the Kâ´yemäshi

Also known as: Kâ´yemäshi · Family: the Kâ´kâ · Role: band of gods · First appears: Section 33 · How by Behest of the Duck the Kâ´yemäshi Sought K‘yäk´lu to Convey Him to the Lake of the Dead

In Section 21, Síweluhsiwa and his sister Síwiluhsitsa had twelve children, the Kâ´yemäshi. They became attendants and fosterers, as well as sages and interpreters of the ancient dance-dramas of the Kâ´kâ.

In Section 33, the Kâ´yemäshi joined Síweluhsiwa in coaxing the silent K‘yäk´lu into a litter. They loved him, and in Section 36 he instructed them to guard the Kâ´kâ, bear him to the people, and cherish sacred customs. He also identified the elder sister among them as the “man-woman of the Kâ´kâ”; in Section 37 they carried him eastward toward the people, proud of their “master and uncle.”

In Section 61, the Kâ´yemäshi came forth again from the west and built a cedar bower in the town’s great court, as K‘yäk´lu had commanded. At night, laden with the people’s offerings, they returned westward along the river toward the mountains.