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This Tewa creation myth tells not how the world was made but how the Pueblo way of life and Pueblo values came into being. In the story, Long Sash and his people make a journey from strife and division (in the north) toward harmony with each other in a new home. The very name of this new home suggests balance: the Middle Place. Several versions of this myth are told by the Pueblo people of the Southwest; this particular version comes from the Nambe and San Ildefonso Pueblo.

From the mid-1500s on, Pueblo culture in the Southwest came under attack by Spanish priests intent on replacing traditional sacred practices with Christianity. In some Pueblo communities, traditional religious practices continued to be exercised in secret. In others, they were blended with Christian practice by a process known as "syncresis," which allowed people to maintain a balance between their own values and the new religion in their...