Storytelling Week 9: Spider's Woven World

In the beginning, there was but a single being. An ancient spider by the name of Susstistinnako. He lived in darkness as spiders love. However, uncharacteristically of a spider, he became lonely. He did not know what this sensation was, nor how to respond to it. This feeling began to burden him heavily. To take his mind off of it, he began to weave his web. Not in the traditional way which he always weaved, but in a way such that there were now protrusions out of the dark earth. Everywhere there were fields of his web, and in some places massive columns. When he had finished weaving these, he noticed that the feeling had not gone away, so he began to weave his web into new shapes. He weaved his silk as strong as steel into masses of all shapes and sizes filled with all the intricacies his imagination could fulfill. He worked in this fashion for eon upon eon, still fashioning shapes which he had no name for, but felt right for him to create.

Spider web     Source: Pinterest

Finally, Susstistinnako realized that he no longer possessed neither the capabilities for weaving in his ancient limbs, nor the will to go on. And so Susstistinnako returned to his home and silently passed away. Susstistinnako's spirit left the earth to a place far above in the sky. It split into two pieces, one much larger than the other, but the other so bright and powerful that it lit the earth as far as the eye could see. The part of his spirit that had become the sun illuminated a sea of silvery structures. As the light began to warm these structures something very peculiar happened. Wind began to blow on the surface of the earth, and the structures began to move. Not with purpose in the beginning, but rather letting the wind take them where they would. After a time, the bright part of Susstistinnako's spirit had sent so much of itself to the earth that these forms began to come alive. Instead of merely flowing with the wind they were able to go against it. The heat from the sun had melded the fields of hairlike protrusions into grass and the tall columns into trees. His most intricate creations had become all sorts of animals and insects. Humans, fish, and all manner of life now inhabited the earth.

The moon had been taking in light from the sun for some time as well and awoke. This was Susstistinnako's consciousness. From his new perch high in the sky he could see all of his creations wandering the earth. He realized that in order to keep moving they would need moisture, and so using the power of the moon he drew the water out of the earth and towards the surface toward him. He realized that this is what he had been missing all that time in the dark. Watching his pale creations take on all the colors of the rainbow filled a place he had never known was empty. And so the moon, the sun, and all of the inhabitants of the earth were made.



Story inspired by "Spider's Creation" from Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest by Katharine Judson    Link to story

Author's note:

Spider's Creation was a story in which a spider sings the world and all of its living things into existence. The story was a bit different to me, as it began with the spider setting two "parcels" at opposite ends of the world. After stringing a line across the world connecting the two parcels, the spider began to sing. Eventually, two people come out of the parcels. These people go on to become the sun and the moon. This was perhaps the strangest part of the story for me. I just didn't think that any of this really had anything to do with spider. Also, the original story never really tells what happens to spider, so my story focused on him more. I was inspired to try writing a story like this myself, and in a way that actually utilized the amazing talents of the spider. I also knew that many spiders died soon after giving birth to a new generation of spiders, so I thought that was a good way to explain life coming about the earth. I imagined a silvery world shrouded in darkness before spider became the sun and the moon. I really enjoyed writing this story since it was the first that I have written of this type.