The Jicarilla Apache Creation
In the beginning there was nothing — no earth, no living beings, only darkness, water, and Cyclone the wind. Only the Hactcin (supernatural beings) existed. They made the earth as a woman facing upward and the sky as a man facing downward. Black Hactcin, the most powerful, created the first four-legged animal from clay, then made many animals from its body. He made birds from mud mixed with raindrops. When the animals and birds asked for a companion, Black Hactcin created the first man from turquoise, coral, opal, jet, abalone, and other precious materials brought by the animals. Four times Bl