Set a Purpose

Find out why humans and animals hide from the Yakwawiak.

Of all the creatures that walked the earth on four legs, the Yakwawiak were the largest. The earth shook under their feet, and the other animals ran from them, for these monsters were bad-tempered and unfriendly. The human beings had been given permission by Kitselemukong, the Great Mystery, to hunt the animals for food. But they too were afraid of the Yakwawiak.

The skin and the hair of the Yakwawiak were so thick that no arrow could pierce them. The two great tusks of these monsters were as sharp as spears, and their long noses were like great snakes. The Yakwawiak hurled down the trees and muddied the springs.

They trampled everything underfoot as they went about the land. They crushed the humans and the animals under their feet, and the people had to hide in caves to escape them. Those great monsters did not remember the words of Kitselemukong, who said that all beings on earth should live together. The Yakwawiak had no respect for any other living thing.

At last, one man could take it no longer. This man, whose name was Two Hawks Flying, left the caves where all the people were hiding from the great monsters. He climbed to the top of the highest mountain. He made a fire and prayed to the Creator. He placed tobacco on the glowing coals.