Myth-Folkore: Reading Diary A: Tejas Legends

When the Storm God Rides

· Shores of Texas along the Gulf of Mexico didn’t used to have islands

· Old Indians left behind stories

· A god and his big black-winged thunder bird that he rode

· This was the storm god

· God and people didn’t live by each other because the big bird filled people with fear

· Only saw the god when rode through the skies

· Flying through the air with white clouds

· Made the land dark when he came

· This is where the name hurricane came from

· Peaceful tribes were driven away from their homes

· Northern tribes liked to kill

· Started shooting at the birds

· Storm god was so angry that thunder broke out

· Storm god’s thunder bird shot lightning out of his eyes

· Thunder bird was coming to the Indians that were killing the birds

· Day was like night cause so dark

· The gulf pushed them over

· Gulf flooded the bad indian’s land

· Crazy water and winds

· This is how the islands were formed from the build up of sands

How the North Wind Lost His Hair

· North wind was afraid to come to gulf of mexico

· Afraid of strong young south wind

· Moss that grows on the trees was a sign of their fight

· (natchez and tejas tribes)

· old north wind, blew cold air everywhere and grey hair would fly

· the winds would grow angry with each other

· north wind would come and spread snow for a couple weeks then sosuth wind drives him out

· one time, it stayed for many weeks

· spring weather never came because still in june, the north wind was there.

· South wind gathered all his power to fight away the north wind

· Indians thought it was the storm god

· Messed up everything on land from the trees to the waters

· South wind flung him into the air

· When south wind overcame north wind, he threw him hair all over the ground and that was Spanish moss that hangs from the trees.

· North wind never came back

Myth-Folkore