Eme’mqut receives ornamented tobacco-mortars from an old man, who warns him not to look back while hauling them. Following the instructions, Eme’mqut successfully brings the mortars home and gains a wife. His friend Ila’ attempts the same task but fails by repeatedly looking back, disrupting the magic and destroying the mysterious reindeer-like apparitions emerging from the mortars.
Source
Koryak Texts
by Waldemar Bogoras
American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume V
(edited by Franz Boas)
E. J. Brill – Leyden, 1917
► Themes of the story
Cunning and Deception: Eme’mqut succeeds by carefully following the old man’s instructions, showcasing cleverness, while Ila’s failure reflects a lack of understanding and subtle self-deception.
Family Dynamics: Ila’s envy of Eme’mqut’s success and his attempts to imitate him demonstrate the tensions arising from sibling rivalry and jealousy.
Moral Lessons: The narrative teaches the value of patience, obedience, and attentiveness to wise counsel, while emphasizing the consequences of envy and disobedience.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Koryak people
Collected in the village of Kamenskoye, on Penshina Bay, with the help of Nicholas Vilkhin, a half-Russianized Koryak, Decmber 1900 – April, 1901.
Big-Raven was living with his people. Eme’mqut (his son) had no wife. Eme’mqut went out, and found outside an old man who was busy making ornamented tobacco-mortars. He said to him, “What kind of tobacco-mortars are you making?” The other one said, “Go into the house. You will find an old woman. Tell her to cook a meal for you.” He entered the house, and the old woman cooked a meal. When she had finished cooking, she took the meat out of the kettle, and gave it to the guest. He ate, and soon was through with the meal.
Then the old man went home and gave him the mortars; and he said to him, “Take these with you, haul them away, but (in doing so) take care not to look back at them!” He went away and hauled the mortars, but he did not look back; and though the mortars were heavy, he did not stop.
► Continue reading…
At last he saw that a large reindeer-herd was passing ahead of him. Then he stopped and looked back. A young woman was sitting in a covered sledge (driving a reindeer-team). He took a seat on the same sledge. They two drove home, and lived there in joy.
Then Ila’ said, “How did you come by all this?” The other one then told him, “I found an old man who was working on ornamented tobacco-mortars.” Ila’ said, “I understand.” He set out and found the same old man. Then he said to the old man, “What kind of mortars are you making?” The old man said, “Go and find the old woman! Let her cook a meal for you!” He went to her, and she prepared a meal. Then she took the meat out of the kettle, and he ate. The old man gave him, too, the mortars, and said, “Haul them away, and take care not to look back at them!”
He hauled them away, and every little while he would take a rest. He moved on, and he would make one stride and then he would look back. One time a reindeer-leg appeared out of one of the mortars. But he sprang at it and struck it. Another time he looked back, and a reindeer-face appeared out of the mortar. He sprang at it, and struck at the mortar with his knife, and chopped up the reindeer-face. Then he came home, and left his sledge with Eme’mqut. There was nothing on it, but the tobacco-mortars.
That is all.
Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page
Dreamtime Whispers 