Originally submitted by NNATC

Many thousands of years ago the population of the humans on the earth was very small. As years passed it increased considerably. Along with this increase many problems began to occur. Many new villages were created and families grew further apart. There was a time when first cousins were considered like brother and sister, but now first cousins had become like strangers. The respect and love family members had for one another diminished, causing social problems in all the villages. With the larger population the number of deaths increased. During this period of history it was customary for a family to mourn or be in grief for their loved ones for a period of one year. The human population grew so much that the people of the vil­lages found themselves in constant grief. The one-year mourning period would not be completed before another family member died. It became a common sight to see people and families openly crying and in grief. This situation caused the people not to function properly or normally. The elders of the villages began to notice that our ceremonies, the Four Sacred Rituals, were becoming less and less attended by the people, When the people performed the Four Sacred Rituals, those who recited and conducted the ceremonies became hard to find, and those who did had difficulty remembering how to do them properly.

One day the elders became alarmed and called a meeting of all the people of the villages. The people were told of the basic problems and all were asked for ideas that would result in restoring peace and respectability.

Many meetings were called by the elders in an attempt to find a solution or a way that could restore stability to all the people; none of the meetings were successful. After several attempts, finally there was a man who did stand up. This man was very young and had a reputation of never saying a single word to anyone. At one of the meetings he stood up and asked for permission to respond to the request of the elders.

The man said that he had been observing all the life forms made by the Creator and from that observation came several ideas that could solve the problems of the people. He told the people that the Creator made all kinds of waters: “Some waters are known as lakes, some are known as creeks, some are known as rivers, and some are known as oceans, but they are all bodies of water.” He said, “The Creator made all the birds, some of the birds are called the eagles, some are called the black birds, some are called the robins, and some are called the crows. All of these birds are birds, but each have their own way and their own name.” The man told everyone that even the wind was divided into different groups: “The cold wind comes from the north, the warm wind comes from the south, the wet wind comes from the west, and the no­ planting wind of the east. All of these winds are simply wind, but each has its own job and character.” The man told all the people they should follow the example of nature which the Creator made. If the people follow the ways of nature then they too will divide themselves into manageable working groups.

The people and the elders listened very closely to what the man told them. Everyone was amazed at what the man said. It seemed to make very good sense. It was at that point the elders said they would give the man a special name. The elders chose the name Ronikonhrowa:nen (He who has great ideas). Ronikonhrowa:nen gathered the people and told them that they should all be ready to travel early the next morning. The next day the people were ready and they did travel. As the people travelled they followed the river. Then Ronikonhrowa:nen saw a grape vine hanging from a tree. He pulled the grapevine down and threw one end across the river where it got caught and hooked itself to the opposite side of the river. At this point Ronikonhrowa:nen began crossing the river holding onto the grapevine. As he crossed the river he asked the people to cross with him. One by one the people did so, but eventually the vine let go and not all were able to make it across the river. Now it came to be that half of the people were on one side of the river and the other half on the other side. Ronikonhrowa:nen then told the people on his side of the river that in the coming morning, they should pay close attention to what ever seemed strange or abnormal. The people on both sides of the river set up their camps. Early the next morning the eldest woman woke up and immediately gave thanks to the Creator for allowing her to pass through the night without incident. She gave thanks for the beauty and the miracle of a beautiful new day. The elderly woman then went down to the river to fetch water so that she could prepare the morning meal. As she dipped water from the river she heard a noise. Looking up, she saw a deer standing there. Later on in the day Ronikonhrowa:nen asked the lady if she had seen anything unusual. She told him that, while dipping water at the river she had seen a deer standing there and the deer was staring at her. Ronikonhrowa:nen then informed her that the deer would be the clan that she and all her off­spring would belong to forevermore.

The following day another elderly lady from one of the families gave thanks to the Creator, and then went down to the river to fetch water to prepare the morning meal. When the old lady looked up she saw a bear. Soon afterward Ronikonhrowa:nen approached her and asked her what she had seen that was unusual. The old lady said she saw a bear. From that point on the old lady was informed that she and all her off­spring would from then on belong to the clan of the bear. This same occurrence was repeated twice when the snipe and eel were seen by two other older women. This happened on one side of the river. From that day forward the Deer, the Bear, the Snipe, and the Eel would always be together as one united group. This is what modern anthropologists call a moiety.

To be continued