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MYTHS
AND LEGENDS
CALLIFARIA
LEGEND
This
legend is about two young lovers who were responsible for the
destruction of the settlement of La Brea. This is what happened.
Callifaria- the daughter of Callisuna, who was the chief of
the La Brea tribe, fled from her tribe to the long arms of her
boyfriend, Kasaka- a prince of the Cumana tribe. Quite peeved
by his daughter’s flight, Callisuna and his warriors invaded
Cumana, did battle, captured his daughter, tied her to a horse
and speedily returned to La Brea. Unfortunately, Callisuna did
not know that his drastic action so angered Pimlontas, the winged
Arawak god, who damned the village of La Brea, making it sink
into the earth, replacing it with a thick black substance, the
Amerindians called PICHE (PITCH).
COLIBRIE
(Humming) BIRD LEGEND
This
legend is about the Chima Indians, a tribe which thrived on
the very spot where the present lake exists. Apparently, after
a victory, these Indians had jubilant celebrations which included
a grand feast in which vast quantities of Colibrie Birds (Humming
Birds) were cooked and eaten. The plumes of these small birds
were used as accessories. The victory which had absorbed the
minds of the Indians drowned the memory that the delicious Colibri
Birds were really the spirits of their ancestors. As an act
of punishment, the winged God opened up the earth and summoned
up a lake of pitch which swallowed up the entire Chiama village
and its people.
For
the Amerindians, the pitch lake was a painful reminder that
retribution for evil doing was always at hand. The lake was
a symbol of emptiness, an absence of life and a physical manifestation
of Celestial damnation.
END
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