Nevertheless, in a friendly mood Kai-ne-sava might be extremely helpful. He could soothe the deer so they were not frightened and lure them where they were easily found. Then the Indians could shoot their arrows with assurance of killing. Such good fortune the Indians did not forget. A bounteous kill they were willing to share with Kai-ne-sava. To show their appreciation, little pieces of meat were laid out here and there for him. When they returned, the meat was always gone, hence Kai-ne-sava must have taken it.
Although Kai-ne-sava was fond of playing pranks, he was often kind and pleasant. This is in marked contrast with another supernatural being who was always at cross purposes and who caused the Indians no end of trouble. This was Wai-no-pits, who lurked in gloomy shadows and was always intent on evil. It was sometimes hard to distinguish between the pranks of Kai-ne-sava and the evil doings of Wai-no-pits. There seems to have been some confusion in the minds of the Indians. The one was to be propitiated, the other avoided.
Wai-no-pits might visit a camp and bring sickness to it. He might cause an accident or waylay the Indians with all sorts of dire calamities. Wherever his presence was suspected it was best to run away.
The Wolf-god (Shin-na′-wav), on the other hand, was the friendly one. There was no fear of him, but he was more distant and less distinctly defined. There were legends connecting him with the past history of the Paiute Indians and his influence was more or less mysterious. While his friendly acts were to be appreciated it was not always possible to distinguish his manifestations from those of Kai-ne-sava.
These supernatural beings, apparently, were not familiar spirits. Never were they directly encountered. Their manifestations were veiled and it was only by signs and implications that they could be interpreted. Anything not clearly comprehended was likely to be interpreted by the Indian as a manifestation of the preternatural. Zion Canyon was full of mystery; it was a place where anything might happen, especially in the shadows and darkness. The fear of Wai-no-pits or of Kai-ne-sava in his austere moods more than offset the assurance of Shin-na-wav or of Kai-ne-sava propitiated. Small wonder the superstitious Indian tried to avoid Zion Canyon, especially when night had fallen in its awesome depths.
The Paiute, himself extremely primitive, contributed not a little to our culture in the way of an early knowledge of geography and routes of travel, place names and a heritage of traditions. Most of the pioneers explored these new regions and traveled new routes largely or partly with the aid of Indian guides or advice. Without such assistance, the explorers many times wandered from the proper route, lost valuable time, and encountered dangers and hardships that could have been avoided. Escalante tells us in 1776 that with proper Indian guidance he could have covered in three days the Arizona Strip which in his wanderings required ten. Geographical knowledge thus acquired wove itself into our culture through personal contact, writings and maps that have since been passed on from generation to generation.
Many Indian geographical names, anglicized or unchanged, have been perpetuated in our nomenclature; for example, Toquerville, named for Indian chief Toquer, Kaibab (big flat mountain or mountain lying down), Kanarra (also named for an Indian chief), Shunesburg (an abandoned village named for an old Indian who lived there), Parunuweap (canyon with a swift stream of water), Kanab (meaning willow; there were many of them growing there when the town was first settled), and Paria or Pahrea (meaning a settlement and plateau). The name Mukuntuweap, pronounced Mu-koon-tu-weap, without accent, is undoubtedly of Indian origin, but there has been much dispute as to its derivation and application.
Originally applied by Major Powell to both Zion Canyon and the river flowing through it, the name is now restricted to the latter. Some of the early white settlers suggest that it means “the place of the gods” or simply “God’s land.” This interpretation, however, seems to have no real foundation. Both Indians and whites appear to be in complete agreement that tu-weap means ground, earth, or place. It is the rest of the word which is in doubt. William W. Seegmiller, who is familiar with the Indian language, is of the opinion that it is named for a chief of the Virgin River Indians named Mukun, and therefore simply means the land of Mukun.
Old George of the Kaibab Indians pronounced it Mukoontau′-weap, with accent on tau, and said it meant straight canyon. William R. Palmer, also an authority on Paiute lore, concludes that there are two possibilities: one, that it is derived from the Indian word yucca or oose, muk-unk, the whole word muk-unk-o-weap, thus meaning Oose Creek (or since the oose was sometimes used for soap simply Soap Creek); and the other derived from Muk-unt-o-weap, meaning straight canyon. Major Powell (September 12, 1872) says, “The Indians call the canyon through which it [the river] runs, Mu-koon-tu-weap, or Straight Canyon.”[2]
Several of the better informed Indians on the Shivwits Reservation near Santa Clara did not recognize the word Mukuntuweap. Tommy Mayo pronounced it Huh-cut-u-weap, and said it meant red dirt, red country, or place of red soil. Frank Mustache pronounced it Un-ga-tu-weap and gave its meaning as red dirt. Tony Tillohash gave a different version, pronouncing it huh-kon-tu-weap, meaning a big canyon.