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YASHPEH
International Folktales Collection

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Story No. 2169


Coyote and His Mother-In-Law

Book Name:

Yana Texts

Tradition: American Indian, Yana

Crow said, "I shall hunt deer." The people camped out to hunt, all the women camped out. They went out till they settled down to camp at Luwa'iha;[169] the men were out hunting deer. Coyote was married to Mountain-Quail Woman, a young woman. Coyote said, "I do not want to have you camping out with me. It shall be my mother-in-law who will camp out with me. You stay home!" said Coyote. "I do not wish to camp out with my son-in-law," said old Mountain-Quail Woman. "All the old women have gone camping out. Go camping out! Go camping out! Camp out with him!" said the young woman to her mother. The people did so, camping out to hunt deer. The old woman started to camp out, to camp out with Coyote, while Coyote's wife stayed right at home. The women built camping-out houses, built at Luwa'iha with mā'du grass, with dead bark of pine trees, and with bark of bottom oak; they laid mā'du grass on thick on their houses. Also Mountain-Quail Woman built a house for Coyote.

The Crow people hunted deer together with the Blue Flies. The Buzzard people were there in great numbers, and others hanging around. Now they hunted deer and many deer were killed. They packed them home to the camping-out houses. The Blue Flies, Crows, and Buzzards did not really hunt deer, they looked for deer carcasses. They found a deer that was long dead. Crow said to Blue Fly, "I have found a deer carcass." "It is I who came upon it first," said Blue Fly. "I found the deer carcass. I saw the deer," said Crow. He disputed with Blue Fly. "It is I who came upon it first," (said Blue Fly). "Look at what I have shot on it!" He had thrown his excrement way ahead of him. Crow said no more, for he was beaten. Blue Fly carried off home the deer carcass that had been found by Crow.

When it was dark every one came back from hunting deer to his camping-out house. and it was about to rain during the night. The old woman, Mountain-Quail Woman, had a big vulva. Coyote had his bed on the east, over there on the east side of the house, while the old woman lay across from him on the west. It rained during the night, the water came pouring down on where Coyote was sleeping. "O mother-in-law! I am nearly dead frozen," said Coyote. "Hê!" said the woman, "I put lots of straw over your place of sleeping, son-in-law! Why should it leak?" (Coyote had said to himself,) "I wish that her part of the house should not leak!" "Your place of sleeping does not leak," (said Coyote). "I should like that we sleep together with heads and bodies averted from each other, mother-in-law!"[170] "Turn your head away to the south, turn your head away to the south!" (she said). "I am nearly frozen to death," said Coyote. "I never heard of son-in-law and mother-in-law sleeping together with heads and bodies averted from each other. People never have that happen to them," said the old woman. The young woman did not carry about a vulva; (the old woman) carried all of it about and Coyote had seen the vulva. "You will put a rock acorn-mortar between our feet and I shall turn my head to the south," said Coyote.

The old woman turned her head to the north, while it kept on raining during the night. He put a rock, a rock acorn-mortar, between them. "Leak, leak! sleeping place! Do not leak! Mountain Quail Woman's sleeping place!" said Coyote to the rain. It did so to Coyote's sleeping place; there was much water all over it. "Do not leak (on her bed)!" In the middle of the night he caused the old woman to fall asleep. She did so. Now the old woman was sleeping, snoring. "O, away with mere talk! Shall I go on arguing about it?" Coyote got up from his bed on the ground and spread apart her loins. Now he copulated all night with his mother-in-law, pushing her about. The old woman did not wake up.

When it was nearly daylight Coyote ran off home, having, finished copulating. She was like a frog, for all her fat had been taken away from her. Coyote arrived home, running east to his, wife. The (old) woman ran home after him. She ran ran back east after him and arrived home. "Husband! Do not call me mother-in-law!" (she said to Coyote). Mountain-Quail Woman was pregnant. "So that is why you told me to go out camping with yourself! You intended to act in that way!" Mountain Quail Woman threw the children into the water but Coyote did not follow his children.[171]

Comments:

[169] An Indian village on Old Cow creek about twenty-five miles east of Millville.

[170] Avowedly for reasons of modesty.

[171] An implied reference to the preceding story (no. vii).

Abstract:

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