Elder Brother
Elder Brother, Se'ehe (also Siuuhu, and in Piman tellings I'itoi), is the culture hero and law-giver of the Akimel O'odham. Emerging in the world's second age, he shapes humankind, teaches the arts of living, and rids the land of monsters. In the central saga his rule grows tyrannical and he is slain, in most versions by the shaman Buzzard wielding the killing heat of the sun; he lies dead but rises again, journeys to the sun, and returns to lead the people up from beneath the earth to conquer the earlier inhabitants of the great houses whom archaeologists call the Hohokam. His monster-slaying exploits include the destruction of the cannibal witch Ho'ok and of the man-eating Eagle. Sources differ on whether he is Earth Doctor's son, successor, or rival. He is the figure depicted in the widely reproduced Man-in-the-Maze design.
Domains
- culture hero
- war
- monster slaying
Powers
- rise again after death
- lead the people up from the underworld
Epithets
- Se'ehe — Elder BrotherFrank Russell, The Pima Indians (1908), pp. 211-218. (primary)
- Siuuhu — Elder Brother (Smith-Allison orthography)Donald Bahr et al., The Short, Swift Time of Gods on Earth (1994). (primary)
Relations
- rival: Earth DoctorDonald Bahr et al., The Short, Swift Time of Gods on Earth (1994). (primary)
- companion: CoyoteFrank Russell, The Pima Indians (1908), pp. 211-218. (primary)
- enemy: BuzzardBuzzard is the shaman commissioned to kill him.Donald Bahr et al., The Short, Swift Time of Gods on Earth (1994). (primary)
- enemy: Ho'okHe destroys the cannibal witch Ho'ok.Frank Russell, The Pima Indians (1908), pp. 221-223. (primary)
- enemy: EagleHe slays the man-eating Eagle.J. William Lloyd, Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights (1911). (primary)
Sources
- Elder Brother shapes humankind, teaches the arts of living, and clears the land of monsters.: Frank Russell, The Pima Indians (1908), pp. 211-218. (primary); J. William Lloyd, Aw-aw-tam Indian Nights (1911). (primary)
- He is slain, rises again, and leads the people from the underworld to conquer the great-house people.: Donald Bahr et al., The Short, Swift Time of Gods on Earth (1994). (primary)