The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions

among Indians) that was empowered by water (dew) and heat
(sun). (Dew is a reference to vaginal secretions during
tumescence.) Tobacco smoke is connected to water, for it
imitates clouds in appearance and behavior. It is used to evoke
spirits as well as a sense of well-being and clearheadedness and
is often a feature of religious ceremonies. That First Woman is
connected to water is made clear in another passage of the same
account: First Woman (who had referred to both Kloskurbeh the
teacher and his nephew the disciple as “my children”) had said
that she was born of the beautiful plant. The famine had made her
very sad, and every day she left home and was gone for long
periods. One day the disciple followed her and saw her wade
into the river, singing. “And as long as her feet were in the
water, she seemed glad, and the man saw something that trailed
behind her right foot, like a long green blade.” 23
Among medicine people it is well known that immersing
oneself in water will enable one to ward off dissolution. Bodies
of apprentices, sorcerers, and witches are subject to changes,
including transformation from corporeal to spirit. Immersion
also helps one resist the pull of supernatural forces unleashed by
another sorcerer, though this does not seem to be what occurs in
this story. But the connection of First Woman with water is
clear: in the water she is happy, centered, powerful, for she is
deeply connected to water, as is implied by her birth story. If she
was born of the beautiful plant, then she is in some basic sense a
vegetation spirit who has taken a human body (or something like
it) to further the story of creation. Her “sacrifice” is the
culmination of her earthly sojourn: by transferring the power she
possesses to the corn and tobacco (her flesh and her bones), she
makes certain that the life forms she has vitalized will remain
vital. Thus, one aspect of her power is embodied in the children,
while another aspect is embodied in the corn and tobacco. In
their mutuality of energy transfer, all will live.