The Chumash Cosmos  

           
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The Chumash Cosmos
This is an image of the Chumash cosmos based on information which Maria Solares provided to John P. Harrington; it was drawn by Richard Applegate in the mid 1970s.
This image portrays the three worlds as the Chumash saw them:  the upper world, the middle world, and the lower world.
The upper world or sky world — alapay — is the home of powerful supernatural beings, including Sky Coyote — nilumen, the sun, the moon, and xuta — the morning star. The upper world rests on the back of a great eagle.
The middle world — liyk up — is the realm of human activity; it is a large island encompassing all the lands known to the Chumash. The land of the dead — imilaqa — is far to the west beyond Point Conception. The center of the middle world is iwhnmu, Mt. Pinos.
The lower world — miup ha up — rests on two serpents whose movements cause earthquakes. Various spirits who sometimes intrude on human affairs inhabit the lower world, such as pakas ha sl — "the one-legged one" who hops from place to place.