gly. Her husband is upset by this and asks his wife who has made her pregnant, but she does not understand. The chief then becomes very ill and feels that he is going to die. He tells his wife that she will give birth to a girl and she should name her Gaengsdesok (Warm Whirling Wind). After some time, the wife gives birth to a girl and the chief's suffering worsens. He instructs his wife to pull the "tree of light" which stands by his hut up by the roots. When this is done the earth will have a hole in it. The chief tells his wife to sit beside him with her legs hanging down through the hole and the child on her back. As soon as she does this, he catches hold of her and pushes her into the hole. As soon as the woman is pushed through the hole, the chief feels much better and orders that the tree be replanted. Meanwhile the woman falls a great distance down to the earth below. During the latter part of her plight, some birds swimming on the waters below notice the woman. One of them states that she is falling from heaven, another seeing the mirror image in the water, states that the woman is emerging from the sea. The birds consult together as to what they can do to save the woman. They all fly up together and bring the woman slowly down on their backs. Meanwhile a large tortoise comes to the surface of the water and the birds deposit her on his back. A number of birds then dive for earth. One of them succeeds and spreads it on the back of the tortoise. When this is done, the earth remains there and spreads, becoming the whole earthly surface of our world. There are several interesting points about this story that are worth mentioning. One of them in correlation to the topic of "creation from above and below." This myth provides another good example of the concept of creation from above. It is interesting to note however that one of the birds in the story sees the mirror image of the woman in the water and states...
