Week 11, Week B: The Uktena and the Ulunsuti
The Uktena and the Ulunsuti
- a long time ago, the Sun sent a sickness to kill mankind
- in response, humans turned a man into a snake called the Uktena and sent him to kill the Sun, but he failed
- mankind sent a rattlesnake instead and Uktena was so hurt and angry that people became afraid of him and he fled into the mountains
- the Uktena is as large as tree, has horns, and has a shining diamond on its head called Ulunsuti or "transparent"
- anyone who wins the diamond will have luck in every area of his life, but it is very dangerous to fight the Uktena because he can only be killed by striking him on a specific spot on his head, looking at him dazes the viewer and makes him run towards the snake instead of away, and if you see the snake asleep your family will die
- one warrior in history has succeeded in bringing a diamond-like crystal from the snake back to his tribe
- the crystal is kept hidden a way in a cave, and has to be fed blood from animals to be satiated or else it will go out and drink the life blood of its conjurer
- the location of the crystal is changed every so often so that the crystal does not escape
- no white man can ever see it, and everyone who approaches it has fear of death, but it is still extremely lucky
The presence of the serpent as the primordial enemy was very interesting to me as their are similar themes in Jewish, Japanese, and Greek mythology. I will read the rest of the stories about the Uktena as well this week and probably retell a mix of them in my story! I want to know more about the Ulunsuti, the diamonds or crystals from the serpent. I wonder if there are more stories about how the hunter got the crystal and what he used it for.
Bibliography: "The Uktena and the Ulunsuti," Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney (1900).
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