Comments are welcome, though I won't entertain any suggestions to add in dinosaurs. :)
Please note that, based on Nils' Weinander's suggestion in his last post, I am going to start working on an additional myth, which tells how the rest of the world was populated by Teleos' seven daughters.
THE MYTHS OF TELEOS "The people of Teleos are primitive, but due to the abundance of natural resources and the history of peace between the six tribes, they have a rich and fulfilling culture. Each of the tribes is of a different color, and I had the opportunity to spend two-and-a-half seasons with the Darnegiri [Yellows] before being forced to return to the University for protection from the winds in the Typhoon season. I finished my studies a few weeks later, then left, never to return, though I remember the island and the natives with fondness. Though the different tribes all hate each other they never fight, and all have similar physical features, cultural viewpoints, and magical and religious practices. This is not so astounding when you realize that their children can be any of the six colors (even though Teleons of different colors never intermarry), prompting them to trade their children once a year at the Child Trade Market.
"I have detailed here what was told to me by Iriooki Sambeedi, an elder of the Saffron Yellow village with whom I stayed. His name means "He Who Remembers Before the Dawn," and he was the storyteller for the clan. I briefly visited clans from each of the tribes, and all gave almost identical stories of their origins as Teleons, save that each tribe said that they were the first and greatest, and constantly disparaged other tribes in various ways during the narrative. I believe that these stories are, if not literally true, then certainly an accurate racial memory of the origins of the Teleons, and probably of the native embyli [yellow elves] and dragonewts as well."
Valastos of Three Pens, 799 S.T.
TELEOS CREATION MYTH Teleos was the Founder. He lived in the house of his wife's father, who was a great king in the South (1). When the oceans invaded the world, Teleos traveled across the waters to find a haven for himself and his wife. At the center of the world he found the very top of a mountain sticking above the rising waves, with room upon it for only a single lizard. Even as Teleos watched, the top of the mountain was sinking into the hungry waves. Teleos stood on the mountain top, and exercised the powers of his father-in-law to grow an island for him and his wife to live on. The lizard agreed that its tribe would live in peace with Teleos' after that, because its life had been saved by him (2).
Because the sun had fallen from the sky the world was cold and dark, and soon Teleos' wife complained. Teleos exercised the powers of his sky-grandmother, and a bright star began to shine over the island. Other peoples in the world saw this light, and named it Pole Star (because it was in the center of the universe), but Teleos called it Lukos, after its father. Some of these other peoples made their own stars, and thus a little light came back into the world. When the world blew up the Universe moved, and even Teleos could not hold it back. But he kept his island in the center, so that now even the stars and currents are in the wrong place, but we are not.
When enemies came to the island Teleos could not hold them back, and so he exercised the powers of his wife and produced seven sons. They are the fathers of the tribes, even the bestial Tokolan olani [Reds], and the greatest of our ancestors, and they fought off the Seven Evils.
The first Evil was hunger, and so Teleos' first son invented Food to combat it. This was my great great great grandfather, and that is why we perform the harvest ritual properly, unlike those ignorant iTimpani [Oranges], who can't tell the second hymn of praise to the Mother of Garlic from the third litany of joy at the garlic's first cutting.
The second Evil was the little monsters, and so Teleos' second son invented hunting to combat them, providing even more food for the family. And then everyone's belly was full for the first time, and they were happy again for a while.
The third Evil was confusion. Then Teleos' third son invented Language to combat it, so that everyone's tongue was full for the first time. Now all of the tribes of Teleos speak the same language (except for the Slimalgi [Greens] when their mouths are stuffed with frogs), though confusion came back later with the warlocks.
The fourth Evil was the Great monsters, and so Teleos' fourth son invented Hatred to combat them. Hatred drove the Great monsters off, and everyone's lungs were full of air then for the first time. Hatred stayed on the island and wouldn't go away, though, and that is why all of the other tribes hate us, even though we are better than all of them. Probably because of it.
The fifth Evil was anti-life, and so Teleos' fifth son invented magic to combat it, and fill it up, and turn it into life. He taught magic to everyone, so that everyone could live without fear of the emptiness, and then every heart was full for the first time. And we still do the magic that he taught his brother, our father, and must never do evil magic, or the emptiness of anti-life will come again.
The sixth Evil was the Mother of Monsters, who came from the south to see what had happened to her children. Everyone was afraid when she came, and each tried different things to stop her. The first son threw food at her, but it just made her bigger. The second son threw his spears at her, but they just bounced off of her iron skin and wounded him instead. The third son tried talking to her, but only gave away the secrets of Teleos to the Mother, so that the Founder could not fight her himself. The fourth son tried hating her, but Hate was as love to her, and he barely escaped becoming her mate. The fifth son tried using magic on her, but she was so empty that the magic could not fill her up, and he barely escaped being completely drained by her. Everyone thought the world would be destroyed by her, and all of the people eaten.
Then the sixth son invented leadership. He organized his brothers, and together they cut her up into Great monsters, and then cut the Great monsters up into little monsters, and then cut the little monsters up into gorp. It didn't do any good to cut the gorp up into smaller pieces, and they soon infested the whole island. So Teleos exercised the powers of his air-grandmother and summoned the wind to blow them away, and the rain to wash the land clean. When all of the gorp were gone, Teleos sent the winds away again. And then everyone's brains were filled with culture for the first time.
The seventh Evil was Death, and when it came it took the sixth son, and sent him to the Void. Teleos knew fear then for the first time, and saw the End of the World, and so he exercised the powers of his talking grandfather, and summoned the Six Wives for his remaining sons. Then Teleos' seventh son invented sex, and the brothers married their wives, and everyone's loins were full for the first time. Soon the island was full of children, and Death was defeated for a while, though it gets everyone in the end (3).
1 Teleos' father-in-law was probably the god called Pamalt among the Doraddi, who is both King of the South and Earth King. It is interesting to note that only the Yellows say Teleos lived in the house of his father-in-law, and that they are the only matrilocal tribe, where husbands join their wives' clans. All of the other tribes are patrilocal, and their stories tell of Teleos living in his own father's house, with his wife, who is the daughter of a great king.
2 The appearance of the lizard on the mountaintop at the beginning of the story is significant. The Teleons call all other life in the universe Igalo Olagi, which means "Other Life." Only one race besides the Teleons themselves is named differently, and that is the dragonewts, whom they call Umfarazzi ississdoko, a term which is untranslateable. I believe the "lizard" in the story is the founder of the dragonewts of the island, who could not or would not evade the waters, and who became indebted to Teleos when it was saved by him. No other people (except the Seven Evils and the Six Wives) appear in the story, and that is why all are covered under a single term.
3 Each of the tribes tells the story differently, although the order of the enemies, and the way they are defeated, is always the same. Each of the six tribes claims one of the brothers (except the sixth) as their ancestor, but different clans within the same tribe often claim a different brother as the father of their tribe. I believe the significance of the sixth brother being taken by Death, and not the first or seventh, is that it explains why none of the tribes has kings -- the brother who embodied or invented kingship is the one who was killed.
"The next story is a continuation of the first, but is not usually told at the same time. Whereas the Creation Myth explains how the people of Teleos came to the island, The Six Wives explains how the six tribes were begun, and how other creatures came to the island. Note that the Teleons do not distinguish between animals, spirits, embyli, or plants when speaking of Olagi Igalo, and the reason for this is apparent in the story of The Six Wives.
"It is interesting to note that the order the wives appear always differs with the color of the teller: his own tribe's ancestress comes first, then the others in the exact order presented below. Contrasting this with the unchangeable order given in the story of the Sons of Teleos gives yet another glimpse into the complex workings of this society."
THE SIX WIVES When Death came, Teleos summoned the Six Wives for his sons. When each came they came with their whole family, or were accompanied by their friends, or led an army of refugees to our island. Each of them married one of the sons of Teleos, and founded one of the six tribes. Of course, my great great great grandmother came first, and that is why my clan is the greatest, and has the best lands.
>From the land to the south came Yellow Woman, who led a forest of elves.
When the elves tried to overgrow the island the grandsons of Teleos
fought them, and many on both sides were killed. When Teleos saw his
first grandson dead, he exercised the powers of his singing grandfather,
and made Peace with the elves. His grandsons agreed to let the elves grow
their plants everywhere on the main island (though not on the smaller
islands just offshore, which were Teleos' home). The elves in turn agreed
to let the grandsons use some of their plants (but not all, which is why
we can't eat the iktala berries), if done properly and with respect for
the Yellow Mother. Peace has lasted with the elves ever since then,
though it has not always worked with other peoples.
>From the sea to the east came Green Woman, leading the raft men. They
lived on their rafts, and only came to shore to trade with the grandsons
of Teleos. When the seas came to drown our island (which was the last
piece of land in the world) Teleos exercised the powers of his sea
grandmother, and held the waters back. But the raft men turned their
rafts into ships, and sailed away on the New Tide. They never returned,
but they told their sister Green Woman they would, and so someday they
will probably be back (1).
>From the north came Orange Woman, and she led the animal and bird clans,
who sought refuge from the cold and darkness of the ice. A few of them
made friends with the great grandsons of Teleos, which is why the yterg
and the dog (2) serve us. Most of them went into the jungle, and only
came back when they ran out of food. They ate all of the peoples' food
(which is why we don't have any real food any more, just plants and
animals), and then started to eat the people too. So, Teleos exercised
the powers of his taking grandfather, and his grandsons began eating the
animals that were misbehaving. They were not allowed to eat the animals
which did not misbehave, which is why it is still forbidden to eat the
inkta bird and the squirrel, in addition to the friendly animals.
>From the Western star came Purple Woman, and she led an army of giants
to the island. They had not been here for long, not even long enough to
set up their own village, before the Blood Rain fell. Teleos exercised
his masculine powers, and kept his descendants safe (though women still
have problems with it). The giants were arrogant, and refused his
protection, however, and they were all dissolved, though you can find
their bones every once in awhile, up in the mountains (3).
>From inside came Red Woman, and she was followed by a swarm of flying
and crawling and swimming insects. Teleos and his great grandsons, and
all of their wives and children, and all of the elves and birds and
animals, and even the Umfarazzi ississdoko, were hidden and protected by
Teleos beneath the puddle of blood. Red Woman had some of her insects
drink the blood up to release Teleos, though some did not. Foremost among
the insects that drank the blood were the mosquito, the kimkim, and the
leech, and that is why they still try and drink your blood every chance
they get (4).
>From the sky came Blue Woman, who led spirits and angels to the island.
When the winds came back with the Typhoon, Teleos could not send them
away because he had already used his air powers; he had to rely on his
own abilities instead. He exercised his Founder powers to save our
ancestors, but the spirits and angels had no bodies, and so were not
protected. The angels flew back up to the sky, and have never come back.
The spirits escaped to the Other Place, and they still come back to help
us, but only in the Windless season, since they must stay in the Other
Place when the winds come, as they did then. Then only our ancestors can
protect us, as Teleos did then (5).
1 It is obvious that the raft men in the story are waertagi, most likely a small fleet which was lost in the Darkness. The belief that the raft men will return is universal among the Teleons, who say that when the sky turns red, and evil rises again in the north and south, then they will come back to carry the Teleons, their kinsmen, to a new home. I tried to explain to Iriooki Sambeedi and other elders that this was impossible, because the raft men had all been destroyed many years before by the burning water (which they know in other legends), but they were adamant in their refusal to believe this. I hear now that some of them have become pirates, raiding the East Isles, and harassing the ships of the Free Men of the Sea, and I wonder if some of them did believe me, and are trying to make the legend come true themselves.
2 What I have translated as dog is actually a creature more like the dingo of the Praxian Wastelands. The yterg is a kind of ape, very intelligent, and amazingly friendly with the Teleons. However, they seem to hate foreigners, and a number of the other students lost fingers trying to befriend the beasts. They come in the same variety of colors as do the Teleons themselves, but the Teleons do not seem to discriminate against them, at least. The Teleons will not allow them to be killed or captured for any reason, though they do not appear to worship them as they do most of the other animals (see note 5).
3 It seems likely that the giants of this story are luatha, who live in the west beneath the crimson star. The fact that they all died under a rain of blood is ironic, given the beliefs of the Seshnegi hsunchen and the Fronelan elves, that the luatha's mistress is Rausa, Goddess of Blood. I was only able to find a single bone for study, which belonged to the chief of the Cerise Red clan. He would not part with it no matter what I offered, so I was not able to bring it back for comparison with Ocron. I hope my drawings and notes have sufficed, since he also was not able to obtain any of the bones when he was there, or even see one.
4 The kimkim is similar to a tick, but larger. I have been told by the natives that it lives in the mountains, and can grow to tremendous size, over a meter long. I never saw one of the monsters, but do not doubt the stories as I saw one of the victims, a large man drained completely of blood after being missing for only 6 hours.
5 This story is obscure, but it explains the religious practices of the Teleons. In the Windless Season, they perform primitive worship of plant, animal, and landmark spirits. During Typhoon Season, however, they do not propitiate these spirits at all, instead relying on the protection of their ancestors. Each clan has a shaman who leads both types of worship. These shamans are second only to the chiefs in most things, and actually have greater power in some others. After a number of years they usually retire, as Iriooki Sambeedi had done many years before I met him.
The Teleons do not appear to worship any of the animals, plants, or places which are forbidden, only those which are allowed to them by myth and story. Thus, there is no spirit of the iktala bush, the dog, or the Emerald Hill (a ruin in the tribal area of the Blues which is taboo for all of the tribes, and is said to be haunted).
"There is a part of the story of the Six Wives which is not always told, dealing with White Woman. Apparently, some of the clans believe a seventh wife came as well, presumably for the slain sixth son, but left when she found no husband waiting for her. She is the source of legend and prophecy."
THE WHITE WOMAN After all of the sons of Teleos had wives, White Woman came out from the mountain. Hatred came back and tried to stop her, but she simply walked through it as if it did not exist. She brought no relatives, and led no friends or refugees, but instead said that they would come to her. She said that her husband's tribe was free to join her in the mountain when they discovered themselves. They would have to overcome Hatred as she had done, by realizing that it was only a ghost, as dead as her husband. Then she walked back into the mountain as the sun rose again in the sky, returning light and life to the entire world.
"I believe this is a story heralding or remembering the creation of the Tulumani Coloki [Colorless People], a legendary tribe which lives in the mountains and refuses to acknowledge the color differences among the tribes. They intermarry across tribal (color) boundaries, and keep their own children, regardless of color. They are said to have been founded when a white baby was born to one of the tribes, presumably an albino. When the elders were asked what to do with him, whether to keep him or take him to the Child Trade Meeting, one old man said to take him to the White Woman's tribe. The baby was taken into the hills and left on the side of a mountain, and was never seen again.
"An alternate version of this creation story, known only to the Purples, is that of the Six Sisters. The sisters were born (one of each color) to a single mother, who somehow managed to keep them secret or hidden from her neighbors, or used forbidden magic to make them all purple. When it was discovered that her first five children were not the right color, the shaman and chief banished them. The youngest daughter left as well, and the six sisters refused to separate, so they could find no acceptance among any of the tribes. They found their way to the mountain of the White Woman, and became the first of her tribe.
"No one has ever actually met anyone from the Tulumani Coloki, of course, but the deeds attributed to them are too widespread to discount. Also, the people of all six tribes speak of them in the same tones of disgust as they do their neighbors, which is of itself convincing evidence that they exist, for why else would the tribes waste their hatred on them?"
Stephen Martin
ilium_at_juno.com
- -----------------------------------------------The Book of Drastic Resolutions
End of The Glorantha Digest V5 #152
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