Anpao: An American Indian Odyssey

by Jamake Highwater Narrated by George Guidall

Overview

In the tradition of the Native American storyteller, Jamake Highwater weaves generations of legends and stories into the haunting legend of a handsome young brave named Anpao. When Anpao falls in love with the beatuiful Ko-Ko-mik-e-is, she tells him she belongs to the Sun alone. Before they can marry, Anpao must complete a dangerous journey to the house of the Sun to get permission to wed his beloved. As a sign of the Sun's approval, the scars will be melted from Anpao's tawny cheek. This journey takes him backwards and forward in time and space, from the dawn of time to his eerie meeting with the deathhorse and its horrific rider, Smallpox. In translating ancient legends into a modern folktale, Highwater allows the non-Indian listener rare insights into a Native American view of history. In presenting the images that are uniquely Indian, Highwater does not revert to symbols of white culture. He retains the other-worldly, magical quality of Indian tradition, making Anpao a uniquely enriching and unforgettable listening experience.

Editorial Reviews

Washington Post

Occasionally, not often enough, there appears a timeless work. Such a book is Anpao.

San Francisco Examiner

Highwater is a wonderful poet and storyteller.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171024819
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	01/25/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

Ah, I shall tell

The holy man Wasicong sat by the lake in the night, luminous in the light that rose from the water as he listened to the distant drums and to the singing."Ah," he said. "Do you hear the voices of the children? And do you hear the voices of the women laughing?"And then he pointed down into the moon-filled water where shimmering images of liquid-people in the drowned village at the bottom of the lake rose like smoke on a clear night."Can you hear their singing?" he said. The world is dangerous ... dangerous for Indians. Come with me, my people, and I will show you the way to safety. Here, under the water... here is a magical place. Here is the place created by him to keep his people safe forever.And then old Wasicong looked up into the perfect moon and smiled slowly and rustled his cloak of feathers.

"Ah," he said. "I shall tell you a story of how the world began and how the boy Anpao was born and of his advenrufes among the people and among the spirits." And he winked his large yellow eye and nodded.

"Ah," he hooted softly. I shall tell you if you will come near and look into my face. Ah... " Wasicong whispered as he leaped into the air effortlessly and flew to the top of a pine tree.

"Ah," he hooted at the moon, "I shall tell."

"Ah," he said. I shall tell you a story of how the world began and how the boy Anpao was born and of his adventures among the people and among the spirits." And he winked his large yellow eye and nodded.

"Ah," he hooted softly. I shall tell you if you will come near and look into my face. Ah... " Wasicong whispered as he leaped into the aireffortlessly and flew to the top of a pine tree.

"Ah," he hooted at the moon, "I shall tell."

In the Days of Plentiful

In the days before the people fled into the water, the wind held leaves aloft in the sky like dragonflies. There was no war and people were at peace. The buffalo-people lived in the world of the sweet grass below, and the sky above was filled with birds of many colors and of many songs. The air was blue and the earth was green and each thing rested upon the other. In the forest the leaves fell slowly. There was no fear. The birds did not leap into flight when the cats awoke. And the wild flowers changed colors to amuse themselves.

Anpao and his twin brother Oapna had spent many years traveling through the great world in search of their destiny. One winter they came upon a village high in the mountains. The people who lived there invited them to spend the cold days in comfort. The young brothers accepted gladly, for they were poor and hungry. They had searched long and hard for wisdom and vision without success.

A very beautiful girl lived in the village. When a young man looked upon her, the world would stop. Music would beat in his blood and he could see one hundred white deer sleeping in the sun-blanched meadow of her forehead. She was more beautiful than flowers, more eloquent than antelope, and very proud. All the young men wanted to marry her, but whenever they tried to speak to her about love, she said she did not want a husband. She was so beautiful that young men were made miserable if they looked upon her face.

"How is this, Ko-ko-mik-e-is?" asked the young men. "Why do you not want to marry? How is this, Ko-ko-mik-e-is, that you will not speak to us? We are rich and handsome fellows and many of us are brave and daring."

But Ko-ko-mik-e-is only laughed at them. "Why should I marry?" she replied. "My father is rich. Our lodge is good. We have plenty of food and tanned robes and soft furs for winter. So what good is a husband?"

Anpao and his brother laughed at the young men who were forever trying to attract the attention of the beautiful Ko-ko-mik-e-is. When the Raven People held a dance, the young men put on their most splendid ornaments and each tried to dance with greater elegance than the next. But when they asked Ko-ko-mik-e-is if she would come and sit with them, she laughed and went into her lodge and would not come out. I want no husband," she said.

Then the Bulls, the Kit-Foxes, and many of the other clans held their dances. The young men who were rich and those who were great among their people tried to win the attention of Ko-ko-mik-e-is. The strong and handsome asked for Ko-ko-mik-e-is.

"No," she called from within her lodge. I want no husband."

"Ho! " her disgruntled father exclaimed, for he was getting angry with his daughter. "Why do you refuse these men who call to you? You have been asked by our best young men and you say always the same, No! No! I am unhappy with you, Ko-ko-mik-e-is. I begin to think that maybe you have a secret boy friend!"

While the father of Ko-ko-mik-e-is was shouting, Anpao and his brother Oapna crept to the lodge entrance and waited there in hope of getting some food. But the argument continued and they were afraid to interfere.

"Please," Ko-ko-mik-e-is was pleading, "do not be angry. I have no lover, Father, and I have done nothing with anyone. It is the great Above Person ... it was he who told me that I must not marry any of these young men. He has told me that I belong..

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