Fig. 3.—Chart of constellation Wa´-ba-ha (Ursa Major)
Fig. 4.—Chart of Ṭa Ṭha´-bthiN, Three Deer (in Orion)
In the Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ wi´-gi-e (The Taking of Life Symbols), the people of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens implored four gods and four goddesses of the sky for permission to take from them “bodies” for their little ones. The people of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-noⁿ, in the wi´-gi-e recorded by Xu-thu´-wa-ṭoⁿ-iⁿ, entreated six gods and four goddesses of the sky for permission to take “bodies” from them for their little ones. The following is the order in which the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-noⁿ people approached these ten sky deities, the order in which they paired them according to sex, and the terms of relationship they used in addressing them:
1. Wa-ḳoⁿ´-da Hoⁿ´-ba doⁿ, the God of Day (the Sun), grandfather,
2. Wa-ḳoⁿ´-da Hoⁿ doⁿ, the Goddess of Night (the Moon), grandmother.
3. Mi-ḳa´-ḳ’e Hoⁿ-baⁿ doⁿ, the Day-star (Morning star), grandfather,
4. Mi-ḳa´-ḳ’e Hoⁿ´ doⁿ, the Night-star (Evening star), grandmother.
5. Wa´-ba-ha, Litter, the Dipper (Great Bear), (fig. 3), grandfather,
6. Mi-ḳa´-ḳ’e u-ḳi-tha-ç’iⁿ, Double-star, grandmother.
7. Ṭa-p̣a´, Deer-head, Pleiades, grandfather,
8. Ṭa Tha´-bthiⁿ, Three-deer, the three great stars in Orion’s belt (fig. 4), grandmother.
9. Mi-ḳa´-ḳ’e Zhu-dse, Red-star, the Pole star, grandfather,
10. Shoⁿ-ge A-ga-k’e e-goⁿ, Dog-star, Sirius, grandfather.
The two wi´-gi-es do not agree as to the sexes of two of the sky deities. In the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge wi´-gi-e, Ṭa-p̣a´ (Pleiades) is addressed as grandmother and in that of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-noⁿ as grandfather. Ṭa-tha´-bthiⁿ, Three-deer, is addressed as grandfather in the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge wi´-gi-e and in that of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-noⁿ as grandmother.