In a dream, a man overheard otters singing about an impending threat at the narrows, predicting all but one would be killed. Upon reaching the narrows, the man killed all the otters except the one that had foretold its escape. This narrative explains why otters are now drawn to him. However, if someone sings the otters’ song mockingly, the otters may not approach.
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
Dreams and Visions: The man receives a prophetic message through a dream, guiding his actions.
Prophecy and Fate: The otter’s song foretells the future, and the events unfold as predicted, highlighting themes of destiny.
Cunning and Deception: The man uses the knowledge from his dream to outwit and hunt the otters.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Chipewyan people
A man in a dream heard some otters say. “They will kill us all, ahead there in the narrow. I am the only one who will be able to run away.” He heard the otters singing this as they walked. When they came there to the narrows, he killed all of the otters except the one who had said this. He escaped. “That is why otters now come to me,” he said. Sometimes when one sings that song the otters do not come to him because he only laughs.
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Dreamtime Whispers 