How Protestant Christianity was first heard of at Sitka

Source: 
Tlingit Myths and Texts 
by John R. Swanton 
[Smithsonian Institution] 
Bureau of American Ethnology 
Bulletin 39 
Washington, 1909

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► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The man’s claim that a deity has descended to help the people signifies the influence of divine forces in human affairs.

Ritual and Initiation: The introduction of new dances and the use of saltwater as protective measures highlight the role of ceremonial rites in marking transitions and seeking protection.

Transformation: The community’s adoption of new spiritual practices represents a shift in cultural and religious identity, indicating a significant change in their belief system.

► From the same Region or People

• North America
  • Sub-Arctic Region
    • Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

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Myth recorded in English at Sitka, Alaska
January-April 1904

[It is possible, however, that this was the result of Jesuit teaching on the upper Skeena.]

A man went south from Sitka and returned after two months. When he came ashore he called all the people to a dance and told them that God (Deki’-anqa’wo, Distant-chief) had come down from heaven to help them.

Then all the women made beadwork for their hair and ears. One evening, when they were through with that, they again began dancing. While the women danced they would fall flat on their backs. When this happened, in accordance with directions the man had received below, they brought up salt water, wet part of each woman’s blanket and flapped it against her breast to make her come to. This prevented the smallpox from having any effect upon her. They kept on dancing a whole year.