Chiricahua Apache were held as prisoners-of-war at Fort Bowie, before being transported to Florida. Source: Public Domain/National Archives, Department of Defense.
1.
When the earth came into being
when the sky arose
when my songs first sounded
the holy mountain stood before me revived.
In the center of the sky, a revived boy
goes down four roads at once.
My mountain became a part of me: revived in front of me.
Players emerged: revived in front of me.
When the sun goes down into the plain of the earth
where the Meskal Mountains lay their heads out
into the rays of the rising sun
A spruce appeared: here it is next to me.
2.
At the very center of the sky, a holy boy revives his steps
in all four directions.
The four-colored light goes down revived four times
This place is called the Black Point of Life
This place is called the Blue Point of Life
This place is called the Yellow Point of Life
This place is called the White Point of Life
all these places have heard of me
black dancers dance in all four points
The sun is moving down towards the earth.
3.
The living sky is smeared with black
The living sky is smeared with blue
The living sky is smeared with yellow
The living sky is smeared with white
Young spruces stand like girls waiting for their game on the path of life.
From the very beginning of my songs, they have been made of black words.
When Earth was created
When the sky arose
The land merged with the end
The sky merged with the end
Black dancer, black thunder,
as they came nearer to each other
all evil things have vanished
Lightning from a black storm hit the evil four times
And hit me four times, too.
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The Apache are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Salinero, Plains and Western Apache. Distant cousins of the Apache are the Navajo, with which they share the Southern Athabaskan languages. There are Apache communities in Oklahoma, Texas, and reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Apache people have moved throughout the United States and elsewhere, including urban centers. The Apache Nations are politically autonomous, speak several different languages and have distinct cultures.
