The raven’s black color is attributed to its obstinacy in a tale about birds painting each other. The raven painted the goose black with elegant white patterns, which the goose admired. However, when the goose painted a similar pattern on the raven, it grew furious, deeming it ugly. Offended, the goose splashed the raven entirely black—explaining its dull color today.
Source:
Eskimo Folk-Tales
collected by Knud Rasmussen
[Copenhagen, Christiania], 1921
► Themes of the story
Transformation: The tale describes the physical change in the raven’s appearance, resulting in its entirely black color.
Cunning and Deception: The story involves elements of trickery and reactions to perceived deceit during the painting process.
Moral Lessons: The narrative imparts a lesson about the consequences of obstinacy and anger, leading to unintended outcomes.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Inuit peoples
Do you know why the raven is so black, so dull and black in colour? It is all because of its own obstinacy. Now listen.
It happened in the days when all the birds were getting their colours and the pattern in their coats. And the raven and the goose happened to meet, and they agreed to paint each other.
The raven began, and painted the other black, with a nice white pattern showing between.
► Continue reading…
The goose thought that very fine indeed, and began to do the same by the raven, painting it a coat exactly like its own.
But then the raven fell into a rage, and declared the pattern was frightfully ugly, and the goose, offended at all the fuss, simply splashed it black all over.
And now you know why the raven is black.
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 