The Ways of the Old Ones
The following quotations are copied from hand-written pencil notes beginning in the mid-1940s from the various Paiute families to present. In many cases the informant's name was written down but often forgotten (that’s when "unknown" is written).
Words were never put into the informants mouths as is so often done in preservation, but given freedom to explain on their own. No essential wordings were changed. If the informant used the word "heaven" then it was quoted as such. That doesn't mean the informant, equated that heaven with the white man's heaven. If the informant spoke English, English words were used. If they spoke Paiute then the nearest English equivalents was used.
The informant gave freely of their knowledge wanting to ensure it was never lost or forgotten. In the early days, certain information concerning rituals/ceremonies were kept from the "white people" as they termed it so they wouldn't steal or ban them like they did everything else. But that still happened when boarding school came around and cultural teaching were forcibly removed from being taught or practiced with the threat of punishment or death. Everything went underground and that's where it remained with many families.
Various books have been written on these subjects and there are many interviews from the old people who didn't want to see this knowledge lost, so they shared what they knew in those books. Many of these books are rare to find especially for the younger generation not knowing where to look.
We have lost so much to the point now, we need to share what we know before it too is gone. Not everyone in the Nuwu Nation will agree with what is shared here, but at the time of recording or writing the information down, the speakers acknowledged then it could be shared with those wanting to learn.
Nuwu Practices and Traditions
in alphabetical order
ABSENTEE MESSAGES
The Indians used to hang a bundle of sage from their wickiups or tipis so that visitors could tell how long they had been gone by looking at how dry the sage was. If it hung there until it fell it meant the owners were not coming back. (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
ACUPUNCTURE
One Goshute, who said he was not an Indian doctor, used a needle to make two punctures on each side of a little boy's head near the temple. He also made three punctures on the bridge of the nose squarely between the eyes. He let these punctures bleed. The blood was black when he first did this. This procedure was to help make the little boy well who had a bad cold. I believe the punctures bled until the blood became red. This boy might have had a headache too. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
ANTS
I was told to not kill any ants, one day they will save us if the world floods again. I am not sure if it was just the big black mountain ants or all of them, so I don't kill any. (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
ARROWHEAD COLLECTING
Indians didn't like to pick up arrowheads they found on the ground because some had been poisoned in the past and if cut by them they could die. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
ARROWHEAD POISON
The blue thing on a rabbit's liver combined with something else was used for arrowhead poison. Arrowheads were also baked in something, maybe a plant, to poison it. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
BABIES AT BIRTH
You are not supposed to share or take your baby out to meet their relatives right after birth until about 30 days. They are to stay in their home and only immediate family can see them until the baby is healthy and well enough to be introduced. Some families would then have a big dinner and invite their relatives over to meet the baby for the first time. (Evalina McFee, Shivwits)
BABIES AND CAVES
It isn't good to take a baby near a cave where ancient people (Tookoov?) might have lived. Helen Lehi's brother was taken near such a place and he became sick and died. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BABIES FIRST BORN
When you have your first baby you should give away one of the best things you own. This will help you get into the habit so you will be generous and not selfish. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
FIRST BORN
When you have your first boy you should give away something that you value. (Marilyn Jake, Shivwits)
BABIES AND MIRRORS
It isn't considered right to let a young baby look into a mirror. (Unknown)
BABIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS
It isn't considered right to take a picture of a young baby. (Unknown)
BABIES CRYING AT NIGHT
If you let a baby cry at home during the night, or at a strange place, a spirit of a dead person (unoopeets) will have intercourse with the baby. You can tell this has happened because foam will come out of the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the baby. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BABIES WITH CLOGGED THROATS
When a baby or child is weak, not hungry, not playful, cries a lot, sleeps too much, coughs a lot, has a red face, vomits, or any of the above combined, the baby is choking. There is a lump of mucus deep inside of the baby's throat that causes this. To make the baby well, wash your hands and leave your index finger wet. Then stick your index finger down the baby's throat as for as it will go depressing this lump. This sometimes has to be done a couple of times depending on how hard the lump is. Be temperate at doing this. This practice is called Munuh'kee. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
BABY GUM RUBBING
When a baby is first born you should rub its gums so it will have good teeth when it gets older. If you don't, its teeth will be bad. (Ruth Benson, Shivwits)
BABY HAIR CUTTING
Shortly after a baby is born you should cut its hair short leaving it about a quarter to a half inch long. This will help the baby to have longer hair when it gets older. (Edurine Jake, Indian Peak)
BABIES BODY HAIR GROWTH
When a baby is about one week old dampen some Indian paint (ochre) and then rub it on the baby's arms, chest and legs. Rub it in such a manner that it will roll. This will roll all the fine hair off the baby. If you do this the baby will not be hairy when it is full grown. My mother Florence Kanosh did this to me and now I have no body hair. (Deere Kanosh, Koosharem)
BABY TOSSING
It isn't considered right to toss a young baby up into the air when you are playing with it at night. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
BABY NAMING
It is a custom that the person who gives a baby an Indian name should also give him or her some money. (Yetta Jake, Shivwits)
BABY NURSING
When you're pregnant and you're nursing or feeding a baby milk, your baby won't be born until the one you're nursing walks. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BABY UNBORN DETERMINATION OF SEX
When a women's young male son cries a lot during the women's pregnancy this means she will have a girl. If he does not cry it will be a boy.
SHARING
The old people at Shivwits used to all work together in the fields there. In the winter they would boil big tubs of corn. That's all they had to eat then was corn and deer meat. When an old man killed a deer he would give a piece to everyone. Today the Indians don't do that. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
BABY'S SKULL CRACK
When a baby is sick, the crack or soft spot on the top front of its skull will be depressed. When the baby is well the crack will be flush with the rest of the head. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
BAKER MOUNTAIN
Baker Mountain is a medicine mountain that can't be ascended. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
BEDROCK MORTARS
The water found in bedrock mortar holes was used by medicine men. (Dan Bulletts, Kaibab)
BIRD COLORS
The beautiful colors of the birds are the beadwork that the birds had on their buckskin clothes when they were human. The Indians get their colors for their beadwork from the colors of the birds. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BIRDS AND ANIMALS AS HUMANS
Before the Indians were here, the birds and animals were human and could talk. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BIRTH
The manner that a Paiute woman in Utah would deliver a child was to place two upright forked poles in the ground three or four feet apart and then to lay a strong pole across the forks. Each time the woman had a labor pain she would grasp the horizontal pole with both hands and place some of her weight on it.
The Moapa Band had a different way of delivering a child. An assistant would stand behind the woman who was about to deliver. Each time the pregnant woman had a labor pain she would raise both of her arms and clasp her hands around the back of the neck of the assistant standing behind her suspending some of her weight on that person. The helper would then reach around her waist and press down on the stomach.
The Paiutes living around Willow Springs and Navajo Mountain, Arizona, have a special house called Toowu Kawnee Birth House. A rope is suspended from the ceiling for the woman to pull on. (Edrick Bushhead, Shivwits)
BIRTH AND MENSTRUATION RULES
Don't touch your face or hair when you are on your period. Drink hot water after giving birth. (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
BIRTH SPACING
The Paiutes used to have their children spaced a few years apart. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak and Yetta Jake, Shivwits)
BIRTHING PRACTICE
(Toomu'kunt) Paiutes dug out a shallow pit the length of a woman's body and then lined the length and width of it with hot rocks. Then they covered the rocks with a layer of sand and then a blanket. The woman would lie on this for six days if she had given birth to a girl, and five days for a boy. The purpose was to stimulate good blood circulation thus cleaning out the body and making the woman healthy. The Paiute word for this is Toomu'kunt. That's where the name Timmican comes from. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
Mable Yellowjacket, born at Minersville, Utah and a daughter of Coal Creek John, said her band did the same thing.
BIRTHING RULES
After you have a baby, don't touch your face or hair. Drink warm water for one month. (Tisha Colorow, Northern Ute and Marilyn Jake, Shivwits)
BIRTHING RULES
A woman is not supposed to eat meat for one month after giving birth, and the husband for two weeks. (Arthur and Phyllis Richards, Cedar City)
BIRTHING RULES
A woman shouldn't eat meat and should only drink warm liquids after childbirth. After the birth she should wrap her belly tight to keep it from remaining large. The Indian Peak people also practiced toomukunt, as did the Koosharem band (the woman lying on sand covered heated rocks after birth). (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
BIRTHING RULES
Comb your hair with a stick when your wife has a baby. Use greasewood (tonov) for scratching your head. (Unknown)
BIRTHING RULES
From the time a baby is born until the navel cord falls off the father should do the following: He should not eat meat or his teeth will decay. He should not touch his face with his hands or it will become wrinkled earlier in life. He should scratch his head with a stick, and not his hands, or his hair will become gray sooner. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
BIRTHING RULES
When a baby is born the father and mother should not wash their faces with their hands until the navel cord comes off. If they do their face will become wrinkled and they will get old quick. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BIRTHING RULES
When the navel cord falls off the father should then eat meat with some sage leaves (sawngwuv) and chew them very fine. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
BIRTHING RULES
When your first baby is born you should walk a long ways. You should shoot a deer and make sure you don't miss or you won't be able to kill any the rest of your life. When you shoot the deer, just jump over it, leave it lying there, and send someone back to get it. Don't touch the deer! The reason for doing this is so that you will not look old soon. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
BIRTHING RULES
When your wife has a baby do not be lazy. A husband should never ask anybody to do anything for him; he should do it himself! He shouldn't eat anything that has grease in it. He should get up early and take a cold swim for one month. (Clifford Jake, Indian Peak)
BLOOD LETTING
Sometimes, when a person's arm ached, the Goshute’s would cut the blood vein lengthwise in the arm pit of both arms and then let a lot of blood run out. This made the arms feel better. I'm not sure if this was practiced by all the tribe or just by some. A tourniquet was used when they did this. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley) note 40.
BLOOD LETTING
When a person has a headache, cut a place in the forehead near the hairline and let the dark blood drain out until the blood becomes lighter. This is for curing headaches. Use an obsidian flake and make the cut small. (Unknown)
BONE MEDICINE
Indians used to take one to three of the finger bones of a dead person and use them as "Bone Medicine." They used these bones for four purposes: woman, cards, hand game, and to kill. The bones would sometimes tall (to the one that took them and require the life of his children. The more of his children he lost the more power he would gain. When the bones wanted a child and the child got sick, the bones owner was helpless to cure the child unless he threw the bones away. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
BREATH QUIVERING
When a person breathes once in a while in a quivering manner, as though he had just finished crying, it means that someone is going to die. (Doris Kanosh, Koosharem)
BULLETPROOF POWER
Kenneth Charles' grandfather used to be bulletproof. You could shoot a bullet at him and he would just cough it up. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
BURIAL NEAR PANACA SUMMIT
One little girl from the Snow family was buried near Panaca summit a long time ago. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
BURIALS AND THE POSSESSIONS OF THE DEAD
In the old days when an Indian died, the family would leave the house that he died in and move someplace else and make a new house. They would bury him any place in the rocks. There was not any one particular place of burial (graveyard). All the belonging of the deceased would be destroyed, grinding stones broken, belongings burnt, and animals killed. (Seth Bushhead, Shivwits)
BURIALS
The Shivwits would bury their dead in a cave, under a rock, or in a crack with the head to the west but looking east. They did this so that when Toovuts returns to resurrect the dead they can rise up and meet him. If they are buried with the head looking west, they will just stay there when he comes. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
BURIALS NEAR ST. GEORGE
I heard there used to be some Paiute burials on the west side of the airport hill at St. George Utah. They are probably destroyed now. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
BURIALS ON SCAFFOLDS
The Paiutes used to bury their dead off the ground on a scaffold. The reason for this is because they believe the dead will come alive again. (Doris Kanosh, Koosharem)
BURIALS
There are some burials around Panguitch lake. (Mable Yellowjacket, Cedar City)
CAMP LOCATIONS NEAR CEDAR CITY
The Cedar City Indians used to live in Cedar Valley about a mile west of the old steam electric plant west of Cedar City, Utah. The Railroad later came through the middle of their land so they then moved to where the ball parks are now on the east side of Cedar City. From there they moved to their present location just on the north side of town. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peaks and Arthur Richards, Cedar City)
CAMP LOCATIONS NEAR CEDAR CITY
The Cedar City Indians used to live in Cedar Valley about a mile west of the old steam electric plant west of Cedar City. The railroad later came through the middle of their land so they then moved to where the ball parks are now located on the east side of Cedar City. From there they moved to their present location just on the north side of town. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
CAMP AT INDIAN PEAKS
When I was in the cradle, and I’m now 68 years old, Swallow George held a big powwow at Indian Peaks in the flats where you turn off to Indian Peaks. Four or five months ahead, he sent horsemen to Ibapah, Kanosh, Cedar City, Shivwits, etc. to tell them when the event was planned. Everyone came by wagon and horse to the event. A lot of deer were killed and pine nuts harvested etc., to feed all the visitors. Each family was made welcome as they arrived and shown where to camp. They were also given help in setting up their sagebrush or cedar windbreaks, they were also given food.
When the celebration started, Swallow George got up and talked and updated everyone on all that had happened since they last met. Each of the visiting chiefs all done the same thing. Many would shed tears as they talked and told of what had happened in their own areas and too themselves. Then the event took place; horse racing, gambling, bird dance etc. (Clifford Jake, Indian Peaks, 1988)
CATARACT CURE
Lizard tails were used to sand off the blue-grey film from some blind people's eyes to restore their sight. (Unkown, Kaibab)
CAVE IN THE MORMON MOUNTAINS
There is a cave in the Mormon Mountains in Nevada that the Moapa Indians tell about. This cave is like Lehman's Cave in Nevada. It goes way down under the ground. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
CAVE OF THE CRY SONGS
There is a sacred cave in the mountain east of Las Vegas, Nevada. Coyote stopped there as he passed through carrying the sack containing all the Indian tribes (see the legend of the "Sack of all Tribes"). The Indians say this cave has some long tracks in it. This is where the Indians used to go when they wanted to learn some kind of songs. They would pray there and you weren't supposed to get scared when that man (Spirit) would come around at night. Dan Bullets and a Meyers guy went there and said that cave is all ruined now. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
CAVES
Johnny Domingo from Las Vegas used to tell me many stories about different caves in that area. In one cave a person could learn the cry songs. There was also a cave that two brothers approached in the rain. One brother had been warned by his father not to go in such caves so he didn't want to enter even to get out of the rain. His brother, however, talked him into it and they spent the night there. In the morning they emerged as two mountain sheep. Johnny Domingo also said that the hill they now live on in Las Vegas used to be a lookout station or a place to pray towards Sunrise Mountain; I don't remember that well. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
CHERT SOURCE
A chert quarry site north of Cedar City. This site is on the vertical white outcrop on the west face of the mountain just north of Fiddlers Canyon. Chert may be found for a considerable distance along this outcrop and also on the alluvial fan at the foot of this mountain. (Carl Jake, Indian Peaks)
COUSINS
A cousin is considered as a brother or sister. (Unknown)
COYOTE AS GOD
Toovuts tried to make everything good but Coyote took everything away from him and made it as it is today so therefore, he is our God. When the world ends, Toovuts will be our God. Toovuts wanted to make children come out of the finger by pricking it and then flipping it but coyote ruined that because he wanted to lie between a woman's legs, so that's how it is today. That's why he is called Yohovuhts because he was nasty. Coyote only had daughters. (Unknown, Kanosh)
COYOTE HIDES
Red coyote hides are worshiped. I know why but I won't tell. Ask a Navajo, he knows. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
COYOTE ONCE HUMAN
Coyote used to be human but he would howl and scratch like a coyote so that's how he turned into a coyote. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
COYOTE
To me, the word Soonungwuv (Coyote) sounds as if it means a person that everyone laughs at; a kind of a joker. The word soonuv just refers to a regular coyote. (Vera Charles, Koosharem)
COYOTE'S HOUSE AT RUSH LAKE
The stone circle on top of the highest section of the hill just east of Rush Lake is Soonungwuv's house. (This house was not Toovuts' house as stated by William R. Palmer. Carl Jake used both words, God and Soonungwuv but not Toovuts.) (Carl jake, Indian Peak)
COYOTE'S RACETRACK NEAR LUND
One time Coyote had a race through the Escalante Desert near Lund, Utah, up to where Salt Lake is.
(Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
CRADLEBOARD CARE
Turn a baby cradle over so a ghost will not sleep in it. (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
CRADLEBOARD CARE
When a baby's cradleboard is not in use it should be covered or turned over to keep bad ghosts out of it. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
CRADLEBOARD CARE
When a baby cries in its cradle and doesn't like to stay there, it means a ghost has been lying in it. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
DEATH AND A RIVER CROSSING
When a person dies, his spirit leaves his body and goes up into the sky. There's a hole in the sky that his spirit then passes through. He then goes some distance and comes to a wide river like the Colorado River. He has to jump over it. If he has pierced ears it will help him to jump over and get to heaven. Thats why we pierce our ears. (Woodrow Pete, Cedar City)
DEATH
I've heard some of the old Indians say that death is like stepping over a line. There is really no difference between life and death. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
DEER MIGRATION
In the old days there never used to be any deer on the Kaibab Mountains in the winter. In the spring they would migrate down from the north. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
DESTROYER
The Paiutes say that the reason that so many Indians died off when the white man came was that the Destroyer was traveling all over this land killing all the Indians. Some say that as he traveled across the land some of the people could hear him screaming. Others say that some of their grandparents saw this ghost and were nearly killed by him. (Maggie Dick, Kaibab)
DR. FARROW
Dr. Farrow used to be the Shivwits Indian Agent. His Indian name was Moyyoontch Skinny Legs. He was responsible for giving Will Rogers his name. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
EAR RINGING
When you hear a ringing in your ear it is a dead relative talking to you. You should answer him by saying in substance, "I'm fine and still here, but sometime I'll come where you are." (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
ECHOS
Unoo'peets (Ghost) was locked in a cave. That's why we have the echo; Ghost is answering back. (Unknown)
FACE PAINTING
See photos at the bottom of this page of face painting
Face painting was a common practice among the Southern Paiute Nation. There was many designs used sometimes with full facial painting which was also good as a sun screen. Men and women painted their faces with design but with certain bands it was only the women who wore it every day.
Face painting was a distinction of who they were and for power or protection especially when using red ochre. Family designs were handed down and other designs used depended on the occasion. Cheeks and chins were designed the most but the forehead was also used. Main colors used were red ochre white, black & yellow.
Due to the Mormon influence, face painting had almost died out but is it now slowly returning. A quote from Mr. Savage, a photographer who belonged to the Mormon church: “I answer that it means they must change their habits of life, they must stop the use of paint on their faces, they must work and not let the ladies do it all, they must learn to live like their white brethren....”
The 1875 issue of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper in regards to Savages Photos and views the article concluded with the pronouncement that once the Natives change their ways – including removing face paints, washing, and ceasing to steal – they will be “in a condition to receive further grace from the Almighty, filtered through Brigham Young.” (Theft among the Paiutes was mainly cattle due to the lack of hunting, mainly for food.)
Red paint is also used for spiritual protection and for female puberty rites as well as for birthing right. According to Powell (1971:162) the red paint signifies happiness or joy, whereas black typically represents war.
​
MOAPA INFORMATION ON FACE PAINTING
The Moapa people had sources for red, black, and white paint. According to Old Dave (Moapa Paiute), red paint came from Shivwits country. It was bought in cakes from the Shivwits, using corn or other products in trade. Red paint was used every day in the morning. The Mohave used to trade for this red paint with the Moapa people. They used it before battles.
Dave said that the Moapa people also had black paint, which they were able to get locally. A good source was found down by Wiser Ranch a mile below Glendale. It was dug out of the ground, and he thought anyone could go and get it there. It looked like "coal dust." The substance was ground and wrapped in a bit of hide. Bighorn sheep grease was used to make it stick to the skin.
A woman painted her husband and he painted her. The usual face decorations were vertical cheek stripes of red, white, and black.
Unmarried girls painted their faces for a dance as well as other people. Bodies were painted at dances as well as faces.
According to Dave, the people were able to get white paint at a source below St. Thomas, and another from a place on the west side of the valley below Overton. It was found in the hills there. The paint was found under the ground and one had to dig for it.
Rip Logan (Moapa Paiute) described it to Kelly, calling it avimpi, apparent gypsum. She added that it was baked underground, and that by the next morning, it was pure white. It was also ground and applied with grease, according to Dave.
A woman about to give birth was required to paint her whole body with white paint. The same was true for her husband. The same thing was done at the time of marriage.
Rip Logan said that the breasts were painted at childbirth, and that this was the only kind of white paint that the Moapa people had.
a woman about to give birth was required to paint her whole body with white paint. The same was true for her husband. The same thing was done at the time of marriage. Rip Logan (Moapa Paiute) said that the breast were painted at childbirth, and that this was the only kind od white paint that the Moapa people had.
(Moapa Information gathered by Catherine S. Fowler from the HRA, Inc. Archaeological Report 07-28B. December 17, 2012. Water Flows Through Here: Moapa and Pahranigat Southern Paiute Culture in the late Nineteenth Century)
​
FISH LAKE'S ROCK BANK
There is a rock and dirt bank heaped up against the west side of Fish Lake for much of its length. This was made by Soonungwuv. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
FLYING SERPENT
A big snake landed on Mount Nebo. It was a very big snake! The snake just rested there then flew away again. A person will go crazy when he goes on this mountain. This snake was flying north. It first landed on a mountain northeast of Paragoonah and then it landed on Mount Nebo. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
FLYING SERPENT AND PIKES PEAK
Bert Craig of Kaibab said that a flying serpent landed on top of "Pike's Peak" and left his poison there. If anyone climbs to the top, he will become dizzy because of the poison and maybe die. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
(Pike's Peak is in Colorado and Bert either heard this story from a Ute or might have been referring to Mount Nebo near Nephi, Utah where there is a similar story. This story is probably an Indian attempt at explaining the dizziness experienced on high mountain tops where the oxygen becomes thinner, and would probably apply to all high mountain peaks. Martineau)
FLYING SERPENTS
Flying snakes used to fly overhead and you could hear them rattle for a long way. They would land on the highest mountains. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
FLYING SERPENTS
Isaac Hunkup told me that there used to be many flying serpents somewhere out past the Enterprise, Utah, area. They would fly through the air and bite you. (Arthur Richards, Cedar City)
FOOT RACE TO INDIAN PEAK
Two Indians once made a wager that they could run from Cedar City, Utah, to Indian Peak and reach there before the sun came up. They told those who didn't believe this to send someone to Indian Peak to check on the runners when they arrived. The runners won the bet. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
FROZEN FEET
When you get your feet frozen they won't heal until the last snow on the mountain tops melt. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
GHOST DETECTING
If a ghost is in the house a baby will be scared of it and won't go to sleep but will cry and cry. (Doris Kanosh, Koosharem)
GIANT ANTS
My mother Minnie Jake used to tell me about some ants about as big as a dog near Mesquite, Nevada, that used to eat large animals. You could see a pile of large bones they left behind. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
GOLD IN PINE VALLEY MOUNTAINS
There is gold in Pine Valley Mountains someplace. I know about where it is. (Woots Parashont, Cedar City)
GOLD ON THE MOUNTAIN
There is gold and some mountain sheep horns in a cave around Richfield, Utah. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem) Note: name of mountain omitted.
GOLD ON SAWTOOTH PEAK
There used to be gold on Sawtooth Peak? (a peak about 60 miles north of Wah Wah Springs). Years ago, a Mexican found an Indian with a gold necklace who led him to the gold there. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
GUN MEDICINE MAN
Toompeoo Poowu'hunt. A Gun Medicine Man could draw a bullet out of a wound with his mouth. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
HAND SHAKES
My father used to tell me that you’re not supposed to shake hands with someone you don’t know or they might take your medicine away from you. (Earl Pikyavit, Kanosh)
HEAT TREATING ROCKS FOR ARROWHEADS
used to watch the old Indians down at Five Mile on the Shivwits Reservation make arrowheads. I was a little boy then. They were burning some type of black rock. I don't know how they did it. They hit the rock with some kind of pointed stone. Some of the heated stones changed to the color red. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
HEAVEN
When you die you go up to heaven. There is a man sitting there asking, "Where are you going?" and "Are you dead or not?" You have to say "Yes!" If you say "No" then he sends your spirit back to your body lying there. If you say "Yes" then that man lets you pass through some kind of door. That's where all the Paiutes, grandmothers, grandfathers, and all the old timers go, up there. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
HOPIS MOVE SOUTH
A long time ago the Hopis used to live in this country but they couldn't get things to grow well so they moved south to where they now live. (Morris Jake, Kaibab and Georgey George, Shivwits)
HORNED INDIANS
Maggie Dick says that her grandmother told her that some Indians had short horns. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
HORSE CARE
A horse will get poor when he gets cockleburs in his mane and tail. To prevent this cut the mane and tail short. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
HORSE CARE
There is a little white thing in the corner of a horse's eye that causes some horses to jump at the slightest movement at his side. If you cut that white thing out the horse will no longer be jumpy. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
HORSE RESTRICTIONS
A woman is not supposed to ride a man's horse as she will ruin it. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
HUNTING, FIRST KILL
You are not supposed to give any meat (from your first kill?) to the dogs or cats or you will not be able to kill any more. (Doris Kanosh, Koosharem)
HUNTING, FIRST KILL
The first deer that a young man kills should be left where it fell to insure better hunting in the future. (Unknown)
HUNTING RULE
Do not comb your hair when you go hunting. (Unknown)
HUNTING RULE, MOAPA
When I killed my first deer as a young man, My father said I could not touch it. He skinned it for me and explained what he was doing as he went along. He took all the vital organs (heart, liver, etc.) out to be given to certain people, and threw a certain part (I can't remember what it was) in the four directions. The hide and brain was given to my grandmother Topsy to tan and the meat was given away to all the elders. The tenderloin was given to the oldest member of the tribe. (As told by Gregory Anderson Sr. and taught by his dad Raymond Anderson, Moapa).
Greg Anderson Sr. witnessed some men in his family put water in the mouth of the deer killed right after it was killed and before it was prepared.
HUNTING TRIPS
While hunting overnight put on red paint (ompee) and burn green cedar leaves slowly. This will ward off evil spirits. (Unknown)
INDIAN FREEZING ON PARKER MOUNTAIN
The old Indian trail from Loa, Utah, to the Koosharem Reservation descended off Parker Mountain just south of highway 24 near the Windy Ridge Reservoir. One time, long ago during the winter, some Indians were descending off this mountain. One of the Indians had not been wearing a blanket during the entire trip and was making fun of the other Indians who were wearing blankets. He said, "I'm a Ute, not a Paiute and don't need to wear blankets like you." On the way down off Parker Mountain he froze to death and his bones could be seen along the trail for many years. (Douglas Timmican, Koosharem)
(In those days it is questionable as to whether the Indians of Wayne County considered themselves Paiutes so this term might have been the informant's wording. Today the Koosharem Band is termed Paiute due to their isolation from the Utes on U & O reservation, and also due to their being combined within the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah.)
INDIAN KILLING
An Indian once killed another Indian, or white man, at the old stage stop just north of Lund, Utah. He then ran over the hills to the west and was never caught. He lived a long time after that. (Edurine Jake, Indian Peak)
INDIAN TEMPLE
Jimmy Timmican of Koosharem once told me that the big mountain that looks like a temple southeast of the visitor's center at Capital Reef was once a real temple. God turned the temple to stone when the Indians started doing bad. At the base of this stone temple there was a medicine rock used for healing. A long time ago there used to be many bows, arrows, pottery, and other things lying around this rock as offerings made by people once healed by it. Jimmy looked for this rock once but could never find it. (Arthur Richards, Cedar City)
INDIAN TRAIL AT GLENWOOD
The old Indian trail from Glenwood, Utah, to Koosharem cut through the pass just east of Glenwood. This trail goes through the lowest pass southeast of mile post 7 on highway 119. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
JOSEPHINE MINE
My father Jimmy Timmican told me that long ago the Spaniards came to Fish Lake and found a gold mine there (now called the Josephine Mine). They enslaved the Indians and made them work the mine. When they were through, they killed all the Indians so they wouldn't tell others where the mine was. They also sealed up the mine by caving in the entrance so no one else could find it and then they left. My father knew where the mine was. (Vera Charles, Koosharem)
KIMBERLY PEAK'S LARGE CAVE
One time a man was hunting deer on Mount Kimberly and followed one into this little opening on the mountain. When he got inside a long distance, it opened up and was huge inside, just like the world outside. (Douglas Timmican, Koosharem)
KNIFE PRECAUTIONS
You should not stick the point of a knife into any meat or food, or stir your food with it. If you do this some evil Indian doctor can some way cause you to be sick. (Unknown)
KOOSHAREM INDIANS THAT MOVED TO THE UINTAH AND OURAY RESERVATION
Jimmy Timmican gave the following list of names of Indians from his band that moved to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. He didn't say when. With some research, some of them left about 1900.
-
Dick and John Kwib, two brothers (related to Lester Kurrip a Ute).
-
Nick. He died at Bridgeland, Utah.
-
Andrew Greyhead.
-
Old Man Greyhead and his first wife. One wife was called Peuv'.
-
Shawkom (White Rabbit) and Charley. They married two sisters of Duchesne. Shawkom died at Duchesne, and Charlie died near Gusher, Utah.
LAME MAN OF KOOSHAREM
A long time ago there was a short man who lived at Koosharem. His name was Sawngkuhd (Lame). He was acquired by trade when he was a child and, because of disobedience, his leg was broken when he was hit on the leg with a stick. He limped afterward and that's how he got his name. (Douglas
Timmican, Koosharem)
LEAD MINE NEAR WASHINGTON
The Indians used to get lead for their old rifles in the canyon just below the old Washington City dump about one mile east of Washington. There used to be a horse trail down there to the river. Foster Charles or someone went looking for it one time but couldn't find it. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
LEAD ON ACEY CREEK
The Indians used to get their lead for rifle balls on Acey Creek near Hatch, Utah. One old man told me that you could still see the digging sticks laying around. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
LEGEND ENDINGS
All legends are ended with the phrase "Yoom'pukoam kweyoon." It means something back behind the head. (The word "kweyoon" is the back of your head where the hair swirls to the center on the scalp) At Kanosh they end it with a different phrase and say "Kawngkwus'evait." signifying some kind of tale, I guess. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
LEGEND OF KWETOOS
The story that Stewart Snow used to tell about the giant (creature) called Kwetoos sounded like a joke to me that isn't true. There are many stories like that. They have no meaning. One is about the lizard. Indians had jokes like that a long time ago. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
LEGEND SIMILARITY
Southern Paiute and Shoshone legends from Idaho are the same. (Verna Jackson Shoshoni)
LEGEND TELLING
Do not tell legends in the summertime or a snake will bite you and do not tell more than one legend a night or there will be a long winter. (Unknown)
LEGEND TELLING
If you tell legends in the summertime it will snow. (Doris Kanosh, Koosharem)
LEGEND TELLING
Paiutes didn't start telling legends until the fall during the pine nut harvest. (Warren Bushhead, Shivwits)
LEGEND TELLING TO THE WHITES
The old people told me that you were not supposed to tell legends to the white people because it cost lots to tell them. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
LEHMAN'S CAVE
The Goshute say that there is a little hole inside Lehman's Cave, Nevada. A man is not supposed to go in it or a woman will get him. Also a woman isn't supposed to go in it or a man will get her. (Archie Roger, Shivwits)
LIGHTNING AND CRYSTALS
Lightning strikes the ground and then goes through the ground and back out to the surface. Sometimes it leaves a crystal. If someone takes the crystal for medicine he must be brave because lightning will strike all around the crystal. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
LIGHTNING AND CRYSTALS
There is a hill on the Shivwits Reservation where lightning always strikes. It is the long hill on the south boundary of the Shivwits Reservation. Everyone used to be warned not to go up there. When lightning hits, it leaves a long glassy thing (crystal) about the size of a 30-30 bullet. It only stays a little while after a lightning strike and then disappears. Brig George (Shivwits) once had one of these. James Yellowjacket told him to get rid of it as lightning was always hitting around Five-Mile where they stayed. Brig George hid it someplace in Five-Mile and now that's why lightning and thunder hangs around there. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
LIGHTNING AND MIRRORS
During a storm, when there is any lightning, you should cover any knifes and mirrors that are laying around so the lightning won't strike them. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
LIGHTNING AND MIRRORS
In a lightning storm you should cover mirrors as they attract lightning. Lightning rod sticks are made out of mountain mahogany and painted with war paint. They are then placed on or near a house to protect it. (Mabel YellowJacket, Cedar City)
LITTLE CREEK CANYON
When I was a kid my father used to take me up Little Creek Canyon near Paragoonah, Utah; this is the way we went to Richfield. At the mouth of this canyon there is big rock with vagina symbols pecked on it and one natural looking depression resembling one. This canyon is called Wuhump'ee Ooweng'wu Vagina Canyon because of the symbols on this rock.
My father, Carl Jake, said that there are many big snakes living up this canyon. They were as big around as you could wrap your arms around. You could also see their tracks on each side of the canyon. These tracks resembled a groove made when a big rock slides down a hill. These snakes were very dangerous so whenever any men went up this canyon they had to go very early in the morning when the snakes were still drowsy and weak from the coolness. The only way you could travel safely up this canyon during the day was to have a woman along with you who was on her period. This made the snakes weak and you could pass through them safely. That is why this canyon is called Vagina Canyon. There are no more snakes there now.
There were also many big snakes out by New Castle and it was dangerous to pass through there. They would stick their heads up over the trees and you could see their bodies glistening in the sun from a long way off. These snakes could inhale air and blow themselves up like a balloon and then fly as a blimp does. Even a rattlesnake can do this because they have been found up high on a cliff where they couldn't possibly have crawled; they had to fly there. (Johnny Jake, Indian peak, June 5 1984)
LITTLE PEOPLE
There are little people at old Sham, I seen them and always told my kids and grandkids they couldn't go near the water by themselves. (Marie McFee, Shivwits)
LYCANTROPHY
It is said that some Navajos turn into coyotes and that they rob the graves. One Navajo said he was with a group of them at one time in a hogan. The others were eating a dead body. He got away from them and told others about this. One little Navajo/Paiute baby buried in Richfield was stolen by one of these Navajos. One or two of the Richfield Indians saw a little hole on top of the baby's grave and dog tracks around it. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem, Paul Hat, a Navajo, said he also heard about this)
MEDICINE MEN
Some medicine men witch the wrong person. If he is discovered he can recall his curse. If he doesn't he may die by retaliation from another medicine man. Kaibab Indians are noted for their powerful medicine men. Utes seldom journeyed among them because of this. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
MEDICINE ROCK AT MOUNTAIN SPRINGS
There is a medicine rock near Mountain Springs west of Lund, Utah. If you're sick and lay on the rock it will make you better. (Arthur Richards, Cedar, City, Clifford Jake, Indian Peak)
MEDICINE ROCK IN STEPHENS CANYON
There is a big rock near the top of the big cedar-covered mountain, by the Cedar City Indian Village. This rock has a hole in it big enough to stick your head in. When someone had a headache and wanted it to go away he stuck his head in the hole in this rock. This is what my father Carl Jake told me. (Johnny Jake, Indian Peak)
MEDICINE ROCK NEAR GUNLOCK, UTAH
There used to be a little red rock where the gravel pit is now just west of the second bridge north of Gunlock, Utah. The Indians used to stop there long ago and leave a penny or some money by this rock and pray to it and tell it what was wrong with them. The rock would then heal them. This rock was destroyed when the gravel pit was put there. Girls were not supposed to go near this rock. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
MEDICINE ROCK ON COAL CREEK
There used to be a medicine rock by Coal Creek just south of the present Indian village. It is now covered. (Clifford Jake, Indian Peak, 1982)
MENSTRUATION AND MEAT
A woman should not eat meat during her menstruation. (Woodrow Pete, Cedar City)
MENSTRUATION AND RIFLES
If a woman on her period handles a man's rifle it will make it no good so the man can't kill a deer. This can be remedied by having a little boy urinate in the barrel and putting ochre in the urine on the gun. (Arthur Richards, Cedar City)
MENSTRUATION AND THE MOON
The old people say that when a girl bleeds a lot on her period, that it happens at a time when the new moon comes out. (Marilyn Jake, Shivwits)
MENSTRUATION HUTS
In the old days when a woman had her period she would not camp with the tribe. She would camp in a separate hut off to the side of the camp a ways until her period was over. (Woodrow Pete, Cedar City)
MOOKWEECH AMONG THE KAIBAB
The Mookweech used to live among the Kaibab Indians but soon left because they couldn't get anything to grow good. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
MOOKWEECH AND TOOKOOV
The Mookweech and Tookoov people are not considered good. The Tookoov had no bodies and could not be seen. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
MOOKWEECH DESCRIPTION
The Mookweech were short people with pointed ears and a face like in the sketch. The Mookweech lived here at the same time the Paiutes did. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
MOOKWEECH
Florence Kanosh told me that the Paiutes remember the tribe people call "Fremont." They were here recently and were a small people. (Vera Charles, Koosharem)
MOOKWEECH PIT HOUSES
The Mookweech built their houses under ground. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
MOOKWEECH
The Mookweech used to live in the cliff dwellings so when an enemy came along, they could run and hide there. They only planted corn. They would store the corn in the cliffs or in the ground. They came up from the south. (Smith Bushhead, Shivwits)
MOOKWEECH
The Mookweech lived here before the Indians and the Tookoov. They were the builders of the ancient ruins discovered in Utah. They knew all this land around here very well but they left their land here and moved somewhere south of the Hopi people. They moved because they knew that white people would come to this land, and that if they stayed here, they would be treated just like the Indians that live here today are treated. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
MOTHER'S MILK CONTROL
When you want to increase the milk in a mother's breast have her squirt some on a hot mano. When you want to decrease it have her squirt some in some ice water. Use both breasts. (Marilyn Jake, Shivwits)
MOUNT NEBO'S "DRAGON"
One time two brothers were living at Utah Lake and wanted to go hunting mountain sheep on top of Mount Nebo. When they got on the top they saw two horns sticking out and wiggling. One of the brothers then went over there to shoot it but it was a big dragon with horns on its forehead. It killed this fellow and breathed on the other making him sick. He however escaped and went home to a medicine man who healed him. (Douglas Timmican, Koosharem)
(I use the actual word "dragon" as told to me by the informant. "Dragon" was probably his own interpretation. This story was most likely referring to the flying serpent on Mount Nebo mentioned under "Flying Serpents." He said horns (plural) on the forehead. Most tribes across North America have stories about serpents with a horn, or horns, on the forehead. LaVan Martineau.)
MOUNT NEBO
There is supposed to be a wild Indian and some white men on Mount Nebo. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
NAME OF THE DEAD
It is not right to speak the name of the deceased. They might hear their name called and come to you. (Unknown)
NICK OF KOOSHAREM
Nick, the short Indian who used to live on the Koosharem Reservation, moved to the Uintah Basin. When he died, Nick's son sold his body to a white man who put it in a glass case and made him look as if he was still alive. They had him on display in Salt Lake City. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem, 1984)
NICK, THE MOQUI CAPTIVE
Malan R. Jackson's grandfather told him that Nick, from the Koosharem Reservation in Utah, was not a Paiute but a cliff-dweller Indian who lived on the Colorado River with his parents. The Paiutes raided this village and the mother and father of Nick jumped over a cliff. They left two kids in the cave, a boy and girl, the boy being Nick. The girl died later. Nick grew up being a Paiute. (This is the same Nick whose body was put in a glass case.) (Malan R. Jackson, Anglo, Fremont Utah)
NORTH WIND
A north wind during a winter storm means it will clear up tomorrow. (Albert Rice, Shivwits)
OBSIDIAN USE
Obsidian was chosen for knives, more than it was for making arrowheads, because it was better for cutting. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
OFFERINGS TO THE MOUNTAINS
Whenever an expedition is taken into the mountains and canyons it is always wise to give an offering of bread or food to them. Doing this will insure that you will be safe while traveling through such places. (Edrick Bushhead, Shivwits)
OWLS
An owl hooting is only a bad sign when it does something unusual, like landing on your house or maybe talk like a human. (Earl Pikyavit, Kanosh)
PAINT LOCATION IN NEVADA
There is a barren pointed hill between Glendale Junction and Overton, Nevada, that has Indian paints of all colors in it including red, green, and black. This paint is called Toodoov. You can't get this paint free. You have to stick a coin or a dollar bill into the ground. You first push the money in with your finger then you can have the paint. Red ocher is also found along the railroad track on the way from Glendale to Overton. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
PAINT PREPARATION
Ochre should be fried in grease before being used. The grease makes the paint easier to wipe off the skin. It also brings out the red in the iron, if it is of a yellowish or orange hue. (Woodrow Pete, Cedar City)
PAINT SOURCE IN HUALAPAI COUNTRY
The Shivwits obtained their red paint across the Colorado River south of Mount Trumbull. It was found in a small cave high up on a cliff. One Indian drowned one time when crossing the Colorado River below Lava Falls while going after this paint. (James Yellowjacket, Shivwits)
The Hualapai informants say it is very difficult to climb to this cave and one must pray and use poles to climb to it.
PAINT SOURCE ON THE SHIVWITS RESERVATION
The Indians had one source of red ochre on the Shivwits Reservation. This location was on Utah Hill on the west border of the reservation and north of Highway 91. When the white man came the Indians covered it with dirt and now the location is lost. (Stewart Snow, Shivwits)
PAINT SOURCES IN SEVIER AND WAYNE COUNTIES
Red ocher and a white paint were obtained by Paiutes at "Paint Cave" up a canyon near Greenwich, Utah. A blue paint was obtained near Torrey, Utah. (As told to Vera Charles by her father Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
PAINT SOURCES
The Shivwits used to get their red paint on Shivwits Mountain (Shivwits Plateau) someplace. They got their white paint on the Santa Clara river just below Gunlock. The water behind the Gunlock dam now covers this white paint source. The white paint is called awveemp. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
PAINTING CHILDREN
Red ochre is put on little children at night to keep ghosts from bothering them. (Deere Kanosh, Koosharem)
PALMER'S BOOK OF LEGENDS
I don't believe some of William Palmer's legends that he put in his book. He tells them a different way. His book is wrong. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
PALMER'S INDIAN NAME
William R. Palmer of Cedar City, Utah was called Onchok' One Eye.
PAHRANAGAT LAKE'S GRASSHOPPER ROCK
There is a lake on the other side of Caliente, Nevada, someplace. Maybe it is Pahranagat Lake, I don't know. According to the Moapa Indians there is a big rock in this lake that used to be a grasshopper. A long time ago a man kicked it into this lake. It's still there. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
PETROGLYPH ORIGIN
Some rock writings were written by eastern Indians who came here to war against the Paiutes. These eastern Indians were numerous and the Paiutes few, but the Paiutes won. These writings pertain to their warring. These eastern Indians had Mohawk-style haircuts. They came from across the ocean. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
PETROGLYPHS AT PAROWAN GAP
The rock writings around Parowan Gap were written by God. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
PETROGLYPHS IN INACCESSIBLE PLACES
The inaccessible rock writings in southern Utah were written by a little man around a foot tall. He lives somewhere in the rocks in the mountains east of Cove Fort, Utah. He cannot talk. He gives medicine power to those people he likes. He gave this power to one of my grandparents who was walking in the mountains. He did not see this little man at first because of his smallness, but when he looked down lower he found him. This little man has no name and he is the one who goes around inscribing the writings on the rocks. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
PEYOTE DEITIES
In the Peyote religion God is the Father, Jesus the Brother(?) and Mary is Mother Earth. The first baptism is the baptism at birth. The second baptism is the baby's first washing. (Clifford Jake, Indian Peak)
POTATOES AND GOPHERS
You shouldn't eat potatoes that a gopher has been eating. If you do, sometimes your heart will be cut off, or in other words you will be cut short of breath when climbing a hill. (Yetta Jake, Shivwits)
POTTERY COLLECTING
The Paiutes believe that they shouldn't keep any Mookweech pottery that they find. This is a part of their religion. Much of the pottery found was not made by the Paiutes, but by the Hopi Indians who lived in the Paiute land before the Paiutes came. (Arthur Richards, Cedar City)
POTTERY KILNS
Paiute pottery was cooked by digging a hole in the ground and placing the pot in the hole. Hot ashes were then put all around the pot and inside of it. It was then covered and a fire made on top of it. That's why you see them black on both sides. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
PRAYING TO SOONUNGWUV
When I pray, I pray to Soonungwuv, and not to Toovuts. (Smith Bushhead, Shivwits)
PREGNANCY TABOOS
When a girl is pregnant, she should not eat as she usually does or she will get fat. She should also get plenty of exercise. (Clarice Kanosh, Koosharem)
PROPHETS
A Pawdoo'koots is a person, either man or woman, who would fall down on the ground unconscious for a half hour, or hour, and the people would leave them alone. When he or she woke up they would tell all the visions they saw. There used to be a Pawdookoots lady at the Shivwits Reservation. She would ride horseback all by herself out to the Shivwits Mountain (Shivwits Plateau). Several would go out there. One time a Pawdookoots foretold the coming of telephone poles, the radio and a machine you could see people in (television).
It was also foretold by someone that the white men would come and take all this land away from the Indians. When this old man used to tell this story all the people would gather around him, but I was just a kid and didn't pay much attention. I only remember a little bit. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
​
PAIUTE PROPHECY SEEN IN A VISION
When I was a young man, I was riding horseback with some older Indians and we camped on the east rim of the Koosharem Valley near where the road to fish Lake, Utah, reaches the top. While I was sleeping something woke me up. I jumped up quickly and could see the south end of the Koosharem Valley burning. The fire was coming towards me and getting closer and closer. As it got closer, I could see a white man leading a large group of Indians. They swerved from their course up the valley and they came over to where I was standing on the mountain rim. The leader was carrying a book in his hand and he told me I would have to learn to read it someday if I was to be saved from the burning that was to follow him. He then left and continued north with the Indians that were following him. This was a real event. I wasn't dreaming. I actually saw this like the real thing. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
​
PAIUTE PROPHECY
My grandfather told me that one time, he was herding sheep near a frozen river in Southeastern Utah when he saw a man in a white robe walk across the frozen river and come up to him. This stranger warned my grandfather that when all the Indians cut their long hair off, it would be a sign of the end of the world. (White Mesa, Paiute)
​
PAIUTE PROPHECY
My father Roy Tom, told me the time will come when times become very hard. A mountain will open up somewhere between Panguitch and Koosharem, Utah and all the deer will go into the mountain and disappear. When that happens, then only those people who are spiritually strong will be able to find this place and when they do, the mountain will open up for them and the deer will come out for those Indians finding this place and survive. (Vivian Jake, Kaibab)
RABBIT EARS
​
Rabbit ears are the feathers of the Indians. (Minnie Jake, Eagle Valley)
RACE TRACK AT PANGUITCH LAKE
There is an old Paiute race track next to the road at Panguitch Lake where the Indians raced their horses. (Mable Yellowjacket, Cedar City)
RACE TRACK NEAR MODENA
There is an old Indian race track west of Modena, Utah, by the road. (Minnie Jake, Eagle valley)
RAINBOW VIEWING
If your father is living you are not supposed to look at the rainbow. If he is dead you may. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
SALT MINE
The Indians used to get salt up a little side canyon on Brine Creek just west of highway 24 about three miles south southeast of Sigurd, Utah. (Kenneth Charles, Shivwits)
SEVIER LAKE
There used to be some people with a light on their foreheads who lived in the Sevier Lake near Delta, Utah. One time an Indian there was chased by a buffalo and one of these people came out of the lake and rescued him. That's what my father Jimmy Timmican told me. (Vera Charles, Koosharem)
SHIVWITS BAPTISM
My father Roy Tom told me that many of the Shivwits that were baptized in St. George in the last century died shortly after their baptism as a result of being baptized. (Lucille Jake, Kaibab).
The event being discussed at the time with Martineau was the baptism of March 20, 1875. It could refer to the Santa Clara Indians who lived there in 1854 who eventually all died out. Sixty-six Paiutes were baptized on June 3, 1854, the next day fifteen more were baptized. (From Richard Robinson, letter to his parents, July 13, 1854, quoted in Juanita Brooks, “The Southern Indian Mission,” in Under Dixie Sun: A History of Washington County by Those Who Loved Their Forebears (St. George, UT: Washington County Chapter D.U.P., 1950).
​
SHIVWITS BAPTISM
It was because of a prophecy that our families went to get baptized in St. George. But they were wrong and we were not saved, nothing changed after that, thats why we don't talk about it. I think that prophecy is still coming. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SHIVWITS BURIAL GROUNDS
Before the present day Shivwits Cemetery was used, the Indians used to bury their dead inside of a big rock that had a cave in it. This rock is in a wash on the Reservation. One old man showed me this place but all the bodies had been washed away. All that was there was couple of old guns. They used to take horses up to another burial location and kill them and put them in that place (crevice). I used to see bones there. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SHIVWITS BURIAL GROUNDS
There is an old Shivwits burial site in a canyon by the Slim Waring's ranch on the Shivwits Plateau on the Arizona Strip. Shivwits wikiups are still to be found on the plateau also. (Woodrow Pete, Cedar City)
SHIVWITS CAMPING PRACTICES
The Shivwits used to live up on the Shivwits Plateau in the summer where they would hunt. In the winter they would go down on the Colorado River where some would live in caves. They would carry wood down. They would go on the top to hunt in the spring. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SHIVWITS FLAG
The Shivwits used to have a flag. It was a long stick with seven eagle feathers tied in a row on it. I think it was seven. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SLIVERS
When you get a sliver in yourself, pull it out and eat it. This will decrease the chances of getting more.
SNAKE BITES
For snake bites on humans and horses a medicine man would sing and suck on the bite and suck a little snake out that the big snake had put in when it bit the victim. Any herb or poison that would kill a rattlesnake could also be applied to the bite and this would kill the little snake inside the bite. To determine if the snake bite victim would die, two Indians would hold the rattlesnake by the jaws and split it by pulling both ways. If the snake split all the way to the tail, the person would live but if the split diverged before reaching the tip, the person would die. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
SNAKE BURNING
Do not burn a snake or the land will become dry. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
SNAKES AND ASHES
Indians used to sprinkle ashes around their house to keep the snakes away.
(Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SPIRIT HELPERS
An Indian medicine man got his power in his dreams. Whenever he went someplace and needed help a spirit like an eagle, mountain sheep, or other things would come to him to be his helper. Some helpers would come from back East. Some helpers would also require the death of one or two of your close relatives before they would give you power. This offer was made to Seth Bushhead and George McFee from Shivwits but they wanted nothing to do with it because they would lose close relatives. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
SPIRIT HELPERS
Medicine men dream of certain animals that become their helpers in healing and discerning witches. These helpers are unseen but they can tell you what is causing a sickness or whatever you are seeking to know. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
SPRING
Paiute spring begins in February.
STONE BOOK NEAR ANTELOPE SPRINGS, UTAH
Near Antelope Springs, west of Delta, Utah, there is an Indian book in the rocks. One can pull out layers of slate tablets and see animals and plants drawn on them. There is also a cave, or hole, nearby in which some legendary event happened. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
(I searched for this stone book in the 1950s but didn't find the cave or the book. I also came to the conclusion that the drawings on the slate were probably natural marks. I saw a few loose slates with different blackish designs on them. I didn't find any slates that I could pull out and replace as Jimmy said. The area is quite extensive and I could have missed the ones he was referring to. This is a very poplar area among the whites for finding trilobites. LaVan Martineau)
SWEAT LODGES
The Paiutes would go into a sweat lodge occasionally; however, it wasn't a religious ceremony like among the Sioux and other tribes. They just went into the sweat to purify the body. My grandfather died in a sweat. (Yetta Jake, Shivwits)
TOOKOOV AND CHILDREN
My father Jimmy Timmican used to scare me when I was a child and I wouldn't mind. He told me that the Tookoov would come down out of the canyon and get after me if I wasn't good.
(Vera Charles, Koosharem)
TATOOS
Tatoos were done by the Desert Paiutes (Chemehuevi, Nevada and Shivwits). Face tatoos were more common in the 17-1800's but slowed down when the Mormon settlers came, influencing them to not paint or tatoo their faces.
Old Dave (Moapa Paiute) claimed that tattooing was borrowed from the Mohave and that both sexes had tattoos. These were placed chiefly on the chin and on the arm, never the body, and it could be done any time of life. Piercing was done with flint and then charcoal was rubbed into the pattern.
He said that the Moapa people did not use cactus thorns for tattooing, as did some of their neighbors (see Fowler 20121; Figure 12.14 of tattoos observed by Kelly in 1933). He added that in the 1930s, people were using needles to make tattoos.
(Moapa Information gathered by Catherine S. Fowler from the HRA, Inc. Archaeological Report 07-28B. December 17, 2012. Water Flows Through Here: Moapa and Pahranigat Southern Paiute Culture in the late Nineteenth Century)
​
TOOKOOV
Kainuhseev owns the deer and the mountains around here. He's very short and sometimes you can hear him yelling in the mountains. When you see him you won't see any deer around. Sometimes when you can't hit a big buck, maybe the buck is Tookoov. it is my understanding that Kainuhseev and Tookoov are two different names for the same spirits. I'm not absolutely sure of this. LM) He lives in a cave. (Carl Jake, Indian Peak)
TOOKOOV
The Tookoov people are the people who built the cliff dwellings. There weren't' very many of these people. I don't know, but maybe they lived here after the Mookweech, and maybe alongside the Paiutes. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
TRAIL SIGNS
The following information comes from Carl Jake. He said the trail signs "can be found in the Cedar Breaks area."
Top view of three rocks. This sign means the trail goes straight ahead.
Side view of four rocks. This sign indicates the trail turns to the left or right. Look for another pile of
rocks to determine direction to turn.
Side view of three rocks. This means the trail goes down hill.
Side view of two rocks. This sign indicates the foot of a hill.
TWO KWEYOON
A person who has two kweyoon (hair swirls in the center of the scalp) should not work in the rain or he might be struck by lightning. If he wears a hat it is all right. (Florence Kanosh, Koosharem)
WAH WAH VALLEY'S EARTHEN DAM
There is an old dirt dam across Wah Wah Valley just north of Wah Wah Springs. Eddie Wiggits knows where it is. (Carl Jake, Indian Peaks)
(One man saw something similar. Check out the road from Black Rock to Garrison. Marcine Davis, Minersville.)
WALKER'S BURIAL SITE
Chief Walker is buried in the large tan rock slide northeast of Kanosh on the mountain we call Peegeets (Pig) Mountain. (Earl Pikyavit, Kanosh.)
WAR TACTICS
One war tactic of the Paiutes was to attack an enemy when the sun was directly behind you. When doing this the enemy couldn't see you well because the sun was staring them in the eyes. When the Paiutes were about to attack they would also take big mirrors and use them to reflect the sun's rays into the enemy's eyes. These are the ways they would fight the white man. (Edrick Bushhead, Shivwits)
WATER BABIES NEAR GLENWOOD
There used to be Water Babies near Glenwood, Utah, where the fish hatchery is. (Douglas Timmican, Koosharem)
WEST WIND AND SNOW
It is a tradition that the west wind means that it will snow. (Morris Jake)
WHIRLWIND
When you see a whirlwind, it is a ghost.
WHISTLING AT NIGHT
Do not whistle in the night because it is said that the devil will twist your mouth if you do. (Unknown)
WHITE-TAILED DEER EXTINCTION
There used to be a different kind of deer in the Sevier Valley before the white man came. It was called Chigoos'. Its rump was whiter and it's tail bushier than a mule deer. (Jimmy Timmican, Koosharem)
WIKIUPS AT FIVE MILE
When I was young I used to see some brush wickiups at Five Mile on the Shivwits Reservation. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
WIND HOLE ON THE SHIVWITS RESERVATION
There is a wind hole on the Shivwits Reservation on Utah Hill. There is grass growing in a little hole and wind blows out of it. Sometimes it blows hard. (Archie Rogers, Shivwits)
WITCHCRAFT PRECAUTIONS
The Utes will witch you by using your urine, and the Navajos by using your hair, if you leave them where they can be found. (Morris Jake, Kaibab)
FACE PAINT EXAMPLES
