The Sacred Serpent Challenge

Jealous over the deadly natawa, the rattlesnake challenges his brother by biting two young hunters, killing one. Grief-stricken, the bereaved chief is visited at his son’s grave by a horned serpent spirit who teaches him sacred rites and the construction of the long tent of life. Through divine instruction and ritual, the chief restores his tribe’s spiritual balance, ultimately receiving a newborn son in place of the lost youth.

Source:
Myths of the Bungees
or Swampy Indians of Lake Winnipeg
by S.C. Simms
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.19, No.75, pp. 334-340
October-December, 1906

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The story explains how the rattlesnake came to bear a warning rattle on its tail.

Divine Intervention: Spirits of earth, wind, and waters, and the great snake, guide and teach the chief.

Ritual and Initiation: The old chief is instructed in the mysterious rites of the long tent of life.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

The chief divinities of the Indians are two: Gitchi Manitou, the good spirit, and Matche Manitou, the evil spirit. It was Gitchi Manitou who revealed the mysterious secrets of the Metawin to man shortly after his creation, about the time that the first pair had grand-children born to them, and before death entered into the world.

At that time there lived two powerful snakes, the rattlesnake and the natawa, which had existed from the beginning of the world. They lived together in harmony for many years, but at length the rattlesnake grew jealous of the powerful and deadly natawa, which jealousy so increased that the rattlesnake finally challenged the natawa to see, by inflicting a bite on mankind, which of them possessed the most deadly poison. The natawa demurred at first to this proposal, being unwilling to disturb the peace and harmony that existed in the world, but from day to day the rattlesnake so taunted the natawa with cowardice, that at last the latter consented to accept the challenge.

At that period there lived two powerful chiefs near to each other, who were on terms of great intimacy. They had each a grown-up son, and the two young men often hunted in the forest together. During one of their excursions, the rattlesnake and the natawa waylaid them for the purpose of inflicting wounds on them to see which of their poisons was the most deadly. The young men, unconscious of danger, passed the thicket where the two snakes were in ambush, when suddenly the reptiles sprang upon them and bit them.

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The young man who was bitten by the natawa instantly dropped dead from the effect of the poison, but the other one was able to reach his father’s tent. Here a noted medicine-man applied a powerful antidote to the wound and the youth recovered in a few days.

After the deed was done the natawa, who was grieved and enraged at the rattlesnake by whose guile and temptation he had been instrumental in bringing death and sorrow to mankind, said: “Brother, you have been the cause of bringing death and misery to mankind by your envious and evil designs, therefore you shall never after this have the power to approach man without a warning. From this time you shall ever have a rattle in your tail to warn every one who approaches you of your presence, and the people of the earth shall pursue you to death.”

The old chief, whose son had died of the poisonous bite, brought the body home, and with his tribe performed the burial ceremony; and every day afterwards repaired to the grave of his beloved son and bitterly mourned his loss.

The friends of the old man endeavored to console him in his grief, but without effect; he would not even speak to them. One day, while visiting the grave, he saw an enormous snake, striped with various colors like a rainbow, arising out of the earth, who thus addressed him: “Old man of the plain, I command you to appear at this spot on the third day following this, and you must implicitly follow my directions and obey my commands. There shall appear to you a snake on this very same spot; he will be sent by the gods. You will elevate the serpent three times by the horns, and at each time you elevate him, you will repeat these words of adoration, ‘ Ne kan, ne kan, kan na ka, ka na, oh! oh! oh!’ Immediately after you have performed this, there shall appear a Manitou of your race, who will teach you the ceremony of the Metawin or tent of life, and reveal to you the mysterious rites which come from the happy hunting-ground, and from the centre of the earth, and from the depths of the waters. The spirits take pity on your sorrow and will help you if you obey them. Adieu, my son; you will point to the centre of the heavens, the centre of the earth, and to the four abodes of the spirits with your pipestem, whilst I glide down the perpendicular rock of our abode.” At that instant the snake disappeared downwards with a tremendous hissing sound, caused by the rapidity of his descent.

According to the instructions of the great snake, the old man repaired to the grave of his son on the third day, and after presenting his pipestem to the centre of the sky, the earth, and the four winds, made the offering of the dead, then sat down facing the body of his son, who was placed on the grave in a sitting posture with his face toward the east. While sitting there, the old chief heard a rumbling noise and an enormous serpent appeared before him having two horns, and two rows of large teeth within his jaws. The serpent twisted itself into a coil around the grave. The old chief arose from his seat and took the serpent by the horns and elevated it three times, and at each time repeating these words: “Ne kan, kan na ka, ka na.” At the third time the serpent changed its shape into that of a venerable old man having long white hair and holding a rod in his hand, together with the bag of life, made of the skin of the deadly natawa and containing the magic bead, who thus addressed the old chief: “I have come to comfort and console you for the death of your son. The spirits of the earth, wind, and waters have seen your sorrow, and I am sent to your race to show you the way of life, which you will teach to your children, and which shall continue to the end of time. Now, therefore, light your pipe, and with its stem point to the sky, the abode of the Great Spirit, who shall give you life; then point to the abode of the spirits of the centre of the earth, who will teach you the virtues of all herbs, then to the four winds, which will protect you and give you power and success.”

After the old chief had completed these ceremonies with his pipestem, he offered his visitor the pipe, but the old man raised his rod and touched the mouthpiece, when immediately was heard the tapping of a drum. After the mysterious sound had been repeated three times the old man said: “Ne kanis, ne kanis, kan nah, nah kan nah.” He then chanted the following:

I come from the East
Where the long tent does rest.
The Great Spirit does say –
Perform these rites always.

After chanting this song for some time the old man sat down near the old chief and taught him the ceremonies and rites of the long tent of life, which occupied some days. It is said by the Indians that the moon changed once during the time that the old chief was being told all the secrets of the tent of life.

After the old chief had been fully instructed, his preceptor said: “I will bless you with long life and you shall have more sons, but forget not my instructions. I leave you this bag of natawa skin with the magic bead and this rod. Beware, pollute not my tent of life. Adieu, my son, I go home, but I shall hear you when you chant the mysteries I have taught you.” Saying this, the white-haired spirit visitor vanished from the gaze of the old chief, who saw him no more.

After some months, when the mourning for his son was over, and after celebrating a feast with his tribe, the old chief commanded that all the males should purify themselves and assist in building the long tent of life. During the evenings he employed himself in teaching the males of his tribe to sing the mysteries imparted to him by his spiritual teacher; and after having succeeded in giving them sufficient knowledge in all the rites and ceremonies pertaining to the tent of life, he appointed the various officers of the tent, but reserved to himself the position of “Grand Master.” During this work, which took several years to accomplish, the old chief was gladdened by having a son born to him, the very image of the one who had died from the sting of the natawa.

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The visit to the sky

A man mysteriously awakens in the sky among unfamiliar beings. Undergoing a transformative ritual, his body is hardened like stone. He marries the chief’s daughter and returns to Earth via a rainbow path. Despite warnings, he reveals his celestial journey to his community, leading to unforeseen consequences. This tale explores themes of transformation, forbidden knowledge, and the interplay between celestial and earthly realms.

Source:
Traditions of the Ts’ets’a’ut
by Franz Boas
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.9, No.35, pp. 257-268
October-December, 1896
Vol.10, No.36, pp. 35-48
January-March, 1897

► Themes of the story

Journey to the Otherworld: The protagonist’s ascent to the sky represents a voyage to a realm beyond human experience.

Divine Intervention: The chief of the sky orchestrates events, influencing the man’s fate and granting him a celestial bride.

Forbidden Knowledge: The protagonist is admonished not to disclose his experiences in the sky, highlighting the theme of restricted truths.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time there was a man who had a large family. One morning his wife and children, upon awaking, were unable to find him. He had disappeared.

When he awoke he found himself in a strange lodge among strange people. The house stood on a vast open prairie. A young girl was lying at his side. It was very beautiful there. Now he heard the chief speaking. He looked around, but he did not see a soul. The girl said to him: “You are in the sky. My father is going to make you clean and strong.” Then he heard the chief saying: “Build a large fire and put stones on top of it.” A giant arose, who built a fire and put on stones. After a while the chief asked: “Are the stones red hot?” The giant replied: “They are hot.”

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Then the wood was taken away, the red hot stones were piled up, and, after the man had been placed on top, a blanket was spread over him. Then the ashes were placed on top of the blanket, and a new fire was built over the whole pile. This was kept burning for a whole day. In the evening the chief said to the giant: “I think he is done.” The fire and the ashes were removed, and the man was found to be red hot, but not steamed. He was taken from the pile of stones with wooden tongs and placed on a plank, which was supported at each end.

The girl was crying all day, because she believed him dead. Early the next morning the chief sent the giant to see if the visitor was still alive. He lifted the blanket which had been spread over the red hot body. Then the plank, which had been burned by contact with the body of the stranger, gave way, and he fell down. But he arose at once hale and well. Then the chief had a mat spread for him in the rear of the house and said: “I burned you in order to make your body as hard as stone. Sit down with my daughter. She shall be your wife.” He married her, and the young woman was glad. The chief said: “If you so desire, you may take her down to the earth. She shall see what the people are doing.” The chief’s lodge was full of many kinds of food, which, however, were not known to the visitor.

When they prepared to descend to the earth, the chief gave his daughter a pot and a black tube, through which she drank of the liquid contained in the pot. Nobody except herself was allowed to use these, and she herself did not partake of any other kind of food. The chief ordered the giant to open the road that led to the earth. He opened a hole in the ground, took the rainbow at its one end, and placed the other end on the earth. Before they parted the chief forbade the man ever to tell where he had been and what he had seen and to talk to any woman except his present wife. They departed, and reached the earth not far away from the village where the man had formerly lived. He did not recognize the country, but his wife showed him the way and told him that they would reach the village in the evening. When they approached the camp the people recognized him. All assembled and asked him where he came from. He told them that he had been in the sky, and that his new wife was a daughter of the chief of the sky. He was invited to return to his former wife and to his children, but he did not go. He built a lodge outside the camp. He took a girl into his lodge to be a servant to his wife. Every day he himself had to fetch water for his wife in the pot which her father had given to her. This she drank through her tube. The latter had the property of swimming on the water as long as her husband was true to her. It went down when he had spoken to any other woman but her.

One day when he returned bringing the water his young wife asked him if he would like to talk to his former wife. He did not reply, thus intimating that he did not care for her. But when the young woman placed the tube into the water it sank. She knew at once that her husband had spoken to his former wife. Then she said: “I came to take pity on you and on your friends; but since you do not obey my father’s commands I must go back.” She wept, and embracing her servant she said: “Hide in the woods under the roots of a large tree where the rays of the sun will not strike you, else you will perish with all the rest of the people.” The girl did as she was bidden. Then the rainbow appeared. She climbed up and disappeared from view.

On the following day the man went hunting. Then the sun began to shine hotter and hotter. There was no cloud in the sky. The camp grew quiet, even the dogs ceased to howl. The rays of the sun had burned the whole camp. Only the man and the servant girl had escaped destruction. The man, when the sun was shining so fiercely, had cooled himself with the snow and the water of the mountains, while the servant girl was protected by the roots of the tree. When the sun set the fire went out and the girl returned to her friends, to whom she told what had happened. Nobody knows about the further fate of the man.

Brother and sister

Four brothers and their sister, orphaned, journeyed to the Tcu’nax River’s headwaters to hunt mountain goats. The eldest brother and sister developed a forbidden affection, leading the other brothers to bind and abandon them. The pair escaped, gained supernatural powers, and transformed into mountain goats, creating natural landmarks. Later, their transformed family encountered their remorseful brothers.

► Themes of the story

Creation: The brother creates natural features, such as a bridge, caves, and the sea, shaping the world’s landscape.

Forbidden Love: The narrative centers on a romantic relationship between the brother and sister, which leads to their ostracism.

Divine Intervention: The brother’s supernatural powers suggest influence beyond the mortal realm, affecting both nature and people.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time there were four brothers and a sister whose parents had died. One day they went up Tcu’nax River until they reached its headwaters, which are called xaga. There they stayed hunting the mountain goat. The eldest of the brothers had fallen in love with his sister, who returned his affection. Then the other brothers grew ashamed. They tied the two together with cedar-withes, so that the man’s head was between the feet of the woman, while her head was between the man’s feet, and thus left them. The eldest brother, however, was so strong that he tore apart his bonds, and liberated himself and his sister. He found a cave, which they used as a dwelling-place. After some time his sister gave birth to a boy. One day, when she left the house, she saw many mountain goats grazing on the hill opposite.

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She ran back into the cave, and called her brother: “Come and look at the mountain goats.” He went out and looked at them. On this, they fell dead and rolled down the mountain towards the cave. He had attained supernatural powers. His gaze killed whomever and whatever he looked at. Then he said to his wife: “Go and gather stones, with which to skin the goats.” She went down to the river, and gathered many thin pebbles. When she had brought them to the cave, her husband was not satisfied with them. He himself went to the river, and found many new stone knives and axes. These he carried to the cave, and he and his wife began to skin the goats. But they did not cut open their bellies and strip off the skin, as it is the custom to do; they cut the feet, and skinned them as we do martens. In this manner he skinned one buck, a she goat, and a kid, and father, mother, and son put on their skins. Then the father said: “Now I will go down the river and build houses for our use.” He started, and after he had gone some distance he made a natural bridge across the river, and many caves in the sides of the mountains. Then he said to his wife: “Now I will make the sea. The ocean shall be in the west, the land shall be in the east.” Thus the sea was created. And he continued: “I will make a hole, so that the water of the sea may run down through it and come back again. Then there will be ebb-tide and flood-tide.” But his wife asked him: “Do not make the hole here, for men are living near by, and the hole might swallow them. Make it far away in midocean.”

Henceforth they lived under the bridge. One day many Ts’ets’a’ut went up the river to see what had become of the brother and sister who had been left. Among the travellers were the brothers of the couple. When they approached the headwaters of the river, they saw the natural bridge, and the caves which they had not seen before. The kid was frolicking under the bridge, and every one of its steps made a deep impression in the rock. It was scared when it saw the people and jumped back into the cave in which it was living. The people saw a glaring light coming forth from the cave. Then the mother came out, to see what had frightened the kid. She saw the people sitting on their knees, and wondering at the marvellous changes that had taken place on the river. She went back and told her husband what she had seen. He said: “Among these people are our brothers who bound us. Let us kill them!” His wife did not reply. Then he stepped out of the cave, and when he looked at the people they all died. One woman only had hidden herself. She was saved. The natural bridge where these events took place is called Tseneniaga.

Then the husband and his wife separated. She went up the river. When she arrived at its source, she made a rock resembling her in shape. It may be seen up to this day. It looks like a woman carrying a babe on her back. She went on to the headwaters of Nass River, where she continues to live on the bank of a lake up to this day.

The man went down the river, and wherever he camped he made rocks of curious shape as marks of his presence. Now his name was Qa, the raven. The Tlingit call him Yel. Among others he made two rocks which look like men with arms. One of these has fallen over, while the other one is still standing. Its name is Suql (the same in Tlingit). He wandered all through the world. Finally he travelled westward.

At that time the sea was always high. In the middle of the world he discovered a rock in the sea. He built a house under the rock, made a hole through the earth, and a lid which fitted it. He put a man in charge of the hole, who opened the lid twice a day and twice a day closed it. When the hole is open, the water rushes down through it into the depth, and it is ebb; when the lid is put on, the water rises again, and it is flood. Ta’el, a Tlingit chief, when hunting sea otters, was taken out to the rock by the tide. The current was so strong that there was no possibility of escape. When he was drawn towards the rock, he saw a few small trees growing on it. He managed to throw his canoe-line over one of the trees and thus succeeded in escaping from the whirlpool. After some time he heard a noise which was produced by the closing of the hole. Then the water began to rise, and he paddled away as fast as he could. Before the ebb began, he pulled his canoe on to a rock, and when the flood set in again continued his homeward journey. Finally he reached his home in safety.

The Kaska man who made whales

A Kaska man, married to a Tlingit woman, was challenged by her people to climb an icy island. After succeeding, he was abandoned but found refuge with the Seal people beneath the ice. He healed a wounded seal and, in gratitude, they sent him home. He then carved wooden whales, brought them to life, and commanded them to overturn the seal-hunters’ canoe, sparing only a boy.

Source:
Kaska Tales
by James A. Teit
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.30, No.118, pp. 427-473
October-December, 1917

► Themes of the story

Magic and Enchantment: The Kaska man’s carved wooden figures transform into living whales.

Revenge and Justice: The protagonist seeks retribution against those who left him stranded.

Divine Intervention: The Seal people, who reside beneath the ice and assist the man, represent supernatural entities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Kaska Lore

Learn more about the Kaska people

A Kaska man was married to a Tlingit woman, and lived near the ocean. His sister lived in the same village, and was married to the brother of his wife. Beyond, out in the ocean, was an island of ice just like a glacier, and no one had ever been able to climb it. The people were hunting seals near there in a large canoe. They said, “The Kaska are good climbers; they are an inland people. We should like to see our son-in-law try to climb up on the island.” The Kaska man said he would try. He put on his snowshoes and snowshoe-spurs, took his walking-stick with spiked end, and landed. He did not have much difficulty in climbing the ice, and soon reached the top. The Tlingit were jealous, and shouted loudly; then they turned the canoe and paddled away.

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A boy on board, who was his brother-in-law, was sorry, and paddled the opposite way to the other paddlers, for he did not want to desert him.

The Kaska man felt very sad when he saw that he was deserted, and finally lay down on the ice and fell asleep. It seemed as if he dreamed, but it was reality. Some one spoke to him, and asked him to come down underneath. He went down into a house which was the Seal people’s house, and saw many people there. They asked him how he had come to be asleep overhead, and he told them. One of the Seal men was sick. He had been speared by a Tlingit, and the harpoon head was in his flesh. The shamans of the Seal people did not know what was the matter with him nor how to relieve him. They had tried all kinds of treatment. Some of them proposed that they ask the stranger to try and cure him. The Kaska man knew at once what was the matter. He blew on the wound, and then pulled out the harpoon head without any difficulty. All the people were glad. They asked the Kaska if he wanted to go home, and he said, “Yes,” They put him in a distended seal-bladder, the neck of which they tied securely, and then set him afloat in the sea. They told him he must think only of his home. If he thought of anything else, he would immediately return. When he hit the sand and heard the noise of the waves on the shore, he would know he was at home, and might then open the bladder and get out. When he had reached half way to his destination, he thought of the place he had left, and immediately went back. The people warned him again, and sent him forward. Several times this happened. At last he managed to concentrate his thoughts long enough on his home, which he now reached very quickly. He sent back the bladder to the Seal people as soon as he got out of it. He told his wife of his experiences, and asked her not to tell any one.

Now he went in the bush near the seashore and carved a number of pieces of wood in the shape of whales, and threw them into the water end first. All of them were too light, and bounced up too quickly. He tried all kinds of wood. At last he made them of a hard heavy wood. When he threw them into the water, they went down a long way, and rose to the surface afar off. He transformed them into whales and sent them to catch seals. When they accomplished this, he called them back. He said to them, “Now, you must go to meet the large canoe with the seal-hunters, overturn it, and smash it; but you must spare the boy, and leave him a piece of canoe to float on.” The Whales did as directed, and all the seal-hunters were drowned excepting the boy. He called the Whales back, and said to them, “Now you shall be real whales, and go in the ocean as you will. You shall overturn canoes sometimes, and shall also eat seals. You shall be the largest and strongest animals of the ocean.” This is why the Tlingit say it was a Kaska man who created the whales.

A man and his wife are saved by lightning

A young married man is coerced by strangers into traveling to their distant land, where he faces starvation. They plan to kill him and take his wife, but he gives her a small piece of wood, instructing her to hold onto it. Lightning strikes, killing the strangers but sparing the wife. The couple endures a challenging journey home, surviving on beaver and bear meat.

Source:
The Beaver Indians
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 4
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: The man is coerced by an unfamiliar group, highlighting a struggle against oppressive forces.

Divine Intervention: The lightning strike that eliminates the antagonistic group can be seen as an act of divine intervention, saving the protagonists.

Trials and Tribulations: The couple endures significant hardships, including abduction, starvation, and a perilous journey back home.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Dane-zaa Lore

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Some people came by who were not known. They took a fancy to a young married man and invited him to accompany them. He refused emphatically but when they insisted he went away with them. They were people who lived a long way off and he went with them a great distance to their country.

When they got there the young man began to starve. There was nothing he could do. He became weak. There was no meat and they gave him nothing to eat. He got so weak he walked with difficulty. “Well, never mind,” they said, “he will die. We will cross the large lake. The wind is very strong and cold against a man’s face. Let the cold kill him.”

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“We will take his wife,” they were saying to themselves. “Do not stay here,” they told her, “Go away. Do not wait for him. If you wait for him, you too will die.” They gave the man a piece of wood about four inches long. He did not take it but gave it to his wife. “If something happens suddenly do not let go of it,” he said to her. The woman moved her tipi.

The people could still be seen on the lake when the lightning struck among them. Not a flake of snow was left. There were many of the people and of them not one dark spot was left. The lightning had killed them all. There was just one dark speck out on the ice. The young man hurried out to see what it was. It was his wife and she was breathing a little. He took her back to his camp. There seemed to be no hope of their living, for their country was far away. “Although things are as they are, we will start back and go as far as we can before we die,” he said. They started back with nothing but their bare hands. With nothing to live on they were helpless. They were beginning to die of starvation when they suddenly came to an old beaver house. “I will set a net in the water for beaver,” he said to himself. “Make a fire and wait some place nearby for me,” he told his wife. He caught two beaver. They started back and traveled far with this food they had secured. When the beaver meat was gone and they were starving again they came where a large bear was lying. With that for food they came back until they reached their own land where there were small birds which served for food until they got back home. It was hard for them but they lived through it. Those people were like human beings but their only food was the flesh of foxes. [The informant said a tribe known as “Fox-eaters” used to live toward the south. The distance is indicated by the amount of food consumed by them, which the informant thought ought to have been sufficient for a very long journey.] The others were not accustomed to foxes and the flesh was tough for them.

Wolverene

A hunter’s wife urges him to stay home, fearing visitors, but he dismisses her concerns and leaves. While alone, she encounters a mysterious man who offers her beads and asks her to accompany him, but she declines. Upon her husband’s return, he discovers the beads, becomes angry, and destroys them. The woman later meets the stranger again, who restores the beads and takes her to the moon. The distraught husband searches for her, finds no tracks, mourns, and transforms into a wolverine.

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

Love and Betrayal: The wife’s interaction with the stranger and her subsequent departure can be seen as a form of betrayal, leading to the husband’s sorrow.

Divine Intervention: The visitor’s influence over the wife and his otherworldly nature suggest intervention by a higher power.

Loss and Renewal: The husband experiences the loss of his wife and undergoes a personal transformation, symbolizing a form of renewal.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Koyukon Lore

Learn more about Koyukon people

A married couple lived by themselves, and they had a cache and a house. The husband hunted, both with marten-traps and with arrows. “Well,” said he one day, “I must go to my marten-traps;” but the woman was unwilling (to let him go). “No,” said she, “why should you? Come,” said she, “stay here today! Perhaps there will be strangers along.” But the man said, “Who can there be to come? There is nobody around. Mine are the only tracks there are.” And he went off, dressed for the trail. Meanwhile his wife began to cry while she sat sewing in the house. At noon, outside the house, she heard some One brushing the snow off his boots, and another than her husband came in at the door. Then the woman drew her hair over her face, and put some meat and fat into a bowl and gave it to him.

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“Won’t you have something to eat?” said she. “Why, no,” said he, “I’m not hungry. It’s you that I came for. Come with me!” But she refused. Then he gave her some beautiful beads, and put them upon her neck, and went away. Then she made a fire and cooked (supper), expecting her husband, thinking that he would be hungry. By and by he came back, and they ate (supper); and he put on the curtain, and they went to bed. She undressed; and her husband saw the great (string) of beads, and scolded her angrily. “Who gave them to you,” said he, “when there is nobody here?” and he smashed the beads with a big maul, and put them on a snow-shovel, and threw them out at the smoke-hole, and lay down. Then the woman began to cry. “Come,” said her husband, “do your crying outside. There’s no sleep (to be had here).” So she went out and began to cry outside. Then it was dark with the woman, and she looked for the moon. There he was, in it. That man was in the moon. He (looked at her and) laughed, there, in the moon. Then he went toward her. He came to her side. “What say you?” said he. “Oh,” said she, “he smashed the beads.” Then the man went up on the house and took the beads again, and they were whole; and he put them upon the woman’s neck again. Then he took her, and went with her to the moon. Meanwhile her husband roused up, and went outside. His wife was gone. All around the place he went (looking for her); but there were no strange tracks, only his own. Then he began to cry, and burned his parka, hair, and back, and went off as a wolverene.

The shaman and the Duci’ne

A powerful hunter with shamanistic abilities encounters a Duci’ne who attacks him. The hunter remains unharmed, and the Duci’ne, out of arrows, offers to become his protector in exchange for mercy. Following the Duci’ne’s advice, the hunter evades other Duci’ne hunters. When they eventually confront him, he kills them all, demonstrating his superior power.

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

Supernatural Beings: The Duci’ne represents a mythical creature interacting with the human protagonist.

Divine Intervention: The hunter’s shamanistic powers and guardian spirits suggest a connection to higher powers influencing mortal affairs.

Good vs. Evil: The confrontation between the hunter and the Duci’ne, followed by the hunter’s battle against the other Duci’ne, embodies the classic struggle between opposing forces.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There was a man who had many strong guardian-spirits. He was a great hunter, and had shamanistic powers. Once when he was hunting, he met a Duci’ne, who attacked him, thinking he would easily kill him. He shot one arrow after another at him; but the man simply shook himself, and the arrows passed by. At last the Duci’ne had no more arrows, and was now at the mercy of the hunter. He said to the latter, “If you spare me, I will be your protector. I shall talk to you, and you will talk to me, and I shall be able to help you.” He said to the man, “Now, to be safe, you must walk in the water of the creek a long distance on the road home; for there are many of my people around here, and, if they find your tracks, they will take your scent and run you down, as dogs do.” The hunter did as directed. When the Duci’ne reached his camp, the other people said he smelled different, and accused him of having killed a man.

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He denied it; but the others would not believe, and put on their moccasins to go hunt up the man. The Duci’ne, who had returned, said, “You will find out that I have spoken the truth, for the man I met is not like other men. He is far more powerful.” They found where the man had made a fire when he talked with the Duci’ne, and where he had taken to the creek. They followed both banks, and at last caught up to him where he had left the water. They shot all their arrows at him, and missed him. The man then killed them all. An old Duci’ne was following up the others to pack in the man’s flesh; but when he came to his dead comrades, he turned back. When he reached camp, the other Duci’ne man said to him, “I told you, and now you see. The man has killed all those who hunted him.”

The gambler

A young boy, addicted to the stick-game, gambled away all his possessions, family, and fellow villagers to a mysterious stranger, Water-Man, who took them to his underwater home. Left alone, the boy met Mouse-Woman, who guided him through rituals to gain strength and an ally, Golden-Eyed Duck. With their help, he challenged Water-Man again, won back his people, and freed them from servitude.

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The appearance of the small old woman, identified as Mouse-Woman, who provides guidance and magical assistance, represents a form of divine or supernatural intervention.

Quest: After losing his people to Water-Man, the boy embarks on a journey to retrieve them, undertaking challenges and seeking assistance from supernatural beings.

Transformation: The boy undergoes a significant transformation from a carefree gambler to a determined individual seeking redemption and the restoration of his community.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A boy addicted to playing the stick-game spent all his time gambling. [In this stick-game, common to many Western tribes, one man has to guess a particular stick out of a number. The sticks are rolled in grass and shuffled. The method of playing varies from tribe to tribe.] When he heard of an important game of a noted gambler, even if in a distant place, he went there to play. He was very successful, and nearly always won. Thus he became wealthy, although he was a mere boy. His father was a wealthy man, and possessed many slaves. One night a strange man came to the village, and challenged the boy to play. He promptly accepted the challenge, and the two went outside to play. The man won all the boy’s goods. The boy bet his father’s slaves, and lost ten of them. Then the boy staked his mother against two slaves. He lost again. He staked his father, his uncle, all his relatives, and finally all the people of the village, and lost.

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The stranger took all he had won and departed, leaving the boy alone. This man was Water-Man (or Sea-Man). He took all the people to his house under a lake (or the sea). The boy had no one to gamble with, and nothing to bet. He wandered in and out of the houses, crying all the time. One day he saw smoke issuing from a bunch of grass. He found a house there, and a very small old woman inside. She was the small black mouse. She said,” Grandson, where are you going? What troubles you?” He answered, “I have gambled away everything I had, even my friends and all the people.” She asked him if he was hungry; and he answered, “Yes.” She put on a kettle, and split a single fish-egg with a wedge. She put half of it into the kettle to boil. When it was cooked, she put the food on a dish and placed it before the boy. He thought, “The food will not be enough;” but when he ate it, he found that he was quite satisfied. She told him to stay there that night, and added, “You must arise early in the morning, and wash just at daylight. Then go to the steep open place over there. You will see something growing there. Pull it out by the roots and eat it.” He did as directed, and after bathing went to the steep place, where he saw a beautiful plant growing. He ate it, and it made him sleepy. Next Mouse-Woman said, “Tomorrow morning bathe and go to the beach. There you will find something. Skin it, then take the skin, and push the body back into the water.” The boy returned with a sea-otter skin. He had fasted two mornings, and had used no fire at night. The old woman said to him, “Golden-Eyed Duck shall be your brother. When you play the stick-game, never point or choose a stick until he directs you.” He slept that night without fire, arose early, and continued to fast. As directed by Mouse-Woman, he went down to the edge of the sea, and challenged Water-Man to a game. The sea opened like a door, and Water-Man came out of his house. When it opened, the boy could see his parents and all the people working in a big house as slaves. He had hidden his duck-brother on his person. Water-Man had a trump-stick (eke’) which was really a fish; and when the boy pointed at it or chose it, it aways jumped aside. This was the reason he had always lost when playing with Water-Man. Duck noticed this, and warned the boy, who bet his otter-skin against his father. Duck instructed the boy to point a number of times near the fish-stick, so as to tire out the fish. Then he told him to point at it quickly. The boy won; and, acting on Duck’s advice, he won back his parents, relatives, and all the people and goods. They all returned to the village. This is why plants are used as charms to obtain good luck in gambling at the present day, and also this is why it is bad for young people to gamble too much.

The deserted orphan and the goat chief

An orphaned boy, abandoned with his grandmother by their tribe, dreams of a wealthy chief who offers assistance. Following the chief’s guidance, the boy fasts for eight days, gaining supernatural powers. He then moves mountains closer, restores his grandmother’s health, and constructs a house in a canyon. Using his newfound abilities, he calls game into their home, ensuring they have ample food.

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The boy receives guidance from a supernatural chief in a vision, which significantly influences his actions and fate.

Transformation: The boy gains extraordinary powers, allowing him to manipulate the environment and provide for his grandmother, marking a significant change in his abilities and circumstances.

Sacred Spaces: The boy and his grandmother move to a canyon in the mountains, a location that becomes central to their survival and the unfolding of the boy’s newfound powers.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

This story is said to belong to the Raven phratry and to be of Tlingit origin; at least, the Tlingit tell a similar story, and the families that tell it use goat-horns and goat-masks as crests. Probably they claim the deserted boy as one of their ancestors. The Tahltan refer to this story as an example of the good results that will accrue from strict observance of taboos.

An orphan boy lived with his grandmother. [Some people say that she was his only relative, but in the story an uncle is mentioned.] It was good weather; but the people were short of food, and therefore moved their camp. As the old woman was unable to walk, they deserted her, leaving her a little food, but no fire. They wanted to take the boy with them, but he would not leave his grandmother. The boy went outside of the village a little distance. Here he heard a sound, and, becoming afraid, he returned. That night he dreamed that some one talked to him, saying, “Why did you run away from the sound you heard? I want to help you. Leave your grandmother when she is asleep, and go to where you heard the sound.” He awoke, and went to the place designated. When he reached there, he saw a house, which he entered. Within were many people. A well-dressed wealthy chief spoke to him, and asked why he staid with his grandmother. He said, “Because she is my relative. I cannot desert her.” The chief asked if they had any food; and he answered, “No.” The chief said, “Well, you will starve, then.” The boy answered, “I am willing to starve with my grandmother.” The chief then told him, that, if he would do as he directed him, he would obtain plenty of food. He said, “Near your camp there is a deep canyon. Make your house there between two steep rocks. Make it with sharp goat-horns [not clear; maybe they used sharp goat-horns for cutting rocks or digging], but first abstain from food and drink for eight days.

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Then you will receive great power from me.” He saw and heard all this as in a vision. When he awoke, he found himself lying on the ground, and neither house nor people were in sight. He thought he had been away a short time, but he had been absent several days. When he reached home, his grandmother asked him where he had been. She said, “I have been weeping for you many days. I thought you were dead.” Now he fasted as directed; and when the eight days had passed, he caused wind and rain-storms to visit that part of the coast to which his uncle and the people had gone. They could neither fish nor hunt, and soon were short of food. Now he said to his grandmother, “We will move up the mountains, and make a house in a canyon there.” She answered, “The mountains are far away, and I cannot walk.” The country in the vicinity of where they were was flat. The boy said, “I will make the mountains come nearer.” He stretched out his fingers and then contracted them; and the earth was contracted, so that the mountains stood close by. He said to his grandmother, “Now look out!” She looked, and saw that the mountains were now quite near by. Then he struck his grandmother’s legs and body with brush, and she became able to walk like a young woman. They went to the canyon in the mountains near by. He told his grandmother what to do, and she built a house. Perhaps it was of stone, but it had a door which opened and shut. He said to her, “I am going to call the game into the house, but you must not kill the first animal that enters. Wait until all are in.” He began to sing a song by means of which he called the game. Soon he said to his grandmother, “The game is coming. Open the door!” Then goats came in, and nearly filled the house. When all were in, he told her to shut the door and to kill them. She clubbed and butchered the game. The boy made his grandmother strong, so that she could skin and cut up the game quickly. He also made her able to carry all the meat and skins down and fill one of the houses of the deserted village. He asked his grandmother what kind of food she wished next; and she said, “Sheep.” He sang; and sheep came, and filled the house in the same way. When all the sheep-meat had been stored, he asked his grandmother what she desired next; and she said, “Halibut.” He said to her, “Go to the beach, and you will find them.” She went, and found many halibut on the beach. Then he caused many olachen to come ashore. His grandmother dried the halibut. She put the olachen into a pit, where she let them rot until they were ready to be boiled for trying out the oil. The boy put the fish and oil in his uncle’s house in the village. Now the people were starving. The boy’s uncle, who was chief, sent a male and a female slave back to the village to see if the old woman and boy were still alive, and to find out if there was any game. Meanwhile the boy and his grandmother had moved back to the village. The house which they had made in the canyon had vanished. The slaves arrived, and, seeing smoke, knew that the old woman and the boy must be alive. They looked into a house, and saw that it was full of meat. They found their master’s house full of olachen and olachen-oil. They ate their fill, and took some along when they returned. The boy said to them, “Don’t tell my uncle. Say I am dead.” The slaves returned, and told the people that the old woman and boy were dead. They were asked if they had found their bodies; and they said, “Yes, they were lying in the house.” After a while one of the slave-children cried for olachen. The chief heard him, and asked, “How does he know about olachen?” Then he said to the parents, “You are hiding something. If you do not tell me, I shall kill you.” Then they told him all, and said that the boy had charged them not to tell. The people at once broke camp, and went aboard their canoes to return to the village. The younger wife of the boy’s uncle dressed herself nicely and painted her face. When wiping her face with a towel, she scratched it with a shell that happened to be in the towel. When the people arrived at the village, the uncle said to his nephew, “Which one of my wives do you wish for your wife?” and he answered, “I don’t want the younger one, because she always ill-treated me. I will take the elder one, for she was always good to me.” The boy’s uncle gave him his elder wife, and appointed him to the inheritance of his family, name, and rank.

Cannibal-Wolverene and the Fog-Man

A cannibal named Wolverene deceives hunters using a stuffed moose as bait, hiding in a hollow tree to ambush them. A wise man, guided by his fog spirit, uncovers the ruse, retrieves Wolverene’s weapons, and fatally wounds him. He then confronts and kills Wolverene’s wife and daughter, ensuring Wolverene cannot revive. Some versions suggest this led to wolverenes becoming scavengers of corpses.

► Themes of the story

Trickster: Wolverene employs cunning tactics, such as the stuffed moose decoy and hiding within the stump, to deceive and ambush hunters.

Divine Intervention: The wise man’s connection to his fog manitou aids him in uncovering Wolverene’s deception, suggesting the influence of a spiritual guide in mortal affairs.

Revenge and Justice: The wise man’s actions to confront and eliminate Wolverene and his family serve as retribution for the harm Wolverene caused to many hunters, restoring balance and justice to the community.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Wolverene was a cannibal, and killed many men. Near Wolverene’s house, not far from a lake, on an open flat, was a large hollow tree, broken off about half way up, and weather-beaten. Wolverene was in the habit of hiding in the stump and watching for hunters. He used a stuffed moose as a decoy. He set the moose up on the open ground in a natural position; and hunters, seeing it, thought it was a live moose, and came to stalk it. When they came close, he pulled the effigy underground with a string leading to the stump; and then, as the hunter looked around on the open ground for tracks, Wolverene shot him with arrows from the stump. A wise man who had fog for his manitou, made up his mind to investigate, and told the people he was going to hunt in the direction in which so many hunters had disappeared. The man came to the lake, and saw what he thought was a moose across the lake feeding in an open place.

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He watched a long time, and noticed that, although the moose appeared to be feeding, it was always stationary. This made him suspicious. He looked about, and saw not far from there a high stump. He saw something white bob up from time to time and disappear at the top of the tree. It looked like the head of a bald-headed eagle. Now the man called fog to come. He went around the lake, and, on closer view, thought the moose looked more like a stuffed than a live animal. He made the fog denser, and, approaching close to the moose, saw that it was the stuffed skin of a moose. Now he went to the stump, and saw that it was hollow right through to the top. Inside the base he discovered a bow and many arrows, of which he at once took possession. Wolverene was up at the top of the tree peering through the fog, and had left his bow and arrows at the bottom. The man looking up through the hollow stump could see him. He called up, “Who are you?” Wolverene was very much surprised to hear a man speaking below him, for this was the first time a man had approached without his knowing it. He knew the man must have taken his weapons, and thus rendered him helpless. He called out to the man, “Spare me!” but the man answered, “No, I cannot, you have killed too many people.” He shot several arrows into Wolverene, and mortally wounded him. The man saw a trail leading away from the stump, and followed it. He came to Wolverene’s house, and saw human bones scattered all around. He saw Wolverene’s wife and daughter inside, and Wolverene lying as if dead. The woman said to her husband, “You say you are killed. When I call you, you will come to life.” Wolverene’s wife took hold of the man, and held him tight. As soon as she did this, Wolverene became alive and approached them. The man was stronger than the woman, and threw her off. As soon as he did this. Wolverene fell dead, saying, “I thought you held him firmly; now I am dying again. I did not think you would let him go.” Each time the woman seized the man, her husband revived; and when he threw her off, he expired. The man then killed the woman and her daughter, and cut Wolverene’s body into small pieces, which he threw into the lake so that he could not come to life again. Some informants say that he transformed these people into wolverenes. Because these people were cannibals, wolverenes eat corpses at the present day.