The tale of Man-with-a-burning-hand, a figure of Alaskan lore, served as a cautionary story for children. Known for luring crying children with promises of food, he fed them ants, leaving their bodies infested after death. This grim warning deterred excessive crying, as parents used the story to instill fear. Originating from the Klawak people, the legend remains a chilling reminder of cultural storytelling’s power.
Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909
► Themes of the story
Trickster: Man-with-a-burning-hand deceives children by promising them food but instead feeds them ants, leading to their demise.
Supernatural Beings: The character possesses a perpetually burning hand and supernatural abilities, highlighting the presence of otherworldly entities in the tale.
Moral Lessons: The story is used by parents to teach children the consequences of excessive crying, serving as a behavioral deterrent through fear.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Tlingit people
Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904
Now the people of that town were very much frightened, and none of them went away. They had heard before that the land otters have death and all kinds of sickness for their bows and arrows, but until then they had not believed it. Afterward the people began to starve, and the children suffered very much.
One child, who must have been very poor, would cry at night with hunger. After he had been crying for several nights, the people saw a torch coming toward the house and heard the bearer of it say, “Come here, grandchild, and I will feed you on qolkadake’x.” The child did so. This man was named Man-with-a-burning-hand (Djinakaxa’dza), because his hand was always on fire and what he called qolkadake’x were ants (wanatu’x). This happened at Ta’qdjik-an, the old town of the Klawak people.
► Continue reading…
Now the father and mother of this child looked about for it, weeping continually. As they were passing a certain cliff, they heard a child crying there, and, raising a flat rock which appeared to cover an opening, they saw it lying inside. Then they saw that ants were crawling out of its nose, eyes, and ears. After that many other children were brought thither, and their parents said to them, “Look at this. Man-with a-burning-hand did this because the child cried so much. You are always crying too. This will happen to you some day if you do not stop.” Back of the site of Ta’qdjik-an there is a cliff still called Man-with-a-burning-hand. This story was mostly for children, and, when a child cried too much, they would say, “Do not cry so much or Man-with-a-burning-hand will get you.” The story was known all over Alaska, and the children were very much afraid of Man-with-a-burning-hand.
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 