The Legend of the Quail
Stone Creek Woman's shared dinner blessing on Thanksgiving offers group nourishment and protection.
She speaks of The Legend of the Quail. "Quails live in groups. They sit in a tight circle on the ground, tails together in the center, heads facing the outer rim of the ring. This posture allows them to fly in all directions to confuse the predator. Quail medicine teaches us how to get to safety when threatened.
"It is an archaic custom when a woman marries, she abandons her maiden name and adopts her husband's surname. This suggests she is dependent upon him for her identity, and marks her as his property from the beginning.
"A woman should not be conditioned by society to relinquish her name she has had all her life. Those women most affected by it are you who are divorced. Using his name everyday for your identity can be a negative reminder of failure. The continued use of his name will not be a positive advantage to healing your soul," Stone Creek Woman says.
"Quail will assist you in learning your soul name. It is the name that will stay with you for a lifetime. Knowledge of your soul name can benefit you in present circumstances with career and health. It is my belief that hearing the sound of quail would inspire one to choose a new identity," Stone Creek Woman says, hearing the sound of quail on the day she miscarried her child, the reason why she told CopperJade from that day on, her name would be Stone Creek Woman.
"Was the quail a by-product of Datura?" CopperJade asks Stone Creek Woman, wondering if she had a vision on the day she miscarried her child.
"Yes, the grandmothers sent the quail to me in a cornucopia stuffed with myrrh, cedar, sweetgrass, and sage. It was a cone of message, a container overflowing with rebirth and wisdom," Stone Creek Woman says. And so the cornucopia and the quail is painted on the tipi in reverence to The Legend of Quail.
Copyright 2005 Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist
