The story describes how she was asleep under a banyan tree when the clouds enveloped her and impregnated her with three sons. The three children were, Tiger (Okhe, representative of the animal kingdom), God/Spirit (Orah, representative of the supernatural world) and Man (Omei, representative of mankind) in that order. When Dziilimosiiro became old, the sons took turns to look after her. Okhe tortured her, Orah was not a good caregiver but Omei treated her well. The earth was considered to be the ‘navel’ of the mother as it was the middle ground and the brothers got into a dispute over its inheritance. The mother organized a competition to decide on the inheritance. She made a podzii, a grass ball, and laid down that whosoever touched it first would inherit the middle ground or earth. Okhe tried to cheat with a false start and there was a rematch. The mother favoured Omei who had tended to her the best in her old age and advised him to use a bow and arrow to touch the podzii. He accordingly emerged the victor and claimed the earth. This origin story thus establishes a woman as the creator of the world. She created gods, humans, and animals.
Illustration: Amrapali Das
Source: Sahapedia
