Why Providers Provide
The Story
There was once a young bochan bug who was gathering food for the cold season. They found lots of nuts and berries and piled them in the middle of a clearing in the forest. An older pythal bird had gathered lots of sticks and mud to create a shelter from the oncoming cold season. The pythal bird saw all the nuts and berries the bochan bug had gathered and said "Hello, little bochan bug, can I have some of your nuts and berries? I will build you a shelter to keep you safe from the cold season." But the young bochan bug thought they were smarter than the pythal bird. "No thank you, pythal bird," they said. "I can find my own sticks to make a shelter, and I will keep all my nuts and berries for myself." "But surely you cannot eat all of those berries yourself?" asked the pythal bird. The young bochan bug thought it certainly could eat them all. And went about looking for sticks to make a shelter. But none of the sticks it found were big enough to protect its pile of nuts and berries. When the cold season came, the pythal bird watched from its shelter as the bochan bug tried in vain to protect its food. But the pythal bird had no food to eat and soon neither did the bochan bug. None of them survived the cold season. Stories of their encounter spread far and wide and the bochan bugs and the pythal birds learned to work together to ensure that their different skills complimented each other. This is why to this day you will find bochan bugs in the nests of pythal birds. You see, pythal birds and bochan bugs are like Providers. They figure out which resources they are good at finding and then work together to ensure that everyone has what they need and that their supplies are full for the cold season.Summary
This is one of the stories told by Storytellers to young children in Vellikka as they are learning about the Vellich Profession Paths. This story focuses on Providers, using the bochan bug and the pythal bird as examples in the natural world which are mimicked in some way by Vellich society.
While this fable is clearly fiction - for it is not possible to know whether or not a bochan bug and a pythal bird ever had such a conversation - bochan bugs are found in the nests of pythal birds and appear to be tolerated by the larger species. It is possible this story was created to both provide an example of different types of providers and to answer questions about why these bugs and birds live together.
Variations & Mutation
There are some variations which specify different types of food that have been gathered. In the plains, for example, where grains are more plentiful, the bochan bug has gathered grains instead of nuts and berries. There are also some variations on whether the pythal bird asked the bochan bug for food or whether the bochan bug asked the pythal bird for shelter, but the story told above is by far the most prevalent.
Related Articles
| Culture | Vellich Profession Paths, Vellich World View, Place of Spirits, Providers |
|---|---|
| Traditions | Path Choosing, Spirit Speaking |
| Locations | Vellikka |
| Stories | Where The Spirits Come From, The Great Flood, Return of the Great Spirit |
Date of First Recording
unknown
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Rest in peace, fictional bug and bird. You are really good at writing these myths. <3
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. It doesn't come as naturally and I really have to get myself in the right mindset for it, so that means a lot! <3