Big-Man and the boy

Two brothers encounter Big-Man while hunting. Fearing he is a cannibal, they hide in a porcupine hole. The younger brother emerges and discovers Big-Man means no harm, but the elder remains hidden. Angered, Big-Man blocks the hole with a rock. Porcupine helps the elder brother escape. Big-Man and the younger brother then journey together, with Big-Man displaying immense strength and learning from the boy about eating beaver tails.

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: Big-Man exhibits extraordinary characteristics, such as immense size and strength, and refers to large animals as “rabbits” and “caribou,” indicating a supernatural perspective.

Cunning and Deception: The boy’s initial brother refuses to leave the porcupine hole, suspecting Big-Man’s friendly demeanor to be deceptive, highlighting themes of mistrust and the potential for cunning.

Ritual and Initiation: The boy’s experiences, including his rapid maturation and the challenges he faces alongside Big-Man, can be interpreted as rites of passage or initiation into a new phase of life.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two brothers were out hunting, and came to a porcupine-hole. While they were trying to get the porcupine, Big-Man overtook them. He had been following their tracks. When they saw him, they were much afraid, and crawled into the porcupine-hole. Big-Man asked them to come out. He asked them many times; but they were afraid, for they thought he was a cannibal and would eat them. At last he told them that, if they did not come out, he would defecate in front of the hole, and then they would never be able to get out. The younger brother said to the other, “I shall go out. He may eat me. Then perhaps he will leave you, and will not defecate in front of the hole.” He went out; and Big-Man patted him, and told him he would not hurt him. The boy said to his brother, “Come out! This is a good man, and he will not harm us. He is not a cannibal.” The brother, however, refused.

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He said, “He is treating you well just to deceive us. When he gets me out, then he will eat us both.” Big-Man became angry and defecated in front of the hole, and his excrements turned into rock. The boy could not get out; but Porcupine made a new hole to get out in another place, and thus liberated the boy, who went back to the camp and told his people how his brother had been taken by a giant.

Big-Man carried the boy he had taken in a bag. He saw some caribou, and said, “See the rabbits!” He killed three of them and slipped the carcasses in his belt, carrying them much more easily than a man could carry rabbits. After a while he saw a moose, and said, “See the caribou!” He shot the moose, and carried it in the same way. At night he camped, started a fire, cooked the moose and three caribou, and fed the boy. He was very much amused at the small quantity of meat the boy ate, and laughed heartily. He said, “You are a light eater.” He finished all of the rest of the caribou and moose himself. Soon he said, “Let us go to sleep!” and he lay down on the ground, occupying the whole of a large open place. When he spread out his arms and legs, he knocked down all the trees in the way, just as a person might do with grass. He put the boy in his armpit to sleep; but the boy crawled out, and lay by the fire. The lad grew rapidly, and soon became a man. They came to a lake where there was a large beaver-house. Big-Man said, “See the beaver! Get a pole to open their house.” The boy cut a pole about four inches through, such as is used by Indians for breaking open beaver-houses. Big-Man laughed, and said, “That is no good, it is too small.” He got the boy to cut larger and larger ones, until he was hardly able to carry the last one. Big-Man said they were all too small, and that he would now help him. He pulled up a large tree by the roots, struck the top of the beaver-house with it, broke it down, and thus killed all the beavers. He picked out the carcasses and cooked them. He ate the meat, but threw the tails into the lake. The boy took one of the tails and ate it. Big-Man said, “Don’t eat that! It is poison, and will kill you. In my country we never eat beaver-tails. We are afraid of them.” The boy continued eating the tail, so Big-Man thought he would taste it. He said, “Oh, my! It is very sweet!” and he sent the boy to gather up all the tails that he had thrown away. He ate them all. Big-Man asked the boy how he knew that beavertails were such nice food; and he answered, “They always eat them in my country.”

He staid with Big-Man a year, and by that time was a full-grown man. Big-Man treated him well all the time. Now they came to the end of Lower Iskut Lake. The lad said he saw something dark moving near the other end of the lake. He thought it must be wind or a storm-cloud. Big-Man looked, and said, “A bad man lives there. He is a large fierce cannibal. His children are swinging there.” When they came near, they saw two large trees moving backwards and forwards. The hammock of the cannibal giant’s baby was attached to them. The baby was asleep, and the mother was there swinging it. Big-Man told the lad not to be afraid when they entered the camp. Big-Man asked the giantess where her husband was, and she answered that he was out hunting. The giant himself then killed the woman by means of his membrum, which was so long that it pierced her heart. They then killed the baby and departed, leaving both bodies where they were. Big-Man said to the lad, “Her husband will pursue us, but do not be afraid. If you run away, he will eat you.” Big-Man always carried a bag which contained four heads, — two of old and two of young beavers. These were his helpers. He said to the lad, “When the cannibal giant attacks me, and seems about to overcome me, I shall call on you. You will then bring the heads of the oldest two beavers and place them against his legs. If I call a second time, bring the heads of the young beavers.” Soon the cannibal arrived at the other end of the lake. He cried when he discovered the bodies of his wife and baby. He tracked Big-Man, who waited for him. When he reached them, he said to Big-Man, “You killed my wife and child.” Big-Man acknowledged it. Then they fought and wrestled almost all day. Towards evening Big-Man called out that he was getting weak. The lad took the heads of the oldest two beavers out of Big-Man’s medicine-bag, which was in his charge, and placed them one against each leg of the giant. They chewed the giant’s legs; but their teeth were dull, and they were too old to chew very fast. Before long Big-Man called again, and the lad set the heads of the young beavers at the giant’s legs. Their teeth were sharp, and they cut quickly. The beavers chewed through the giant’s legs; and he became helpless, and was about to fall. Big-Man held him up, and called to the lad to run to the top of the neighboring mountain. The lad ran up a considerable distance, and called, “Grandfather, am I far enough?” Big-Man answered, “No, go farther!” The lad climbed again. Thus several times he asked Big-Man, and then went higher, until at last he reached the top. Big-Man then lifted up the giant’s body and threw it into the lake, and the splash of the water almost reached the place where the boy was standing. The remains of his body may be seen there now as islands in the lake.

After this event Big-Man found the lad crying one day, and asked him the reason of his sadness. He said he wanted to see his parents. Big-Man said, “All right! You shall see them.” The lad thought he might lose his way if he attempted to return alone. Big-Man said, “No, you will not get lost.” He cut a stick, and peeled the bark off the lower end, leaving a little bark and the stumps of the limbs at the upper end. He said, “Plant this stick at your camp every night before you go to bed, and in the morning you will find it on the ground pointing in the direction you have to go. At night sing the word ‘Ta’tsestuhe!’ and game will appear, which you may kill and eat. Sing ‘Eku’kemaze!’ when you want fat, and it will be there for you to eat; but always leave a little, never eat it all.” The lad bade Big-Man good-by, and started on his journey. The first night he sang the game-song Big-Man had given him, and immediately a lynx appeared above him on a tree. He killed it and ate his fill. The second night he sang the fat-song, and a white thing appeared. This was fat. He ate what he required, and left a little. Thus he used the guiding-stick and the two songs as Big-Man had directed; and each morning he knew which way to go, and each night he had plenty to eat. At last he came to the crossing of two winter trails made by the people. He camped here, as he had been directed by Big-Man; and in the morning, by the direction in which the stick lay, he knew which trail to take. At last he reached the lodge of his people. He stuck up outside in the snow the stick Big-Man had given him, as he had been directed. In the morning it was gone. He kept the fat for a long time. He ate it whenever he wanted, but always left a morsel. In the morning the piece of fat was always as large as before. He kept it in a sack. Once when he was out hunting, his brother looked in the sack, and, seeing a little fat, ate it all. The fat expanded in his stomach, and he swelled out and burst.

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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 girl who was stolen by owl

A young girl, denied food by her parents, is lured outside by an owl mimicking her grandmother’s voice. The owl abducts her to its tree lodge, feeding her live ants. The villagers’ mourning rituals intrigue the owl, leading it to ask the girl about them. Seizing the opportunity, the girl deceives and kills the owl, then escapes home. Upon warming by the fire, ants emerge from her body, and she dies.

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The owl in the story is portrayed with anthropomorphic qualities, capable of mimicking human speech and abducting the girl, indicating its supernatural nature.

Cunning and Deception: The owl deceives the girl by imitating her grandmother’s voice, luring her outside to facilitate the abduction.

Family Dynamics: The narrative highlights the relationships within the girl’s family, including her interactions with her parents and sister, and their reactions to her disappearance and return.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Once a number of people who were living at a salmon creek engaged in putting up fish for winter use. In one house lived a girl with her parents and sister. Her grandmother lived near by in another lodge. The girl had been playing in her grandmother’s lodge, and came home late, after her parents had gone to bed. She asked them for something to eat; but her parents did not want to get up, and told her to wait until the next morning. The girl cried and cried. Suddenly they heard some one speak outside with a voice like that of the grandmother, saying, “Come here! I’ll give you a piece of salmon.” The mother told the girl to go; but it was dark outside, and she was afraid. She continued to cry, and her mother urged her to go. She went out, and came back, saying, “That woman is not my grandmother.” Her mother said, “Surely it is she.” She went out again, and Owl took her. She screamed, and her parents got up. All the people searched for the girl.

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They followed her to the foot of a mountain, in which she disappeared. Her cries became fainter and fainter, and finally ceased altogether. Owl took her through the mountain to her lodge, which was in a hollow tree on the other side. The people dug into the mountain, but gave it up when they heard cries far away on the other side. They returned home and sang a dirge, accompanying it with beats of a long staff. Owl heard the noise, and said, “Let us go and see what the people are doing!” Owl went, and perched with the girl on the roof of one of the lodges, and watched. Owl asked, “Why are they singing?” and the girl answered, “Because they are sorry.” Owl said, “That is funny.” The people kept up the ceremony for several nights, and Owl watched each night. She thought it was nice, and asked the girl, “How do they do it? Do they hold the pole and bring one end down on their heads?” Owl thought this, because to her everything looked upside down. The girl answered, “Yes,” and Owl said she would like to try it. The girl said, “Very well. Let me help you!” When they came home, the girl made a long pole, sharpened one end, and put a heavy flat stone on the other. She stood above Owl, who was standing up straight. She put the sharp end of the stick on Owl’s head just where the skull was weakest. She pushed the stick and drove it in with the stone. Owl tried to pull the stick out, but did not succeed. When dying, she tore holes in the tree with her hands. The girl left, and returned to her people. She was weak, for Owl had fed her on live ants, telling her to swallow them without chewing. At last she reached the place where the people drew water, and sat down. Her sister came, and recognized her. When she told her parents that her sister had returned, the mother would not believe it. She said, “Don’t speak of her! Long ago Owl took her.” The girl returned, and told her sister that their parents would not believe her. Then the returned girl took off part of the fringe of her marten robe and sent it to her mother. She recognized it, and came out at once and took her in. She told her story. There was a good fire in the camp; and when the girl became warm, the ants stirred in her belly, and came out through her mouth, nose, ears, and even her eyes, and every opening in her body. Then she died.

The sisters who married stars

Two sisters, living apart from their community, whimsically wished upon stars to become their husbands. That night, they were transported to the sky, marrying the stars they had chosen. After some time, they yearned for Earth and crafted a rope from skins to descend. Upon returning, they found themselves atop a tall tree. With the help of Wolverene, they safely reached the ground.

► Themes of the story

Journey to the Otherworld: The sisters are taken from Earth to the sky realm to live with their star husbands, representing a voyage to a realm beyond human experience.

Supernatural Beings: The stars personify supernatural entities who interact directly with the sisters, influencing their fate.

Cunning and Deception: The sisters employ clever tactics to descend from the sky and later to manage their interactions with Wolverene, showcasing the use of wit to navigate complex situations.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

Two adolescent sisters who were living together were staying apart from the other people. One evening when about to retire, they were playing and joking with each other. Happening to look up at the stars, one of them said, “Do you see that nice star? That is my husband. I wish he would come here and take me!” The other sister looked around among the stars, and picked out one which seemed very beautiful. She said, “That one is my husband. I wish he would come for me!” Soon after this the girls fell asleep. In the morning they found themselves in the sky. The stars they had chosen had taken them up during the night. They lived with these men as their husbands. The star men were great hunters, and always killed an abundance of game. The women had to carry home all the meat and skins. After a while they discovered a hole in the sky, and they used to watch the people moving on the earth below.

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They thought by what means they might be able to descend to earth, and, according to the elder sister’s suggestion, they secretly cut up skins and made a long rope. They told their husbands that some animal was eating the skins. When they thought the rope was long enough, the elder sister said, “I will go down first. If you feel me shake the rope, you will know that I have reached the ground. If I do not shake it, and all the rope is out, you will know that it is too short, and you must pull me up again. If you follow me, tie the end of the rope to the cross-stick over the hole, pull it up, and come down yourself.” Their husbands were out hunting. Both sisters reached the earth in safety. The rope was not quite long enough, but they alighted on top of a tall tree.

The younger woman had just got clear of the rope when the star men arrived, and, finding that their wives had descended, cut the upper end of the rope, which fell down and lopped off all the side branches of the tree. The women could not descend, and sat in the top of the tree, where a few branches were left. They called for help on the various animals that passed near the tree; but some passed without paying any heed, and others promised to help on their return. At last Wolverene came along, and they called to him. He said to them, “Yes, I can carry you down.” He climbed the tree and began to play with the girls. The elder girl said to her sister, “Keep him off until after he has carried us down.” She said to Wolverene, “You must carry us down first.” He carried the elder one down, and wanted to play with her, but she would not let him until he had carried down her sister. When he came to her, he wanted to do likewise; but she said, “You must carry me down first.” When he brought her down, he asked for his reward; and the sisters said, “We are hungry; you must get us meat first.” He brought the meat, and asked them again. They said, “Let us eat first.” When they had finished, he asked again; and they said, “We are thirsty; bring us water first.” Wolverene was now getting tired, but he brought the water. They said to him, “Take us up to the top of yonder steep bluff, and then we shall really give you what you want.” He took them there, and the women prepared a bed to sleep in. Wolverene wanted to sleep farthest from the steep bluff, but they made him take the place over the precipice. He lay down next to the younger sister, and immediately the elder one pushed him off. He fell over the cliff and was killed. Now the sisters left, and looked for the camp of their people. One night Bush-Tailed Rat entered their camp and killed and ate one of them. The other escaped and reached the people, who had given the women up for dead. The surviving sister told the people of her adventures and how the stars were fine-looking people.

Because of this story the Indians believe that it is dangerous to wish for the stars; for they may come and take you away, as they did the sisters in the story. Because Wolverene carried these women on his back, the wolverene at the present day can carry meat on his back.

The woman and Otter-Man

A widow with two sons meets a mysterious man who becomes her secret lover, hiding in her pack during the day. Suspicious, her sons discover and kill the man, who is revealed to be Otter-Man. They trick their mother into eating his cooked flesh. Realizing the deception, she transforms into an otter and chases them. The sons create obstacles to impede her pursuit, ultimately leading to her demise. This tale explains the otter’s appearance and its spiritual influence on women.

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features Otter-Man, a mystical entity who engages with the human world.

Divine Punishment: The woman’s transformation into an otter and her eventual demise can be interpreted as retribution for her concealed actions.

Family Dynamics: The interactions between the mother and her sons, especially concerning trust and betrayal, play a central role in the story.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A widow had two sons. The lads hunted, and their mother always carried in the meat for them. One day when she was on her way to get meat, she met a strange man, who asked her if she had a husband. She answered, “No, my husband is dead, but I have two grown-up sons.” He asked if she had a camp and where it was, also where she was going. She told him she was going to carry in caribou-meat, and directed him where her camp was. “Well,” he said, “I shall come to your camp tonight and see you, but you must hide me.” The woman cooked for her sons every night. After they had eaten and gone to sleep, the man came. He told the woman that he would marry her, but that she must conceal him. He did not want her sons to see him. He slept with her all night, and in the morning she tied him up in her pack-sack and hung it up outside. The following night she took in her pack-sack. Her sons thought it strange that their mother always hung up her pack-sack outside, when formerly she was not wont to do so.

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They also remarked that her pack-sack was always particularly well lashed. One night they happened to hear talking. It was not their mother talking in her sleep, for there were two voices. The next night they watched. After the fire had gone out, their mother brought in her pack and unlashed it. Then they heard whispering and talking. In the morning she lashed the pack again and hung it up outside. Now the boys went hunting, and purposely killed caribou a long way off. They cut up only about half of the carcass, leaving considerable work for their mother to do. Then they covered the meat to a great depth in the snow. This was done to delay her in bringing home the first load of meat. In the morning they said, “Mother, go and bring in a load of the caribou-meat. We are tired today and want to rest.” When she had gone, they took down the pack, and found Otter-Man inside. They killed him, and put his flesh before the fire to cook. They stuffed their mother’s pack-bag, lashed it, and hung it up in the same place as before. When their mother arrived, they said to her, “Mother, you must be hungry. We killed a big bear and a little cub, but we took home only the cub. We have cooked it for you, and now it is ready to eat.” The woman was hungry, and at once began to eat. The men put on their snowshoes, saying, “There was a crust on the snow this morning, which makes walking noisy. We are going to hunt this evening, as the snow is better.” When they were outside, they shouted, “We know of a woman who is eating her husband!” The woman ran to her pack, and found it stuffed. She became angry, and changed into an otter. She ran fast and slid as otters do. She nearly caught up with her sons, who threw part of the inside of a caribou behind them. It became a canyon, which she had to cross. This retarded her. She caught up again; and they threw another part of the inside of the caribou, which became a mountain. Still she followed them. Again they threw another part, and it became water. They threw the fourth part, and it became fire. She ran into it and was burned. [Some people say that the otter could not run fast enough; and gave up the chase.] Because the otter was burned, he now has short brown hair; and because the otter had connection with the woman, otter spirits now enter women and make them very sick.

The bad man and his son-in-law

A man is targeted by his malevolent father-in-law, who schemes to kill him. First, he sends the man to hunt near a cannibal toad’s lair, but with the aid of his animal protectors—a grizzly bear, black bear, wolf, and lynx—the man defeats the toad. Undeterred, the father-in-law attempts other deadly plots, including transforming his own daughter into a grizzly bear to attack her husband. Each time, the man overcomes the dangers, ultimately leading to the father-in-law’s demise.

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The protagonist receives assistance from supernatural animal protectors, including the grizzly bear, black bear, wolf, and lynx.

Conflict with Authority: The story centers on the protagonist’s struggle against his authoritative and malevolent father-in-law.

Trials and Tribulations: The protagonist endures and overcomes a series of lethal challenges orchestrated by his father-in-law.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tahltan Lore

Learn more about Tahltan people

A man who had married a girl, the daughter of a man of evil disposition, was hated by his father-in-law, who had made up his mind to kill him. One day he told the man to go hunting at a place where a gigantic cannibal toad lived. When the man approached the toad’s abode, he knew by the power of his protectors that he was in danger, and called on them for assistance. His four protectors — the grizzly bear, black bear, wolf, and lynx — appeared at once. The toad came out to fight the man, and opened its great mouth to bite him. Grizzly Bear, who was foremost, immediately jumped down its throat before it could bring its jaws together, and the others followed him. Then the four tore its entrails, and the man shot and killed it. The animals ate their way out, leaving four great holes in its body. When the man returned, his father-in-law was much disappointed because he had not been killed.

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The following day he asked him to go hunting on a high mountain at a place where snow-slides always came down and killed people. When he reached this place, he changed himself into something so tiny that the snow-slide could not crush it. The avalanche came and carried him down, but failed to harm him. When he arrived at the bottom, he resumed his natural form and went home. His father-in-law could hardly suppress his disappointment and anger. He said to his daughter, “I will change you into a grizzly bear. Go out on yonder side-hill and act and feed like a bear.” He put a bear-skin on her, and told her to tear her husband. Then he pointed out the bear to his son-in-law, who went to kill it. When he came near and was about to shoot, his wife called out, “Don’t shoot! Save me! I am your wife.” He never heeded, and kept on shooting until he had killed her. His father-in-law was now very angry, and pursued him. The man threw down part of the inside of the bear; and this formed a deep chasm between them, stopping for a time the advance of his pursuer. The latter caught up again; and the man threw something behind him, which again formed an obstacle and delayed his pursuer. Thus he threw down several things, which became canyons, lakes, etc., behind him. His father-in-law managed to pass them all, and again caught up. He had only one thing left that he could throw. This was a stick, which turned into fire [some people say it was a fire-drill or fire-rock]. His pursuer ran right into the fire, and was burned to death.

The le’naxi’daq

A man discovers a woman, the le’naxi’daq, floating in a lake with her children. He brings one child home, but during the night, it removes the eyes of the villagers. A woman, after giving birth, encounters this child and kills it with her cane. She then declares herself the new le’naxi’daq, wandering the beach while nursing her child and consuming mussels.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The le’naxi’daq is a mysterious entity with malevolent powers, interacting with humans in a supernatural manner.

Transformation: The woman who kills the le’naxi’daq’s child undergoes a transformation, assuming the identity and role of the le’naxi’daq herself.

Loss and Renewal: The community experiences loss through the actions of the le’naxi’daq’s child, but there is a sense of renewal as the woman takes on a new role.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

See story “Origin of le’naxi’daq“. This is the equivalent of Skil dja’adai, or “Property Woman,” among the Haida.

This story was obtained at Sitka.

A man at Auk went out on the lake after firewood. On the way round it be saw a woman floating about. Her hair was long. Looking at her for some time, he saw that her little ones were with her. He took one of the children home. When it became dark they went to sleep. It was the child of the le’naxi’daq, and that night it went through the town picking out people’s eyes. Toward morning a certain woman bore a child. In the morning, when she was getting up, this [the le’naxi’daq’s child] came into her into the house. The small boy had a big belly full of eyes. He had taken out the eyes of all the people. That woman to whom the small boy came had a cane. He kept pointing at her eyes. Then she pushed him away with the cane. When he had done it twice, she pushed it into him. He was all full of eyes. After she had killed him the woman went through the houses. Then she began to dress herself up. She took her child up on her back to start wandering. She said, “I am going to be the le’naxi’daq.” When she came down on the beach she kept eating mussels. She put the shells inside of one another. As she walks along she nurses her little child.

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The origin of copper

A chief’s daughter, while berry-picking, insults a grizzly bear and is subsequently taken by him as his wife. Living among the grizzly-bear people, she struggles with their customs. A grandmother mouse warns her of the danger, prompting her escape. Pursued by bears, she is rescued by a canoe that transports her to the sun. There, she marries the sun’s sons, who eliminate a cannibalistic threat for her. Eventually, she returns to her father’s village with her new family.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The narrative includes interactions with grizzly-bear people and the sun’s sons, both of which are supernatural entities.

Journey to the Otherworld: The woman is taken to the realm of the grizzly-bear people and later ascends to the sun’s domain, both representing journeys to otherworldly places.

Trials and Tribulations: The protagonist faces multiple challenges, including captivity by the grizzly bears, the threat of a cannibal, and the struggle to return to her father’s home.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

The story was obtained at Sitka.
Another version is incorporated into the story of Raven

A chief lived in the middle of a very long town. His daughter was fond of picking berries. Once she went for berries with her father’s slaves, and while picking far up in the woods she stepped upon some grizzly-bear’s dung. “They always leave things under people’s feet, those wide anuses,” she said. When they wanted to go down her basket broke, and her father’s slaves picked up the berries and put them back for her. Very close to her father’s house it broke again.

Then one said to her, “Now pick them up yourself.” While she was putting them in a man came to her whirling a stick in his hand. “Let me marry you,” he said to her. Then he started off with her. He went up toward the woods with her and passed under two logs. These things which looked like logs were mountains.

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The people missed this woman. For that the people were called together, and they searched everywhere for her. It was the grizzly bear to which the high-caste woman had spoken angrily that married her. The grizzly-bear people kept going after salmon. After they had gone her husband went out after wet wood. She, however, always collected dry wood. When they came up from the salmon place they threw off their coats. They shook them. Something in these like grease would burn in the soaked wood. The woman’s dry wood, however, always went out. It was not long before they did something to the high-caste woman on account of it.

When they went out again, the woman saw smoke right under her foot. A grandmother mouse was coming out from under a little hill. It was that which was going to help her. “Come in, grandchild,” she said, “These are very dangerous animals you are among. The grizzly-bear people have carried you away.” She told her the truth. Then she gave her advice. “Over there is your father’s home.” So next morning when they were gone after salmon she started running in the, opposite direction. When they came home at midday the grizzly-bear people missed her. The woman’s dress had rotted up there. After she had crossed one mountain she glanced behind her. It looked dark with grizzly bears. When they gained on her she began crying for her life. She came out on the edge of a lake. In the middle of this big lake a canoe was floating wearing a dance hat. It said to her, “Run this way into the water.” Then she ran into the water toward it. She was pulled in, and it went up with her into the sun.

The sun’s sons had married a cannibal [Luqana’, probably equivalent to Kwakiutl Lo’koala]. Whomsoever they married never lasted long before they killed her. Now, however, they liked the one they had just married. To make way for her they killed the cannibal. They killed her over a Tsimshian town. They chopped her into very fine pieces. This is why there came to be so many cannibals there. They could see the Tsimshian town. When the sun got straight up over her father’s town they said, “Here is your father’s town.” Very soon they had a child. Their father’s canoe, a grizzly-bear canoe, stood at the end of this town. The canoe could hear. They loaded it with things. They put grease inside of it for their father-in-law. Then it walked away with them. After it had walked on for a long time it would stop suddenly. This was because it was hungry, and they would then break up a box of grease in front of the bow. They came in front of their father-in-law’s house. Then she recognized her father’s house, and went up in front of it. Then her brother came into the house and said, “My sister has come and is outside.” But his mother beat him because he claimed to see his sister who had been long dead. His mother went out. It was indeed true, and they were coming ashore. They did not see them (her husbands), however, for they were like streaks of moonlight. Now, after they had brought all their things up, one went out and said, “There is nothing there.” The wife said, “That moonlight down there is they. Tell them to come up.” So people went to tell them. They came up. Then the sunbeams lay alongside of the woman in streaks, and their little son in front of them was also like a sunbeam. After they were seated inside of the house they began to appear as if coming out of a fog. “Eat something, my daughter,” said the chief. Then a very young man ran to get water for them. But her husband took a fishhawk’s quill out, and put this into it. If it bent over on account of the wet the man had not behaved himself. After they had examined everyone she sent her little brother, and her little brother always brought water for them. When her brother went away she took her husband’s bucket for the water herself. But after she had been twice, a man near the water seized her hand. And, when she brought it into the house and set it close beside her husbands, they put the fishhawk’s quill into it. This time, after her hand had been caught, the quill bent over with slime. Then they started to getup to go outside, away from her. She would catch first one and then the other, but her hands passed right through them. Then they ceased to see them. Their canoe, however, ran about on the lake.

After that the sun’s children began to wish that filth would kill their son. This is why poverty always kills a little boy when his father dies. After her little child had begun to suffer very much they compelled him to go outside with his mother. She made a house with branches at the other end of the town. There she stayed with her little child. She continually bathed her little child inside of the house of branches, and he grew larger there. People kept throwing the leavings of food on top of their house. They always called him” This man living here.” They would laugh at him. Whenever the little boy ran out among the boys who were playing they said “Uh! Garbage-man.” Now he said to his mother, “Make a bow and arrows for me.” And, after she had made them, he went out shooting just at daybreak. He shot all kinds of things. When he was getting to be a man, he kept going up close by the lake.

After he had gone up there many times something came up quickly toward him. Its mouth was red. After it had done so twice, he asked his mother, “What is that, mother?” Then he prepared anew spear. “When it opens its mouth for you and puts its forefeet up on land run down to it. It is your father’s canoe.” So he went there and it opened its mouth for him. His mother had said, “Shoot it in the mouth,” and, when he had shot it, it was heard to say “Ga,” like a raven. It was as if its seats had been all cut off. It was a copper canoe in which were wide seats. The canoe was nothing but copper and broke entirely up. Throughout the night he carried it into his house to his mother. No person knew of it.

Now he began making a big house out of copper. He would pound out spears and bracelets under the branches. In those days there was no iron or copper. He also pounded out copper plates. Then he set them all round the inside of the house. When they threw garbage upon his house [they kept calling him] “Pounding-chief.” After he had finished the house there were plenty of copper plates which he kept pounding out. When they laughed at him and he ran outside they would say, “Uh! Garbage-man.” There was a chief’s daughter whom they would let no one marry. After people from all places had tried to get her he prepared himself. He dressed himself at night. He took a piece of twisted copper. He knew where the chief’s daughter slept. He poked the woman through a hole with this copper roll, and the woman caught hold of it. She smelt it. She did not know what the copper was, no person in the world having ever seen copper. Then he called to her saying, “Come outside,” and she went outside to him. “Go down to my house with me. With me you shall stay,” he said to her. She did not know whence the man came. The man that used to be called dirty was only going to the beach with her. Just before she touched the door it opened inward. The copper door shone in her face. Whence were all those coppers that stood around inside of the house? Then he married her in his house.

By and by the people began searching for that woman. They missed her for many days. Two days were passed in searching for her. Then her father said to a slave, “Search below here.” The slave searched there for her. When he had looked into the house the slave backed out. It began shining in his face. Then the woman’s husband from inside the house said to him, “Come in. Do not tell about my house,” he said. “Say Garbage-man has married her.” When he came into the house he told about it. He said, “Garbage-man has married her.” Then they started to rush out. Her mother cried, “My daughter!” Then they rushed to his door. They kicked into the house, under the house made of branches. “Dam” it sounded. It shone out into her face, and they started back from the house door. Where was their anger against him? Then she became ashamed. After they got home he sent for his father-in-law, and he put eight coppers on him because he had married his daughter. Then they threw the branch house away, letting the copper shine out. But his father had done this purposely to him in order to help him. So even now, when a man is poor, something comes to help him. This shows how valuable copper was at the place where this happened. Even lately a copper plate used to cost two slaves. It has since become an everlasting thing there (i.e., it, is now used there all the time).

The Sky Country

A man, longing for his lost wife, wanders through the woods, finding a necklace and encountering helpful strangers. Reaching her in a mysterious village, he faces hostility but reveals his mastery over water to escape harm. Later, he and his wife discover they are in the sky, lowered to Earth by a spider’s web. Safely returned, they resume their happy life together.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: The protagonist’s venture into the sky realm parallels a journey to an otherworldly domain, seeking his lost wife.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative features a spider woman who assists the couple’s descent to Earth, highlighting interactions with mystical entities.

Transformation: The protagonist’s experiences—from losing his wife, journeying through the sky, to reuniting and returning home—depict significant personal and situational changes.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

A certain man’s wife was taken away from him, and he longed so much for her that he thought he would follow her along the beach. He was half crazy. When he went out and thought he was walking along the beach, he was in reality in a wide trail which ran through the woods. As he went on he saw where people had been camping, and from the dentalia shells left by these people he made a beautiful necklace. For a long time he wandered on with his head bent down, and, when he looked up suddenly, he saw smoke ahead. He walked toward it very fast. When he came close he saw a woman tanning a skin. He showed her the necklace he had made and said, “I will give you this string if you will tell me where my wife is.” The woman answered, “She is over there at the next camp.” So he finally reached her, and he remained with her for a long time, thinking that he was among his brothers-in-law.

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The people of the village where this man was staying, however, hated him and wanted to burn him to death. After they had kindled the fire and were dragging him toward it he said, “Oh! how happy I am. I want to die. I would rather you killed me right away than be as I have been.” When they heard that they stopped and began pulling him toward the water instead. But he said that he was afraid of water, and, as they dragged him along, he struggled hard and seized everything about him. At last, when they did throw him in, he came up again in the middle of the lake and looked at them. Then one of the people said, “See him. He is out there looking at us.” The man laughed at them, saying, “Don’t you know that all of the waters are my work? How foolish you were to put me into the water just where I like to be.” He said this because he was a good swimmer and there was a great deal of rain in his country. Afterward he stayed in the water all the time he was there.

All this while the man had really been up in the sky, and now he wanted to get down. So he and his wife started back together and came to a house where lived a certain woman. She was really the spider and the house her web. Then this woman put them into a web and began to lower them to the earth. Before they started she said to them, “When you get caught on anything jerk backward and forward until the web comes loose.” The things she thought they might get stuck upon were the clouds. In this way the man and his wife reached the earth safely, and afterward the web was drawn up. Then they lived happily again as they had been living before the woman was taken away.

The woman who married the dead man

A Cohoes chief’s daughter, known for her purity, encounters a skull, unknowingly triggering an encounter with two deceased chiefs’ sons. She marries the elder, and they provide miraculous sustenance for her village, bringing abundance. Gradually regaining human form, their identities are revealed. However, jealousy leads a girl to poison them with blood markings, resulting in their tragic deaths, leaving a legacy of sacrifice and transformation.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves the chief’s daughter marrying the spirit of a deceased chief’s son, highlighting interactions between mortals and supernatural entities.

Transformation: The deceased sons gradually regain human form, symbolizing physical and spiritual changes central to the story.

Sacrifice: The tragic deaths of the spirit beings, resulting from jealousy and betrayal, underscore themes of loss and the consequences of human actions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

A woman belonging to the cohoes people (lu’kana-ca), whose father was a chief, was kept very pure and had a girl accompany her always. One day, as she was going out with her servant, she tripped over something and on looking at it found that it was a skull. She said, “Who can the bad person be who has brought skulls near my father’s house in the place where I was going to walk?” She kicked the skull to one side and walked straight back into the house, for she was frightened. The same night this girl thought she dreamed that two boys came to her. They were two chiefs’ sons who were dead, and it was the skull of the elder that she had kicked out of the way. It was really no dream, as she at first thought, and she married the elder youth. These two chiefs’ sons had met with some accident together, and so they always traveled in company.

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Next morning the chief said, “What is wrong with my daughter? She isn’t up yet.” Then he called the servant girl to go and awaken her. So the girl ran to look, saw the young men there, and told the girl’s mother that she was married. “Well,” said the mother, “whom can she have married? She did not know anybody.” After that the girl and the young men rose and came down to the fire to have something to eat. Her husband looked to her like a fine young man, but everyone else could see that he was a skull. They were very much frightened.

At that time the people there had very little food, and presently the girl’s husband said to her, “Has your father a small canoe?” “Yes,” she said, “he has a small canoe.” “Ask him for it and for spears and arrows.” Then the girl said to her mother, “Mother, he is asking for a small canoe. They want to go hunting.” Her mother humored her, for she was afraid she would go off with that man. But when they looked for the canoe it was already missing. Afterward the young men acted in the house just as if they were in canoes, going through the motions of paddling, spearing seals, etc., and the girl was ashamed of them. In the evening they said to each other, “Let us camp.” The people of the village could not see what they did or hear what they said, but the girl could, and she felt very uneasy. Then they pulled off the painted boards from her father’s house and began to cook. After that, she saw them act as though they were coming back bringing a load of dead seals, etc. To the people it seemed as if they were still in the house.

Presently the girl called to her mother saying, “Mother, they are in already. They want some one to go down and bring the things up from the canoe.” Then her mother said to the people, “There is a canoe down on the beach, and they want you to go down and bring up what they have killed.” It was late in the evening, and, sure enough, when the people went, they found the canoe loaded with all kinds of fishes, with seals and sea lions. Then the chief gave the head man of each family a seal and fed the entire village with the food which they had brought in. After that the people had plenty of ground hogs, mountain sheep, etc., with which these two men provided them.

The two men began to come to life and were beginning to look like living beings. It was then that people found out who they were. When they got up in the morning they could be seen very plainly, so the chief got some marten robes and put them upon his son-in-law and his son-in-law’s brother. They were both very industrious.

In that same house was a girl who became very angry with the younger brother, after she saw who they were, because he paid no attention to anyone but his brother’s wife. She marked the place where he used to sit with human blood, and as he sat on this blood eating he dropped over dead. The other lived for some time afterward, and the girl who had destroyed his brother tried to draw his attention to herself also; but he was too fond of his wife to think of her in the least. Then she marked his seat with blood, and he in turn dropped over dead.