SSATHAAT SCRIPTURES

The Song of the Snake People

by ALLEN MACKEY

Note: This hymn was included among the various translations of the
Ssathaatii texts in 1865 by a medicine man who had been a guardian
of the Ophbidian tome for decades, until the book was stolen from
him by an unknown member of the Comanche tribe. A few years later,
in 1868, the book was recovered by a brave in an unrecorded battle
during a cold winter night. (Or so claims Shadow Elk in one of his
long monologues in the introductory material in the Red Sign edition
of the Ssathaat Scriptures.) Also known as "The Song of the
Šé'šenovotsétaneo'o."

The Song of the Snake People

Oh Šé'šenovotsétaneo'o,

You snaky ones! O turbulent-minded,

Beclouded of mental faculties,

Blinded by your ways,

Swaying in worship to the Snake,

Those whose father is Yig,

Befoul not my path! Go away!

There is nothing for you here!

O Snake People! Greasy reminders

Of our darkest days long ago,

Keep not my company nor seek

 To take that which is mine!

Go away and never come back!

Commentary: This is the song of the snake people. No, these are not
reptilian servants of the Great Old Ones. "Snake People" is the name
the Cheyenne Indians called the Comanche Indians. Or in the
language of the Cheyenne, the Šé'šenovotsétaneo'o. It seems that this
song was written as a curse or hex. It is an account of the recovery of
the original book. [Translated into the English language. By Shadow
Elk in 1865.]