Tag: 30. Cunning and Deception

Using wit or deceit to achieve goals

Story about the bad merchant

Three brothers lived in isolation, with the youngest managing the household while the elder two hunted. One day, the “Bad Merchant,” known for violence, visited with his workman and a woman. The youngest brother killed the merchant during an altercation, freed the workman, and bound the woman. His returning brothers praised him for ending the merchant’s tyranny.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Good vs. Evil: The narrative centers on the confrontation between the virtuous brothers and the malevolent merchant, highlighting the struggle between opposing moral forces.

Revenge and Justice: The youngest brother’s act of killing the bad merchant serves as retribution for the merchant’s history of violence, aiming to restore justice.

Cunning and Deception: The youngest brother employs strategic thinking to manage the situation with the merchant, showcasing the use of wit to overcome adversity.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

This story refers perhaps to some real incident. Events like this still happen in northeastern Siberia. However, the manner in which it is told corresponds to the style of local Russian folklore.

Told by Nicholas Kusakoff, a Russian creole, in the village of Pokhotsk, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1895.

Three brothers lived. I cannot tell who they were, whether Russian or Yakut. They lived in a wild place, somewhat after the manner of Lamut nomads. Two of the brothers used to go on hunting trips. The third one stayed at home. None of them knew whether they ever had had father, mother, or sister, or even so much as a relative.

The two elder brothers would come home for a day or two, and then leave again for six or seven days. They used to bring home costly peltries, also reindeer and elk carcasses. They gave everything to the third brother, and they did not even care what happened to their game.

They never asked him, “What are you doing with all these things? Do you store them away, or simply throw them away as rubbish?”

One day these two brothers prepared for a longer trip than usual. So they said to the housekeeping brother, “Perhaps we shall not be back for a long time. Stay at home, and eat of the meat we have brought.” After that they left.

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One evening, the brother who kept house was singing songs for his own recreation. Then he heard a noise without. He hurried to the entrance; but at this moment entered a man, tall of stature, carrying in his hands a bear lance inlaid with silver. He was clad in beautiful garments embroidered with silk. It was the bad merchant. The young man was much frightened, and receded to a remote corner; but the visitor said gruffly, “Help my workman unload the pack-horses!” The house master hurried out, and saw a man busying himself with nine pack-horses. He helped him take off the loads. While doing this, he heard somebody cough. He looked back, and saw a woman wrapped up in fox garments. He approached her, and asked her with much gentleness to enter the house. Then he opened the door and showed her the way. As soon as she was inside, he helped her lay off her garments. She was middle-aged, but very strong and pretty. The Bad Merchant looked at his doings with much scorn. He sat before the fire, warming his back. All the time he held in his hands the big bear lance inlaid with silver.

After a while the Bad Merchant asked the house master with still more gruffness, “Do you not know of some good pasture here for horses?” “Yes, I know of one.” “Then help my workman to take the horses there.” They had a meal and drank their tea. After that they took the horses to the pasture. When they were going back, the house master asked of the workman, “And who are you, this visitor and the woman?” — “Do you not know him? He is the Bad Merchant. I thought he would kill you at first sight. He has a very bad temper. No house did he ever pass that he did not kill somebody. It is your special luck that you have been spared so far.” The young man ceased asking, and kept his thoughts to himself. They entered the house. The Bad Merchant was sitting, as before, near the fire, lance in hand. The house master hurried to his back room and threw out a great number of furs, sables, gray foxes, black foxes, bears, all kinds of peltries that exist in the world. He threw all this at the feet of the Merchant. The latter, seeing such riches, put the lance on the floor and bent over the heap. The young man, with an innocent face, picked up the lance. “What a beautiful lance!” said he, “and what a shaft! Strong like iron. Even against a bear such a shaft would hold out and never break.” Then he poised it in his hands. Together with the shaft it weighed no less than one pud. [36 pounds avoirdupois] He took the lance by the iron and lifted it, shaft upward, and all at once struck the Bad Merchant on the neck. The woman seized a knife and tried to stab him; but he struck her with the shaft, and she fell down senseless. Then he cried to the workman, “Bring those elk-hide lines there in the corner!” With them he bound him securely. The woman came to herself, but he violated her. Then he said to the workman, “You accompanied him on his travels, and were compelled by him to do his work, and he paid you with blows. You might have expected a violent death at almost any hour. Now that God has brought you here to me, I restore you to freedom. Take his horses and go wherever you wish!” The workman stayed there, however, for five days more. After that the elder brothers came, and saw the Bad Merchant in bonds. The woman was bound likewise. So the elder brothers said, “Ah! it is you! We have heard much about you. So many people of these parts complain of your doings. This time God has given us occasion to overcome you. Now the complaints of the people will cease. They turned to their brother and thanked him heartily: “It is you who caught him and liberated the country.” I do not know, however, what they did to the prisoners. Probably they tortured them to death.

That is all.

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A hunting tale

This tale seems to be composed of mixed elements, Russian and native. The sables that play so prominent a role in it, were quite abundant in the Kolyma country a century ago, but since 1860, not a single track of a sable has been met with in the Kolyma, partly because they have been mercilessly pursued and partly because they have migrated to the south.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The companions’ dishonest division of the sable skins and their subsequent actions underscore themes of trickery and betrayal.

Revenge and Justice: The first hunter’s response to the unfair treatment and the unfolding events reflect the pursuit of justice and retribution.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts ethical teachings about fairness, honesty, and the consequences of one’s actions.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Nicholas Kusakoff, a Russian Creole, in the village of Pokhotsk, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

Three men lived together. I cannot tell to what tribe or clan they may have belonged, — whether they were peasants or cossacks, or Yakut or Yukaghir or something else. They were good hunters, and every fall with the first snow they would set off to hunt sable and red and gray foxes. Each time they would divide the skins into three equal parts.

One year the snow fell very early and it was time to go on the hunt. One of the companions, who was somewhat poorer than the rest went to the others and invited them to go. It seems that he wanted to buy some provisions, and so wanted to make haste to get the means for purchasing them. The other, being richer, wanted to wait a couple of days. He waited two days, but still they were not ready. They asked him to wait a little longer. He waited again.

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Meantime the fallen snow had grown harder. It was the very time to go: so he went to his companions, and said, “See here! Perhaps you are not yet ready, but I shall not wait any longer. You see, the snow has already hardened. We have missed the last time. Further delay will spoil the hunt altogether.”

So he went home, mounted his horse, and called his hunting dog. With these he went, and at once found the tracks of four sables. He had a good dog: so he let him loose, and the dog followed the sables and chased them to an open lake. There on the ice he caught all four of them. He crossed over the lake, and on the other shore made a fire, prepared some food, and skinned the sables. All at once the other two companions arrived and congratulated him on the successful hunt. He thanked them, invited them to pass the night with him, and the next morning to start hunting in common, as was their custom in former times. They consented, and stayed there. The night passed. In the morning they got up and went hunting in different directions. They also chose the halting-place for the next night, and promised to be there in time for the evening meal. The first hunter arrived there, however, the last of all, he was so late. The other two brought eight sables, and he alone also brought eight. They skinned them all and dried the skins. The next morning they proposed to continue the hunt; but the first hunter said, “I must go home for a couple of days. We will divide these skins equally among us; then I will go home, and be back in two or three days.” They had, in all, twenty sable skins, but in distributing them they gave him only five skins, and took fifteen for themselves, and he was the one who had caught more than half of the whole. So he said, “No, that is not fair. Let us share equally. You have given me too little. We must have six sables a piece, and the two sables over are surplus.” They refused to comply, and offered him the former five. He took these five skins and felt wronged: so he departed without any greeting. After some hesitation, they followed him. They rode quite silently for a long time, and then they saw near the trail a house that they had never seen before. Near the entrance stood a birch tree, very thin and high. They wondered at the house and the tree, and asked themselves, “How is it that never before have we seen this house in our neighborhood? Let us enter and see who may live in it!” So they entered, and saw an old man, quite small, and wizened with age. He was so thin that his head was held in place by a single sinew only. His arms and legs were like grass blades, almost ready to break in two. They entered, and saluted the old man. He said, “Sit down, O hunters! Tell me, please, what success have you had in your pursuit?” The two said, “Thank God! fair enough.” The third one replied, “Look here, uncle! We hunted together, and were indeed fairly successful. I caught a little more than they, and in the end they refused to give me even a fair and equal share.” — “How was that,” asked the old man. He told what had happened. “Listen, my friends!” said the old man. “I will tell you a story of a similar kind. I too, in my time, was a hunter, and was always ready to wander about. No kind of game could escape me, but in sharing with my companions, I was too exacting and close-fisted. One time, while traveling alone, I met a young woman, or, rather a girl. She came to me and stretched out her hand and gave me a blow on the ear. At the same time she said, ‘You were a man, now you must be a wolf. For three days, you shall run, and after the third day you shall come here to this very place.’ So I, who had been a man, immediately turned into a wolf. I ran about for three whole days, and then I returned to the same place from which I had started. The woman was already there. She struck me again on the face, and said aloud, ‘You were a wolf, now turn into a man again!’ I turned into a man. She took my hand and led me on to a village. When we were near the village, she struck me again on the face, and said, ‘You were a man, now turn into a bunch of grass.’ So I turned into a bunch of grass and remained motionless at the place where I stood, close to the trail. The people of that village were driving over me, and the runners of the sledges hurt me every time. The people often felt angry at me, and wanted to cut me down, but they neglected to do so. Well, I existed somehow. I felt much pain and fear, and it was only in the depths of the night that I had any respite at all. I cannot tell how long I stayed there, days or months, or maybe years. I was more dead than alive. Then at last the woman came. She kicked me, and said aloud, “You were a bunch of grass, now turn again into a man!” So I turned into a man. I felt quite savage, and wanted to retaliate. She took my hand and led me on. I said to myself, ‘What if I try and do the same to her?’ So I stretched out my hand and gave her a blow on the ear, and said aloud, ‘You were a woman, now you must turn into a birch tree.’ I remembered the incantation; but in my haste I could not think of anything besides a birch tree, so she turned into a birch tree. From that time on, she has been a tree, and I do not know how to restore her to her former human shape. The second part of the incantation has ceased to work. I have tried it again and again; but it has lost its force, I do not know why. So I constructed this small house, and am living here. I say to myself, ‘Let me die at least near this birch tree!’ So you see I am severely punished. My arms and legs have become like grass blades, my body is almost ready to break down, and my head to fall off. I think that God has sent this punishment to me and to the woman, in order to make us a living lesson to other people who pass by on this road. So I say to you two, cease to do wrong to your companion, lest worse luck befall you!”

The two greedy ones felt afraid, and they said, “The old man speaks the truth, it is too dangerous.” They shared the sable skins equally, and gave six skins to the first hunter. Two sable skins were left over. They took one for themselves, and gave the other to the first hunter. Then the old man fell down and died, and the birch tree turned into its former self and became a woman. “Who are you?” asked the men. “I am hunting luck,” said the woman. She asked them to help her in burying the old man. The other two hunters refused to do so; but the first hunter said, “I will bury him all alone.” So he dug the grave, and then made a coffin of larch-wood. He buried him in due form, as is the custom. The woman thanked him; and when he departed, she gave him a small pouch made of various shreds of cloth. He took the pouch, and said to himself, “For what is this pouch? It seems of no use.” She answered his thoughts, “Do not say that this pouch is of no use. It will be good all your life.” He went home and opened the pouch. It was full of silver money. He spent the money, but whenever he took out money, the pouch was filled again. So he lived and lived, and could not empty the pouch; and his widow after him also could not spend all the money.

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Tale of a shaman

A daring Yakut youth bets he can cut the braid of a dead shaman left in an abandoned hut. Despite eerie noises and an accomplice’s attempts to scare him, he succeeds. Returning with the braid, he wins the wager—a horse from each companion—proving his bravery. The tale reflects Yakut traditions and the courage valued in their culture.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Trials and Tribulations: The young man’s challenge to retrieve the shaman’s braid tests his bravery and resolve.

Cunning and Deception: The accomplice’s attempt to scare the youth by creating eerie noises represents the use of deception.

Community and Isolation: The community’s decision to abandon the village after the shaman’s death reflects cultural practices related to death and isolation.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by John Parin, a Russianized Yakut, in the village of Bystraia, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

A shaman was living with some other people. One time he took his drum and began to practise. Then he died suddenly. Now, the ancient Yakut had the following custom: Whenever a man of importance died, every one would leave the village, and move to another place. So the people went away. The shaman was left in an empty hut, stone dead, drum in hand. In midwinter, on the twelfth day after the shortest day, the young men of the Yakut were in the habit of gathering and playing games. One young man suddenly said, “Why comrades, who dares to go to the dead shaman and cut off his braid? He must bring it here as proof that he has been there.” The others said, “Who will go? That is too much to ask; and, by the way, at what time of day do you want us to go?” — “To be sure, about midnight, in utter darkness.” — “We shall not go. Better go yourself.” — “I should go on a good wager. Then I should cut off his braid and bring it here.”

► Continue reading…

They argued among themselves. The one said, “Let us bet a horse each!” They consented, but secretly they proposed to send a man along. This man was to lie down behind the shaman; and when the daring one should stretch out his hand for the braid, the other one was to make a noise and clatter, and so frighten him off. Then the one asked, “Is it time to go?” They said, “All right, go!” and he rode off. He arrived at the empty hut, tied his horse to the post, and entered the hut. When he was opening the door, he heard in the darkness a ringing of iron and a clattering of the drum, as if the shaman were stirring about; but he said, “There, uncle, you may ring and clatter, but I shall take that for which I came.” So he approached the dead body, and, catching hold of the braid, cut it off at the very roots. Then he went out. Behind him something rang and clattered again, but he paid no attention to it. He came to his companions and showed them the braid; the other man arrived later, and said, “Indeed, he is quite undaunted. I made a noise and beat the drum, but he paid no heed at all. He cut away the braid and carried it off.” So that man won the wager, a horse from each of the partners.

That is all.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Small-Pox, a Yukaghir tale

A solitary man encounters Small-Pox, a fearsome woman with fiery eyes and sharp teeth. She demands to find humans, but he tricks her into entering a bladder, drying her out until she’s powerless. Small-Pox promises to spare his kin, marked by red tufts on their caps. Weakened, she’s set adrift, leaving his people untouched.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The protagonist’s clever tactics in trapping Small-Pox highlight the use of wit to overcome danger.

Supernatural Beings: Small-Pox is personified as a fearsome woman with supernatural attributes, such as fiery eyes and sharp teeth.

Moral Lessons: The tale imparts wisdom on the importance of intelligence and resourcefulness in confronting and overcoming threats.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

First version told by Nicholas Vostriakoff, the head man of the Vostriakoff clan of the Russianized Yukaghir in the village Omolon, at the confluence of the Omolon and Kolyma rivers, summer of 1896.

Second version told by Timothy, a Tunguso-Yukaghir, on the western tundra of the Kolyma, spring of 1895.

There lived a man all by himself. One time a woman came to him. She was Small-Pox. She was tall and lean of body, her teeth were long and sharp, and her eyes burned like glowing coals.

“Where are the other people?” asked Small-Pox. “I do not know.” — “How is it that you do not know? Are you not human-born? Where are your house and village mates?” — “No,” said the man, “as long ago as I can remember, I always lived all alone.”

Small-Pox stayed with him. Every morning and every evening she climbed a very high tree and listened in every direction. One time she descended, and said, “Yonder to the east, I can hear early in the morning and late in the evening the ringing of iron;” and indeed, there were young men chopping wood, and young girls carrying water from the river in iron pails.

For this reason, even at present, our old men forbid young men and girls to chop wood and to carry water early in the morning or late in the evening. Every one must prepare the wood and bring the daily store of water in broad daylight.

► Continue reading…

“Oh!” said Small-Pox, “human people are living on that side. You must carry me to those people.” — “And how shall I carry you to them? Here is a bladder of the ptarmigan. Creep into it. I will carry you concealed in the bladder.” She entered the bladder which he tied up with a, cord, and then hung it up before the fireplace to dry. The bladder was drying up more and more, and she was drying with it. Day and night she struggled within the bladder, but by no means could she pierce it and come out. After a while she became quite shrivelled up, — mere bones and dried skin; and even her voice was hardly audible.

“Oh, let me go!” pleaded Small-Pox in a hoarse whisper. “I promise I will never touch any man whatever of your house and kin.” — “And how will you recognize my house and kin?” — “Let the people of your house and kin wear small red tufts on their caps.” For this reason the Yukaghir people of our clan wear red tufts on their caps even at the present time.

Then the man opened the bladder and took out Small-Pox. She was so weak that she could not stand up, — a mere soul without a body. He put her on a board and sent it floating down the river. “Go wherever you choose! Land wherever you may!”

Told by Nicholas Vostriakoff, the head man of the Vostriakoff clan of the Russianized Yukaghir in the village Omolon, at the confluence of the Omolon and Kolyma rivers, summer of 1896.

Second version

There was a large Yukaghir village on the Indighirka River. In that village lived a powerful shaman. One time he beat the drum; then he went out of the house and said, “A great disease is coming towards us, the like of which we have never seen.” There was a crossway where three small trails converged into a single one which was very broad and straight. He went to the crossway and hid under the roots of a large tree. Lying there, he listened for those whose approach he had foreseen. Three sisters were coming along the road. They were riding red horses, their coats were as red as fire, and their hair was burning like lightning. The younger sisters were inquiring of the oldest one, “Where shall we go this time?” The eldest sister answered, “This time go on without me. Near by there is a large Yukaghir village. A powerful shaman lives there. I want to take him away.” — “Do not speak so loud!” answered the other sister, “somebody may overhear you.” — “Who should overhear me? Deep woods are all around us.” The shaman, however, was hidden under the roots of a tree, and heard all. He ran home, and said to his house people, “Get the meal ready. At mealtime she will come to the people eating food.” He had a magic iron box, sealed with a magic seal. He opened it and put it upon the table, close to himself. They ate, and during the meal a long red hair fell upon the table, at the left hand side of the shaman. All at once he caught the hair and put it into the box. He closed it and sealed it up with the magic seal. “Now make a big fire,” said he to the people. They made a big fire, and he put the box into it, and began to rake the fire. Soon the box was glowing red. Then a wail, like that of a human voice was heard from the box. “Oh, set me free! I cannot stand it.” — “Ah, you cannot!” said the shaman, and raked the fire. Thus, he roasted her for three days and three nights. On the fourth day there was a faint squeal like the voice of a red fox. “Oh, please let me go! I cannot stand it.” Then he asked the other people of the village, “What shall I do to her? Shall I really set her free? You are the shaman,” said the people, “do what you think best. We cannot tell.” — “All right,” said the shaman, “let me have a look at her.” He opened the box. A red girl was sitting within it, half dead with exhaustion, mere skin and bones, dryer than a withered leaf. “Now you may go,” said the shaman, “but be sure not to forget our treatment of you.” “I shall not forget. But I am very weary, I cannot walk. Give me some food and a drink of water.” So he kept her for three days, and gave her food and water. After that she grew a little stronger; so she went to the woods, found her own horse, and hurried off. When departing, she swore to herself that she would never go back to that awful place. So she came to the crossway. Her sisters had been waiting for her for two days. “Where have you been so long?” — “Oh, the Yukaghir shaman caught me and nearly murdered me. He put me into a box and burned me in the fire.” — “There you are! Did we not warn you not to be so loud in your boasting lest somebody should overhear you?” — “You did. And where have you been?” — “Oh, we have had some little fun. We slew the people of one village, and in another we left only one boy and one girl.” After that the sisters rode on.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

The monster with iron teeth

Three brothers encounter monsters with iron teeth during their journey. The eldest fights the creatures while his brothers flee. Gradually, the elder brothers turn monstrous themselves. The youngest flees alone, outsmarts a pursuing monster with an old kettle, and reaches safety in a village. After reporting the monsters, a priest curses them, restoring peace to the area.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The brothers encounter monstrous entities with iron teeth, representing interactions with otherworldly creatures.

Trials and Tribulations: The brothers face a series of challenges, including battles with the monsters and the transformation of the eldest brother.

Cunning and Deception: The youngest brother uses his wits to outsmart a pursuing monster, demonstrating the use of intelligence to overcome danger.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Nicholas Kusakoff, a Russian creole (cossack), at the village of Pokhotsk in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

There were three brothers. One time they traveled together in lonely places. The first night they stopped at a way house. [Small log cabins are built in various places for the use of travelers, especially along the trading routes. They are called in local Russian иоварня (“cooking-house”).] They made a fire, cooked some bread-soup, and had supper. [Затчранъ, a kind of soup prepared of bread-crumbs or flour roasted in butter, and then boiled in water. In former times it was generally used in these regions for breakfast or supper. At present brick-tea is substituted for it.] While they were eating, a board of the floor was lifted up. There appeared a monster with iron teeth, two feet long. [In local Russian it is called “heretic” (еретикъ). In colloquial Russian, in Europe and Asia, “heretic” is used as a synonym for “devil” or “evil spirit”] The eldest brother said to the other two, “Go out and get the dogs and sledges ready. I will stay here. And you must wait outside for me.”

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They took their bread-soup and went out of the house. They could hear the eldest brother within fighting with the monster. They did not know in what way, but could only hear great noise and gnashing of teeth. Before sunrise their brother came out of the house. They started off on their sledges. They drove till dark. Then they saw another log cabin. They entered, made a fire, and prepared some soup. As soon as they had swallowed a spoonful or two, a board was lifted in one of the front corners of the house and up came the Monster with Iron Teeth. The oldest brother made the other two go out and he fought the monster alone. The next morning, when he came out, they saw that he had turned into a quite different being. All his blood, and his face, were no longer human. He was more like a devil. The second brother said to the youngest one, “Look at him! He has iron teeth at least half a foot long.”

They drove onward again until evening. It had grown quite dark when they came to another log cabin. They made a fire and prepared soup. When they were half through with their meal, there appeared a woman with iron teeth, covered with blood, who rushed at them. The eldest brother: also fought the woman. The other two exchanged looks, and slipped out of doors. Then they turned their sledges back and drove homeward. They traveled the whole night and the next day. Then they came to the log cabin in which the second fight with the Monster of Iron Teeth had taken place. They made a fire and prepared their soup. Then they heard outside the shuffling of snowshoes. They were so much frightened, that neither dared to go out. Then the door opened of itself, and the oldest brother entered. He was very angry. “Why are you making so much trouble for me? If you want to leave me behind, why do you stop in this very place?” He had hardly finished these words, when the Monster with Iron Teeth appeared. They fought again; and the eldest brother said, “Go away! Do not wait for me any longer! But mind you do not stop at the first log cabin. When I am through with this fight, I shall give chase; and if I catch you in the first log cabin, I shall fight the first monster, but I shall also punish you.”

They drove away from there, crying for fear. They traveled throughout the night and the next day. After sunset they came to the log cabin, and of course wanted to pass it, but they could not induce their dogs to pass by. All the dogs rushed in and fought as if they were worrying somebody to death. No one was to be seen, however. They wrangled with the dogs far into the evening, and at last dragged them out of the house. They were quite tired and hungry; and the second brother at last proposed, “Let us stay here over night!” The youngest answered, “How could we do that? The monster will appear, and then our brother; and he warned us beforehand that he will punish us.” The second brother answered, “Curse him for a fool! I do not fear him at all. I myself have become as bad as he.” The youngest brother looked up, and saw that the second brother also had iron teeth half a foot long. He was so badly frightened that he could not speak. Meanwhile the shuffling of snowshoes was heard outside, and there entered a being similar to their brother in face and body; but they did not recognize him. He said not a single word, but rushed at the second brother. They fought like wolves. The youngest brother slipped outside, took his dogs, and fled. He drove on until midnight, and heard nothing. After midnight, however, he heard a voice like a distant shaman’s call. The voice said, “A man is pursuing his own brother. He wants to gnaw at his bones, to eat of his meat, to drink of his blood!” The youngest brother out of fright, urged his dogs on with all his might. In the meantime he said to himself, “When he overtakes me, how shall I defend myself?” He remembered having heard from older people, that, when pursued by a monster, one may defend oneself by striking the monster with an old kettle. Then the monster will fall down and will be unable to follow for a couple of hours, which at least will give respite at the most critical moment. So he loosened the kettle, and made ready for the blow. Kettle in hand, he watched when the monster should reach the sledge. When it was at hand, he uttered an incantation and struck its face with the blackened kettle. The monster fell face down, and cried aloud, “Oh, you are too clever for me! I shall catch you, nevertheless. The village is yet far off. I shall rest for a couple of hours; then I shall catch you, drink of your blood, eat of your meat and gnaw your bones.” The other one urged his dogs to the limit of their strength. He knew, that the village was not very far away. They moved on. The monster gave pursuit again. Then they heard the bell in the church belfry ringing. He crossed himself, and said, “Thank God, I am safe now!” And the monster shouted from behind, “You are safe; but I shall catch you somewhere in time to come.” The young man reached the village, and straightway went to the priest. He said that in such and such places in the woods there were monsters; that these monsters were probably unburied corpses, which walk abroad and attack human beings. The priest listened to him, and then laid a curse of the Church upon the monsters; that they should cease to appear and make trouble. After that all the people traveled about without fear or danger, and they met with nothing extraordinary.

The end.

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The She-Monster

Three orphaned sisters fend for themselves until the eldest becomes a cannibalistic monster. The younger sisters flee, one falling prey to the monster, while the youngest escapes and marries a man. Years later, the She-Monster returns, harming her niece and nephew. The husband kills her, destroying her remains. The family moves away, finally finding peace.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationships between three orphaned sisters, highlighting the complexities and eventual tragedy within their family.

Transformation: The eldest sister undergoes a horrifying change, becoming a cannibalistic monster, which drives the plot and the actions of the other characters.

Cunning and Deception: The youngest sister employs cleverness to escape her monstrous sibling, showcasing the use of wit for survival.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Katherine Rumiantzev, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village of Pokhotsk, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

There lived a family. They had three daughters and no sons. After some time the father and the mother died. The girls remained alone. They hunted game and caught fish, and in the summer time picked berries and gathered roots. They never knew a man. One time the eldest sister stayed at home. The other two went berrying. They came home. The youngest wanted to be petted: so she dropped into the other sister’s lap, and said, “O, my sister! I am so very hungry! Give me something to eat.” The eldest sister said, “Why, then go to the storehouse, and pick out a piece of the very best dried fish. That is the food for you.” Then she laughed.

The youngest sister looked up at her, and saw pieces of raw meat sticking out all around between her teeth. She felt frightened, and whispered to her second sister, “Why, sister, look about! all our stores of dried meat, reindeer, and elk, are gone! and why are the teeth of our eldest sister filled with pieces of meat?”

► Continue reading…

The second sister refused to believe it; and, still, she also was afraid to look up, lest she should see those horrible teeth. After a few days the two younger sisters went for a visit to the graves of their parents. They invited the eldest one to go with them, but she refused. They arrived at the graves, and found that they had been dug open. The body of the father had been eaten up, and of the body of the mother only a part was left. This was the doing of their eldest sister. They sorrowed and cried aloud. Then they went back, and on the way they talked to each other. “O, sister! we cannot go home. She will finish eating our mother, then she will come for us. Let us rather leave in time! Let us run to the open country, or let us flee across the blue sea!” Just then they saw on high a flock of wild geese flying. They shouted upward to the geese, “O geese! drop down to us a feather apiece!” The geese, ever so many, dropped down for them a feather apiece. The girls gathered the feathers and stuck them between their fingers. Then they flew up, and followed the geese. The youngest sister said to the second one, “O sister dear! she will doubtless pursue us. Take care, though, if she should call to you, and shout, and ask for an answer, not to take any heed! and especially do not look back at her.”

Then the eldest sister actually went in pursuit. They flew on high, she ran below on the ground, and cried out, “O sisters dear! why have you forsaken me? Have we not been nursed at the same mother’s breast? Have we not been begotten in the same mother’s womb? And now you leave me behind! How shall I live alone, without your company?” The second sister was moved with compassion: so she looked back and down. In a moment the She-Monster opened her mouth, and the girl fell directly into it. The She-Monster swallowed her without chewing. The youngest sister flew on, and did not look back, notwithstanding all her cries and entreaties. She flew onward; the eldest sister ran in pursuit. At last the She-Monster gave up, and at the last only shouted, “This time you do not want to look at me! But later you will be married, and you will have a boy and a girl. The girl will sit on an earth bench, [the Russian log cabin and the Yakut hut are surrounded by a low earth wall up to the window-sills. This wall serves also as a bench] and she will play with her little scissors; and the boy will play with his bow and arrows. Then I shall come to you.” The other one flew on.

At last she saw a small house, standing all alone. She sat down near the chimney-hole, and looked down through the chimney. A young man was sitting near the fireplace, feathering his arrows. He did this for some time. Then he was lacking a white feather for the last arrow. So he said, “Oh, I wish I had one more feather!” In a moment she tore away one of her feathers and let it drop through the chimney. He caught it, and looked up, but no one was there. So he finished the arrow, and brought some more arrows and feathers, and resumed the feathering. After a while he was again lacking one feather for the last arrow. This time it was a black feather. “Oh,” said he, “I wish I had one more feather.” And immediately she let drop a black feather. After that she dropped a third feather. Then he said, “Who are you? If you are really human, come down and let me look at you, and if you are an evil spirit, then remain invisible.” She took off her feathers and turned into her former self. Then she descended into the house. He took her for a wife.

They lived together for a long time, and she brought forth, first a boy, then a girl. The husband went out every day to go in search of game. The children were growing up. One spring day they were playing on the earth bench in front of the house. Then suddenly appeared her eldest sister, the She-Monster. She hugged the children and kissed them. In doing this she bit off the upper lip of the boy and the under lip of the girl. They shrieked, and ran to their mother. Their faces were covered with blood. O, she became so frightened! “Who has been treating you like this? Or perhaps you have been fighting with others?” — “Oh, no! It was our aunt, who kissed us.” Then the eldest sister entered. They did not even salute each other. Then the human sister wanted to go out. “Do not do that,” said the Monster. “But I want to ease myself.” — “All right! but make the utmost haste. Hardly step out of the house before you are back again.” She sat down near the fireplace and waited for her. The human sister went out of the house, and the boy slipped out after her. They ran to one of their storehouses. Standing there was an old wooden box. They squeezed themselves into this box. Then the woman said, “O, wooden box! henceforth be an iron storehouse standing high upon twelve iron supports.” The wooden box turned into an iron storehouse with twelve supports, and they were safe within. The boy called for his father, and she called for her husband. The eldest sister went out and saw the girl: so she caught her and swallowed her. Merely the feet stuck out from her mouth.

After a while, she spit out her small bones. She came to the iron storehouse and gnawed at the supports, and splinters of iron flew in all directions. Then the iron storehouse rocked to and fro, with only three supports left. All of a sudden the man came up. He struck the She-Monster with his sword and killed her. He chopped her into small pieces and burned her in the fire. She was burning, and every kind of worms and vermin crawled out of her body. He gathered them all, scraped them up with a shovel, and thrust them back into the fire. At last her body was destroyed, and he threw the ashes to all four winds. The remaining bones he threw into the sea. Then they went to another country. They lived there.

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Yukaghir tale

A woman eats a magical pike and gives birth to a daughter who rapidly grows into a cannibalistic monster. The son escapes and marries a magical woman. Returning home, he finds his parents devoured. Fleeing from his monstrous sister, he uses magic and his wife’s wolves and bears to destroy her, burning the remains. Peace follows.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The rapid growth of the daughter into a monstrous being and the son’s marriage to a magical woman highlight significant physical and situational transformations.

Conflict with Nature: The narrative involves struggles against natural and supernatural forces, such as the son’s battle with his monstrous sister and the use of magical animals.

Cunning and Deception: The son employs clever strategies and magical assistance to outwit and ultimately destroy his cannibalistic sister.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Anne Korkin, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village of Sukharnoye in the Kolyma country, in the autumn of 1896.

There was a man and his wife. They had a little boy. One time the woman felt a yearning for some pike. Her mouth watered at the thought of it. Then she said to her husband, “Do go to the lake and set your nets! I want some pike to eat.” He went to the lake, and on the same day he caught a large pike. The woman immediately cooked it. She ate the fish beginning at the intestine and ate as far as the head. When she came to the mouth and opened the teeth, she saw that they were of iron. She was scared, and threw away what was left of the pike; but from that time on she grew with child, and after due time gave birth to a girl. The girl grew up rapidly, not like an ordinary child from year to year, but hourly; so that on the next day she was playing out of doors with her brother, who, although older, was nevertheless much smaller than she. In playing, she said, “One day more, or perhaps two days, and I shall eat all of you.”

► Continue reading…

The boy went to his father and mother and told them of her words; but they did not believe him, and even punished him. “You do not like your sister, and therefore you slander her.” The same happened in the evening and again the next morning. The boy could not stand it any longer. He felt angry, frightened, and sore. So he left his parents and fled. Far away in the tundra he saw a house with an outer room. He entered there. Two wolves and two bears were tied up in front of the inner door. The animals wanted to attack him; but he whistled three times, and they grew quiet and lay down. Then he entered the inner room. In the middle a white reindeer skin was spread. On the skin slept a naked girl, dazzling white of body. Her tresses were auburn and as long as the sleeve of an overcoat. He hid under her tresses and slept with the girl. In due time she awoke, sniffed about, and said, “Who are you? Make yourself visible. If you are an old man, I will have you for a father; if a young man, I will take you for a husband.” So he appeared from under her tresses. She married him, and they lived together. After some time he wanted to visit his father and mother; so he asked his wife to give him some animal to drive, even if it were a wolf or a bear. She gave him a reindeer with six legs. He set off. When near the house of his parents, he tied the reindeer to a tree and went on foot. Then he arrived at the house and opened the door. The Pike-Girl had eaten up his father and mother long before, and was playing with the bare skulls. As soon as she saw him, she threw the skulls under the bed. The young man felt afraid. She rushed up to him, however, and said, “O brother dear! you have come at last.” In the evening she asked him, “Where are you going to sleep?” He said, “I am going to sleep on the roof.” “Why do you do so?” said the girl, “I do not want to sleep alone. I have not seen you for such a long time.” — “Well, then,” said the brother, “I will lie down close to the chimney-hole, and will thrust my legs down the chimney-hole, so that you may look at them, when going to sleep.” He did just so, and feigned sleep. The girl tried to catch at the legs, but the chimney was too narrow; and feeling tired, she desisted. After a while she was snoring. Then with great caution he left the roof and went away. He found his reindeer and raced off.

He drove the whole night through, then he looked back and saw that the pike girl was following in pursuit. He urged on the reindeer and it galloped off; but the Pike-Girl galloped still faster, just like a winged bird. After a while she overtook the reindeer, and at first tore off one of its extra legs. While she was eating that leg, the reindeer hurried on. She finished the leg, and again gave pursuit. This time she tore off the other extra leg. The reindeer galloped off with four legs. Then she overtook it again, and tore off one leg more. Then the reindeer could run no longer so the young man left it and hurried on afoot. He had one blunt arrow. Holding this, he ran onward. When the Pike-Girl had eaten the reindeer leg she gave pursuit again. When she was close to him, he lifted up the arrow and said, “There, arrow mine! You were an arrow. Now turn into an iron tree. I want to be safe on top of that tree.” Instantly, it turned into a big iron tree, and he was high up on its top. The tree was as thick through as a man can embrace. The Pike-Girl came to the tree, and said, “O brother mine! your iron tree is not tempered, but my iron teeth are tempered and hard.” So she gnawed at the tree, and iron splinters flew around like rotten wood. A jay flew by, and he said to it:

O jay! fly to my wife!
Bid her send off her dogs!

But the jay answered with a man’s voice, “I will not fly. When you were living with your father and mother, whenever I came to your drying poles and wanted to peck at the pike-roe, your blunt arrow would instantly hiss by close to my head. I will not fly.” A snow-bunting flew by, and he said to it:

O, snow-bunting! fly to my wife,
And bid her send off her dogs!

So the bunting flew away and came to his wife’s house. It perched upon the window-sill, and twittered:

Pititi pititi,
Send off the dogs!

She heard this, and in a moment she sent off two wolves and two bears. They ran off and reached the tree. The Pike-Girl, as soon as she saw them, turned into an ermine and went under the roots of the tree. The bears dug at the roots to get at the ermine, and at last caught it. The young man descended from the tree with his ax and chopped up the ermine. He gathered the pieces and burnt them in the fire, and the ashes he let fly to the winds. Then he went back to his wife and told her all. After that they lived in peace, and they are still living.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Tale about Chu’mo

Three sisters adopt a mysterious stone baby, Chu’mo, who grows into a giant and devours their food. Discovering its monstrous nature, they trick and destroy it with boiling fat but must flee from its vengeful pursuit. Using magical items to create barriers, they ultimately escape, only to face Chu’mo’s mother, who locks them away in revenge.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: The sisters employ clever tactics to destroy Chu’mo, using boiling fat and magical items to escape its pursuit.

Transformation: Chu’mo’s ability to change size—from a baby to a giant—highlights themes of physical transformation.

Family Dynamics: The bond and cooperation among the three sisters are central to the narrative, showcasing their collective efforts to overcome challenges.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Anne Vastriakoff, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village Omolon at the confluence of the Omolon River with the Kolyma River, in the autumn of 1896.

There were three sisters. They knew no men, and subsisted by hunting wild reindeer. They also wandered about gathering roots and berries and every sort of thing that the earth produces. One time the eldest sister said, “I wish we had at least one baby.” As soon as she spoke these words, she glanced at a rock, and saw a severed piece which had a human face and looked like a baby.

“Ah, sisters!” exclaimed the girl, “come here and see! I have found a baby in the rock.” So they took the child of the stone and carried it home. They made a cradle, and put the baby in it. Then they rocked the cradle with much zeal.

After a while the baby began to cry and became like a human being. The next day the two elder sisters went, as usual, to hunt wild reindeer, but they left the youngest sister at home. “Stay at home and nurse the infant,” they said to her.

► Continue reading…

As soon as they went away, the baby began to cry louder and louder. At first the girl rocked the cradle, but the baby was not to be thus silenced. At last a sudden fright seized her without any apparent reason. She could not stand it, so she hid herself under the bed and tried to listen to what would happen next. The baby cried as before. Then it ceased, and seemed also to be listening for something. It was listening to hear whether anyone might suddenly enter. Then quite unexpectedly the baby said with a deep man’s voice, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” In the same instant, it left the cradle and rose to its feet. It said again, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” And lo, its head reached the very roof. It gathered all the dried meat and fat, sausages and tongues, hanging from the rafters, and devoured all this most ravenously. Then it heard some voices. They were those of two elder sisters coming home from hunting. In the same moment it said aloud, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself small!” So it became quite small, and was lying in the cradle and crying, just as before. The youngest sister, however, came out of her hiding-place and ran with all her might to meet the other sister. „O elder ones!” she sobbed out, “I will not stay at home alone any longer. You may stay there yourself if you want to.” — “What is the matter with you?” asked the eldest sister. “It is thus and so,” answered the youngest one. The eldest sister was very angry. “You certainly are not telling the truth. How can a baby leave the cradle and make itself large?” The next morning, however, the youngest sister refused to stay, so the eldest sister ordered the second one to stay at home in her stead. The other two went away hunting. The girl stayed at home and rocked the cradle; but the baby cried incessantly, and at last a great fright took possession of her, quite unaccountable, and she too hid herself under the bed and listened for what would happen next. The child cried and cried. Then it became still, and also began to listen. Nobody came, however, so the baby said again with a man’s deep voice, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” At that very moment it dropped to the floor and rose to its feet. Then it said again, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” and its head reached to the roof. It gathered all the dried meat and fat, sausages and tongues, hanging from the rafters, and devoured them most greedily. Then it heard human voices. They were those of the two other sisters, who were coming home and talking to each other. It said instantly, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself small!” and all at once it was small again and in the cradle, as before. The middle sister crept out of her hiding-place and ran out to meet the sister. „Oh,” said she, „it is too awful! I will not stay here any longer.” “And what is the matter with you?” asked the eldest sister. “This and this,” said the middle sister. “Oh, please! enough of this! How can a little baby leave the cradle and become large?”

The next morning, however, the two younger sisters refused to stay at home: so the eldest sister remained. The two others went off hunting reindeer. The eldest sister rocked the cradle; but the baby cried and cried, and at last there came over her also without any cause a terrible fright and she hid under the bed and listened for what might happen next. The baby cried and cried. Then it stopped and began to listen. Nobody came, however: so it said aloud with its deep bass voice, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” It dropped to the floor and rose to its feet. Then it said again. „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself large!” and its head reached the roof. It gathered all the dried meat and fat, sausages, and tongues, hanging upon the rafters, and ate them all. Then it heard distant voices. The two other sisters were coming home. So it said very quickly, „Chu’mo, Chu’mo, make yourself small!” and it was again small and lay in the cradle. The eldest sister left her hiding place and hurried to meet the other sisters. „Oh, indeed! you were quite right. It is awful! What shall we do?” They talked for a long time, trying to find a way to get rid of Chu’mo. At last they took a kettle and filled it with reindeer meat. They hung it over a large fire to cook the meat. When the meat was done, they took it out, leaving the liquid and the fat to boil in the kettle. Then the eldest sister took the baby in her arms and said in a caressing way, “Look up there! A birdie is passing there.” The baby looked up, and at that moment the girl threw it into the kettle. They had nine driving reindeer: so they left behind everything else they had, and, taking these nine reindeer, they fled. Each sister drove one reindeer, leading the other two behind her sledge as relays. They hurried off at top speed. Chu’mo went in pursuit, kettle and all.

The fire was burning, the kettle was bubbling, the iron sides were clattering as Chu’mo gave chase to the three sisters. After a while he approached them. Then the youngest sister took her ivory comb and said to it, “O comb of ivory! You were a comb, now turn into a mountain of ivory, from earth to heaven, and from east to west.” She threw the comb back over her shoulder, and it turned into a big mountain, from earth to heaven, from east to west. It was just behind them: so they stopped close to it, took a rest, and ate a meal; then they attached fresh reindeer and hurried on. Chu’mo came to the ivory mountain and began to gnaw at it. Splinters of ivory flew in every direction. He gnawed it through, and went across, kettle and all, and gave chase again.

The youngest sister said, “Here, my sisters! put your ear to the ground. Perhaps he is pursuing us again.” They put an ear to the ground, and indeed the kettle was clattering quite close behind. Then the second sister took out a piece of flint. She said to the flint, “O flint! you were a piece of flint. Now turn into a mountain of flint, from earth to heaven, from east to west.” Then she threw the flint back over her shoulder. It turned instantly into a mountain of flint. They stopped near the mountain, and took a rest. They also had a meal, and, attaching fresh reindeer, started on again. Chu’mo came to the mountain and gnawed it. Chips of flint flew in every direction. He gnawed it through and went across it, kettle and all.

The second sister said to the other, “O sister! put your ear to the ground and try to hear whether he is following us again?” They listened, and, lo! the kettle was rattling quite close behind. Then the oldest sister took out a piece of steel from a strike-a-light. She said to the steel, “O steel! you were part of a strike-a-light and produced fire. Now turn into a river of fire from earth to heaven, from east to west.” Then she threw the steel back over her shoulder, and it turned into a river of fire, from earth to heaven, from east to west. Chu’mo came to that river and tried to cross it, but he was confused by the fire and perished there. „Ah,” he called after the sisters, „you ran away from me; but nevertheless my mother will catch you.” The sisters were hurrying on. All the reindeer fell and perished from exhaustion. The sisters sped onward on foot. At last they came to a river. It was quite deep, and there was no ford, so that they could not cross it. On the other side of the river sat an old woman scraping a skin. “Oh, grandmother! help us to cross the river!” “Ah, you dogs! cross it by your own skill.” “O grandmother! we cannot. Do help us!” The old woman stretched one of her legs across the river like a bridge, and they crossed over on it. „Where do you come from?” asked the old woman. „We ran away from Chu’mo. He wanted to eat us, but we burned him in a river of fire.” — „O, you dogs! Chu’mo is my only son. I shall punish you for it.” So she locked them in an empty storehouse, and hurried to help Chu’mo.

[After this follows the well-known episode detailing how the Fox saved the girls from the She-Monster, leaving in their stead clothes filled with twigs and ashes to be swallowed by the Monster. The narrator, however, declared that she had forgotten the details, and left the tale unfinished.]

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Yukaghir tale

A man and his wife announce their daughter’s name will secure her a husband, but it remains a secret until a weary servant unwittingly reveals it to a hareskin-clad Monster. The Monster marries the girl, taking her to his eerie underwater home of terrifying beings. She escapes on her winged horse and marries a hunter in a distant land. However, the Monster’s prophecy comes true — he returns after the birth of her three children. Using wit and magic, the woman and her fox ally thwart the Monster’s attempts to destroy them. The fox cleverly disposes of the Monster’s weapons, while the husband and the winged horse ultimately defeat him. The family moves to a safer land, ensuring a new beginning.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: The daughter’s name is kept secret, and the revelation of this hidden truth sets the events of the story in motion.

Trials and Tribulations: The daughter faces numerous challenges, including her abduction, escape, and the Monster’s subsequent return, testing her resilience and resourcefulness.

Cunning and Deception: The daughter and her fox ally employ wit and cleverness to thwart the Monster’s attempts to destroy them, showcasing the use of deception to achieve their goals.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Nicholas Kusakoff, a Russian creole, in the village of Pokhotsk in the Kolyma country, summer of 1895.

There lived a man with his wife. They had a daughter. The name of this daughter was kept secret. The father announced that whoever should guess her name should have her for a wife. There came traders and hunters and all kinds of able young men, but nobody could guess her name.

The couple had only a single female servant. The suitors were too many, and the housework was too hard for her. The servant had to fetch water, chop wood, and cook food. She had no rest at all. She toiled and toiled. One time she went to an ice hole to draw water, feeling wearied and unhappy. She wept and a tear fell into the water. At the same time she whispered to herself: “What is her name? They cannot guess it. Her name is, Kutika Mutika.” All of a sudden some air bubbles danced on the water; and a Monster appeared from the ice hole, clad in hareskin.

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So the Monster inquired, “What was it you whispered when crying over the ice hole?” At first the girl refused to answer; but after a while she said, “It is so and so. I feel wearied almost to death. And what is in her name, that they cannot guess it? Her name is simply Kutika Mutika.” The monster jumped out of the water and rushed off, so that the ice resounded. He came to the house of the girl. All the people laughed at him, “This ugly old man also wants to guess her name.” He hopped around on one leg, and said, “Her name is Spoon, her name is Ladle, her name is Big Fork, her name is Kettle-Hook.” Then suddenly he said, “Her name is Kutika Mutika.” All the people jumped up in wonder. The old father slapped himself on the mouth with the palm of his hand. The other suitors from mere shame and anger, left immediately without waiting for dinner to be served. The old Monster remained there. The next morning they were married. The father of the girl was wealthy and generous. He had a winged horse with a natural saddle and a natural bridle. He gave this horse to his daughter as her dowry, so she mounted it. The Monster held the halter of silk, and led the way down the river directly through the ice hole. He went down, and she followed him. They descended into the river and found a trail. They followed it for a long time. At last the girl said, “O, old man! I feel hungry and thirsty. Is it still far to your houses?” — “Why,” said the Monster, “Look there! Our houses are there.” She looked, and saw a number of large bunches of grass which were standing like so many houses. From under every bunch smoke ascended. He took her to the largest of the bunches and helped her down from her horse. All kinds of monsters jumped out from under the grass. One had no trunk of the body, another was without a nose, a third even without a face. Last of all there jumped out a one-eyed old woman clad in hareskin. She hopped about on one leg, and cried, “Oh, oh! he has brought a reindeer and a doe withal.” The young woman was frightened, so she cut the halter of the horse. The horse immediately flew up. It bolted through the ice-hole back to earth. It did not go back to the house of the bride’s father, however, but flew on steadily. The old Monster followed it, running below. After a long time the Monster was left behind. Then he shouted with all his might, “Mind, woman! You will marry somebody else, and you will have three children by him. The first one shall be a boy, and the second a girl, and the third again a boy. Bear in mind that then I shall come to you again!”

She wandered on, and came to a wild country unknown to any one. There she married a man, who was a mighty hunter. Not a single living thing could escape his skill. They had three children, — a boy and a girl, and again a boy. When the last was still an infant in the cradle, the husband one day said to his wife, “Give me your horse, I want to use it to go hunting.” The woman said, “Take the horse! but be careful when stopping in the woods! Tie it only to an old dry tree. Be sure not to tie it to a green tree.”

He used the horse once, twice, several times. At last one day he went into the woods. About the middle of the day he stopped for dinner, and quite forgot his wife’s warning about tying the horse, and tied it to a green tree.

In the meantime the woman busied herself about the house. She cooked food, then she raked up the burning coals and covered them with ashes, as is customary. The children were playing near the fireplace. All of a sudden something fumed and smouldered among the coals. She thought it was the children’s fault: so she grew angry, and said to the older boy, “Now, just scrape that off with a piece of wood and throw it on the floor!” He scraped it off on to the floor; and, lo! there was the Monster, clad in hareskin, sitting near the fireplace. She was so frightened that she nearly had a fit. Then she came to herself, and said, “I will bring some food from the storehouse.” She went off, and the older boy followed her. The Monster said, “Be quick! Hardly step out of the house, and you are back again!” So she took off one of her boots and squeezed it between the door and the doorpost. They had in the storehouse an old box clamped with twelve iron hoops. The woman said to the box, “You were a box clamped with twelve iron hoops. Now become a raised storehouse with twelve iron supports, and every support as thick as a man can embrace!”

So the box turned into a storehouse raised on twelve supports, each support as thick as a man could embrace. The woman and the boy were on top of the storehouse. Then she shouted, and called for her husband; but he was so far away, he could hardly hear her voice. When he heard it, he ran for the horse; but the horse had been left in the woods quite a way behind. The horse also tried to make itself free, but the green tree held it fast, notwithstanding all its efforts. The Monster went out of the house, and saw the iron storehouse. He grew very angry. First of all, he caught two of her children and swallowed them. The girl’s legs just passed through his mouth like a flash. “You also shall not escape,” said he, and began to vomit. After a few efforts he vomited out a large ax and attacked the iron supports. He chopped at them with supernatural force, and big iron splinters flew about. At this time a little She-Fox came and said, “O, granny! you are so tired, let me relieve you and chop a little in your stead!” He gave her the ax. She ran away and threw it into the sea. The monster vomited again and threw up a hatchet. With this he chopped at the supports with greater force than before. The Fox thought a little, then she wallowed in white clay and turned white, just like an arctic fox. She came to the Monster, and said again, “O granny! you are so tired, let me work in your stead for a while!” — “And who are you?” asked the Monster. “Methinks you are the same fox.” — “Oh, no!” said the Fox, “don’t you see! I am an arctic fox.” He gave her the hatchet, and the Fox threw it into the sea. The Monster vomited again and threw out a large lance. With this he chopped at the iron supports harder than ever. Eleven supports were cut down. Only the last was left, and the storehouse swayed to and fro upon its base. Then the winged horse with a last effort uprooted green tree and ran home. It rushed straight to the storehouse and with the iron hoofs it broke the Monster’s back. Then the husband also came home. He cut up the Monster and chopped its body into small pieces. He put what remained on a leather sledge cover and dragged it toward the sea. Then he threw all the remnants of the Monster’s body into the sea. After that they left, and wandered to another country. They lived there and had more children.

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Yukaghir tale

An old man feigns death to secretly eat an elk he had hidden. After being caught by his wife, who uses a ptarmigan to attack him, he returns home and confesses. The old woman scolds him, ensuring he shares the elk with her. Reunited, they resume their life together, learning the value of honesty and sharing.

Source
Tales of Yukaghir, Lamut, and Russianized Natives of Eastern Siberia
by Waldemar Bogoras
The American Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Papers, Vol. 20, Part 1
New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: Both the old man’s ruse and the old woman’s clever use of the ptarmigan to expose his deceit highlight the use of wit and trickery.

Moral Lessons: The story imparts the value of honesty and the importance of sharing within a family.

Retribution and Justice: The old woman’s actions serve as a form of retribution, ensuring that the old man faces consequences for his selfishness.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Yukaghir people

Told by Katherine Rumiantzev, a Russianized Yukaghir woman, in the village of Pokhotsk, in the Kolyma country, summer of 1896.

There once lived an old man and his wife. They had an only son. They lived together for a long time. One day the old man came home from the woods and said to his wife, “O wife! I am going to die tomorrow morning. Here in the neighborhood is a small abandoned hut. Put my body there; and take with it a kettle and an ax, a strike-a-light, and some food.” The next morning the old man was as if dead. The old woman cried over him; then she put his body, with everything required, upon a sledge, and hauled it to the funeral place. The boy went along, and helped his mother haul it. On the way they came to a brook. The old woman pulled across it with all her might, and at last broke wind. The old man giggled. The boy noticed it, and said, “There, mother, father is laughing!” The old woman grew very angry and struck the boy. “He is dead. How could he laugh?” They continued hauling the sledge, and after a while they came to another brook. Again the old woman pulled with great force and broke wind.

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The old man giggled again; and the boy said, “See here! father is laughing.” She struck him again. “Why, you liar! our father is dead.” They came to the abandoned hut, and put the old man inside. They shut the door and went away. After a few days the boy passed by the house, and he saw smoke ascending from the chimney-hole. He ran to his mother. “Mother, come! There is smoke over that hut.” She went, and saw the smoke. Then she approached with great caution and looked in. The old man was making a fire. He was cooking some fat meat over the fire. Before he feigned death he had killed a big fat elk, and had hidden it in the hut; and he now was eating it all alone. The old woman went home and said to the boy, “Go and set some snares for ptarmigan. I want some ptarmigan.” The boy set his snares and caught a ptarmigan and brought it to his mother alive. The old woman took the ptarmigan and plucked it well, leaving only the wings. Then she spoke to the ptarmigan as follows: “O ptarmigan! you have wings, and your talons are sharp and pointed. Now fly off to my old man, enter his hut through the chimney hole, and scratch his body with your sharp talons. Draw blood from his body with your talons.” The ptarmigan flew to the hut, and dropped into it through the chimney hole. It attacked the old man and lacerated his body with its sharp talons. The old man was much frightened. He left the hut and ran home to his old woman. He came to the house, but the door was shut tight. He said in the Yukaghir language, “Oh, there, old woman! Open the door!” — “Why should I open it? You are not my old man. My old man is dead.” — “No,” said he, “I am really your old man.” — “How can that be? From which world, then, did you come, — from this one, or from the other one?” — “So help me God! I am really your old man.” She opened the door and then snatched the poker and beat him on the head. “Mind you do not eat alone without your old woman!” The old woman swore that he should never do that again. He brought home the elk carcass, and they continued to live together.

That is all.

Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page