A jealous husband invites his wife’s brother to a feast, secretly planning his murder. Despite knowing his intent, fear silences her. After the gruesome act, she mourns, fleeing with her brother’s head to a cliff where she transforms into a sea otter. Grieving and guilt-ridden, the husband drowns himself, ending their tragic tale of love, betrayal, and despair.
Source
Aleutian Stories
collected by F.A. Golder
The Journal of American Folklore
Vol. 18, No. 70, Jul. – Sep., 1905
► Themes of the story
Love and Betrayal: The husband’s jealousy leads to the betrayal and murder of his brother-in-law, causing profound grief for his wife.
Tragic Love: The wife’s love for her brother and the ensuing events culminate in tragedy for both her and her husband.
Family Dynamics: The complex relationships within the family, including jealousy and loyalty, drive the narrative.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Aleut people
This is also an Attu story told to me by Mrs. Anderson. With some few changes it is told everywhere among the Aleuts, and runs as follows:
Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a married couple; and one day the husband told the wife, “We are going to make a feast, and we are going to invite your brother-in-law. Go and gather some herbs and roots, and then go to the beach and bring some moss from the rocks.” He himself went to get some seals or ducks. On his return he busied himself preparing the dishes.
This done, he sharpened his knives, and commanded his wife to call the expected guest. She knew that her husband was jealous of her brother-in-law and planned to kill him, but was forbidden by her husband to say anything to him about it. She went and called him; and as they were coming toward the house she, walking behind, thought continually of the fate that was awaiting him, yet fear of her husband prevented her from saying anything.
► Continue reading…
When they came into the house she looked at the two men and saw how much the handsomer of the two the brother-in-law was. The husband turned to the invited guest, and said: “I prepared a feast for you; I have planned it for many years. Come and eat with me.”
They sat down on the floor, having the food before them in a hollowed rock. In the mean time the woman was outside, weeping because the man she loved more than her husband was about to be killed. The meal started off pleasantly, but the husband was watching his chance, and once when the brother-in-law had an unusually full mouth and could not defend himself he jumped on him, seized him by the throat, cut his head off, and said: “Now you have your feast.”
This done he left the house and sat down among the rocks, waiting to see what his wife would do. She went in and picked up the head, washed it, put it into an intestine bag finely trimmed with sea-otter fur, and, after observing the whereabouts of her husband, started off with it towards the cliff near the house. She went quite a distance before her husband noticed her and started in pursuit, calling to her, “Where are you going?” She answered: “You will see which way I am going; you killed him and you will never see me again.” As he increased his speed she began to run until she reached the top of the cliff, from which she threw herself into the water below. The husband arrived just in time to see her disappear. He stood there watching the spot, believing her drowned; but to his great surprise there emerged two sea-otters, and one went west while the other went east. He went back to the house, where he took his hunting gear and his bidarka and said, “I will end their lives and mine too.” Saying this he launched his skin boat, got into it, and paddled away from the shore, while singing to himself:
“I will end their life,
And I will end mine.
I hear the birds singing
That sing in the spring-time,
So I am going,” etc.
And he upset his bidarka and drowned himself.
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Dreamtime Whispers 