Excerpt from BIG HORSE WOMAN (Book One)
Stories & Art by B. Salvatore
Her mother held her, touched her lips with sacred water, nursed her, welcomed her. Her grandmother named her.
In the early days, every woman carried seed for their families, for their village, for the tribe.
But not every woman knew the seeds to carry of medicine.
Those that did, carried these seeds wherever they went.
Rain Walking was such a seed carrier.
Nónzhin Mónthin carried the seed of every medicine that crossed their path. When her daughter, KóndehiWin, gave birth – there and then Nónzhin Mónthin recognized Water Willow as one.
Rain Walking had the seeds of knowing to pass on, and she saw that Water Willow would be fertile ground.
She saw in this new child, the heart and hands to carry seeds.
She whispered to her new granddaughter, “Witúshpa…
For every medicine, there is a plant.
For every plant, there is a seed.
For every people, a Seed Carrier.”
And thus, she blessed her.
Rain Walking was close to the seeds, knew when they were thirsty, and could call on winds when they grew desperate to drink. When Rain Walking beseeched, these winds would gather up clouds and press rain from them.
And that is how she got her name.
Rain Walking would keep the rain making in her fingertips, until Water Willow was old and strong enough to move winds and water. But first, she would speak with trees. And so her name was – the tree she was born under.
Thíxu wín, Water Willow, she was called.
~~~
When they opened the door to Kímonhon, he saw his child glowing red, thick vermillion grease coating her skin. They wrapped her in an ermine trimmed blanket and placed her in his arms. The wind was a spiraling zephyr, blowing circles around them.
Stars were yet falling from the sky.
Original Stories and Illustrations by Barbara Salvatore © 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
(unless Limited Rights given and Printed with Permission)
Barbara Salvatore, from Verdigre, Nebraska, is the author and illustrator of the Big Horse Woman series including Big Horse Woman, and MAGGHIE.
by Barbara Salvatore
Big Horse Woman, first in a series of four epic novels, was a Finalist in the Leapfrog Press Literary Fiction Contest, and Winner of Chanticleer International Book Award – Prairie/First Nations, Laramie Prize for Western Fiction. Big Horse Woman, born in a dream, sparked Barbara’s interest in Ponca Language, because she wanted to Name the Plants the way Big Horse Woman would. This led to her becoming a lifetime student of the Ponca Language*.
*The Ponca are a Midwestern Native American tribe of the Dhegihan branch of the Siouan language group. There are two federally recognized Ponca tribes: the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.
