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This is a traditional story of the Chemehuevi people of eastern Arizona and southern California…

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There was a time when the tribes of the earth did not get along, bickering and fighting all the time. It got so bad that Creator decided to punish them by taking away the light. The world was plunged into perpetual darkness.

The people sent messengers to Creator to plead for the return of the light.

They sent a hawk, but Creator just sat there, wrapped in his robes, and refused to look up.

The people sent an eagle, and the same thing happened.

Then they sent a group of hummingbirds. Still, Creator kept his head buried in his robes and would not listen.

Then the hummingbirds began to peck at Creator’s robes — peck, peck, peck, peck — all over. Finally, Creator looked up.

The hummingbirds asked Creator what the people could do to get the light back.

“They know what they need to do,” Creator answered. And that was all he would say.

The hummingbirds reported back to the people, and the people understood. They quit their fighting, and Creator gave light back to the earth.

But this time, he kept part of each day dark, like it is today, to remind the people to behave.

And on a clear night, when you look up into the sky, you can see the holes that the hummingbirds pecked in Creator’s robes.