The Son of Earthmaker
According to legend, Red Horn is one of the five great soteriological spirits fashioned by the Creator’s own hands, sent to earth to make the world safe for the least endowed of Earthmaker’s creation, the “two-legged walkers”. The first spirit to be sent down to earth to help mankind was Trickster (Wakdjąkaga), whose foolishness made it necessary to recall him. Earthmaker next sent down Bladder (Wadexuga), whose arrogance led to the loss of all but one of his 20 brothers, so he too was recalled. Then Earthmaker made Turtle (Kecągega) and charged him to teach the humans how to live, but Turtle brought them war, and was in his turn recalled. The fifth and last of these heroes dispatched by Earthmaker was Hare (Wacdjįgega), who conquered all the bad spirits who had preyed on humanity. By accident, however, he introduced death, but made up for it by creating the Medicine Lodge, by whose discipline members could achieve immortality. Earthmaker made Hare in charge of this earth, and to each of the other three spirits he gave an otherworldly paradise to govern. The penultimate savior figure in this series was Redhorn. He had quite nearly succeeded, but was killed in a wrestling match with the enemies of the human race. Although later revived, he too was recalled, although the reasons for his failure are obscure. One source suggests that it was a lack of gravitas.
Then Earthmaker (Mą'ųna) sent down another son, He who Wears Human Heads as Earrings. He went around talking to people, but they would always fix on his earrings which were actual, living, miniature human heads. When these little heads saw someone looking at them, they would wink and make funny faces. In the end, He who Wears Human Heads as Earrings could not accomplish the mission either.
Unlike all the other soteriological spirits, Red Horn is not assigned a paradise over which to rule; and the Medicine Rite omits any mention of Red Horn from its account of the sons of Earthmaker. These facts indicate that Red Horn may have been a recent addition to the role. Meeker even suggested that a certain notable Piegan contemporary of the same name may have simply been elevator to divine status. More recently, Lankford held a similar view: "... Red Horn was a recent addition to the Winnebago pantheon diffused possibly from the Blackfoot tribe."
Read more about this topic: Red Horn (Siouan Deity)
Famous quotes containing the word son:
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