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Coyote Marries His Own Daughter, Mescalero Apache Text

excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes

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7. Coyote Marries His Own Daughter as told by Horace Torres

7.1.

When the earth had been made, at the very beginning of time, there were just animals.

7.2.

Coyote did wrong.

7.3.

He had sexual desires toward his daughter.

7.4.

Then, the worms having fallen, they started out.

7.5.

"My little one, do not speak so. We have long ago left him."

7.6.

But his father had jumped down.

7.7.

"What did he say to you?"

7.8.

"'Give the oldest girl to the very first person that you meet,' he said to us."

7.9.

Then he married his oldest daughter.

7.10.

Then she was searching for lice on him.

7.11.

"They are again running to this side."

7.12.

Then that girl went back to her mother.

7.13.

Then her mother spoke thus to her.

7.14.

Then she put him to sleep.

7.15.

She picked up a small axe.

Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer

Ethnological Notes Morris Opler

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When the earth had been made, at the very beginning of time, there were just animals.

(7.1)[1]
nDii'ágoch'íͅlaadáͅ, dá'íłtsé dágodeeyádáͅ, dáma'ye.
nDék'eh yádaałtiná'a.

When the earth had been made, at the very beginning of time, there were just animals.
They spoke like human beings.

[_]

(7.1) Linguistic Notes

dáma'ye 'there were just animals'. dá- just' ma'ye 'animals'. This word is ordinarily applied to Coyote but, in this instance as well as in numerous compounds, it has the wider meaning.