[Native American] At the beginning of creation, all creatures were said to be much larger than they were today, according to the Cahuilla expert Francisco Patencio. This matches current paleozoology knowledge, as, at the time, giant elephants, sloths, horses, armadillos and other creatures, especially mammals, existed before human arrival by conventional dates. These were called nukatem. Over time, the nukatem stopped being active and turned into natural objects such as mirages, rainbows, earth and other non-organic but naturally occurring substances. When the Cahuillas looked at one of these things, they prayed and watched the nukatem that they knew was there. Menily, a nukatem of the moon, was rare among the nukatem because she was female. Menily was beautiful and extremely intelligent, and a good teacher, very much what a Cahuilla woman wanted to be. Menily was a culture heroine, she taught the Cahuilla the skills behind a great many hygienic practices, games and sports, as well as producti...
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