A cannibalistic eagle captures and fattens humans for consumption, using an iron knife to kill them. After losing his knife, he mourns deeply. One day, an iron tree with knife-like branches floats toward him and speaks, offering abundant knives if he vows to stop killing people. The eagle agrees and thereafter eats only fish, becoming the first to possess iron.
Source:
Tahltan Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.32, No.124, pp.198-250
April-June, 1917
Vol.34, No.133, pp.223-253
July-September, 1921
Vol.34, No.134, pp.335-356
October-December, 1921
► Themes of the story
Divine Intervention: The appearance of the iron tree can be interpreted as a supernatural event guiding the eagle towards a moral transformation.
Moral Lessons: The story imparts a lesson on the value of renouncing harmful behaviors and the possibility of redemption.
Sacred Objects: The iron knives provided by the tree hold significant symbolic value, representing the catalyst for the eagle’s transformation.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Tahltan people
Bald-Headed Eagle was a cannibal who hunted people. He kept them in a house, and fattened them to eat them. He killed the people with an iron knife. Once upon a time he lost this knife, and mourned for it as one does for a dead relative. He sang his mourning-song every day. One day he noticed what looked like a tree with many branches floating on the lake and coming towards him. When it came very close, he noticed it was of iron and that all its branches were knives. It spoke to him, saying, “Now you may have many knives; but, before you can have this gift, you must stop killing people.” Eagle promised never to kill any more people. The Tree said, “Henceforth Bald-Headed Eagle shall catfish only. He shall never again eat people.” Now Eagle had plenty of iron and many good knives. Some informants say that he was the first to have iron.
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