Raven removes one of his eyes and places it atop his canoe to serve as a lookout while he gathers materials in the woods. Hearing his eye call out, he returns to find it missing. Unable to locate it, he returns to the forest.
Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914
► Themes of the story
Trickster: The Raven is often portrayed as a cunning figure in various mythologies, using wit to navigate situations.
Sacred Objects: The Raven’s eye can be considered a sacred object, imbued with special significance and power.
Conflict with Nature: The Raven’s journey into the woods and his interactions with the natural environment highlight a relationship with nature.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Koyukon people
A Raven was paddling along in his canoe at the edge of the river, and he thought to himself, “I must get some fish-trap sticks!” So he went to the shore, and got out on the beach. Then he took out one of his eyes and put it on top of his canoe, and said to it, “If you see any one coming, you must call me, and I will come to you.” Then he went up into the woods to find some fish-trap sticks, and began to cut them, when he heard his eye calling him. He ran out of the woods; and when he came to the place where he had left his eye, it was gone. He could not find it anywhere, so he ran back to the woods.
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Dreamtime Whispers 