Kuterastan facts for kids
Kuterastan is a very important figure in the creation myths of the Plains Apache people. The Plains Apache are a Native American tribe from the southern plains of North America. In their stories, Kuterastan is the one who created the world. His name means "One Who Lives Above."
The Beginning of Creation
The Kiowa Apache creation story tells us that at first, there was only darkness. There was no earth or sky yet. Then, a small, thin disc appeared in the darkness. This disc had yellow on one side and white on the other. Inside the disc sat Kuterastan. He was a small, bearded man, no bigger than a frog.
Kuterastan woke up and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up into the darkness, it filled with light. This light shone above him and below him. When he looked towards the east, the light turned yellow, like the dawn. When he looked west, the light became amber, like the evening sky. As he looked around, clouds of different colors began to appear.
Kuterastan rubbed his eyes and face again. As he shook the sweat from his hands, another cloud appeared. On this new cloud sat a tiny little girl named Stenatliha. Her name means "the Woman Without Parents."
Kuterastan and Stenatliha were both surprised. They wondered where the other had come from. They also wondered where the Earth and Sky were. After thinking for a while, Kuterastan rubbed his eyes and face once more. Then he rubbed his hands together. As he opened his hands, sweat flew off, and from it, two new beings appeared:
- Chuganaai, who was the Sun
- Hadintin Skhin, who was Pollen Boy
The four of them – Kuterastan, Stenatliha, the Sun, and Pollen Boy – sat silently on a single cloud for a long time. Finally, Kuterastan broke the silence and asked, "What shall we do?" This question marked the start of the creation process.
Making the World
The story continues by describing how the world was made. The first creature Kuterastan created was Nacholecho, the Tarantula. After that, Kuterastan made the Big Dipper constellation in the sky. He also created the wind, lightning, and thunder. Each of these was given special jobs to do.
The cloud they were on wasn't a very good home. So, Kuterastan decided to make the Earth. The four gods – Kuterastan, Stenatliha, the Sun, and Pollen Boy – mixed their sweat together in Kuterastan's hands. From this, a small brown ball appeared, no bigger than a bean.
To make it bigger, the gods kicked the small brown ball. Then, the wind went inside the ball to inflate it, like blowing up a balloon. The Tarantula helped by attaching a black cord to the ball and stretching it far to the east. The Tarantula also attached blue, yellow, and white cords to the ball. He pulled the blue cord far to the south, the yellow cord to the west, and the white cord to the north.
When the Tarantula finished, the Earth was a huge, smooth brown plain. To hold the Earth in place, poles were placed at each corner. As the Earth was finished, Kuterastan sang a repeating song: "The world is now made and it sits still."
