A man named Crow-Head lives with his grandmother. After local girls mock his crow-skin blanket, he curses them, leading to their demise in a Cree attack. Crow-Head survives by transforming into a squirrel and later avenges his grandmother’s death by killing the Cree. Consumed by jealousy, he drowns a successful young hunter and feigns innocence, but the community’s attempt to punish him fails due to his supernatural abilities.
Source:
Chipewyan Texts
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 1
New York, 1912
► Themes of the story
Trickster: Crow-Head embodies the trickster archetype, using cunning and supernatural abilities to outwit others, such as transforming into animals to defeat the Cree and deceiving others about the young man’s death.
Revenge and Justice: After being mocked, Crow-Head seeks revenge by cursing those who laughed at him, resulting in their deaths.
Resurrection: Crow-Head brings his grandmother back to life after she is killed by the Cree, showcasing a theme of resurrection.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Chipewyan people
Crow-head was living with his grandmother. While he was away looking at his nets, some girls came to visit her. They laughed at his blanket, made of crow skin with the bills of the crows joined together all about its border, which was hanging in the house. When Crow-head came back from his nets, he said to his grandmother, “Who has been laughing at my blanket?” “No one laughed at your blanket,” she said. “I see the marks of their laughing on it,” he replied. “There was no one here in your absence,” his grandmother said. “People were not here. But their laughing shows. Because they laughed at my blanket, may the Cree get them all!” “What shall I do then?” said his grandmother. “I will take you back north,” he said. At night, he heard the people fighting with the Cree.
► Continue reading…
All those who had laughed at his blanket were killed. He himself crawled under a birchbark dish. The Cree threw all the clothes into the fire. Then they threw in the birchbark dish, but it jumped out again. Again, they threw it in, and again it jumped out. Then they held it in the fire with a stick and a squirrel ran out of the fire from it. The Cree fought with the squirrel until they thought they had killed it. Then he turned himself to a hair and went through the hearts of all the Cree and killed them. After that, he went to his grandmother whom the Cree had killed, put his head down by her, and began to cry. He was there a long time without going to sleep. Soon his grandmother was alive again and sat there hunting for the lice in his head.
Once, when he was living with the people, there was a young man of whom he was very jealous. After a while, the people all went out to their canoes, after swans. As they were paddling about, he met this young man. Crow-head himself, had no swans; only the young man had succeeded in killing them. He overturned the young man’s canoe and caused him to drown. Taking the swans, he paddled back with them. When they were boiled, and were placed before Crow-head he said, “I will not eat the swans because I love only my young friend.” After a long time, the others looked for the young man and found him drowned. “We will kill him,” they said, and went back after Crow-head. When they tried to spear him, he hit the points of their spears so that they could not kill him. They fought with him a long time and tried hard to kill him but were unable to do so. Crow-head used to fight with the people and kept killing them.
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 