The Legend of the Little People
Mohawk Story
In the long time past, our Story Tellers tell us that a young Mohawk boy went out from his village, with his bow and arrow, to hunt.
As he was looking for tracks in the snow, he heard voices drifting up from the bottom of a dark ravine. Peering down, he saw two tiny men, no taller then his shinbone.
He offered them a squirrel that he had shot, and the two little hunters in turn invited him to have dinner with them and their tribe.
So started a very special friendship between the Mohawks and the Little People.
They are a very powerful race that lives deep in the forest and helps to control the forces of Nature. Some are so strong that they can throw boulders and uproot trees. Others have the job of waking up the plants every Spring. Others guard the gates of the Underworld, protecting mankind from chaos and disease.
When the Little People and the young hunter got back to their village, the Little People fed the young hunter their favorite food, Corn Soup, from a bowl that never emptied, and gave him a round white stone as a hunting charm.
Then they summoned their kinsmen to a great feast. Soon the whole tribe gathered to burn tobacco and perform the sacred rite of the Dark Dance.
The young hunter looked on in wonder, learning their chants and movements, and when he got back to his own people, they learned the Dark Dance from him.
When it came time to say goodbye, the Little People made a promise that, in exchange for gifts of tobacco (their sacred herb), the Little People would come to the Mohawks, gracing the Mohawk Ceremonies with their invisible presence whenever the drums of the Dark Dance began to sound.
I work with Muskwa International Foundation Inc. which is an entity that was formed to assist the street children in the Philippines, mostly in Manila and Davao, the two largest cities in the Philippines. You can find out about their projects here Street Children and Natural Disasters.
The stories I tell here I learned from the Elders and Story tellers and I am passing them on with their blessings. These stories can be anything from 4,000 to 5,000 years old.
