in a hut which was the prototype of the hogán. There were curious beings
located at the cardinal points in that first world, and these also lived
in huts of the same style, but constructed of different materials. In
the east was Tiéholtsodi, who afterward appears as a water monster, but
who then lived in the House of Clouds, and I¢ní‘ (Thunder) guarded his
doorway. In the south was Teal‘ (Frog) in a house of blue fog, and
Tiel‘íŋ, who is afterward a water monster, lay at that doorway. Ácihi
Estsán (Salt-woman) was in the west, and her house was of the substance
of a mirage; the youth Çó‘nenĭli (Water-sprinkler) danced before her
door. In the north Çqaltláqale[1] made a house of green duckweed, and
Sĭstél‘ (Tortoise) lay at that door.

[Footnote 1: Recorded by Dr Matthews as the Blue Heron.]

Some versions of the myth hold that First-man’s hut was made of wood
just like the modern hogán, but it was covered with gorgeous rainbows
and bright sunbeams instead of bark and earth. At that time the
firmament had not been made, but these first beings possessed the
elements for its production. Rainbows and sunbeams consisted of layers
or films of material, textile or at least pliable in nature, and were
carried about like a bundle of blankets. Two sheets of each of these
materials were laid across the hut alternately, first the rainbows from
north to south, then the sunbeams from east to west. According to this
account the other four houses at the cardinal points were similarly
made of wood, the different substances mentioned being used merely for
covering. Other traditions hold that the houses were made entirely of
the substances mentioned and that no wood was used in their construction
because at that time no wood or other vegetal material had been
produced.