Origin of the Clan System

There was a time when the people of the earth first began to experience death. Death visited at close intervals and families were taken up with burying their dead. They would dig a hole in the ground and place their loved one in the ground and cover them with earth.

This continued for some time and it became so frequent that within the families (ohwa:tsire) even those who were not sick would lie as if life was broken off from them. This death took not only adults but also children. Everyone was in continuous grief and this continues day after day and night after night. The people wept and went around in grief as they continued to lose persons from their families.

The Four Ceremonies were becoming less and less completely conducted. There were many who no longer paid attention to the Sky Holder’s request that the Four Ceremonies be performed.

The Elder Ones came together and said, “Everyone come together so that we may talk about our situation. We think it is not good for us to go about in such morning for so long a time. Wherever we look there are people weeping. Something must be done.

Hearing this all the people came together. The Elder Ones chose a person who would do the speaking and help decide what needed to be done.

The speaker stood up and said, “He who created nature made this day the way it is. He made the kind of light there is. He intended that those who have human bodies would always take

care of their bodies. So now we have come together to discuss what we should do with these strange happenings Our loved ones are dying so frequently that we see each other going around pitying ourselves, crying and weeping. Everyone assembled here with that someone may give advice on what we are to do to stop the dying and recover form the grieving. There are too many among us who are mourning day after day and night after night.

So the Elder Ones made preparations and put the issue before the people. They said, “Everyone has equal responsibility in this matter and it is not important who comes up with a plan. Any mother, adult, youth or child can propose an idea, which could help us to live in peace, our children and our grandchildren to live so that the future may be theirs.

All the people assembled considered the situation for a long time. They held several sessions and could not develop a plan. They failed to find anything that would result in good.

Now a young man who was always good but very quiet stood up and said, “I have decided that 1 will put forward a suggestion on what we should do. The work that has been done by the Sky Holder, our maker is full of wonder. His power is also very great. He is merciful and everything he has done has been good. 1 would like to share my thoughts with everyone.

The Earth has life: on the surface of the ground the grasses grow, each kind is unique. Each has its duties to perform and they all are alive. There are also several growing trees, each with their own unique qualities and they are all alive. Also, there are the animals that fly about, they differ in size and they also differ in their types and they too are all alive. So too are all the animals that run about. They differ in kinds and also in size and they also are all alive.

There are many things on which we live, they differ in size and kinds and they also are alive. The waters are also alive and they differ among themselves. Some are flowing streams of water and some are flowing springs of water, and they are all alive.

It is the same for all that the Sky Holder, our Creator has charged with the task of protecting us -the Moon, the Stars, our Grandfathers the Thunders, who come from the west, the Wind that stirs the air on earth. They all differ in size and kinds and the nature of what they are responsible for. They are all alive. The Creator has made them different and that causes everything to be good. They are all charged with different duties to perform and he has given us responsibility to be thankful for all creation so that our minds and bodies may continue to live.

From this we can understand how these parts of creation are like clans and that they all have names. He has made some to be medicines and he has mixed them together. Some will always help human beings who become ill. Using such medicine will help a person to have peace of mind.

Since we are placed in this environment, we should imitate creation. We should form clans since our population has grown so, there will only be a certain number of clans and the clans will call themselves ‘brothers, sisters, and cousins.’ We need to do this until our families cease to exist. This is the best way we can deal with the grief that is separating us from each other.

In the future when a person dies from your (Ohwa:tsire) and grief begins to overcome that family, the opposite sisterhood will come to their aid. They will speak words that are soft and they shall repeatedly try to cheer yup their minds. They shall encourage their sisters’ minds to mend and go on with life in a good way.

They will make every attempt to give peach of mind to the grieving clan so that they will see the sunshine again.4

The Young man addressed the Elder Ones and asked them to consider his proposal. He asked them to look about nature and see that, in fact, there are clans who are similar and ones that differ from one another. He placed his proposal in the hands of the Elder Ones and waited while they contemplated.

Everyone, including the Elder Ones was astonished at the wonderful ideas which the Young Man had proposed. Everyone thought about his proposal, debated and gave consideration to the impact of his suggestions.

After some time, they all came to an agreement that they would accept the proposition. They agreed that they would divide their families into clans.

The Young Man told the assembly that this custom would continue until the world came to an end. No matter which sister clan suffered a loss, the minds of the other sister clan would be strong and take care of all the preparations for burial. They would also encourage the minds of the grieving clan so that the family would become settled again.

“How shall we proceed to make the clans?” Someone from the group asked. The Elder Ones considered the matter and tried to come up with a plan. This took a very long time and many sessions were held to discuss it. Finally the Elder Ones told the gathering that they could not come up with a way to form the clans. They told everyone, “It may be a good idea to ask the Young Man if has any ideas for resolving the situation. He may have some way to complete the task.”

They invited the Young Man to come and sit with them. The Elder Ones told him of their efforts and their decisions to tum the matter over to him. The Young Man said, “It is true that this decision must be made soon. There is something lacking when day after day this matter cannot be decided. Night after night this unresolved matter is causing our families to fall part. Tomorrow at noon, when the sun is mid-sky, I would like everyone to assemble. I will try to come up with a way to form the clans by then. Just remember that the females will have a principle role in my decision. They are the ones that control the birth of new human beings one earth. The Eldest female in every family (ohwa:tsire) shall lead their family,”

The Young Man asked everyone to follow him to a river for that is where he would separate the people into clans. He told them. “Before sunrise on the following day I will have completed the task.”

The Elder Ones agreed and notified all their family members of what was planned over the next few days. They all began to make preparations and all were ready the following morning as the Young Man had asked. When the sun reached mid¬sky the Young Man said, “I’m glad that you are all ready to pursue the formation of clans. This was a unanimous decision and I take seriously my task. I will lead you to the river.”

The group departed with the Young Man in front. When evening came, they arrived at the stream. Everyone stood along the bank wondering how they would cross the river; there was not a single log for them to hang on to. They watched the Young Man as he descended to the riverbank. He went to the edge of the water where a tall tree wrapped with grape vines stood. Grasping the vine he said, “Now the time has come when Sky Holder has chosen to divide his people.” He pulled on the vine and threw it to the opposite side of the river where it became fixed.

Continued next week