The East and North winds

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

Transformation: The North-wind’s daughter’s beauty, represented by frost and icicles, melts away due to the East-wind’s daughter’s actions, symbolizing the transient nature of physical appearance.

Conflict with Nature: The rivalry between the East-wind and North-wind daughters represents struggles among natural elements.

Supernatural Beings: The characters are personifications of natural elements (East-wind and North-wind), reflecting the interaction between humans and supernatural forces in mythology.

► 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 Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

A high-caste man married the daughter of East-wind (Sa’naxet). After a time he heard of a very pretty high-caste girl, the daughter of North-wind (Xun), so he left his first wife, came north, and married her. Then he took her back to the village where his first wife lived.

Now the people said to his first wife, “There is a very pretty woman here. Her clothes are, very valuable and sparkle all over. They make a noise like bells.” East-wind’s daughter was at once jealous and said, “I will soon be able to fix that pretty girl you boys are talking about.” Quite a while afterward it began to grow cloudy and warm, and sure enough the daughter of North-wind lost all of her beautiful clothing. It was icicles and frost that were so pretty, and when she lost these she lost her beauty with them.