Some believe that all tribes in North America came from the Pleiades. They fell upon a stream with many colorful pebbles and followed it. [53][54], The Lakota Tribe of North America had a legend that linked the origin of the Pleiades to Devils Tower. One boy accidentally knocked over one of the rifles and it fired, hitting one of the men inside the sweat lodge and killing him instantly. The Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) put his hand on Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) and said. Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 04:43, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Australian Aboriginal astronomy Pleiades, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64606-6_11, toiles et constellations chez les nomades, Edmond Bernus & Ehya ag-Sidiyene, "inios apie dangaus viesulius Grikabdio apylinkse", "Pasaulio krimo motyvai lietuvi pasakojamojoje tautosakoje", "The Pleiades in the Belarusian Tradition: Folklore Texts and Linguistic Areal Studies", Philosophy, initiation and myths of the Indians of Guiana and adjacent countries, https://archive.org/details/starnamesandthe00allegoog/page/20/mode/2up?view=theater, "Chastest Woman Arundhati in Literature! The legend of Devils Tower began long ago with the Native Americans who lived in the area. The rock rose higher and higher, the bears still jumped at the girls until they were pushed up into the sky, where they now are, seven little stars in a group (The Pleiades). 160/186of the handout on Arapaho symbols linked above. Its disappearance in April (the 10th month) and the appearance of the star Achernar signals the beginning of the cold season. Next, the earth shook and began to rise with the boys. StandardsClickhereto see a spreadsheet aligningWyomingState Social Studies, Language Arts and Common Core Standards for this and other digital toolkits of Wyoming History. The boy suckles on his mother's breast for 7 years, becomes immensely strong and goes to kill the dragon. In Greek mythology, the stars of Pleiades represented the Seven Sisters. If it will help, read the story together in the whole class. The Friends of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum. The Prophet is noted to have counted twelve stars in the constellation as reported in Ibn Ishaq. One day when she had been gone longer than usual, he laid in wait for her. They have many stories about how the tower came to be-. The "Netted Stars" known as Remmirath in The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien are likely a reference to the Pleiades, given their appearance and proximity to a red star called Borgil (identified with Aldebaran) and the constellation Menelvagor of the Shining Belt (Orion). The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. The girls were scared and the only place they could get was on top of the rocks around which they had been playing. They believe that it is a place where the physical and spiritual worlds come together. In Indian astrology the Pleiades were known as the nakshatra Kttik which in Sanskrit is translated as "the cutters". Legend has it seven young girls were being chased by bears and climbed a low rock nearby to escape. Surf Ballroom and Buddy Holly Plane Crash Site in Iowa, Lourdes: The World's Most Famous Healing Shrine, Mexico City's Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Spiritual travels are more than ordinary trips, The Surprising Spiritual Mecca of Crestone, Colorado, Thomas Merton's Mystical Vision in Louisville. Their year began when priests first remarked the asterism heliacal rising in the east, immediately before the sun's dawn light obliterated the view of the stars. [7] Mention follows (or precedes) of nearby Orion, a bright, anthropomorphic constellation: Amos 5:8; Job 9:9; and Job 38:31. And Devils Tower was created. Soon he had been entirely transformed into a bear. The origins of the Bear Lodge Devils Tower are shrouded in mystery, but there are several theories about how it was formed. He was very much frightened as he did not know how he would get down. The image of the painting by Herbert A. Collins of the bear clawing the mountain is from the National Park Services, The image showing the relationship of the Big Dipper, North Star and Little Dipper is from, Casper Chapter, Wyoming Archaeological Society, June Frison chapter, Wyoming Archeological Society. Gifford, Edward Winslow; Gwendoline Harris Block. America had a legend linking the origin of Pleiades to the Devil's Tower. Philadelphia: American Folklore Society, 1961. pp. The Lakota Indians named it Mato Tipila or "Bear Lodge." Becoming suspicious that some other brave in his band might be courting his wife, he watched to see what man was missing when his wife left camp. . Privacy Policy and Legal Disclaimers. The Seven Sisters are a group of seven large rock formations in the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The maiden promises to become the hunter's wife, but before he must accompany her to the sky. The bear-girl went to grab the ball, slipped and made big scratches on the rock while falling on her sister and breaking her chest. The Great Spirit, seeing the bear was about to catch the girls, caused the rock to grow up out of the ground. [74] Subaru Telescope, located in Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii, is also named after the Pleiades.[75]. children; five boys and two girls who agree d that the one who found the end rib of a buffalo will receive the most favors from their brothers. Paul Goble, a British-American author who often depicted Native American stories, tells a Blackfoot legend that he says is told by other tribes as well. Harrison, Edith Ogden, and Lucy Fitch Perkins. The monument covers 1,347 acres (547 hectares) and includes the tower as well as the surrounding area. As such, the seven are elevated to the sky as "The Seven Stars" (the Pleiades). She would not answer any of his questions. [51][52], The Kiowa of North America legend of the Seven Star Girls links the origin of the Pleiades to Devils Tower. At the end of the tale, the rescuers and the chamberlain enter a dispute on who should have the princess, but the "Dragon-mother" suggests they should treasure her as a sister, and to keep protecting her. This oil painting by Herbert A. Collins has hung in the Devils Tower National Monument Visitor Center since 1937, and is the only original exhibit piece that remains on display today. When they rise from the east with the sun, the cold somewhat rainy season is coming. These women were the first to know fire-making and each carried live coals on the end of their digging sticks. [15] lker is also a unisex given name, a surname and the name of a food company best known for its chocolates. Although popular culture would label them myths or legends, a more appropriate term would be oral histories, or in many cases sacred narratives. 344-353, and the story of the Girl Who Becomes a Bear, pp. Unfortunately, the Cloud Maiden is banished to Earth and becomes the "Maid of the Mist". The girl who had told was carrying a ball in her hand which she dropped and accidentally kicked. 2023 SpiritualDesk | All Rights Reserved. This lesson allows students to discover how old technology works in a modern world, including finding north and therefore, how to make a compass. In Quechua they are called Qullqa (storehouse). The tower itself is over 1,000 feet tall and has been a popular destination for climbers and hikers for years. After this, they were swept into the night sky. More about Devils Tower at Wyoming Places, Wyoming Social Studies Standards Correlations, Green River Historic Preservation Commission, Natrona County Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Natrona County Recreation Joint Powers Board, Sublette County Historical Preservation Board, University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources, Copies of Seven Sisters Story for each student. [3] Some scientists suggest that these may come from observations back when Pleione was further from Atlas and more visible as a separate star as far back as 100,000 BC. I enquired from Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). To me, one month out of twelve doesnt seem like too much to ask-in fact, it reflects quite an imbalance between the two groups. This legend was told to Dick Stone by Ride-The-White-Hip-Horse. The bear lodge is a place of refuge and security. In the Navajo creation story, Upward-reachingway, dilh was the first constellation placed in the sky by Black God. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'spiritualdesk_com-banner-1','ezslot_3',173,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-spiritualdesk_com-banner-1-0'); There have been many sightings of Mato over the years, but no one has been able to capture or kill him. The bear-girl then left many scratches on her sisters back and told her that if she told, the dogs will howl so the bear-girl will know. They observed the seven brothers, as well as Corona Borealis, the Chiefs, through the smoke hole of Pawnee lodges to determine the time of night. It is the centerpiece of the Devils Tower National Monument, which was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The tower is made up of mostly hexagonal columns, but some have as few as four or as many as seven sides. Filled with grief and anger, his companion grabbed his rifle and started shooting at anything that moved birds, deer, even trees. The . According to the Seris (of northwestern Mexico), these stars are seven women who are giving birth. At this time, the warriors could not carry the gold so they hid the tunnel to return at a later time. The cluster, known as Bintang Tujuh ("seven stars") or Bintang Puyuh ("sparrow stars") in Malay, is a marker in the traditional rice planting season in Kedah for sowing paddy seeds. The floor had numerous bones. Some believe that Mato is real, while others believe that he is just a legend. [71] For agricultural tribes in the northern hemisphere, the course of the Pleiades indicated the beginning and ending of the growing seasons. Sacred narratives are told today with a reverence to the beliefs and people of the past. ", Courtesy of Realbirdium at the English language Wikipedia, Once when some Crows were camped at "Bear's House," two little girls were playing around some big rocks there. To protect the game, she submitted to his advances. The seven sisters leaped into the sky and became the stars of the Big Dipper, while the tree hardened into stone, its sides still scored by the bears claws. Learning Objective(s)1. Only six of the boys made it to the sky; the seventh was caught by his mother and fell to the ground with such force that he sank into the ground. Barbara Marciniak, author of Bringers of the Dawn, is one of the authors who contributes to the New Age mythos of Pleiadian ET beings who are linked to human ancestry. The Great Spirit came to their rescue by placing them on top of Mateo Tepe, the Devils Tower rock formation. Between Hollywood and that misguided Army colonel, its no wonder that people get the wrong impression of this landmark. Meaning: When the Pleiades "fall" with the sun on the west, it still roughly (at J2000) means the hot, dry summer is coming. The children, however, die in their sleep and are elevated to the sky as the Pleiades. "Star-names and their meanings"by Allen, Richard Hinckley, 1838-1908, G.E. [70] This is about eight hours afternoon by local, traditional time standards. Thus the Devils Tower moniker is particularly offensive to Indians, because this is actually a place of great holiness. The story tells that a poor elderly couple who lived in a forest had raised a family of chickens: a mother hen and her six (or alternately seven) chicks. (2021). In a tale collected in Belknap, attributed to the Assiniboine, seven youths discuss among themselves what they could change into. But really, I think the best way to seeDevils Toweris with neck craned at its base, watching as raptors glide the air currents around it, marveling at its massive presence looming above. Devils Tower National Monument. CLOSED For more discussion, have students read two more stories from the pdf of the book,Arapaho Songs and Prayers: the story of the Woman and the Porcupine, pp. The Legend of Devil's Tower The Legend of Standing Rock The Legend of the White Buffalo Woman The Teton Lakota were great travelers, their journeys covering much of North America. The third (taken in the context of following verses) stresses their ongoing nature in the night sky; God is speaking directly to Job and challenges him, asking if he can bind the chains of the Pleiades the implication being that Job cannot, but God can. It was from this acronychal rising that the Pleiades became associated with tears and mourning. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki ("Rashi", 10401105) suggested even more stars within the cluster when he commented on the Talmud with a question, "What is meant by Kimah? It is then understood that the Talmud was suggesting hundreds of stars in the Pleiades cluster, and that only the first hundred are mentioned due to them being the most important. They knew where to find pigments for their paints. If you get the chance to visit this place, I think you will see why so manymyths and legends swirl around it, why filmmakers are intrigued by it, and why it is considered sacred by many tribes. [83] In tellings of the story in which there were only six chicks, the mother is included but often includes only the seven chicks. In the ancient Andes, the Pleiades were associated with abundance, because they return to the Southern Hemisphere sky each year at harvest-time. [64], The Shasta people tell a story of the children of raccoon killed by coyote avenging their father's death and then rising into the sky to form the Pleiades. As they did so, the bear began to claw at the trunk, creating deep gashes in its sides. The dance is performed once per year, on the second day of the Javanese month of Ruwah (during May) and is performed by the nine females, relatives or wives of the Susuhunan (prince) of Surakarta before a private audience in the inner circle of the Sultanate family. The rock kept growing until it was so high that the bear could not get the girls. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, #1 T. rex Drive, PO Box 460 Have them turn in their drawings that map the stars. [56][65], In a tale from the Tachi people, the Pleiades are five sisters who lived in sky and marry a man named Flea. This brave could not understand why his wife should be gone from their lodge so much as he had always been devoted to her, being a good hunter as well as a brave warrior. Interpreted by Goes-To-Magpie. The seven sisters leaped into the sky and became the stars of the Big Dipper, while the tree hardened into stone, its sides still scored by the bear's claws. The dragon kills them. Thus lker erig literally means 'an army made up of a group of detachments', which forms an apt simile for a star cluster. Devils Tower National Monument is a massive geological formation in Wyoming thats considered sacred by the Northern Plains Indians. The head of the lodge had seven The bear had no mate and had become infatuated with her while she was out gathering fruit. When (the Pleiades) rise, I wake looking for cloth/clothes to wear. [25] Another Russian name to the constellation is Volosozhary or Volosynia, related by some scholars to the word volosy ('wool'), and to Volos a.k.a. When the people came to look, they found the bears' claws, turned to stone, all around the base. One Native American legend ties the Pleiades to the home of a Savior. Your email address will not be published. Each year about 5,000 people make their way to the top of the formation, which is considered one of the premiere technical climbs in North America.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'spiritualtravels_info-banner-1','ezslot_3',168,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-spiritualtravels_info-banner-1-0'); Those climbers illustrate a continuing controversy at Devils Tower: the conflict between those who value the formation as a holy site and those who come here for recreation. These stories provide tribal members with a connection with nature and the spirit world. The bear became angrier because he could not climb the mountain, and so he scratched, and scratched his way up, but failed. In: Vathanaprida, Supaporn; Gill, William Wyatt; and Mller, Friedrich Max. [97] The makahiki season begins with a new moon following the rising of the pleiades (or makali`i) just after sunset instead of the heliacal rising. Filmed by GraffitiTV. The Cheyenne call Devils Tower "Bear's Lodge," "Bear's House," "Bear's Tipi," and "Bear Peak." 1 The Cheyenne camped and hunted at Bear's Lodge in the winter and consider it a holy place. The bear jumped to the top of the mountain and dug in his claws to climb up. Devils Toweris a tower, certainly, but evil forces have nothing to do with it. [78], Pleiades was once of most asterisms that used by Bugis sailors for navigation, called worong-porongng bintong pitu, meaning "cluster of seven stars"[79], In the Philippines the Pleiades are known as "Moroporo", meaning either the boiling lights or a flock of birds. 5 Great Places To Go Stargazing in Wyoming. [2], As noted by scholar Stith Thompson, the constellation was "nearly always imagined" as a group of seven sisters, and their myths explain why there are only six. The constellation is known as Cmaamc, which is apparently an archaic plural of the noun cmaam "woman". The bear slapped the woman with his paw and changed her into a bear. In Baltic languages the name for this constellation is Sietynas in Lithuanian and Sieti in Latvian which is derived from sietas meaning "a sieve". (Hence the mountain is now called " Devil 's Tower"). Hours [62], The Skidi Pawnee consider the Pleiades to be seven brothers. He asked who abused her and she told him that she was charmed by a large bear that lived in the rock. Copyright 2023 Akt Lakota Museum | An Outreach of St. Josephs Indian School - All rights reserved. Elder Hazel tells the legend behind Devils Rock or Devils Tower, an actual place in Wyoming. Shemhazai found a maiden named Istehar who swore she would give herself to him if he told her the sacred name which granted him the power to fly to Heaven. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Then the warrior told his wife to lead him to the bear so he could kill it. [63], A second tale tells the Pleiades are six brothers who rescue their sister, who becomes the seventh star of the constellation. Devils Tower is a unique and beautiful natural rock formation in Wyoming. In historical Russian treatises about astronomy, the constellation was known as semizvedie, as well as vlasozelisci. There are several hiking trails in the area and visitors can also camp overnight in the park. Eastend, SK S0N 0T0. The bear-girl chased them. [84][85][86][87], The Motif Index of Polynesian Narratives locates stories about the genesis of the Pleiades in New Zealand, Cooks and in Rotuma. Seeing those climbers on the side of Devils Tower, in fact, made me think of European cathedrals Ive visited while tourists were traipsing through. [57], A Nez Perce myth about this constellation mirrors the ancient Greek myths about the Lost Pleiades. One day, seven sisters and their brother were playing near it when the boy began to growl, his fingers grew claws, and hair erupted all over his body. The deity (in one version, Phya In in Northern Thai and Phra In in Thai, both referring to Indra),[82] impressed by and in remembrance of their love, immortalized the seven chickens as the stars of the Pleiades. Devils Tower was the first National Monument in the United States - declared as such in 1906 by President Teddy Roosevelt. [94][95], The Wirangu people of the west coast of South Australia have a creation story embodied in a songline of great significance based on the Pleiades. The seven girls became the Pleiades and the grooves on Devils Tower are the marks of the bear's claws. [69], To the Ban Raji people, who live semi-nomadically across western Nepal and Uttarakhand, the Pleiades are the "Seven sisters-in-law, and brother-in-law" (Hatai halyou daa Salla). In this tale, two sisters, the older Sianpual'etaf, ("Girl Shining In The-Light") and the younger Sianpual'ekia ("Girl Shining In The-Sunset-Glow"), escape from their cruel husbands and become constellations: the older becomes "The Little Eyes" and the younger "The Fan". When the bears jumped to reach the girls, they scratched the rock, broke their claws, and fell on the ground. During a celebration in 1932 on the Crow Agency in Montana, Max Big Man was questioned about the Tower. Cowell, Andrew, Alonzo Moss and William J.CHair. Before the Kiowa came south they were camped on a stream in the far north where there were a great many bears, many of them. A band of Cheyennes went on one of their visits to Na Kovehe (Bear Lodge) to worship the great spirit, as did many other tribes. On the fourth day, they felt like they were being following. To this day you can still see the claw marks the mad bear left on the mountain. They came to a hill and found an antelope which they followed. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The husband of the youngest sister, the youngest of the seven brothers, accompanies his spouse and transforms into the Taurus constellation. They decide to transform into stars by climbing a spiderweb. It can be used to symbolize a connection to the spiritual world and is thought to be a place of great healing and transformation. The resulting fire burned away the trees bark, leaving behind the bare rock that we see today. The father of this lodge was a head lodge and had seven children, five boys and two girls. These myths are as follows: Notice that many of the names given to Devils Tower translate to bears? It is managed as a U.S. National Park and is open to the public, but travel here for non-Indigenous tourists requires awareness and respect for these sacred grounds. They refused to share these coals with anybody and were ultimately tricked into giving up their secret by Crow, who brought fire to mankind. Kiowa legend of Devils Tower My grandmother said: "Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Another legend tells of seven maidens who were being pursued by a ferocious bear. The astrological Pleiades were described in Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (Kln, 1533, but published manuscript as early as 1510). Unable to choose which brother she likes best, God allows the seven to pass out in their sleep and turns them into the seven stars of the constellation.[24]. Worried that they had no suitable food to offer him, the elderly couple contemplated cooking the mother hen. The constellation is known as Cmaamc, which is apparently an archaic plural of the noun cmaam "woman". According to the Middle Turkic lexicographer Kagarl Mahmud, writing in the 11th century, lker erig refers to a military ambush (erig meaning 'troops in battle formation'): "The army is broken up into detachments posted in various places," and when one detachment falls back the others follow after it, and by this device "(the enemy) is often routed." It takes about 45 minutes to walk around the base of the tower, a route that winds through pine forest and past jumbles of boulders and rocks that have fallen from its sides over the years. ", This legend was told to Dick Stone by Young-Bird, a Cheyenne, whose home was on the Lame Deer Reservation. The Great Spirit gave the men courage and they shot the bear. They believed it was put there by the Great Spirit for a special reason, because it was different from the other rocks, rising high up in the air, instead of being on the ground. Formed from molten magma some 50 million years ago, the tower was gradually exposed as the rocks around it were eroded away. From its base, Devils Tower is more than four football fields tall. [118] The story tells of the courtship of one of the Seven Sisters by the legendary Man in the Moon. Although the following stories are products of the past, the tribes they are associated with are active members of our present. Their father, wrathful at their disobedience, banishes them to another part of the sky. Although the Devils Tower has been there for millions of years, the Native Americans believed this to be a holy site with magical powers. Tgilby, after falling in love with the seven sisters, known as Yugarilya, chases them out of the sky, onto and across the earth. When the bear came out he was so big that all the warriors were scared and climbed up on a big rock. [112] The word comes from the verb -lima meaning "dig" or "cultivate", as their visibility was taken as a sign to prepare digging as the onset of the rain was near. (Bukhari).[14]. [33] The members of this asterism, considered to be "seven starry brothers", each receive an individual name: in one version, duos Mika and Mioka, Raka and Raoka, Orisav and Borisav, and the last Milisav; in another, Vole and Voleta, Rale and Raleta, Mile and Mileta and Proak; in a third, Mile and Mileta, Rade and Radeta, Bore and Boreta and Prigimaz. These men were so scared that they prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. He rescues his sister and resurrects his brothers. The seven stars of dilh are depicted on ceremonial masks of Black God, in sand paintings and on ceremonial gourd rattles.[59]. Author Kate Clark retold a Maori tale titled Matariki, or the Little Eyes. The bear-girl reached over her sister's shoulder to grab the ball, slipped and made very big scratches on the big rock and fell on her sister and broke the sister's chest. From this time on his nation called this big high rock Mato Tipila and they went there often to worship. The girls ran to the base of the tree, which told them to climb to the top of its branches. by Allen, Richard Hinckley, 1838-1908, The verse quoted here is verse 3 from the aforementioned chapter. unless otherwise noted [46][47], The Hopi determined the passage of time for nighttime rituals in the winter by observing the Pleiades (Tstsqam)[48][49] and Orion's belt (Hotmqam) through a kiva entrance hatch as they passed overhead. Read More Spiritual Significance of Bear WiccaContinue, Read More How To Bear Spiritual FruitContinue, Read More Spiritual Meaning of Herb Bearing SeedContinue, Read More Kermode Bear Spiritual AnimalsContinue, Read More Bear And Hare Candle Spiritual MeaningContinue, Read More Koala Bear Spiritual MeaningContinue, Your email address will not be published. This allows them to feel and touch the Big Dipper and to get a closer look at the stars. [29], 'Volosozhary' (the ones whose hair is glowing), or 'Baby-Zvizdy' (female-stars) refer to the female tribal deities. The seven little girls were chased by bears, and climbed a low rock. The Bear Lodge Devils Tower is a unique geological formation located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. He revealed it to her, but she flew up to Heaven, never to fulfill her promise, thus she was placed in the constellation Pleiades,[9] although she is also associated with the planet Venus.[10]. Director Steven Spielbergset the climax of his alien-encounter movie at Devils Tower. The sister told her brothers causing the dogs to howl. When they found the bear the man had great fear because the bear was big, very big. The Hawaiian creation chant known as the Kumulipo also begins with reference to the pleiades (known as the makali`i). In Lithuanian folk songs this constellation is often personified as a benevolent brother who helps orphan girls to marry or walks soldiers along the fields. "Devils Tower" was a name given to the location by the white many in 1875 when Colonel Richard Irving Dodge incorrectly translated the native name to "Bad God's Tower." This eventually developed into the name "Devils Tower." There are many tribal names associated with the sacred site. The Teacher should discuss how stories are intertwined into Arapaho culture. After a long search one of the girls found an end bone of a bison, but on picking it up she turned into a bear and made some big scratches on her sister's back. As a result of precession over the centuries, the Pleiades no longer marked the festival, but the association has nevertheless persisted, and may account for the significance of the Pleiades astrologically. Olcott, Frances Jenkins, and Milo Winter. [80], In Thailand the Pleiades are known as RTGS:Dao Luk Kai () or the "Chick Stars" (Thai: Dao 'stars', Luk Gai 'chick'),[81] from a Thai folk tale. [101][102], Across the Bantu languages of Southern Africa, the Pleiades are associated with agriculture,[103][104][105][106] from a verb -lima 'cultivate',[107] e.g., Giryama kirimira,[108] Kaguru chilimia;[109] Xhosa and Zulu isilimela; Sotho and Tswana selemela; Tsonga shirimela, Venda tshilimela;[110] Karanga chirimera; Nyabungu kelemera; Nyasa lemila.[111]. According to legend, Devil's Tower was formed when a child turned into a bear and chased his sisters into a tree. These controversies arent easily solved, at Devils Tower or elsewhere. But in Lithuanian folk tales as well as Latvian folk songs this constellation is usually depicted as an inanimate object, a sieve which gets stolen by the devil from the thunder god or is used to conjure light rain by thunder's wife and children.