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.

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The girl who married a toad

A wealthy man’s daughter repeatedly encounters a toad at her door, which she dismisses. One night, the toad transforms into a young man who proposes marriage, and she agrees, unaware of his true identity. They elope to his father’s lakeside home. Later, when she visits her family, they urge her to stay. However, a multitude of toads besiege the house, compelling her to return to her husband. This story explains why women fear toads, believing they can abduct people.

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

Love and Betrayal: The girl’s initial acceptance and subsequent return to the toad husband highlight complex emotional dynamics.

Forbidden Knowledge: The girl unknowingly enters a union with a supernatural being, leading to unforeseen consequences.

Cultural Heroes: The narrative serves to explain cultural beliefs and practices, highlighting foundational figures in the society.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A wealthy man had a daughter who lived in a little room by herself. She had just finished the training that girls undergo at puberty. For several successive mornings she noticed a toad (or frog?) lying at the door, and kicked it out of the road. One night the toad changed into a young man, and asked the girl if she wanted him for a husband. She did not know that it was the toad, and answered, “Yes.” The girl put on her marten robe and eloped with the young man. That night they went to a big lake, where the house of the Toad chief, the wealthy father of the youth, was located. Her parents and all the people searched for her, but could find no trace of her. [Some narrators say that they found her robe.] After she had been with the Toad people a while, the chief, her father-in-law, told her to go and visit her parents. Her people saw her coming, followed by her husband. Her father invited them into the house, and gave them a good (or high) place to sit in [place where nobles or people of rank sit down].

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He ordered his slaves to cook for them and give them to eat. They noticed that the Toad ate no meat, so they gave him berries to eat. He and his wife finished their dishes. The chief asked his daughter not to go back with Toad, but to stay with them. She told her husband, and he left her. Now the people closed all the chinks of the house, so that no Toads could enter. In the morning they saw that many Toads had surrounded the house. Soon they came in; and finally they filled the house, much to the terror and annoyance of the people. The girl’s father offered to pay the Toads for the girl, but they paid no attention. Then the girl said to her father, “Let me go with them!” The girl returned to the Toad chief’s house, and all the Toads left. For this reason women are now afraid of toads, who steal people.

The man who married a grizzly bear

A hunter insults Grizzly Bear after slipping on its excrement. Soon after, he meets a woman who leads him to her home, where they live together for months, though it feels like days to him. Unbeknownst to him, she is a Grizzly Bear in human form. Eventually, his brothers, aided by his loyal dog, track him down. The man returns to his human family but remains connected to his Grizzly Bear wife and their children.

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The man’s relationships with both his human and grizzly bear families explore complex familial bonds and loyalties.

Conflict with Nature: The narrative delves into the tensions between humans and the natural world, exemplified by the man’s initial disrespect towards the grizzly bear and his subsequent immersion into her realm.

Love and Betrayal: The man’s union with the grizzly bear woman and his eventual return to his human family touch upon themes of love, fidelity, and the challenges of dual existence.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A man who was married and had several children was hunting. He happened to step on some grizzly-bear excrement, which made him slip and fall. He was angry, and called Grizzly Bear nasty names. Shortly afterwards he met a nice-looking woman, who asked him if he cared to go with her. She said, “We shall go only a little way, then we will camp and lie down together.” The man agreed, and went with her. As they went along, he thought he was stepping over logs; but in reality each time he seemed to step over a log, he stepped over a mountain. After travelling a long way, they came to the house of the Grizzly woman. They entered, and staid there three months. The man thought it was only three nights. The woman asked him sometimes if he was hungry; and when he answered, “Yes,” she cooked dried salmon for him, and fed him dried berries after soaking them to freshen them. At the end of three months the woman, who was a shaman, sang.

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Then she said to her husband, “People are coming. Tomorrow your brothers will find us.” The man’s brothers were hunting in the neighborhood of where the Grizzly had her den. It was in the middle of winter, and they had their lost brother’s dog with them. He was called Tsa’shwa [this is used as a dog-name among the Tahltan and Tlingit (-hwa is said to mean “young man” in the Tlingit language)], and was very keen of scent. He found the old tracks of his master under the snow, and followed them. Now, bears feel the steps of people who walk on their tracks, for it is as though sparks fell on them. The bears turn these aside, and then the people lose the track. If bears do not pay attention to the sparks, the people can track them down. Now sparks of considerable force fell into the Grizzly woman’s den, for the brothers were drawing near. The woman pushed them back as fast as she could; but Tsa’shwa was cunning, and kept right on the tracks. The brothers followed him closely. At last the Grizzly woman became tired, and allowed the sparks to fall. Tsa’shwa and the brothers now came close to the den. His master recognized his voice and called him. Then the dog became excited. The hunters thought their brother must be there; but they were afraid to encounter the bear in its den, for they heard people talking inside. They thought the inmates of the den might not be bears. They returned to camp, although Tsa’shwa was loath to leave. When they had gone, the Grizzly woman advised her husband to leave. They went to a distant place, and took up their abode near a salmon creek. The next day the brothers came back to the den accompanied by another brother, but they found the den empty. For a long time the man lived with the Grizzly woman at the salmon creek, and no one discovered their house. He hunted and fished, and they always had plenty of food. His wife bore two children. One day she said, “You have a wife and children among the people. Go back and visit them.” He went in a canoe. His brothers and the people were glad to see him. He saw his former wife, but was afraid to talk to her. After a while he returned to his Grizzly-bear wife. Thus he visited his people three or four times. On his last visit his former wife intercepted him when he was about to leave, and asked him why he never spoke to her and to his children. She said, “How can I support your children? They are the same as fatherless.” He spoke with her. Then he feared something evil might happen: therefore he called upon a wise old man, and asked his advice. The old man told him what the result of his indiscretion would be. The hunter then requested the seer to watch him with his mind (or invisible seeing-power) and to tell the people what would happen to him. The old man promised to do so. Then the hunter, full of evil forebodings, returned to his Grizzly bear wife. As he approached the shore, he saw her weeping. She had known at once when the man had spoken to his former wife, and became sorry and wept. As he came close to the shore, the two cubs ran out into the water to meet him. Their mother followed. She caught the man in her arms and tore him to pieces.

War with the Sky people or Swan people

A man discovers his wife has been taken by a swan to the sky world, inhabited by bird-people who appear human at home but as birds on Earth. He and his companions journey to the sky, facing challenges and seeking guidance from various bird tribes. Eventually, he finds his wife among the Swan people and persuades her to return home.

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: The protagonist embarks on a perilous journey to a realm beyond the human world—the sky country inhabited by bird people—to retrieve his wife.

Love and Betrayal: The man’s pursuit of his abducted wife underscores his enduring love and determination to reunite with her.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features interactions with beings possessing dual natures—birds that transform into humans in the sky realm.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

The sky country was inhabited by birds. When at home, these people were just like human beings; but when they came to the earth, they appeared in the form of birds. Once a man lost his wife, and discovered that she had been taken away by a swan. He started in pursuit, and followed their tracks, which led to the edge of the earth, where the sky moves up and down like clouds on the mountains. He saw that the tracks left the earth and passed under the edge of the sky. He turned back, and came again accompanied by many of his friends. The country became colder and colder as they proceeded northward. When they came to the end of the earth, the sky was moving up and down so fast that they could not pass over. One of the party had the sky (and swan) for his guardian. He made the sky move up and down slowly. The people jumped on, and followed the tracks until they came to where the Ducks lived.

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They asked them about the stolen woman, and they were told that she had passed with her husband long before. They came to the Geese and one after another to other birds, but they all gave the same answer. The weather was becoming warmer, for they were approaching the swan country, which is a long way down on the opposite slope of the sky. (They found that the sky sloped up to where it meets the earth. It was cold towards this end, and warm towards the other.) They came to two old Swan women. They asked them the same question they had asked the other birds, but they received no answer. One said to the other, “Tell them!” and the other said, “No.” Then the men took a knife, and threatened to cut off their heads if they did not tell. Then they told them that the woman had passed not long before, and was camped not far away. Soon they overtook a great many Swan people who were making camp. They saw the woman there, and waited until she came out to get brush. Her husband talked to her. She said, “You do not want me now. I am of no use to you.” He answered, “I want you, whether you are of use or not. You have not yet forgotten how you sewed for me and helped me on earth.” She answered, “Yes, I remember all I did for you.” He said, “Come out early in the morning and join us.” The Swan people suspected nothing, and all went to bed. When her Swan-husband was asleep, the woman ran away and joined the people. On the following morning, when the Swans found that the woman had run away and was already a long distance off, they followed, but turned back from near the edge of the sky, as the weather was too cold for them. It was winter-time there, and the Swans did not like the cold. The man with the sky (or swan) guardian made the sky move slowly at the edge of the earth. They jumped down, and in due time reached their own country.

The Lynx; or, the woman stolen by Lynx

A lynx abducts a woman. Her husband tracks them to their first camp while the lynx is hunting rabbits. The husband instructs his wife to claim he is her father. Initially suspicious, the lynx eventually believes her. That night, the husband kills the lynx, transforming it into a real lynx with a short, round nose.

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The lynx undergoes a physical change, turning into its animal form after being clubbed by the husband.

Love and Betrayal: The narrative centers on the husband’s efforts to reclaim his wife after her abduction, highlighting themes of love and loyalty.

Cunning and Deception: The husband’s strategy involves deceiving the lynx by pretending to be the woman’s father, showcasing the use of wit to achieve his goal.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Once upon a time Lynx stole a woman. Her husband overtook them at their first camp, while Lynx was out hunting rabbits. The man instructed his wife to tell Lynx that he was her father. When Lynx came back, he wanted to shoot the man, but the woman called out that he was her father. Lynx sang as he came into the camp:

I do not know what makes me feel thus.
If he is your father, cook for him some good rabbit.

At first Lynx would not believe her; but finally he was persuaded, and went to bed with the woman. During the night the man clubbed him, and he turned into a real lynx. That is why the lynx has such a short round nose now.

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The woman who married a ghost

A wealthy man’s daughter elopes with a ghost who appears as a handsome man. She becomes the wife of two ghosts in Ghost-land, an underground realm. When visiting her family, the girl perceives her husbands as men, while her family sees only skulls. Her father persuades the ghosts to leave by offering goods. Later, the girl dies and permanently joins her husbands in Ghost-land.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The story explores unconventional romantic bonds between a mortal woman and her ghostly husbands, highlighting the complexities of love that transcends the mortal realm.

Underworld Journey: The protagonist’s venture into Ghost-land, depicted as an underground domain, represents a journey into the realm of the dead.

Eternal Life and Mortality: The tale delves into themes of life, death, and the afterlife, particularly through the woman’s transition from the mortal world to Ghost-land and her eventual death to permanently join her ghostly spouses.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Once an adolescent girl was living apart from the people. She was the daughter of a wealthy man who had much property and many slaves. One night a ghost asked her to elope with him. She consented to be his wife, as he appeared to her as a good-looking man. He took her to Ghost-land, which was underground, and not far away. As the girl did not appear in the morning, the people thought she was asleep, and her father sent some one to waken her. They found her place empty, and thought she must have eloped with some man. Her father sent slaves to search in all the houses, and he counted all the men. She could not be found anywhere. When the girl arrived in Ghost-land, she became the wife of two men. She had plenty to eat, as the Ghosts were good hunters. After a while her husbands said, “Let us go and see your people! Probably you would like to visit your father.” They went to her father’s house and stood outside.

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The people said to her father, “Your daughter has come.” He told them to tell her to come in, and, if she had any husband, to invite him in also. They made places for them in the house, and the girl entered with two skulls rolling behind her. She took her seat, and the skulls took places one on each side of her. Her father told the slaves to cook food for them and to give them to eat. All the people kept looking at the skulls, and could not eat. The girl could not see any skulls, but instead two good-looking men. On the other hand, the people could not see any men, but only the skulls. The ghosts ate with their wife, and conversed with her; but the people could not hear them. The girl asked her father if her husbands might go hunting in one of his canoes. He told them to use a canoe that was on the river. When night came, the ghosts left, and took the canoe. They camped over one day, [day was the same as night to us, for they travelled and hunted at night] and returned the following night. They came rolling into the house, as before. The girl was glad to see them, and told her father that there was meat in the canoe. He went to see for himself, and, finding it quite full, he ordered his slaves to carry the meat up to the house. The girl told her father that her husbands said they would leave soon, and they wished to know whether he would allow her to go with them. Her father asked if they would return some time; and she answered, “No, we shall not come back.” Her father said, “Well, you must not go with them. I will pay them with much property, and they must leave you.” He made a pile of goods, and gave it to them before they retired to sleep with their wife. On the following morning they were gone, and the goods had also disappeared. This is why nowadays, if a husband ill-treats his wife, her father takes her back, and pays the husband for releasing her. The girl staid with her father, but seemed to think much of Ghost-land. She told that it was a good land, better than here, and the people were good. They did not quarrel and fight. Her father said, “Yes, I know, but the people there are ghosts.” She would not believe this. Before leaving, her husbands had told her they would come back for her soon. They meant that she was going to die. After a while she died, and went to Ghost-land to remain there as a ghost.

The ghosts who live underground are always seen as skulls rolling along the ground. People are afraid of them; for when they are seen, many deaths will occur. Other ghosts are like shadows, and harmless.

Tle’ntlendo’k

In a village, two young men secretly visited supernatural women at night—one a water-woman, the other a smoke-woman. Curiosity led each to discover the other’s liaison, resulting in mutual deception. Enraged by the betrayal, the water-woman killed all the villagers by plucking out their eyes, except a new mother who fended off the attack. She became a wanderer named Tle’ntlendo’k, believed to grant wishes to those who encounter her.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The men’s secret liaisons and subsequent deceptions lead to betrayal and dire consequences.

Divine Punishment: The water-woman’s retribution against the villagers for the men’s actions exemplifies this theme.

Transformation: The surviving woman transforms into Tle’ntlendo’k, a wandering figure believed to possess wish-granting abilities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

There were many people living at one place. Among them were two young men who always slept together. When the people were asleep, one man would get up and go away to sleep with a water-woman. Afterwards the other man would get up and go to sleep with a smoke-woman (the smoke from the camp-fire always changed into a woman at night). [Some people think this woman is the same as the marmot-woman or mother (see “The Man who became a Marmot”), but most people do not agree with this opinion.] The man who lived with the smoke-woman wondered where his comrade went. He watched him, and followed him to the lake where he heard him whistle. Something then came up out of the water, and the man jumped in and disappeared. The next night he arose first, went to the lake, and did as his comrade had done. He went down under the water to the water-woman’s house.

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When the other man came down to the lake and whistled, he received no reply. After waiting a while, he went back and found his comrade with Smoke-Woman. [It is said by some people that he returned and slept with Smoke-Woman himself. When the man who had gone with Water-Woman returned, he found him sleeping with Smoke-Woman, and both women found out that they had been deceived.] Water-Woman did not discover that another man was with her until he left her. That night, when the people were all asleep, Water-Woman, who was very angry, went to the houses of the people and plucked out the eyes of the two men. Then she went on and plucked out the eyes of the rest of the people, killing them all, A woman was camped outside in a shelter by herself, as she had given birth to a baby the night before. She did not feel well, and could not sleep. She often felt a hand passing before her eyes, and she always struck it away. This continued all night, and stopped only with daylight. In the morning she wondered why the people slept so long. She called to her husband, who slept near by in another lodge, but received no answer. After a while she discovered that all the people were dead, and that their eyes had been plucked out. She took her baby and journeyed towards the east. She became a wanderer, and known as tle’ntlendo’k Some people have seen her, and others dream of her. Some who have seen her claim that she is very good-looking and has long finger-nails of copper. She goes about carrying her baby. It is considered lucky to see or dream of her, and it is said that she grants people their wishes. One man asked her for riches and got them. He was not satisfied. He asked for more and more. He said, “Give me riches until I burst.” He became wealthier and wealthier, and one day he burst and died.

The faithless wife; or, the origin of witchcraft

A wife feigns illness to deceive her husband and secretly lives with her lover. Upon discovering her betrayal, the husband attempts various methods of witchcraft for revenge, ultimately succeeding by using a dog’s bone to gain supernatural abilities. He kills both his wife and her lover discreetly, leading the community to suspect him. This event marks the origin of witchcraft among the people.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The wife’s infidelity and deception towards her husband.

Revenge and Justice: The husband’s actions to punish his unfaithful wife and her lover.

Forbidden Knowledge: The husband’s discovery and use of witchcraft to achieve his revenge.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A family lived in a large, long village in the Hutcenu’ country [a division of the Tlingit (Hutsnuwu, “bear-fort”)]. It consisted of husband, wife, and some children. The wife feigned sickness when her husband was at home. Whenever her husband was away, her lover came and staid with her. She said to her husband, “I have been sick a long time now; I am going to die soon.” Later she said to him, “I am going to die tonight. Do not burn my body, but put it on top of the ground in a house of poles.” [Some of the people in Hutsnuwu are said to have disposed of their dead in this manner.] She had already put rotten clams underneath her body. The people buried her as she had directed, and her husband went to the grave and cried for his dead wife. She was not there, however, for she had departed the first night after the pole-house had been erected over her. She went off with her lover, and was living with him in the farthest house at the end of the village.

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Some time afterwards one of her sons, who was a big boy, happened to go to this house. He was surprised to see his mother there. She never spoke to him, and feigned not to know him. When he came home, he told his father, who said, “You must be mistaken. You know that your mother is dead. The woman you saw may have a face resembling that of your mother, but it cannot be that she is alive.” The boy went back to the house and had a good look. He came back, and told his father he was sure it was his mother. His father then went, and, looking through a crack in the house, recognized his wife. He went home, and said to himself, “I wish I could do something to kill them!” He tried to bewitch them with every kind of thing, including dead people’s bones, but did not succeed. Then he tried the bone of a dead dog. When he put this bone on his body, he began to shiver as shamans do when their spirits come into them. He kept on working with the dog-bone and dog-spirit until at last he was able to fly. Now he made two arrows of hard wood [some people say that he took two hard-wood sticks and sharpened the points.], and, flying the whole length of the village, he caused everybody to fall asleep. He went to the place where his wife and her lover were, and pushed an arrow into his wife’s rectum, thus killing her. He killed her lover in the same manner. When the people woke up, they said, “Why have we slept so late this morning?” They wondered why the woman and man did not get up. They examined them, and found them stiff and dead, with arrows sticking in them. They prepared the bodies for cremation, and wondered how they had been killed. Now the husband dressed up in his best clothes. He seemed very happy, and went around laughing, and challenging people to play the stick-game. When he played, he always won. The people noticed that when he played, he always joked and called the trump toq qetz, which means “anus root-digger.” This and his changed demeanor made the people think that he was the murderer of the woman and her lover; but they said nothing about it at that time, as they did not know of witchcraft. Afterwards all the people of that place became famous as witches, and witchcraft spread from them to other tribes. In this way witchcraft was introduced.

The man and his sister

A man secretly engages in an affair with his sister, neglecting his own family. When her husband discovers the infidelity, the brother kills him and desecrates his body. The man’s wife uncovers the betrayal and, seeking revenge, kills both her husband and his sister, desecrating their bodies in turn. She then moves her children to the sister’s camp, utilizing the ample meat supply, and later shares her story with their community, who commend her actions.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The narrative centers on the man’s betrayal of his own family through his affair with his sister and the subsequent treachery involved in murdering her husband.

Revenge and Justice: The man’s wife seeks retribution for the wrongs committed by her husband and his sister, ultimately delivering justice through their deaths.

Tragic Flaw: The man’s moral weaknesses—his lust and betrayal—lead to his downfall and death.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A man lived with his wife and children near the head of a creek; and near by, at the head of another creek on the opposite side of the mountain, lived his sister and her husband. Often, when her husband was out hunting, the man went to his sister and cohabited with her. Her husband became suspicious and watched her. On several successive days he saw a man go into the camp. He asked his wife who it was that visited her; and she answered, “Only my brother, that is nothing.” The husband said no more. After this he came home one day and found him with his wife. He was angry, and they fought. The brother killed him, and, opening up his body, defecated inside. After this the brother spent more time with his sister than with his wife. The game that he killed he took to her, and nothing to his wife and family. His wife noticed that he looked tired every night, and in many ways showed that he had killed game.

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Still he always came home empty-handed, and claimed to have killed nothing. The family was starving; and the wife proposed that her husband go and see his brother-in-law, as he might have plenty of meat. He answered that he had been there, and his brother-in-law also could get no game and was out of food (he wanted his wife to starve). One day when her husband was away, the woman went to her sister-in-law’s camp, and found it full of meat. She also found the dead body of her sister-in-law’s husband, and saw what had been done to it. Her own husband was not there. She returned to camp, and made an arrow with a specially large head. The next day, when her husband was away, she went to his sister’s camp, and concealed herself in a place adjacent to the dead body in which he defecated, but at a lower level. When he came to the place to defecate, she shot the arrow up his anus. He cried out, “Come, sister! Some one is killing me!” His sister ran out, and the woman killed her also. She opened up both the bodies and defecated in them, saying, “Now I have my revenge.” As she had many children, she moved to the camp where the dead bodies were, and lived there, as there was a vast supply of meat. Later she and her children returned to the main body of the people, and told them of the wickedness of her husband and his sister. They approved of her deed.

Story of the ants

Two brothers married to two sisters hunt caribou daily. Overhearing a suspicious conversation between the sisters, the elder brother kills his wife by pushing her into a large ant nest. The younger sister, suspecting foul play, later kills both brothers. This story explains why ants have red heads and bite people.

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The narrative involves marital relationships that are tested and ultimately broken through acts of betrayal.

Revenge and Justice: The story depicts acts of retribution following betrayal, leading to the demise of the offending parties.

Origin of Things: The myth explains the reason behind certain traits of ants, linking their current form to past events.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two brothers were married to two sisters. [It is not clear that these people were ants, but it would seem so.] The husbands hunted every day, and brought home plenty of caribou-meat. When they came home, they always listened before entering the lodge. One night, when they were listening, a squirrel made a noise, as squirrels do in the evening-time. The younger sister said, “He makes a noise just like the one I make.” The elder one said to her, “Don’t say that! Our husbands might become suspicious.” Next day they moved camp, the elder couple travelling some distance ahead. They came to a place where there was a very large ant’s nest in rotten wood. The man pushed his wife into the nest; and the ants went all through her, coming out at her ears, nose, mouth, and eyes. The man then went on and made camp. When the younger sister arrived, she inquired for her sister, but the man never answered.

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Then she thought that he must have killed her. On the following day the men went hunting, each going his own way. The brother who had killed his wife then came back to camp, and wanted to have connection with his sister-in-law, saying, “Let us go to a hidden place!” The woman hid a knife in her bosom and went with him. When they embraced, she said, “I must be on top: I always do that way.” He agreed, and she suddenly pulled out the knife and cut his throat. That night she killed her husband (the other brother) in the same way. This is why ants have red heads now, and bite people. [The connection is not clear; but probably their heads are red because they were beheaded, and their heads bloody]