Research source

Sometimes it is the moon, sometimes water, of whom this is said: "We are all of us under the power of evil and…

Date of account: Revised nineteenth-century edition
Source: The Myths of the New World A Treatise on the Symbolism and Mythology of the Red Race of America
Reference: The Myths of the New World A Treatise on the Symbolism and Mythology of the Red Race of America · selected passage 17
Rights: public_domain
Language: English comparative scholarship drawing on Indigenous American sources
Translation: Daniel G. Brinton
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

Sometimes it is the moon, sometimes water, of whom this is said: "We are all of us under the power of evil and sin, because we are children of the Water," says the Mexican baptismal formula

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

Sometimes it is the moon, sometimes water, of whom this is said: "We are all of us under the power of evil and sin, _because_ we are children of the Water," says the Mexican baptismal formula. That Unktahe, spirit of water, is the master of dreams and witchcraft, is the belief of the Dakotas.[133-3] A female spirit, wife of the great manito whose heart is the sun, the ancient Algonkins believed brought death and disease to the race; "it is she who kills men, otherwise they would never die; she eats their flesh and knaws[TN-4] their vitals, till they fall away and miserably perish."[134-1] Who is this woman? In the legend of the Muyscas it is Chia, the moon, who was also goddess of water and flooded the earth out of spite.[134-2] Her reputation was notoriously bad. The Brazilian mother carefully shielded her infant from the lunar rays, believing that they would produce sickness;[134-3] the hunting tribes of our own country will not sleep in its light, nor leave their game exposed to its action. We ourselves have not outgrown such words as lunatic, moon-struck, and the like. Where did we get these ideas?

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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