Indian Legends: Water Baby and Stone Family
Dan Millett was a tribal elder at the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe when I worked there. A couple times he came by my office just to talk. One time he told me the legend of the water baby. I wish I had been able to take notes, or record them as the story was fascinating. In the case of his version of the "water baby" you could easily see how this would encourage a young mother to take good care of her babies.
Being from Duckwater, this has a local slant. The water baby is a kind of spirit creature that inhabits the water, in this case the Duckwater ponds which are formed by the springs. It is the custom in Duckwater to put babies in a cradle board. The cradle board raps them up tight, which is very soothing to babies. However in can lead to a mother being lazy. They might hang the baby in a tree, where the wind will gently rock the baby. However, if left in the tree, the baby may be inhabited by a water baby. This is most likely to happen if the baby is fussy. If a baby is inhabited by the spirit of the water baby, then it will also inhabit the mother while nursing. If this happens the mother becomes a zombie like creature--half alive and half dead.
Many of the Great Plains tribes have similar legends. The water baby or Paakniwat, is a protector of the water. They are beautiful babies with fish tails. Sometimes the make baby like noises in an attempt to lure someone into the water. They can be an omen of misfortune. Ute, Paiute, Washoe, Shoshone and several California tribes have water baby legends
Being from Duckwater, this has a local slant. The water baby is a kind of spirit creature that inhabits the water, in this case the Duckwater ponds which are formed by the springs. It is the custom in Duckwater to put babies in a cradle board. The cradle board raps them up tight, which is very soothing to babies. However in can lead to a mother being lazy. They might hang the baby in a tree, where the wind will gently rock the baby. However, if left in the tree, the baby may be inhabited by a water baby. This is most likely to happen if the baby is fussy. If a baby is inhabited by the spirit of the water baby, then it will also inhabit the mother while nursing. If this happens the mother becomes a zombie like creature--half alive and half dead.
Many of the Great Plains tribes have similar legends. The water baby or Paakniwat, is a protector of the water. They are beautiful babies with fish tails. Sometimes the make baby like noises in an attempt to lure someone into the water. They can be an omen of misfortune. Ute, Paiute, Washoe, Shoshone and several California tribes have water baby legends
Mary Lou McAlexander
ReplyDeleteMy dad was a wonderful sorry teller as is his son Jerry Millett, and his grandson Daniel Allen. Most of dad's stories were legends that were used to keep children from wondering off. I love you dad.💖