Hutash

ORIGIN:

Chumash

Hutash, powerful deity, lived alone on Limuw Island, off the coast of California, now Santa Cruz Island. She was lonely; her husband, the Sky Snake, lived in the sky and so she decided to create people in her own image, forming them from magic seeds. Hutash took good care of her people, the Chumash, teaching them skills and providing for them. They flourished, multiplied, and eventually Limuw became crowded and noisy, so noisy that Hutash couldn’t sleep and was irritated. She decided that some of the people must move to the California mainland. Hutash created a very high, very long rainbow bridge on which the Chumash could walk from the tallest point on Limuw to a tall mountain near what is now Carpinteria. Some made the journey with ease, but others, looking down, became disoriented and dizzy and fell. Hutash did not want them to drown. She felt responsible: she had advised the journey and provided the bridge, and so she transformed those who fell into dolphins.

The Rainbow Bridge by Audrey Wood (Voyager Books, 1995) is a lavishly illustrated retelling of this Chumash creation myth.

Sacred time: An almost week-long annual festival honoring Hutash is scheduled after the autumn harvest.

Sacred animal:

Dolphin

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses– Written by Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.