Big-Raven, walking along the sand-spit, encounters various seals and whales, which he throws into the sea. He finds a good whale and calls the nearby Chukchee people, but fearing them, he enters the whale’s mouth to gather oil. A fox observes him, and in gratitude for the oil, sends him a poisoned cake, which ultimately kills him.
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: The fox’s act of disguising poison as a gift exemplifies deceit to achieve a personal goal.
Supernatural Beings: Big-Raven and the fox possess anthropomorphic qualities, engaging in human-like actions and communication.
Divine Punishment: Big-Raven’s fate—death by poisoned cake—can be interpreted as retribution for his earlier actions, such as kicking sea creatures back into the water.
► 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 walked along the sand-spit, and found a small ringed-seal. He said, “It seems that if it were a good catch, it would not lie so far (from the water).” He kicked it, and threw it into the sea. He walked farther on, and found a spotted seal. He said as before, “It seems that if it were a good catch, it would not lie so far (from the water).” He kicked it into the sea.
Then he found a thong-seal, and kicked it into the sea. He found a white-whale, and threw it into the water. He found a whale, and another whale, quite big (bowhead whale), and he threw it in still farther. He walked on, and found a striped whale. (Then he said,) “Here is a good whale!”
Then he called aloud to the neighboring people. A number of Chukchee rushed for the whale, knife in hand.
► Continue reading…
They were approaching. He looked on them and felt frightened. So he entered the mouth of the whale. There he began to suck in the whale-oil. He filled his mouth full, then he jumped out and flew away.
A fox saw him. “Where do you come from?” – “From the whale.” She says, “What?” He says, “From the whale.” She said again, “What?” – “From the whale!” Then the oil dropped down directly on her back.
“That is good. I gathered some oil.” She wrung out her coat in a dogs’ trough. Big-Raven also gathered oil for himself. Then the small fox prepared a cake of berries and other vegetable material, and sent it to Big-Raven to show her gratitude. With these return-payments, however, she killed him [evidently by poison mixed with the berries].
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Dreamtime Whispers 