Coyote and the Shadow People - Nez Perce

Coyote [ztsaya' ya] and his wife were dwelling nearby. His wife
became ill,
and she died. Then Coyote became very, very lonely. He did nothing
but weep
for his wife.

Then the death spirit [pa yawit] came to him and said. "Coyote, do
you pine
for your wife?"

"Yes friend I long for her most painfully," replied Coyote.

"I could take you to the place where your wife has gone, but, I tell
you,
you must do everything just exactly as I say. Not once are you to
disregard
my commands and do something else."

"Yes," replied Coyote, "yes, friend, and what could I do? I will do
everything you say."

Then the ghost [ts' a' wtsaw] told him, "Yes. Now let us go."

Coyote added, "Yes, let it be so that we are going." They went.

Then he said to Coyote again, "You must do whatever I say. Do not
disobey."

"Yes, yes, friend I have been pining so deeply, and why should I not
heed
you? Coyote could not see the spirit clearly. He appeared to be only
a
shadow. They started and went along over a plain.

"Oh, there are many horses hereabouts; it looks like a roundup,
exclaimed
the ghost.

"Yes," replied Coyote, though he really saw none. "Yes, there are
many
horses. They arrived now near the place of the dead.

The ghost knew that Coyote could see nothing, but he said, "Oh look,
such
quantities of serviceberries! Let us pick some to eat. Now when you
see me
reach up, you too will reach up. When I bend the limb down, you too
will
pull your hands down."

"Yes," Coyote said to him, "so be it; I will do that." The ghost
reached up
and bent the branch down, and Coyote did the same. Although he could
see no
berries, he imitated the host in putting his hand to and from his
mouth in
the manner of eating. Thus they picked and ate berries. Coyote
watched him
carefully and imitated every action. When the ghost would put his
hand into
his mouth. Coyote did the same.

"Such good serviceberries these are," commented the ghost.

"Yes, friend, it is good that we have found them," agreed Coyote.

"Now let us go." And they went on. "We are about to arrive," the
ghost told
him. There is a long, a very, very long lodge. Your wife is there
somewhere.
Just wait and let me ask someone." In a little while the ghost
returned and
said to Coyote, "Yes, they have told me where your wife is. We are
coming to
a door through which we will enter. You will do in very way exactly
what you
see me do. I will take hold of the door flap, raise it up, and,
bending low,
will enter. Then you too will take hold of the door flap and do the
same."
They proceeded in this manner to enter the lodge. It happened that
Coyote's
wife was sitting near the entrance.

The ghost said to Coyote, "Sit here beside your wife." They both
sat. The
ghost added, Your wife is now going to prepare food for us." Coyote
could
see nothing, except that he was sitting on an open prairie where
nothing was
in sight. Yet, he could feel the presence of the shadow. "Now she has
prepared our food. Let us eat." The ghost reached down and then
brought his
hand to his mouth. Coyote could see nothing but the prairie dust.
They ate.
Coyote imitated all the movements of his companion. When they had
finished
and the woman had apparently put the food away, the ghost said to
Coyote,
"You stay here. I must go around to see some people " He went out,
but he
returned soon. "Here we have conditions different from those you
have in the
land of the living. When it gets dark here, it has dawned in your
land; and
when it dawns for us, it is growing dark for you."

Now it began to grow dark, and Coyote seemed to hear people
whispering,
talking in faint tones, all around him. Then darkness set in. Oh,
Coyote saw
many fires in a long-house. He saw that he was in a very, very large
lodge,
and there were many fires burning. He saw the various people. They
seemed to
have shadow-like forms, but he was able to recognize different
persons. He
saw his wife sitting by his side. He was overjoyed, and he joyfully
greeted
all his old friends who had died long ago. How happy he was. He
would march
down the aisles between the fires, going here and there, and talk
with the
people. He did this throughout the night. Now he could see the
doorway
through which he and his friend had entered. At last it began to
dawn, and
his friend came to him and said, "Coyote, our night is falling, and
in a
little while you will not see us. But you must stay right here. Do
not go
anywhere at all. Stay right here and then in the evening, you will
see all
these people again."

"Yes, friend. Where could I possibly go? I will spend the day here."
The
dawn came, and Coyote found himself alone, sitting in the middle of a
prairie. He spent the day there, first dying from the heat, parching
from
the heat, thirsting from the heat. Coyote stayed there several days.
He
would suffer through the day, but always at night he would make
merry in the
great lodge. One day his ghost friend came to him and
said, "Tomorrow you
will go home. You will take your wife with you."

"Yes, friend, but I like it here so much. I am having a good time,
and I
should like to remain here."

"Yes," the ghost replied, "nevertheless, you will go tomorrow, and
you must
guard against your inclination to do foolish things [ha' ynaim
waku'']. Do
not yield to any queer notions. I will advise you now what you are
to do.
There are five mountains. You will travel for five days. Your wife
will be
with you, but you must never, never touch her. Do not let any strange
impulses possess you. You may talk to her but never touch her. Only
after
you have crossed and descended from the fifth mountain, you may do
whatever
you like."

"Yes, friend," replied Coyote. When dawn came again Coyote and his
wife
started. At first it seemed to him as if he were going alone; yet,
he was
dimly aware of his wife's presence as she walked along behind. They
crossed
one mountain, and, now, Coyote could feel more definitely the
presence of
his wife. She seemed like a shadow. They went on and crossed the
second
mountain. They camped at night at the foot of each mountain. They
had a
little conical lodge which they would set up each time. Coyote's
wife would
sit on one side of the fire and he on the other. Her form appeared
clearer
and clearer.

The death spirit who had sent them now began to count the days and
to figure
the distance Coyote and his wife had covered. "I hope that he will do
everything right and take his wife through to the world beyond," he
kept
saying to himself.

Coyote and his wife were spending their last night, their fourth
night
camping. On the morrow she would again assume fully the character of
a
living person. They were camping for the last time, and Coyote could
see her
very clearly, as if she were a real person who sat opposite him. He
could
see her face and body very clearly, but he only looked and dared not
touch
her. But suddenly a joyous impulse seized him; the joy of having his
wife
again overwhelmed him. He jumped to his feet and rushed over to
embrace her.

His wife cried out, "Stop! Stop, Coyote! Do not touch me. Stop!" Her
warning
had no effect. Coyote rushed over to his wife, and just as he
touched her
body, she vanished. She disappeared, returned to the shadow land.

When the death spirit learned of Coyote's folly, he became deeply
angry.
"You inveterate doer of this kind of thing! I told you not to do
anything
foolish. You, Coyote, were about to establish the practice of
returning from
death. Only a short time from now the human race is coming, but you
have
spoiled everything and established for them death as is."

Here Coyote wept and wept. He decided, "Tomorrow I shall return to
see them
again." He started back the following morning. As he went along, he
began to
recognize the places where his spirit friend and he had passed and
now he
began to do the same things they had done on their way to the shadow
land.
"Oh, look at the horses; it looks like roundup." He went on until he
came to
the place where the ghost had found the serviceberries. "Oh, such
choice
serviceberries! Let us pick and eat some." He went through the
motions of
picking and eating berries. He went on and finally came to the place
where
the long lodge had stood. He said to himself, "Now, when I take hold
of the
door flap and raise it up, you must do the same." Coyote remembered
all the
little things his friend had done. He saw the spot where he had sat
before.
He went there, sat down, and said, "Now, your wife has brought us
food. Let
us eat." He went through the motions of eating again. Darkness fell,
and now
Coyote listened for the voices. He looked all around; he looked here
and
there, but nothing appeared. Coyote sat there in the middle of the
prairie.
He sat there all night, but the lodge didn't appear again nor the
ghost ever
return to him.

Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon
Press;
Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated
between
1912 and 1949]

From Blue Panther Keeper of Stories.