The Curse of Spider Woman Rock
Stories originated
from Freemont Park, UT!
As the path for I-70 was being
cleared in Southern Utah, highway 4 was moved out of the
route. That meant it would be necessary to to level a large,
white outcropping later known as Spider Woman Rock! The
Paiute Indians were contacted and could find no significance
to the rock art, so leveling began.
A Hopi religious leader visited the site as the leveling
started and asked that the ridge be saved as he felt it had
significance to his people. He felt it recorded the Hopi
Legend of Spider Woman and the Creation of the World.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) archaeologist
said she would try to stop the construction until the value
of the site could be assessed, yet by the time the word went
through the department chain of command, then back through
the construction company to the Cat it was too late. The
ridge had been removed.
When the Hopi religious leader returned and saw what had
happened, he put a curse on the Department of Transportation
through Spider Woman's daughter Salt Woman who controls all
the natural resources such as weather. The Hopi leader
claimed the curse was the cause of major flood problems of
1983. After the curse was invoked on UDOT, Billies Mountain
slid, blocking Highway 50 and flooding Thistle, Utah. The
Waters of Utah Lake in Northern Utah began to rise, covering
I-15 near Provo. The Great Salt Lake covered I-80 near
Kennecott. The bridges on I-70 near Spider Woman Rock have
never completely settled, and some of the workmen said all
the concrete poured after that seemed to crack in a spider
web pattern. The Hopi religious leader clipped the news
articles out of the national newspapers and sent them to
the UDOT Director to show them what Spider Woman was doing
to them for destroying her sacred monument.
The
Hopi Legend of Spider Woman
In the beginning there were only two - Tawa, the Sun God and
Spider Woman, the Earth Godess. All the mysteries and power
from above belonged to Tawa, while Spider Woman controlled
the magic below. In the underworld, abode to the gods, they
dwelt and they were all as one. There was neither man nor
woman, bird nor beast, there was no living thing until these
two willed to be.
These two had mighty thought -- they would make the Earth to
be between above and below where now lay shimmering only the
endless waters. So they sat side by side, making the first
magic song, a song of light and sound and life.
Many strange thoughts formed in Tawa's mind -- beautiful
forms of birds to float in the above, of beasts to move upon
the earth, and fish to swim in the waters. Spider Woman got
clay and made the thoughts of Tawa take form. One by one,
she shaped them and laid them aside, but they breathed not,
nor moved.
It is not good that they lay still and quiet, Tawa said.
Each thing that has a form must have a spirit. They laid a
white blanket over many figures and made a mighty
incantation over it, and soon the figures stirred and
breathed.
Now let us make ones like you and me so that they may rule
and enjoy these lesser creatures, sang Tawa, and Spider
Woman shaped the thought of her Lord into man figures and
woman figures like unto their own. But after the Blanket
magic had been made, the figures still lay inert. So Spider
Woman gathered them all in her arms and cradled them while
Tawa cast his eyes upon them. They now sang the magic song
of life over them, and at last each man figure and woman
figure breathed and lived. Before placing them on the Earth,
Spider Woman divided them into groups, telling them to live
separately in groups forever they will be called the
Hopi, Zuni, Piaute...
Pages in this section
Front Page
The
Parowan Gap
Lions
Mouth Rock Art Site
Other Rock Art in Southern Utah
Rock Art
Vandalism near my home
The Curse of Spider Woman Rock
Links
related to rock art and ruins
Rock Art Books
