a<br \/>\nlarge hole in the ground and made a soft bed of grass and twigs<br \/>\nin it. Then she placed me gently there. She covered me over with<br \/>\ndry sweet grass and piled dry cedars on top. From a neighbor&rsquo;s fire<br \/>\nshe brought hither a red, red ember. This she tucked carefully in<br \/>\nat my head. This is how the brown spots were made on my face.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Now, fawn, my friend, will you do the same for me? Won&rsquo;t<br \/>\nyou mark my face with brown, brown spots just like yours?&quot;<br \/>\nasked Iktomi, always eager to be like other people.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Yes. I can dig the ground and fill it with dry grass and<br \/>\nsticks. If you will jump into the pit, I&rsquo;ll cover you with sweet<br \/>\nsmelling grass and cedar wood,&quot; answered the fawn.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Say,&quot; interrupted Iktomi, &quot;will you be sure to<br \/>\ncover me with a great deal of dry grass and twigs? You will make<br \/>\nsure that the spots will be as brown as those you wear.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Oh, yes. I&#039;ll pile up grass and willows once oftener than my mother did.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Now let us dig the hole, pull the grass, and gather sticks,&quot;<br \/>\ncried Iktomi in glee.<\/p>\n<p>Thus with his own hands he aids in making his grave. After the<br \/>\nhole was dug and cushioned with grass, Iktomi, muttering something<br \/>\nabout brown spots, leaped down into it. Lengthwise, flat on his back, he lay.<\/p>\n<p>While the fawn covered him over with cedars, a far-away voice came<br \/>\nup through them, &quot;Brown, brown spots to wear forever!&quot;<br \/>\nA red ember was tucked under the dry grass. Off scampered the fawns<br \/>\nafter their mothers; and when a great distance away they looked backward.<\/p>\n<p>They saw a blue smoke rising, writhing upward till it vanished<br \/>\nin the blue ether.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Is that Iktomi&rsquo;s spirit?&quot; asked one fawn of another.<br \/>\n&quot;No! I think he would jump out before he could burn into smoke<br \/>\nand cinders,&quot; answered his comrade.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sioux Mythology Wiki The Lakotas or Titunwans (\u201cprairie people\u201d) or Tetons in English (traditional Dakota\/Wyoming territory) constituted \u2026 <\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3889,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-24023","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24023"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24030,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/24023\/revisions\/24030"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mythslegendes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}