The Magic Hummingbird
About our Spoken Story Series
Because of the needs of this time —when our normal outgoing lives have changed and our social interactions, our education and our entertainment are happening mostly in our own individual homes, ONE is offering a series of told stories for your enjoyment, healing, unwinding and to lean into the ancestral wisdom passed through tales, myths and legends.
Our story-teller, April Thanhauser, is a member of the ONE visioning council and a life-long lover of folk and fairy tales. She tells us:
“Stories, like hearth fires and campfires have always brought people together —for sharing wisdom, laughter, tears, and comfort. No matter where our people came from, stories are part of our heritage. The traditional tales I will be telling originate from many different parts of the world, but please accept them as a gift from the old ones of our shared human culture.”
About this Episode:
A drought and a drastic change in weather has brought a famine to the Hopi people of Oraibi. When everyone abandons the village to travel in search of food, two children, brother and sister, are left behind. To console his sister, the boy fashions a toy hummingbird from a sunflower stalk. Then the magic unfolds. The hummingbird comes to life and passes between realms— first to feed the children, then to entreat Muy’ingwa, the god of fertility to return.
(at left the god Muy’ingwa, in the illustration by Michael Lacapa)
Themes of famine are common in world folk literature, reflecting the hardships our ancestors have endured. And often in these stories magical or divine forces intercede to help us, though usually only with the collaboration of the human protagonists . This cooperation could be as simple as giving a crust of bread to a dwarf, or, as in this tale, creating a toy to comfort a little child. Who knows what our small acts of kindness can lead to?
April found this story in the book The Magic Hummingbird, collected and translated by Ekkehard Malotki, narrated by Michael Lomatuway’ma, illustrated by Michael Lacapa, and published by Kiva Publishing 1996. Here is April’s recorded telling of the story with the publisher’s permission. The book is unfortunately out of print, but it is possible to find art notecards of the magical and lovely illustrations offered by the publisher on ebay.
Story Time Tea Pairing from Humboldt Herbals: Vitali-tea
Vitali-tea is the perfect companion for this story about earth magic, cycles, patterns and resilience. Its deeply nourishing combination of berries, barks, roots, seeds and flowers all work together to amplify the vibrant ancestral health held deep in your cellular memory. Best to let this blend steep for several hours or overnight, and then gently warm it again if you’d like or enjoy at room temperature. As you sip and listen to the ages old wisdom of The Magic Hummingbird, hold the knowing that the tea and story come together to bring deep healing and illumination of the powerful beauty and strength that is the gift of life.
https://www.humboldtherbals.com/organic-bulk-teas/herbal-tea-blends/vitali-tea.html
Listen to other Stories:
“The Wonderful Healing Leaves”, tells the story of an unlikely hero who must secure healing leaves for the king from the land of no return.
“Xueda and Yinlin”, tells the adventures of two courageous young people who seek a cure for the mysterious illness which has stricken their village.
"Picking Mountain Pears", a traditional Japanese folktale, tells the adventures of three brothers who undertake a quest for the mountain pears to help their beloved mother heal from a mysterious illness.
