The four wind brothers

Four elemental brothers—North, South, East, and West—live in a cavern and stand above a great hole to blow the world’s winds. The youngest, West, blows fiercest gusts, but the eldest, North, warns him to restrain his strength to protect their mother (the Earth) and the people. Together they balance their powers, ensuring the winds are strong enough to serve yet never so wild as to harm.

Source:
Some Naskapi Myths
from Little Whale River
by Frank G. Speck
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.28, No.107, pp. 70-77
January-March, 1915

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: This tale explains the natural phenomenon of wind by personifying its four directional forces.

Family Dynamics: The story centers on sibling relationships, hierarchies of age, and mutual influence among the four brothers.

Guardian Figures: The eldest (North) moderates his younger brother’s power to protect “their mother” (the Earth) and its people.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

There were four brothers in a family which lived in a great cave in the earth. Of these four brothers, one was the North, another was the South, another the West, and the other the East. These were the Wind brothers, who made the winds. The West was the youngest of them; the North was the oldest; the South was the next to the oldest; and the East was the next to the West, the youngest. To cause the winds they would stand up, so as to be head above the great hole, and blow. Then the wind would come according to which of the brothers made it, the north, south, east, or west. And so it continued. The West was very wild when he raised a wind. But the oldest, the North, said to him, “No, no! Don’t do that! You will raise such high winds that it will destroy the people, the Indians.”

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Then when the youngest, the West, jumped up again to blow a wind, the North would tell him, “No, no! Stop, you will kill our mother!” Well, so they lived, these brothers, causing and regulating the winds of the world.

It happened that the North wind was the softest, and the East wind a little stronger, harder. The South also came with gusts, strong, but not as bad as the West wind, the youngest brother, who was the worst. When these brothers made the winds, they were satisfied with doing just enough not to destroy the people, but tried to manage things rightly. They would say, all of them, “We must try to look after our people, not to destroy them with our winds!”

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Ayas’i

Ayas’i, a cunning chief, is deceived by his younger wife into believing his eldest son assaulted her. Exiling him to an island, the boy endures trials—assisted by a gull, a catfish, and a fox—overcoming sky-hooks, monster dogs, and deadly women. Returning home, he reveals the truth, punishes his father by turning him into a frog, and restores his mother as the robin, explaining their origins.

Source:
Some Naskapi Myths
from Little Whale River
by Frank G. Speck
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.28, No.107, pp. 70-77
January-March, 1915

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The tale centers on jealousy, step-mother rivalry, and the fraught father-son relationship.

Revenge and Justice: After surviving exile, the son exacts retribution on his deceitful father and vindicates his mother.

Origin of Things: The narrative explains how the robin and the frog came to be, grounding a cultural origin‐myth.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

Ayas’i was a great chief and trickster. He was an old man and had two wives, — an older one, his first wife; and a younger one, his second. By the older one he had a grown-up son, and several younger ones by the other wife. Now, the young woman was very jealous of the older wife, because she thought that Ayas’i would give the chieftainship to his son by his first wife; in other words, to his oldest son. She tried in different ways to invent stories against the son to poison Ayas’i’s mind against him. She kept telling Ayas’i that the oldest son was trying to seduce her. Although Ayas’i liked his oldest son, he came at last to believe the younger woman’s stories, and began to suspect the boy. But the stories he heard were not proved. The boy was very quiet and well-behaved.

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One day the young woman was out in the bush and saw a partridge, and then she thought of a plan to trap the boy. She hurried back to the camp, and told the son to come and shoot the bird for her. “Oh, no!” said he, “there are plenty of younger boys here. Get some of them to go and kill the partridge.” But she coaxed him to come, saying that he was so much more able. At last he consented, and went with her and killed the partridge. Then the young wife pulled up her dresses, took the dying bird, and made it scratch her between the legs until she was lacerated around her lower parts. Then she went back to the camp. That night Ayas’i lay beside her and desired to cohabit. “No, no!” she said, “I’m too sore. I’m all cut up from my struggles with your oldest son.” Ayas’i was surprised. Then she showed him the scratches and wounds, and told him how he had struggled with her in the woods and raped her. So Ayas’i grew bitter against the boy.

The next day a big canoe crowd arrived at the camp, as Ayas’i was a great man and often had visitors from far away. He got the crowd together, and said to them, “Now, tomorrow we will all go to the islands and collect eggs for a great feast for my son, as he wants eggs from the islands.” Ayas’i was a great chief, so whatever he said had to be done. The next morning he told his son, “You must come too.” — “No,” said the son, “I don’t want any eggs, anyway.” But Ayas’i made him go too. So he got his canoe; and they embarked, and paddled toward a big island, Ayas’i at the stern, and the son paddling at the bow. When they saw a big island, the son asked, “Is that the island?” — “Yes,” said Ayas’i. Then he blew his breath and blew the island farther ahead. The son could not see his father blowing, and wondered why the island could not be approached.

At last, however, they reached the island when Ayas’i thought they were far enough from home. “Now, go ashore and gather eggs,” said Ayas’i. His son began gathering eggs near the shore. “Now go farther up. There are some fine eggs over yon rise. Don’t stop so near the shore,” said Ayas’i. Every time the son would look behind to see how far he was from the shore, Ayas’i would send him farther inland. Then, when the boy was some distance in, Ayas’i jumped into the canoe and paddled away home. The son called after him, “Father, father, you are leaving me!” — “Well, you have been making a wife of your step-mother,” cried Ayas’i; and away he went, leaving his son behind. So the boy was left on the island, and wandered about, crying.

One day the boy met a Gull. “O grandchild! what are you doing here alone?” asked the Gull. “My father left me,” said the boy. “You won’t ever see the mainland again,” said the Gull; “but I’ll try to take you myself. Get on my back, and I will try.” So the boy got on his back, and the Gull tried to fly up. But the boy was too heavy, and the Gull had to turn back. “But go over to the other end of the island, and there you will find your grandfather [merely a term used in addressing older people]. Maybe he can help you,” said the Gull.

So the boy wandered on, crying, and soon came to the other end of the island. There he saw a big Catfish (?). “What are you doing here?” said the Catfish. “My father left me,” said the boy. “What do you want?” said the Catfish. “To get ashore to the mainland,” said the boy. “Well,” said the Catfish, “maybe I can take you over. Is it clear?” (The great Catfish was afraid of the thunder.) — “Yes,” said the boy. “Are there no clouds?” asked the Fish. “No,” said the boy. “Are you sure? Well, then take a stone in your hand and get on my back. Hold on tight to my horns (the Catfish had two horns on his head); and when you find me going too slowly, hammer with the stone, and I’ll hurry faster, especially if it begins to look cloudy. Are you sure there are no clouds? Well, hold on tight, now!” And with this they started like the wind. Every little while the boy would hit the Fish a rap with the stone, and he would go still faster. Soon it began clouding up. “Is it clouding up yet?” asked the Fish. “No,” answered the boy, even though he heard thunder. “What’s that I hear? Is it thunder?” asked the Fish. “Oh, no!” cried the boy, and hit him harder with the stone.

Just then they reached the mainland; and the boy just had time to jump ashore, when a thunder-bolt came and smashed the Fish to pieces. But the boy got safely ashore, and began wandering about until at last he came to a small wigwam. He walked up and lifted the door-cover. There inside he saw a Fox sitting before a small kettle over the fire. When the Fox saw him, she said, “Well, grandchild, what are you doing here?” — “My father left me,” the boy told her. Said the Fox, “I don’t think you will ever succeed in getting home, as your father is very tricky and strong. Nevertheless I will try to help you.”

In the mean time the boy’s mother, the first wife of Ayas’i, felt very bad over the loss of her son. She cried all the time. She would go away in the woods by herself all day and cry; and every night, when she came home, Ayas’i would meet her outside the door and throw embers from the fire on her and burn her. So this went on day after day.

Now, the Fox agreed to help the boy. She transformed herself into a person and guided him along the trail. Soon they came to a place where a lot of hooks (like fish-hooks) were hanging down from the sky. There was no way of getting past without being impaled. Then the Fox turned herself into a small animal, and went up into the sky where the hooks were hung, and jerked them up. She told the boy to jump by when she jerked them up; and he did so, and got safely by.

As they went along farther, they soon came to a place where two monster-dogs were guarding the path. It was very narrow, and there were a lot of rocks. The Fox turned herself into a weasel, and turned the boy into another small animal. Then she wriggled in and out among the rocks, and the dogs began barking fiercely. “I’m barking at Ayas’i’s son!” cried the dogs. The Fox in her weasel form popped up here and there among the rocks until the dogs were frantic. They barked so much, that their master got angry at them, and came out and killed them for making such a noise about nothing; for every time he looked to see what caused them to bark, he could not see anything. When the dogs were dead, the Fox led the boy through safely. Now, these obstacles were all put along the trail by Ayas’i to prevent his son from getting back.

As the boy and his guide, the Fox, passed on, they soon came to a place where there was a flint stone, rounded on the end, and three-cornered on its sides. Then the Fox-Woman said, “Carry that stone with you, you may need it.” So the boy took the stone. Soon they came to a wigwam where lived two women who guarded the way. These women had sharp teeth set in their vulva, with which they killed anybody who cohabited with them. This every one had to do before he could pass them. The Fox-Woman told the boy that he would have to cohabit with these women, but to use the stone. So that night, when they intended to kill him, he used the long stone on them, and broke all the teeth in their vulvas. Then he cohabited with them, and afterward passed safely on. So they started on again.

In the mean time the boy’s mother continued her mourning. When she went into the woods, she would hear the little birds singing about her where she lay down. Their song would say, “Mother, I’m coming back.” When she first heard it, she thought it was her son returning, and she would look up to meet him; but when she saw it was only little birds, she would cry all the harder. Then, when she would go back to camp at night, Ayas’i would burn her again. At last she became so down-hearted that she would pay no attention to the birds, who said, “Mother, I’m coming back.”

At last one day the boy, after passing all the trials, did come back; and the Fox-Woman guided him to where his mother lay crying. When he saw her, he cried, “Mother, I’m coming!” but she would not look up, thinking it was only the birds mocking her grief. Then the boy went up to her, and she saw him. He beheld her face, all burnt and scorched. “What has caused your face to be burnt?” he asked. “Your father did it. He says my son will never come back,” she replied. “Well,” said the son, “Go to camp, and tell Ayas’i that I am back.”

So they went along back to the camp. When Ayas’i heard the woman coming again, he jumped up to get coals of fire to throw on her, as usual. “Your son will never come back!” he cried. “Yes, he is back now!” Ayas’i was so surprised that he dropped the fire; and when he looked, there stood his son. So the son said to his father, “You have been cruel to me and to my mother, all for nothing. You left me on an island, and I am back. Now I will be cruel to you. You shall creep all the days of your life.” So he turned Ayas’i into a frog. He then said to his mother, “You shall be the best-looking bird in the world. People will never kill you. You shall be the robin.” And he turned his mother into a robin, the handsomest bird in the world. That is the origin of the frog and the robin. That is the end.

The starving Indians

A starving band of Indians neglected to store food and faced starvation until one old man, who had preserved provisions, offered a morsel to a hungry child. Using cunning, he convinced the boy’s father to give his daughter in marriage in exchange for the entire supply, hosted feasts, and taught the community deer-snaring. Through this trick and the snares, the band transitioned from scarcity to abundance.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
Smithsonian Institution
Bureau of American Ethnology
Annual Report 11, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Sacrifice: The boy’s family gives up their daughter in marriage as the price for vital provisions.

Family Dynamics: Complex relationships unfold as the father, mother, and sister are drawn into the old man’s scheme.

Cunning and Deception: The old man’s deliberate ruses orchestrate feasts and teach the band self-sufficiency.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A band of Indians, who had neglected to store away a supply of food for a time of scarcity, were upon the point of starvation. An old man who lived at a little distance from the camping place of the band, had wisdom to lay by a good store of dry meat and a number of cakes of fat, so that he had an abundance while the others were nearly famished. They applied to him, begging for food, but they were refused the least morsel. One day, however, an old man came to him asking for food for his children. The man gave him a small piece of meat. When the man’s children ate this food they began to cry for more. The mother told her little boy to stop crying. He persisted in his clamor until his mother asked him: “Why do you not go to the old U’sets kwa ne po?” (One whose neck wrinkles into folds when he sits down).

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This old man heard the mother tell her child to go to him, and muttered to himself, “That is just what I want.”

The little boy went to the old man’s tent door, and lifting aside the flap, said: “I want to come in.” He went in and the old man addressed the boy by his own name, saying: “What do you want, U’ sets kwa ne po? in such a kindly voice that the boy felt assured. The boy said: “I am very hungry and want some food.” The old man inquired in an astonished voice: “Hungry? and your meat falling down from the stage!” The old man bade the boy sit down, while he went out to the stage and selected some choice portions and brought them into the tent and gave them to the boy. The old man then asked the boy if he had a sister. The boy said that he had a father, mother, and one sister. After the boy had finished eating, the old man directed the buy to come with him and see the meat stages. They went out and the old man said: “Now, go home and tell your father that all of this food will belong to you if he will give me his daughter.” The little boy went home and repeated what the old man had said. The father signified his willingness to give his daughter in marriage to the old man. The boy returned to the old man and stated that his father was willing to give away his daughter. The old man immediately went out, took some meat and fat from the stage, and then cooked three large kettles of food. When this was done he selected a suit of clothing for a man and two suits for women. He placed the nicer one of the latter near his own seat, and the other two suits directly on the opposite side of the fireplace (the place of honor in the tent). He then told the little boy to call all the Indians, adding: “There is your father’s coat, your mother’s dress, and your sister’s dress. Tell your parents to sit where they see the clothing,” pointing to the clothes intended for them, and the sister to sit near the old man, pointing to his own place. The boy ran out and apprised the people, together with his own relations. The boy returned to the old man’s tent before the guests arrived. The boy’s father came first, and the boy said: “Father, there is your coat.” The mother then entered, and the boy said: “Mother, there is your dress.” The sister then entered, and the boy pointed to the dress, saying: “Sister, there is your dress.” All the other Indians then came in and seated themselves. They took two kettles of meat and broke the fat into pieces and feasted until all was consumed. The old man helped his wife, her father, mother, and brother to the contents of the other kettle. When all the food was finished the old man said to the boy, “U’ sets kwa ne po, go and set your deer snares.” The old man went with him to find a suitable place. They could find only the tracks of deer made several days previously. They, however, set thirty snares and returned home. The next morning they all went to the snares and found a deer in each one. The people began to skin the deer and soon had a lot of meat ready for cooking. They began to feast, and continued until all was done. By this time a season of abundance had arrived.

The venturesome hare

A young hare, determined to feed his infirm grandmother, nets a bountiful haul of fish and promises to fetch fire. Commanding whales to bridge a wide river, he reaches the Indians’ camp, only to be trapped in their kettle. Ingeniously igniting his net from above, he escapes their grasp and, with a mighty leap, clears the river—returning home triumphant with both fish and fire.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
Smithsonian Institution
Bureau of American Ethnology
Annual Report 11, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Quest: The hare undertakes the challenging journey of fishing to secure food and fire for his grandmother.

Trickster: He uses his wit to outsmart both nature and the Indians, turning desperate circumstances to his advantage.

Family Dynamics: His actions are driven by loyalty and duty to his elderly, impoverished grandmother.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A hare, which had lost his parents, lived with his grandmother. One day, feeling very hungry, for they were extremely poor, he asked his grandmother if he could set a net to catch fish. The old woman laughed at the idea of a hare catching fish, but to humor him, she consented, for she was indulgent to him because he was her only charge and looked forward to the time when he should be able to support her by his own exertions, and not to rely on the scanty supplies which she was able to obtain. These were very meager, as she was infirm, and dreaded exposure. She then told him to go and set the net, but added that she had no fire to cook them with, even if he should catch any. The hare promised to procure fire if he caught the fish. He went to set the net in a lake where he knew fish to be plentiful.

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The next morning he went to the net and found it to be so full of fish that he was unable to take it up. He lifted one end and saw there was a fish in every mesh of the net. He shook out some of the fish and then drew out the net. Part of the fish were buried, and a large load taken home. He put the fish down outside of the tent, and went in. He told the old woman to clean the fish and that he would go across the river to the Indians’ tent and get the fire with which to cook them. The old woman was speechless at such proposed rashness, but as he had been able to catch so many fish she refrained remarking on his contemplated project of obtaining fire in the face of such danger. While the old woman was cleaning the fish he went back after the net which he had put out to dry on the shore of the lake.

He folded it up, placed it under his arm, and ran to the edge of the river which was far too wide to jump over. He used his cunning and assembled a number of whales. These animals came puffing up the stream in obedience to his command. He ordered them to arrange themselves side by side across the stream so that he could walk across on their backs. He most dreaded the Indians, but jumped into the water to wet his fur. This being done he sprang from one whale to another until he was safe on the opposite shore. He then laid down in the sand and bade the whales to disperse. Some Indian children soon came playing along the sandy bank and saw the hare lying there. One of the children picked up the hare and started home with it. When the boy arrived and told how he had obtained the hare he was directed to put it in the iron tent (kettle) where there was a bright fire crackling.

The child put down the hare, upon which an old man told the boy to kill the hare. The hare was terribly frightened, but opened a part of one eye to ascertain whether there was any place of exit beside the door. In the top of the tent he observed a large round hole. He then said to himself: “I wish a spark of fire would fall on my net.” Instantly the brands rolled and a great spark fell on the net and began to burn it. The hare was afraid of the fire, so he sprang out of the hole in the apex of the tent. The Indians saw they had been outwitted by a hare, and began to shout and pursue the animal, which attained such speed that when he came to the bank of the river he had not time to recall the whales. He gave an extraordinary leap and cleared the entire expanse of the water. He examined the net and found the fire smouldering. On arrival at his own home he said to his grandmother: “Did I not tell you I would get the fire?” The old woman ventured to inquire how he had crossed the river. He coolly informed her that he had jumped across.

The devil punishing a liar

Impatient to see the world beyond their den, two young cubs repeatedly ask their mother if summer has arrived, but she deceives them to keep them safe. When they discover green leaves in her mouth they escape at dawn to bask in the warmth. However, overhearing their curse that the devil would kill her, they witness the devil’s retribution and flee in horror, orphaned and frightened.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
Smithsonian Institution
Bureau of American Ethnology
Annual Report 11, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: The mother deliberately withholds the truth of summer from her cubs, preventing them from knowing what lies beyond the den.

Family Dynamics: The story centers on the relationship between the protective mother bear and her inquisitive cubs.

Divine Punishment: The devil exacts vengeance for the cubs’ curse, enacting a higher power’s retribution on the mother.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Naskapi Lore

Learn more about the Naskapi people

A bear (mackwh) had two young cubs which she did not want to let know that summer had come, but kept them in the den and would not let them go out. The young ones continually inquired if the summer had come, and repeated the question every time the mother returned from the outside. She invariably answered, “No.” Some days after she fell asleep, when she had returned from one of her trips, and while sleeping her mouth opened wide.

The young ones said to each other: “Surely the summer is come, for there are green leaves in our mother’s mouth.” The mother had told her children how beautiful was the summer time, how green the trees, how juicy the plants, and how sweet the berries.

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So the cubs, impatient, while longing for summer that they might enjoy what was outside of their den, knew by the leaves in their mother’s mouth that she had deceived them. The older cub told the younger that they would slip out at the top of the den and go out while their mother was yet sleeping. They crept out and found the weather so fine and the surroundings so pleasant that they wandered some distance off by the time she wakened from her sleep. She ran out and called loudly for her children, seemingly surprised, and exclaimed: “My sons, the summer has come; the summer has come.” The cubs hid when they heard their mother’s voice. She called to them until nightfall. The older cub said to his brother: “I wish the devil (A-qan’) would hear her and kill her for telling us the summer had not come, and keeping us in the house so long when it was already pleasant outside.”

The mother bear soon screamed to her sons: “The devil has heard me and is killing me.”

The cubs heard the devil killing their mother with a stone, pounding her on the head.

They became frightened and ran away.

The virgin birth

A chief’s daughter secretly bears a child by a young boy, prompting the tribe’s paternity-test ritual: the infant is passed among suitors to see whom it urinates on. A deceitful suitor is unmasked when the true father’s bond triggers the correct result. Ostracized for a time, the young couple thrives on hunting, leading the struggling villagers to return and beseech them for meat.

Source:
Notes on the Eastern Cree
and Northern Saulteaux
by Alanson Skinner
The American Museum
of Natural History
Anthropological Papers
Volume IX, Part 1
New York, 1911

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: It centers on the relationships between the chief’s daughter, her suitors, and her young secret lover.

Revenge and Justice: The community exposes the liar and establishes rightful parenthood through their customary trial.

Community and Isolation: After the trial, the true parents are shunned until the young father’s hunting success forces the villagers to return and plead for aid.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Narrated by Joe Iserhoff.

Once, in the old days, there was a very beautiful girl who was a chief’s daughter. All the young men loved her et cum ea coire volebant [and they wanted to have sex with her]. In those days, it was customary for quisquan cum virgine coiiseet [who will sleep with a virgin] to also marry her. But she would have nothing to do with them.

In the village, there was a certain young boy who also loved her but he was so young that everybody laughed at him. However, during the winter he watched the girl, et quondocumque mincture exiret eodem loco minxit [and whenever he felt the need to urinate, he did it always at her place].

After a time, the girl became pregnant from this cause, and gave birth to a child.

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The chief called all the young men together and when they had gathered in the wigwam he announced that he would pass the child about and when the father took the child in his arms infantum in patrem mincturum [the child will urinate on his father]. This was done.

There was a certain young man in the village who loved the girl and he filled his mouth with spittle. When the child was passed to him he permitted it to run out all over him and cried, “I am the child’s father, you can see in me minxit [he urinated on me].” But some in the crowd saw what he had done and they called out, “You lie,” so he was disappointed. The child was passed on and when it reached its father verum in ilium minxit [he really peed on him].

Then the young boy took his wife and settled down. The rest of the people were angry (jealous) at him, and moved away, leaving him alone. He went hunting and was very successful. The rest of the people were not, however, and they nearly starved. At length, they heard he had meat and returned and begged for some.

Tcigibis, the Hell Diver

While canoeing, Tcigibis finds Otter feigning death by stuffing maggot-ridden punk into his nose and rectum, only for Otter to leap up and devour all but one Crawfish, explaining their lineage. Later, jealous of his wife’s brother Loon, Tcigibis kills him with a heated iron, hides the blood, and feigns suicide. After escaping a mob in the water, he survives and secures hell divers’ future.

Source:
Notes on the Eastern Cree
and Northern Saulteaux
by Alanson Skinner
The American Museum
of Natural History
Anthropological Papers
Volume IX, Part 1
New York, 1911

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The tale explains how Crawfish came to be, tracing their lineage to the sole survivor of Otter’s trickery.

Family Dynamics: Tcigibis’ jealousy of his brother Loon over his wife drives him to murder.

Revenge and Justice: Both Crawfish and Tcigibis enact reprisals—Otter against Crawfish, and Tcigibis against Loon—for past wrongs.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Albany Cree

Tcigibis was out canoeing and as he went along he saw Otter lying on the bank. Otter knew that Tcigibis had seen him so he took some punk and put some up his nostrils and up his rectum and lay down again, feigning death. When Tcigibis returned he saw Otter lying there and went ashore to look at him. When he saw the rotted wood on Otter’s nose and anus, he said, “Well, it seems this otter is full of maggots.” Tcigibis turned back from there and hunted up Crawfish and told him he had just found Otter lying dead. Not long before this, Otter had tried to kill and eat Crawfish, but he had only succeeded in pulling all his legs and his claw off on one side.

When Crawfish heard that his enemy was dead, he was very glad. He called all the other crawfish together and said, “Let us go over and see the dead otter.”

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They all went over and a whole lot of them went ashore to look at him. As soon as they saw the punk in Otter’s rectum, they commenced to pull it out. Otter was so amused at this that he could not help laughing. One of the crawfish then said, “I believe that that Otter is moving.” Crawfish, who had been pulling the punk out of Otter’s rectum replied, “Oh, I guess that was I, I must have moved Otter.” Then Otter jumped up and caught all the crawfish but one whose legs had all been pulled off on one side by Otter on a former occasion. He was afraid to go too near and that is how he was saved. From him, all the crawfish we have today are descended.

After this, Tcigibis went canoeing again. As he was traveling, he shot and killed a caribou. Tcigibis had a wife and he was jealous of Loon who was his brother on her account. “For,” he said, “I believe Loon is after my wife.” When he had killed the caribou, he went and found Loon sleeping. Then Tcigibis took an iron and heated it in the fire until it was red hot, and then he shoved it down Loon’s throat and killed him. When he had killed Loon, he went back and took some of the blood of the caribou and put it in his grease bag. Then he hid the grease bladder in his bosom. When Tcigibis had done these things he went home.

When Tcigibis reached home he went ashore and everyone came down to see what game he had. The people all knew (supernaturally) that he had killed his brother. They called out to him, “Your brother is dead now.” He pulled out his knife and stabbed himself in the bosom, piercing the bladder of blood which ran out all over his body. Then he fell over in the water and escaped by making a long dive.

At first, all the people really thought that Tcigibis had committed suicide but when they saw him reappear in the water, a long distance away, they were undeceived, and gave chase. Tcigibis escaped, however, and it is just as well, for had the people caught and killed him, there would have been no more hell divers to this day.

The son of Aioswe

Jealous of his growing son, Aioswe abandons him on a rocky island, where the boy survives by deceiving a walrus and aided by his mother’s conjuring. Armed with a magical ermine skin and cryptic advice, he dispatches murderous hags and outwits hunting dogs before returning home. Confronting his father with power, he rescues his mother and they transform into birds, leaving the wicked man perished.

Source:
Notes on the Eastern Cree
and Northern Saulteaux
by Alanson Skinner
The American Museum
of Natural History
Anthropological Papers
Volume IX, Part 1
New York, 1911

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The story revolves around the fraught relationships between Aioswe, his two wives, and his son, highlighting jealousy and parental betrayal.

Cunning and Deception: The boy survives by lying to the walrus, tricking the witches into killing each other, and using a decoy ermine skin against the hunters.

Quest: At its heart, this is a journey story: the son must overcome supernatural and human obstacles to return safely to his mother’s arms.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Rupert’s House Cree; also Moose Factory

Once there was an old man named Aioswe who had two wives. When his son by one of these women began to grow up, Aioswe became jealous of him. One day, he went off to hunt and when he came back, found marks on one of the women (the co-wife with his son’s mother) which proved to him that his son had been on terms of intimacy with her.

One day the old man and the boy went to a rocky island to hunt for eggs. Wishing to get rid of his son, the old man persuaded him to gather eggs farther and farther away from the shore. The young man did not suspect anything until he looked up and saw his father paddling off in the canoe.

“Why are you deserting me, father?” he cried. “Because you have played tricks on your stepmother,” answered the old man.

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When the boy found that he was really left behind, he sat there crying hour after hour. At last. Walrus appeared. He came near the island and stuck his head above the water. “What are you crying for, my son?” said Walrus. “My father has deserted me on this island and I want to get home to the mainland. Will you not help me to get ashore?” the boy replied. Walrus said that he would do so willingly. “Get on my back,” said Walrus, “and I will take you to the mainland.” Then Walrus asked Aioswe’s son if the sky was clear. The boy replied that it was, but this was a lie, for he saw many clouds. Aioswe’s son said this because he was afraid that Walrus would desert him if he knew it was cloudy. Walrus said, “If you think I am not going fast enough, strike on my horns (tusks) and let me know when you think it is shallow enough for you to get ashore, then you can jump off my back and walk to the land.”

As they went along, Walrus said to the boy, “Now my son, you must let me know if you hear it thunder, because as soon as it thunders, I must go right under the water.” The boy promised to let Walrus know. They had not gone far, when there came a peal of thunder. Walrus said, “My son, I hear thunder.” “Oh, no, you are mistaken,” said the boy who feared to be drowned, “what you think is thunder is only the noise your body makes going so quickly through the water.” Walrus believed the boy and thought he must have been wrong. Some time later, there came another peal of thunder and this time. Walrus knew he was not mistaken, he was sure it was thunder. He was very angry and said he would drop Aioswe’s son there, whether the water was shallow or not. He did so but the lad had duped Walrus with his lies so that he came where the water was very shallow and the boy escaped, but Walrus was killed by lightning before he could reach water deep enough to dive in. This thunderstorm was sent to destroy Walrus by Aioswe’s father, who conjured for it. Walrus, on the other hand, was the result of conjuring by his mother, who wished to save her son’s life. [One version of this tale says that Walrus dived and escaped, leaving the boy struggling in the water and that a gull pitied him and carried him ashore.]

When Aioswe’s son reached the shore, he started for home, but he had not gone far before he met an old woman, who had been sent as the result of a wish for his safety by his mother (or was a wish for his safety on his mother’s part, personified). The old woman instructed the lad how to conduct himself if he ever expected to reach his home and mother again. “Now you have come ashore there is still a lot of trouble for you to go through before you reach home,” said she, and she gave him the stuffed skin of an ermine (weasel in white winter coat). “This will be one of your weapons to use to protect yourself,” were her words as she tendered him this gift, and she told him what dangers he would encounter and what to do in each case.

Then the son of Aioswe started for his home once more. As he journeyed through the forest he came upon a solitary wigwam inhabited by two old blind hags, who were the result of an adverse conjuration by his father. Both of these old women had sharp bones like daggers protruding from the lower arm at the elbow. They were very savage and used to kill everybody they met. When Aioswe’s son approached the tent, although the witches could not see him, they knew from their magic powers that he was near. They asked him to come in and sit down, but he was suspicious, for he did not like the looks of their elbows.

He thought of a plan by which he might dupe the old women into killing each other. Instead of going himself and sitting between them he got a large parchment and fixing it to the end of a pole, he poked it in between them. The old women heard it rattle and thought it was the boy himself coming to sit between them. Then they both turned their backs to the skin and began to hit away at it with their elbows. Every time they stabbed the skin, they cried out, “I am hitting the son of Aioswe! I’ve hit him! I’ve hit him!” At last, they got so near each other that they began to hit one another, calling out all the time, “I am hitting the son of Aioswe!” They finally stabbed each other to death and the son of Aioswe escaped this danger also.

When the young man had vanquished the two old women he proceeded on his journey. He had not gone very far when he came to a row of dried human bones hung across the path so that no one could pass by without making them rattle. Not far away, there was a tent full of people and big dogs. Whenever they heard anyone disturb the bones, they would set upon him and kill him. The old woman who had advised Aioswe’s sons told him that when he came to this place he could escape by digging a tunnel in the path under the bones. When he arrived at the spot he began to follow her advice and burrow under. He was careless and when he was very nearly done and completely out of sight, he managed to rattle the bones. At once, the dogs heard and they cried out, “That must be Aioswe’s son.” All the people ran out at once, but since Aioswe’s son was under ground in the tunnel they could not see him, so after they had searched for a while they returned. The dogs said, “We are sure this is the son of Aioswe,” and they continued to search.

At length, they found the mouth of the hole Aioswe’s son had dug. The dogs came to the edge and began to bark till all the people ran out again with their weapons. Then Aioswe’s son took the stuffed ermine skin and poked its head up. All the people saw it and thought it was really Ermine. Then they were angry and killed the dogs for lying.

Aioswe’s son escaped again and this time he got home. When he drew near his father’s wigwam, he could hear his mother crying, and as he approached still closer he saw her. She looked up and saw him coming. She cried out to her husband and co-wife, “My son has come home again.” The old man did not believe it. “It is not possible,” he cried. But his wife insisted on it. Then the old man came out and when he saw it was really his son, he was very much frightened for his own safety. He called out to his other wife, “Bring some caribou skins and spread them out for my son to walk on.” But the boy kicked them away. “I have come a long way,” said he, “with only my bare feet to walk on.”

That night, the boy sang a song about the burning of the world and the old man sang against him but he was not strong enough. “I am going to set the world on fire,” said the boy to his father, “I shall make all the lakes and rivers boil.” He took up an arrow and said, “I am going to shoot this arrow into the woods, see if I don’t set them on fire.” He shot his arrow into the bush and a great blaze sprang up and all the woods began to burn.

“The forest is now on fire,” said the old man, “but the water is not yet burning.” “I’ll show you how I can make the water boil also,” said his son. He shot another arrow into the water, and it immediately began to boil. Then the old man who wished to escape said to his son, “How shall we escape?” The old man had been a great bear hunter and had a large quantity of bear’s grease preserved in a bark basket. “Go into your fat basket,” said his son, “you will be perfectly safe there.” Then he drew a circle on the ground and placed his mother there. The ground enclosed by the circle was not even scorched, but the wicked old man who had believed he would be safe in the grease baskets, was burned to death. Aioswe’s son said to his mother, “Let us become birds. What will you be?” “I’ll be a robin,” said she. “I’ll be a whisky jack (Canada jay),” he replied. They flew off together.

The biter bit

An old man murdered his daughter’s first two husbands by luring them to a hilltop trap that would break their backs. Her third spouse, however, proved more cunning: after a fruitful bear hunt he presented the old man with a massive fat-filled birchbark basket and agreed to ascend the hill together. In wrestling for strength, the son-in-law broke the old man’s back, and the daughter declared it just retribution.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: The son-in-law’s victory serves as retribution for the old man’s earlier killings.

Conflict with Authority: The daughter repeatedly defies her father’s tyranny by marrying against his will.

Family Dynamics: A dysfunctional father–daughter relationship drives the cycle of violence and retribution.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

There was once an old man who had an only daughter to look after him. One day the daughter was married to a young Indian, and this so angered the old man that he put the husband to death. The daughter married again, and again the old man made away with her husband. The manner in which he killed them was by coaxing them to the top of a hill, where he had a trap placed to break their backs.

At last the daughter married a man who happened to be a little more cunning than the rest. He ran away with the daughter and went off to hunt bear. That winter he was very successful and killed many bears.

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He made a large roggan or birchbark basket in which he put the bear’s fat. The roggan was so heavy that it took four men to carry it.

In the spring the couple returned to the old man’s wigwam, and the son-in-law made him a present of the roggan. The old man was so strong that he lifted the roggan easily. The old man then coaxed the son-in-law to go to the top of the hill, intending to serve him as he had done the others, but the young man proved too strong and cunning for the old fellow, and in wrestling he broke the old man’s back. During the struggle the old man cried out to his daughter that her husband was killing him, but she had no sympathy for him, and said that it served him right.

The story of Katonao

Katonao, an aging warrior, pursues his glory‐seeking sons into battle, rescues a wounded child, and inspires their quest to save the other brother. Captured for a feast, he endures cruelty, hunts partridges to escape, and slays two pursuers. Returning home, he almost kills a son mistaking him for a threat, but a plea spares him. Reunited, Katonao lives peacefully with his sons.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The bond between Katonao and his two sons drives both the rescue efforts and the final reconciliation.

Trials and Tribulations: Katonao endures wounds, capture, cruel treatment, harsh wilderness, and lethal pursuers.

Revenge and Justice: He slays two warriors during his escape to avenge the cruelty they inflicted.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Katonao was a great warrior who was always seeking for glory. He had two sons who were very much like him in this respect. They went off to meet some other warriors, and Katonao followed to help them fight. When he had gone some distance he saw a lot of warriors on the ground dead, and he knew that his sons had passed that way. At last he came across one of his sons who was lying wounded on the ground, pierced by a number of arrows. The old man pulled the arrows from his son’s body and went in search of the other son. He had not proceeded far when his wounded son overtook him and both followed the tracks of the other son. At last they came across him fighting desperately with hostile warriors, and they ran to help him.

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Old Katonao tripped on his snowshoes and was captured. The two sons tried hard to save their father and endeavored to pull him from the hostile warriors, but he asked them to let him be taken.

The hostile warriors resolved not to kill Katonao at once, but reserve him for a feast. They treated him with great cruelty on the journey, sometimes dragging him naked through the snow and tying him to the sled exposed all night to the cold. They gave him old skins to eat. As soon as the warriors arrived home they tied old Katonao up, and resolved to sacrifice him on the morrow. They placed him in a tent with an old man as guard. Orders were given to cook Katonao for the feast, but some of the women cried out that there were lots of partridges in the woods. The old man then asked the warriors if Katonao and the women could go hunting the partridges, and they consented. Katonao then took up his bow and arrows and killed many partridges. In hunting these birds he wandered farther and farther away from his captors, and at last he made a dash for liberty. He was still naked and suffered much in making his escape. He had not gone far when he saw the warriors in full chase, so he hid in the snow and killed two of them as they ran past him. He then took off their clothes, fixed himself up, and started in search of his sons.

When the warriors came upon their dead comrades, they returned to the camp and blamed the old man for asking Katonao to go out hunting. Then they called him and killed him for the feast. When Katonao arrived at the tent of one of his sons, he found him making snowshoes. He walked on farther and found the other son making a canoe. Katonao shot an arrow into him and chased him into the tent. The other son came up, and seeing what Katonao was doing was about to put him to death, but the wounded boy cried out for him to spare his father, so Katonao was spared and lived with his sons for a long time.