Welcome to Teapot Tuesday
the Sisterhood of the Traveling Teaparty
and Challenge #251
We Need a Storyteller..A Teller of Stories..A Story to Tell..
Note: Anyone is welcome to play! You automatically become a Teapotter the first time you play in our challenge. Also, you do not have to write a story. You just have to be inspired by the teapot or by the story about this week's location! Have fun! If this is your first Teapot Tuesday Challenge, please mention that in your commentary so we can be sure to greet you properly, in pure Teapot Tuesday fashion! Your participation in Destination Station is 100% voluntary and not at all required. Just have fun!
The Rest of the Story:
1: In the homes of the American Indians of the past; the culture, history, customs and rituals were passed down to future generations through the use of stories, songs and dances. Many of them had no written language and this was the only way of preserving these traditions. The Plains Indians were mostly agricultural and peace loving. Their days were filled with hard work and even the youngest had chores to do. But when the chores were done, there was always time for songs and laughter. One of the children's favorite pastimes was listening to the tales of their ancestors as were told mostly by the elders of the tribe.
2: In one such tribal village, there was a young maiden who had not figured out yet where she fit into this large tapestry of life in the village. She had never developed any skill at the "womanly work" and even though her mother pushed and pushed, she only stayed interested for a short time. She loved the songs and stories of the "old ones" most of all and would sit for hours listening to them being retold. Her habit of letting her mind wander whenever she was doing her chores earned her the name "She who Wanders" The elders shook their heads as her mother despaired at what to do with this child who seemed to find no purpose. Time after time she worried about what was to become of her, this child who only wanted to travel and see what other people were like.
3: Many days after chores were done, She who Wanders could be found daydreaming on her raft tied up at the rivers edge. One such day as she was dozing and dreaming of traveling to the end of the river to see what was there, a strong prairie wind came up and unwound the loose knot. The raft started to drift towards the center of the river where the current caught it and started it racing downstream. By this time She who Wanders was really scared and was afraid to try jumping off and swimming to shore. All through the afternoon and night she clung to the bindings of the raft as the wind carried her swiftly down the river finally slowing down right before dawn. With the raft slowly drifting, she fell asleep and didn't awaken until the sounds of children giggling awakened her.
4: Slowly awakening and looking around, She who Wanders had no idea where she was. These children didn't look familiar, there were no sleepy willow trees by the river here, the dirt was red like blood and the sounds from the nearby village were unfamiliar as well. The children stood by giggling and gawking, wondering who this strange raft woman was. One of the braver ones asked her name. And when she replied "She who Wanders", they all starting laughing again and motioning her to come ashore. Smelling the rich scent of stew cooking and hearing the growling of her stomach, she stepped ashore and allowed them to take her to the village. The village women took her into one of the teepees and fed her from the wonderful smelling stew until she was full. Then women and children alike started asking questions. They wanted to hear all about her, where she came from, how she got here, and why she was here.
5: Somewhere in the middle of the 4th retelling of her adventure, she suddenly realized that this was her calling. This was what she was here for. She was meant to love the stories of the "old ones" and pass them on to the next generation so they would always know where they came from. So, gathering the children around closer, she started to tell them one of her favorite stories of that old trickster coyote and how he got what he deserved.
There was a lovely young maiden living in a teepee near the edge of the forest. No one ever saw her hunt nor did they see anyone bring any food to her door but there was always a smoke spiral and the smell of stew cooking. One day coyote's curiosity got the better of him and he decided to find out how this was. He went to the opening of her teepee and hollered out that he had no where to go and could he rest here for a spell. The maiden let him in and fed him stew from the pot. On the 3rd day, she told coyote that her brothers would be here this evening to hunt for buffalo for her but that he would have to go to the very rear of the teepee and cover himself with a buffalo skin and not peek. Coyote went to the back and covered himself as she instructed but he could not resist peeking. As the fire started dying down, she blew on it to bring the flames up and spread some sweet grass over it. As the scented smoke started to drift upward, she took down the white pouch hanging by the teepee opening. She took out of the pouch a dried buffalo windpipe and blew some dust from it into the smoke. 4 braves appeared as if by magic and she told them that she was in need of more food. With that she blew more dust into the smoke and immediately there appeared 4 bows and quivers full of arrows. The braves took the bows and went to the edge of the forest crying a loud call. Soon there were many buffalo in the clearing and they killed all they needed. They then walked through the smoke and disappeared. After the maiden and coyote cleaned the buffalo and laid the aside the skins for tanning, they went to bed. Although coyote didn't sleep; and as soon as he knew she was asleep, he grabbed the pouch with the magic windpipe and ran as fast and as far as he could. She knew he would do this and told her brothers to return to pouch to her. In the morning when coyote awoke, he was in her teepee by the fire and she was standing over him looking at the pouch in his paws. He told her that he heard someone around and he needed to protect the pouch. Taking the pouch from him she hung it back in place. That night the same thing occurred and the next morning, coyote awoke by her fire and again he lied about why the pouch was in his paws. The next night, coyote made it as far as the next village and thinking he would be granted all kinds of favors for calling the buffalo to them, he cried out and made his claims. When the villagers saw that it was the trickster coyote, they started throwing sticks and stones at him. Coyote became quite angry and decided to pull out the magic pipe right now; when he blew the dust out, it wasn't 4 braves that appeared, but an angry horde of bumblebees which started swirling around him in a large black cloud and chased him all the way to the river.
As she told them the story, she taught them the sounds and motions that make this a fun, lively tale. And she felt like she was finally home; here with these children so eager to learn, here with these people who accepted her into their midst. (and that, my children, is how the Pawnee tribe got it's storyteller.)
Challenge Translation:
This week we are all about supporting a young gal who has made many trips into the poorer and under-served areas of the world and has found much fulfillment caring for the littlest and most vulnerable of all- the children. Bring scripture, tranquil settings, peaceful surroundings, and calming thoughts to help her refresh after an exhausting 8 month trip.
EPEC~extra points for extra cookies:
Extra cookies for bringing children and anything in the color blue... but don't you bring no durn coyotes....
Destination Station:
This week our destination is Jessica in Tennessee. Jessica was brought to our attention by her proud mom Pam
ClearlySouthern
to find out why as well as get the address to mail your card, please visit Post
#350 in the Teapot Tuesday Destination Station thread. Please remember that just because you participate in a Teapot Tuesday challenge that is combined with a card drive request, it does not mean that you are REQUIRED to send your cards. It is totally 100% voluntary!
Here is my card.
Here is her mother's card
Here is a Quick Link to the Teapot Tuesday #251 Challenge Gallery.
Be sure to you use KEYWORD MMTPT251 in your upload and post a comment here so we can all see your card!
Ever want to get a jump on next week's challenge card? SCS has given Sheri (KSNurse) permission to create an email Teapot Tuesday Cheater Group and email the challenge out on the Saturday before the Tuesday of the challenge so you girls can have the weekend to make your card. Send her a pm with your email address if you wanna be a Cheater!
If you are confused about these challenges, see the first sticky post of this thread for more information. There is also a directory of individual challenges. Feel free to grab this I survived Teapot Tuesday Badge for your blog!
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MMTPT251~May 21, 2013~ We Need a Storyteller..A Teller of Stories..A Story to Tell..
