After a brutal conflict between the Atka and Attu people, a woman from Attu survives alone for seven years, living in solitude and mourning. Her sadness ends when she laughs at the playful fight between two birds. Later, she encounters a man, leading to the eventual settlement of Atka people on Attu. This marks the origin of the island’s current inhabitants.
Source
Aleutian Stories
collected by F.A. Golder
The Journal of American Folklore
Vol. 18, No. 70, Jul. – Sep., 1905
► Themes of the story
War and Peace: The narrative begins with a brutal conflict between the Atka and Attu people, highlighting the devastation of war and its impact on communities.
Community and Isolation: Following the massacre, the sole surviving woman experiences profound isolation, living alone on the island for seven years.
Loss and Renewal: The woman’s initial loss of her community is profound, but her eventual laughter and the arrival of new settlers signify a renewal of life and hope.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Aleut people
Both the natives of Atka and Attu tell the following story, which was related to me by Mrs. C. A. Anderson, a native of Attu.
Many, many years ago the people of Atka and Attu were continually at war with each other, frequently surprising each other with fatal results. At this particular time, the Atka warriors gathered a large fleet of bidarkas, and one dark night fell on the Attu inhabitants, of whom but three escaped, two boys and a woman. The boys were soon discovered in the cave where they were hid and killed, but the woman was not found. After the victors had departed, the woman came out, and was painfully surprised to know that she was the only human being on the island. For seven years she lived in this solitary state, and during all this time neither smiled nor laughed. She lived mostly on sea-lions and sea-otters, which she killed with clubs while they were on the rocks.
► Continue reading…
In the eighth year her sadness came to an end in the following manner. She had as companions a young duck and seagull whom she had befriended. One day, as she was fishing along the beach, these two birds began to fight, which so amused her that she laughed out.
Not long after, some suitable driftwood came ashore, and she set about building a new home. While busily engaged with her stone hatchet in trimming a log, she thought she heard a noise behind her, and on looking around saw a man. This so frightened her that she cut off one of her fingers. A little later some more Atka people came over and settled in Attu, and they are the ancestors of the present inhabitants of that island. Another ending of this same story story is that this man and woman married, and that from them all the people of Attu are descended.
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Dreamtime Whispers 