The Power of the Sun

THE POWER OF THE SUN

The Chickasaw people loved the Creator, Ababinili. Everyday they prayed to him and thanked him. While Ababinili was getting all this praise and attention from his people, the Sun was getting jealous. All he heard was “It is too bright out to hunt! When I try to aim my arrow, the Sun gets in my way so I can't see my target.”or “Its too hot! The Sun makes my jobs harder- I can only work for so long before I need to take a break in the shade . The squash and corn need so much water that I have to walk many times to and from the river to keep them growing.” The Sun got so tired of these insults that he decided to show them how much they needed him. The Sun decided to move farther away so the insults could not reach him and the people could not get as much of the Sun's light as they had before.

Soon, the people noticed that it was getting colder and colder outside. The days became shorter and the nights became longer. One morning,the people noticed that the ground, their houses, their crops, and everything around them was covered in a white crystals. The people touched the crystals and found that it was very cold. The crops were spoiled and nothing could be harvested. All of their food was gone! They went to the rivers to fish but when they got there, the top of the river was covered in a cold hard material that kept them from being able to catch or spear any fish. Over time, it got even colder. Eventually the hunters couldn't find any deer, wild turkey, rabbits, or squirrels to hunt as the animals were migrating or starving because there was no grass, nuts, or berries for them to eat.

The people began to get sick. They began to starve and many died. The people realized they needed the Sun. To show the Sun that they needed him more than ever, the people decided that they would show the Sun how they had lost people because they didn't have the Sun's light and warmth. To do this, they put the dead under a house facing West to show that the person died from not having access to the Sun's light. They faced the dead person West and painted their face red to symbolize the Sun setting in front of them . The Chickasaw hoped that this would show the Sun that they respected him and needed him to live. Then they prayed and danced for hours to beg the Sun to come back. The message was so powerful it reached the Sun. The Sun felt that the people had learned their lesson so he decided to come back to his original spot and shine his light on the people.

Suddenly, the people felt warmth coming back to them! They shouted thanks to the Sun for the feeling of warmth on their faces. Animals returned to the forests and the plants bloomed. The people were grateful for the power of the Sun. From then on, the Chickasaw people buried their dead under houses, facing West, with their faces painted red to show respect to the Sun.

The Sun was happy that everyone finally appreciated him but he wanted to make sure they would remember what it would be like if there was no Sun. He decided that he would move away once a year to remind the people that his power is immense and the key to life. During that time that he is away, the people have to deal with the cold and always look forward to the return of the Sun's warmth. And that is how Winter came to be and why the Chickasaw bury their dead the way they do.