Tsufa’

Two young hunters encounter a powerful Tsufa’ spirit: one is trapped to die, the other befriended and carried away. The giant effortlessly slaughters beavers and elks, then kills his own wife in a gruesome episode, before crafting a magical cedar staff to guide the young man home. After arduous wanderings, the hunter returns, marries, and only two years later does the staff’s breaking reveal the Tsufa’s death.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The Tsufa’ is a giant spirit whose otherworldly powers and interactions with mortals drive the narrative.

Sacred Objects: The yellow-cedar staff serves as a mystical guide, pointing the way and symbolizing the bond between the young man and the Tsufa’.

Prophecy and Fate: The staff’s eventual breaking foretells the death of the Tsufa’, underscoring the inescapable workings of destiny.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time two young men went hunting porcupines. They found a den under a rock, and one of them crawled in. While they were there a Tsufa’ came, and when the young man saw him he called his companion, shouting: “A Tsufa’ is coming.” But the Tsufa’ did not kill the young man. He pitied him and made friends with him. In vain he tried to induce the young man who had crawled into the cave to come out, promising to adopt him and help him in all his undertakings. He would not come. Finally the Tsufa’ grew angry, and defecated in front of the entrance to the den, thus imprisoning the young man. He left him to perish in the cave. He placed the other one on his head and carried him to his home. When the two young men were missed by their friends and parents, the people set out to find them, but a fresh snow had covered their tracks as well as those of the Tsufa’.

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The giant reached a frozen lake in which there were a great many beaver dams. There he stopped. With his hands he scooped up the beaver dams and shook them, so that all the beavers dropped out. Then he killed them by filliping them. He singed them over a fire, and ate them when they were done. A beaver was just a mouthful for him. The young man ate part of one beaver only. After he had eaten, the Tsufa’ lay down. He had discovered a number of elks browsing beyond a small hill. He stretched his hand over the hill, and in it caught three elks, which he squeezed to death. Then he broke off dry limbs of trees, and made a large fire, at which he roasted the elks. When they were done he began to eat. For him an elk was just two mouthfuls. On the following day he travelled on. He came to another lake, where he found cariboos. These the Tsufa’ killed.

Deinde progressi, ad magnum domicilium pervenerunt, ubi habitabat Tsufae occisi uxor. Dux, cum in possessionem siccatae carnis omnis invasisset, quae ibi condita esset, adulescenti “Cuba quaeso,” inquit, “cum hac muliere.” Is primum timuit; mox autem ill! cohortanti paruit abiitque ex oculis in mulieris vaginam. Quae cum a Tsufa magna voce obsecraretur ne filium ipsius necaret, e strato ex-siluit atque se excussit donee adulescens ad humum delapsus est. Turn vero Tsufa ipse cum ea cubuit. Mentulam autem suam propter incredibilem longitudinem ita ferebat ut corpus ejus bis amplexa per adversum tergum atque etiam super humerum porrecta esset. Itaque mulierem, cum hac transfigeret ut extrema pars ex ore ejus exstaret, interfecit. [Then they advanced and came to a large house where the wife of the murderer Tsufa lived. The chief, taking possession of all the dried flesh that was stored there, said to the young man, “Lay, I beg you,” “with this woman.” At first he was afraid; but soon he obeyed her urging and penetrated the woman. When Tsufa begged her with a loud voice not to kill her son, she jumped out of bed and shook herself until the young man fell to the ground. Then Tsufa himself lay down with her. But because of its incredible length, he carried his cock in such a way that it hugged his body twice, stretched across his back and even over his shoulder. So he killed the woman by piercing it with it so that the tip protruded from her mouth.]

Finally the young man longed to return to his own country. The Tsufa’ made a staff of yellow cedar, which was to show him the way. Whenever he put it into the ground it would turn the way the young man had to go. He also told him that the staff would break in twain as soon as he died. Then they parted. The young man followed the direction the staff was pointing, and after long wanderings reached his home. There he married. He placed this staff under a tree. After two years the staff broke, and he knew that his friend was dead.

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The Flood

A man, his wife, and mother-in-law fled rising floodwaters by ascending a mountain. As waters continued to rise, they placed their children into hollowed trees sealed with pitch. After the flood receded, the children emerged, found the land covered in seaweed, and struggled to survive. Eventually, they became the ancestors of the Ts’ets’a’ut people.

► Themes of the story

Sacrifice: The parents’ decision to place their children in hollowed trees, sacrificing their own lives to ensure their offspring’s survival.

Mythical Creatures: The mention of eagle and wolf clans may symbolize totemic or ancestral connections to these creatures.

Sacred Objects: The hollowed trees serve as protective vessels, almost sacred in their role of preserving life during the flood.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tsetsaut Lore

Learn more about the Tsetsaut people

Once upon a time a man, his wife, and his mother-in-law went up the mountains to hunt marmots. When they had reached the higher parts of a hill, they saw the waters rising. They climbed higher and higher, but the waters rose steadily. All the people fled up the mountains. Finally, when the water was about to reach them, they resolved to inclose their children in hollow trees, hoping that there they might be safe until the waters would retreat. They hollowed out two trees, in one of which they placed the children of the eagle clan, while in the other one they placed the children of the wolf clan. They gave them an ample supply of food, and then closed up the trees with wooden covers, which they caulked with pitch. The water continued to rise, and all the people were drowned.

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The children who were inclosed in the trees heard the waves breaking in the branches and felt the swaying of the trees. Finally, the trees were entirely covered by water. After a few days the water began to retreat. Again the trees were swaying. The children heard the waves breaking, first in the highest branches, then farther down, and finally everything was quiet. They went to sleep, and when they awoke one of the boys opened the hole. They saw that the water had disappeared, but the branches were still dripping. The ground was wet and soggy, and everything was covered with seaweeds. Then the children came forth from the trees, but the ground was so wet that they were unable to start a fire, so that many died of cold. Finally the ground dried up. They made a fire, which they fed with their supplies of mountain-goat tallow. They married, and became the ancestors of the Ts’ets’a’ut.

A description of primitive life

The narrative discusses the challenging existence of the Beaver Indians before contact with white settlers. They relied on snares, bows, and arrows for hunting, and crafted tools from natural materials like moose horn and beaver teeth due to the absence of iron. Fire was made by striking stones together, and shelters were constructed manually. Food scarcity often led to near-starvation conditions, highlighting their resilience in a harsh environment.

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

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The Dane-zaa people’s struggle against natural forces to secure food and resources.

Cultural Heroes: The reference to “the one who made this world” suggests foundational figures or deities influencing their way of life.

Sacred Objects: The use of specific tools and methods, such as beaver teeth and moose horn chisels, which may hold cultural significance.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

Formerly, before white people were known, they were living in a miserable way. They were making their living with snares and bows and arrows. They used a piece of horn to chisel for beaver, and it was a very miserable way. There was no iron at that time, and the beaver chisels were made of moose horn. That they might see the beaver under the ice, they made shovels of wood to remove the snow. When they had no iron, they used beaver teeth [The teeth were left attached to the jawbone. Petitot has a story of a giant who had the teeth of a giant beaver for a knife.] The one who made this world told us it would be that way. They made fire by rubbing two stones together with dry grass rubbed fine for tinder. They made their houses and firewood with their hands.

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They made knives by rubbing stones sharp, with which they cut the meat they ate.

They say that living that way the people were near starvation. They were close to dead people, living that way. When they had no meat in their bellies, they used to put pine brush under their belts. There was nothing inside of them, and the brush enabled them to breathe without bending.

When, at first, they were living with snares, they used to put trees in a row, leaving a passageway between. When the moose passed along there, they were caught in the snares. When they had no combs they made combs of pine-brush.

The potency of war songs

A war party sought enemies but found none. They sang war songs, which revealed the presence of the Cree. After testing their strength by uprooting large stones—leaving handprints still visible—they attacked at dawn, annihilating their foes. This story underscores the believed power of war songs and rituals in summoning adversaries and ensuring victory.

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

► Themes of the story

War and Peace: The central focus is on the planned attack and ensuing battle between the two groups.

Magic and Enchantment: The act of singing to summon or locate the enemy suggests a belief in the magical power of war songs.

Sacred Objects: The large stones, which retained the handprints of the warriors, may hold symbolic or mystical significance.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

This was told in response to a question about a stone that used to be by the ford at Haliska, west of Vermilion. It is the common belief that if this stone is moved from its place it’ returns of itself. The informant said a half-breed once threw it into the creek, but when he next passed it was back in its place. When the informant was asked where it is now, he said it was near Peace River where a half-breed had carried it. He gave as his opinion that the stone had been so long unused that no life was now in it.

Once when breechcloths of skin were still worn, a party of Indians went to war. They failed to find the enemy they were after and therefore could not accomplish their purpose.

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They began to sing for the Cree and then they saw them. They started for the place where the Cree were, but when they came near, decided to postpone the attack until the next morning. While they were waiting they tried their power by lifting out large stones. [Two stones were pulled out of the ground by the competing men. The stronger (in magic) pulled out the larger.] The prints of their hands can still be seen where they took hold of the rock. They made the attack and killed them all, leaving not one of them living.

The hunting fetish

A hunter, weakened by starvation, struggled as moose consistently evaded him. He possessed a small moose figurine, believed to be part of his own flesh, gifted by a moose to bring good luck. Despite using this charm, the moose remained elusive. In despair, he buried the figurine in the snow and succumbed to hunger. It’s believed he offended the moose, leading to his demise.

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

► Themes of the story

Divine Punishment: The man’s death is a consequence of angering the moose, suggesting retribution from a higher power.

Sacred Objects: The moose figurine serves as a powerful artifact with mystical significance in hunting.

Conflict with Nature: The man’s struggle against natural forces, represented by the elusive moose, leads to his starvation.

► From the same Region or People

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

Learn more about the Dane-zaa people

A man was starving and it seemed he could not live. He was dying of hunger because the moose detected his presence before he could get up to them. They knew he was a powerful man. He was so weak he could not walk very far.

He came where there were some moose but before he could shoot them they rushed off. He had a little moose, an image, that used to sit on him. He pulled that out and waved it in front of the moose, but they took no notice of it and continued to run off. He put the little moose under the snow and himself died immediately.

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The little moose was the same as his own flesh. They say he was using it to hunt with at the time when people were hunting with arrows. Because a moose liked the man it took out its own little one and put it in the man’s body and that gave him good luck. He must have angered the moose and because of that he died of hunger. They say that was the way it happened. [The last paragraph was obtained in response to a question as to the meaning of the story.]

Ede’khuwe

In this tale, young women mark caribou with strings and ear cuts to recognize them later. The following year, the caribou don’t return, leading to starvation. A man discovers the marked caribou preventing others from returning. He removes the strings and leads a young deer back, with its mother and the herd following, restoring the caribou to his people.

Source:
Chipewyan Tales
by Robert Harry Lowie
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 3
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Cultural Heroes: Ede’khuwe emerges as a hero who undertakes a journey to find and bring back the caribou, ensuring the survival of his people.

Harmony with Nature: The story underscores the importance of living in harmony with nature and respecting wildlife, as the community’s initial disrespect leads to ecological imbalance.

Sacred Objects: The caribou hold a significant place in the community’s life, and their departure and return are central to the narrative.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

The meaning of this name is “Worms-in-his-horns”

Formerly the Indians would play with caribou, making them stand quiet by patting them. Some silly girls once said, “Let us mark some of them.” So they took some string from the back of their hair, tied it around the deer’s necks and cut their ears. “We’ll know these deer when they come next year.” In the fall the deer returned to the Barren Grounds. Next year there were no deer. The people began to starve. One man said, “I’ll see whether I can’t find them.” He kept on traveling until he reached a big body of water. On the sea there was a dead calm. He saw deer swimming, many of them with strings around their necks and with marked ears. These would not let the others return to the Indian country, but drove them back. The hero went to the deer and cut off the strings from their necks. He seized one little deer and led it off towards his people. Its mother followed. Then all the other deer also followed. They got to a big mountain. The Indians were on the other side and perceived Ede’khuwe with something beside him. After feeding, he sent the little deer to the Indians, and all the others started in the same direction. Without Ede’khuwe no more caribou would have been seen in this country.

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Betsune-Yenecan

An old woman discovers a tiny, talking baby in the forest and raises him. When hunters deny the child a specific deer part, he vows to make them starve. He ensures his uncles’ prosperity while others face scarcity. Guiding his grandmother, he provides abundant food through his unique abilities, showcasing themes of respect and the consequences of underestimating others.

Source:
Chipewyan Tales
by Robert Harry Lowie
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 3
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: Betsune-Yenecan faces disrespect from the hunters, leading him to assert his power and teach them a lesson, reflecting a challenge to established authority.

Sacred Objects: The use of hooks and other items in the story may hold symbolic significance, representing tools that bridge the natural and supernatural realms.

Moral Lessons: The narrative imparts lessons on respect and the consequences of underestimating others, emphasizing the importance of humility and reverence for all beings.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

The meaning of the name is “His-grandmother-raised-him”

Many Indians were camping together. One evening they heard a little baby crying in the brush. A number of young girls ran thither, but as they approached the noise ceased. Not long after, the crying was heard again. This occurred three times. The fourth time an old woman went to see what was the matter. Again she heard the sound as if it came from directly in front of her. She found some deer dung. Scratching it up, she found a baby about eight inches long. She picked it up, and it began speaking to her. The old woman had sons who had gone off hunting. When they returned, the baby asked one of them for the front leg of the smallest deer slain by them. It was given to him, and he fed on that. Another time they killed plenty of deer. Betsune-yenecan again requested his grandmother to ask for the leg of the smallest deer, but the men refused, saying they wanted it for their own children, and offered him some other part.

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When the old woman returned without the leg, Betsune-yenecan was very angry. “Because I am small they insult me, but I will make them starve.” The other people heard what he said and were angry. They said, “We’ll see whether the little boy can make us starve.” They went away. The grandmother stayed with the child.

Betsune-yenecan told the old woman to cut plenty of pine branches, to put the ends in the fireplace of each abandoned lodge, and to let him know as soon as the tips of the sticks were burnt. After a while she called him. In his uncles’ lodges the sticks were burnt in deer hoof shape, in the other lodges they were burnt round (?). “This means that my uncles will always have deer, while the other people will starve.” He started off with his grandmother, who was afraid of starving. Betsune-yenecan said to her. “There need be no fear of starvation, just do as I tell you.” She carried him on her back. They got to a muddy little lake. “Stop and fish here,” he said. “Why, there is nothing here but worms.” “Take me down and I’ll drop my hooks.” Some animal with a white covering came to the hook. It was a gigantic jackfish. Then Betsune-yenecan told her to lower the hook, and she caught a black trout. “That’s enough,” said the boy, “there won’t be any more now. Build a brush lodge here, dry the fish, make grease, and we’ll camp here.” The old woman did as she was bidden. Betsune-yenecan went out. She thought he was only playing, but at noon he was not yet back. She saw his snowshoe tracks leading to the brush. Then she began to bemoan his loss and was afraid that all alone she should starve. But in the evening she heard a noise, and he came in covered with ice. “I think, you have fallen into the ice.” “No, take off my belt.” Inside his coat there were plenty of deer tongue tips. He had killed the deer by biting off the tips of their tongues, and what seemed to be ice on him was only the foam from their mouths. The next morning he said, “Let us go where I have killed the deer. The first one we see you will dry and pound for me; gather the grease but don’t eat any yourself.” It was a little bit of a deer, which was lying on the lake. Betsune-yenecan bade his grandmother build a shelter. She dried the deer meat, of which they had plenty.

Then the boy went to see his uncles. He got to where they were, but concealed himself. By a lake he saw their hooks set for jackfish. He took off his snowshoes, turned himself into a deer, and scratched around near the hooks. Only his two uncles were alive, subsisting on fish and bear meat; the other Indians had perished. They noticed the deer. “It is odd that that little deer is continually scratching around where our hooks are.” Then one of them said, “That was a queer boy that our mother found; perhaps he is a medicine-man and has turned into a deer to laugh at us. We had better track him.” They got to a clump of pines; there the deer tracks ceased, and snowshoe tracks began. The men followed them until they got to a lake, where they saw a spruce tree lodge. They found their mother having plenty of meat and fat. The little fellow was there, so small that he could hardly be seen. After the arrival of her sons, the old woman soon fell sick and died. The boy turned into a deer again and disappeared towards the Barren Grounds. Before leaving he said, “As long as you and your children live, you will always tell a tale about me.”

The boy who became strong

A young boy discovers a bi-colored ribbon, which, against his mother’s advice, he ties around his waist. This grants him immense strength, enabling feats like uprooting large trees. He and his mother encounter man-eating giants; the mother marries one, while the boy lives independently, instilling fear in the giants due to his power. When his mother falls ill, he embarks on perilous journeys to retrieve healing items, battling formidable adversaries to restore her health.

Source:
Chipewyan Texts
by Pliny Earle Goddard
The American Museum of Natural History – Anthropological Papers
Volume X, Part 1
New York, 1912

► Themes of the story

Quest: He embarks on journeys to obtain items like special berries and water to heal his ailing mother, facing formidable adversaries along the way.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative includes encounters with man-eating giants and a mean man with a huge iron cane, highlighting interactions with otherworldly entities.

Sacred Objects: The bi-colored ribbon serves as a powerful artifact that bestows strength upon the boy, playing a crucial role in his transformation.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Chipewyan Lore

Learn more about the Chipewyan people

In the beginning a woman was walking along with her boy. They came where a bi-colored ribbon lay on a tree. “I am going to take it,” the boy said to his mother. “No, you must not,” she told him, “it belongs to someone.”

When they had walked on a little way the boy asked his mother to go on ahead as he wished privacy for a moment. When she was out of sight he hurried back, took the ribbon, cut off a piece two yards long and tied it around his waist.

Because of that ribbon he became very strong so that he was able to tear up even large trees by the roots. His mother who did not know the source of his strength wondered how he could do this.

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They went along in this manner until they came where two man-eating giants lived. There was much human flesh hanging in the house. When they went in the boy was not afraid of the giants but looked around at everything in the house. “Feed us,” said one of the giants to the boy. He took up a knife as if he were about to kill him, but the boy was not frightened. He began to handle all the implements [very heavy ones, of course, since they belonged to giants] and then the giants began to be afraid and let him alone. The mother married one of the giants, but the boy lived by himself near by. He stayed there a long time making. all sorts of things and the giants were afraid of him because he was so strong.

After a time his mother became sick. When she had been ill some time and it seemed she could not live the boy came to her and said, “Mother what can I do so that you may live?” The mother replied, “Way over there are many good berries. If I could eat them I might live.” “Then I will get them for you,” the boy replied. He started out, and when he had gone many miles found some good berries which he thought must be the ones his mother meant. He found one hundred large panthers guarding them. The panthers were all asleep and he stepped along among the sloughs until he came within a mile w hen one of the panthers woke. “A boy is stealing our berries,” he called to the others. Then the boy seized one of the panthers and with it as a club killed all the others. Taking the berries, he went back to his mother who recovered after having eaten them. The boy lived outside as he had done before.

After a long time his mother fell sick again. She lost flesh so that it seemed she could not live. The boy came to his mother again and asked her what had happened. “Son, I shall not live,” she replied. “Mother, what can I do that you may live?” he asked her. “Way over there is some water which smells a little. If you could bring me some of that I might live,” she told him. He started after it and found water that smelled a little hanging in the top of a tree near a house which was standing there. The boy began to climb after it, but when he was half way up a mean man came out of the house. “Boy, you will die. You are stealing my water,” he said. He was carrying a huge iron cane. The boy came down the tree, took the cane from him and struck him on the crown of his head with it, killing him. He then went in the house and looked all around. When he went upstairs he saw a young woman sitting there. “Why do you sit here?” he asked. “A mean man stole me, and I had a child for him long ago,” she replied. “Well, go to your home wherever it is. I have killed the man who held you a prisoner. Do not be afraid,” he told her. He took some of the water and carried it back to his mother. He gave her some of it and she recovered. The boy lived outside as before.

Again after a long time the boy’s mother was dangerously sick. The boy said, “Mother, what is the one thing I can do so that you may live?” “My son, it is something difficult,” she said. “I must know what is the source of your strength, on that condition only may I live.” “Then you are planning my death,” replied the boy. “I took that ribbon which we passed long ago and tied it around me. I am strong by means of that.” He gave the ribbon to his mother saying, “Now do whatever you intend.” When the woman had tied the ribbon around her waist she became strong. “My son, let us walk over there,” she proposed to her son. She began to pull up trees, even large ones. They came to a very large spruce. “Climb this one,” she said to the boy. The boy began climbing it with his mother behind him. She pricked his eyes out and left him.

The boy, blind and helpless, started off alone. He soon heard a sledge coming, drawn by dogs. He could hear the bells and knew someone was approaching. When they came up to him, one of the men said, “This is the sort we are looking for. We are taking the unfortunate with us.” They brought him to the settlement and gave him into the care of an old man. This old man, who was cook for the big chief, loved the boy. He lived with him a long time.

This big chief, for whom the old man was cook, sent out invitations to bring about the marriage of his daughters. The men were to gather and the daughters were to make their own selections. On the day the selections were to be made, the old man who was the cook said to the blind young man, “My grandchild, let us go over there where the chief’s daughters are to be married and see the people.” “Grandfather,” the young man replied, “it is no use for me to go. I cannot see anything and the people will just make fun of me.” “Oh, that does not matter,” said the old man, “we will go anyway.” The young man finally consented and the old man led him to the house and gave him a seat on the floor just inside the door.

They found the house already full. There were many minor chiefs there. The big chief had three daughters two of whom had already chosen rich men for their husbands. The remaining daughter chose the blind young man. She was the girl he had rescued many years before when his mother had sent him for the water. When he killed the mean man and sent her home, she had made a vow that if she ever saw him again she would marry him. As soon as he came into the house she recognized him. Her father was very angry and said, “My daughter, because you have chosen to marry a blind man I will not keep you. Go away from me today somewhere where I will never see you again.” Then he gave her much money and provided her with a large boat and servants.

They went away in the boat. The young man was not happy although he was married, for he thought she had taken him because he was unfortunate and she pitied him, but his wife loved him to the limit of her ability and kissed him. When it was noon and they were stopping to eat she proposed to her blind husband that while the servants were making tea they should go to a neighboring hill. “No,” the young man said, “you are only planning to take me there to desert me. I will not walk with you.” “Oh, no,” his wife replied, “I have loved you for a long time because you saved my life. It is only on that account I wish to lead you there.” “Well,” consented the blind man, “Lead me there.” They started up the hill and soon came to a large lake. A large moose was approaching feeling its way along as if searching for something. “A blind moose is coming this way,” said the wife to her husband. “It acts as if it were searching for something.” “Let us watch it,” said the man. When the moose came to the water it waded in, put its head under water and held it there some time. When it raised its head, it looked about. It put its head down again and held it under the water. When it raised its head its eyes were all right again. Then the woman said, “The moose put its head in the water and its eyes became good again. You do that.” “I will not do it,” replied the man. “It is because you wish me to drown you say that.” “No,” said the woman, “the moose’s eyes are certainly good. You do that too, and the same thing will happen to you.” “Well, I will do it,” he said. The woman lead him to the lake. When he had held his head in the water some time he raised it again, “Well, your eyes seem a little improved,” his wife said. “You look like a small woman,” he told her. “Well, do it again,” she advised him. He put his head in the water again. When he’ raised his head he said, “I can certainly see.”

Then they went back to their servants. The young man said, “I will go where my mother is.” He started toward his mother’s house accompanied by the servants but without his wife. When he came near to the place where he used to live he went close and saw that the ribbon was indeed lying there. At night they went into the house. He took the ribbon and tied it on again. The next night when the sun had set he went there again and killed his mother and his two fathers.

Then he went again to his wife and they returned to her father’s house. When they came there his father-in-law saw his eyes were good again. He welcomed him gladly, and urged him to live with him and promised he should have all he possessed. The young man did so and became a great chief. [The translation of the last two paragraphs is quite uncertain.]

The grand-daughter and the beads

An old woman and her granddaughter lived together, fishing year-round. One day, the girl discovered beads at an abandoned village site, which her grandmother identified as belonging to the girl’s grandfather. After adorning her granddaughter with the beads, the grandmother instructed her to offer them to a man who approached, saying “U’kgo yu’go.” The man accepted the beads and, in return, provided them with a sled full of provisions, enriching their lives.

Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914

► Themes of the story

Ancestral Spirits: The discovery of the ornament from the ancestral village connects the girl and her grandmother to their forebears, highlighting the influence of ancestors on the present.

Sacred Objects: The ornament (beads) holds significant value, serving as a link to their heritage and playing a crucial role in the narrative.

Echoes of the Past: The remnants of the old village and the ancestral beads influence the present, demonstrating how past events and objects can shape current realities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Koyukon Lore

Learn more about Koyukon people

There was an old woman who had a grandchild, a girl; and they lived together, and fished in front of their house, the year round. There they lived. They had a fine place. The girl grew to be quite large, and worked with her grandmother. She was old enough to work, and her grandmother was grateful. Now, there came a time when her grandmother said, “My grandchild, go and look down the river!” So she went down the river from the house. There she walked along the bank; and there she saw where houses had been, no one knows how long since. She went down where it appeared that a house had been. She took a little stick and went poking around with it. “What’s this?” thought she, and she was glad. She ran back to her grandmother. She ran into the house.

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“Grandma,” she said, “how pretty this is!” “Why, why!” she said. “Why, my grandchild!” she said, “that was where your grandfather’s village was long ago. It used to be his,” she said. Then she bathed her, and combed her hair, and dressed her in fine clothes, and that bright ornament hung upon her hair. “My grandchild,” she said, “go get some water.” So she took her pails and went to the water-hole. She dipped one full of water and the other half full, when she thought she heard something. She listened, and (it was) some one coming from below. She took a good look.

There was a big sled with dogs, — three of them. (The man) stopped in front of her and spoke, and said, “U’kgo yu’go.” But the girl did not understand him, and he went away, and she took up her pails and went up. She went in to her grandmother. “Grandma,” she said, “a man came to me with a big sled and dogs, and said, ‘U’kgo yu’go’ to me.” And her grandmother said, “Why, why! It is the beads only that he was saying that he wanted. My grandchild,” she said, “go take off the curtain. Let’s make the fire!” she said. So she went out and took off the curtain. She threw down the wood and made the fire, and her grandmother put on the pot, and they put their meal into it and cooked it; and the poor old woman said, “Come, my grandchild! that’s all, put on the curtain.” So she put on the curtain, and they ate their meal and went to bed. They woke up in the morning; and the grandmother said, “My grandchild, go and get some more water. Now, if you see a man, if he says ‘U’kgo yu’go’ to you, give him (the beads).” She went to the waterhole, and saw the man again. He came up to her, and his sled was full of things; and the man spoke, and said, “U’kgo yu’go.” She gave him (the beads), and he ran off. The girl ran up to her grandmother. “Grandma,” said she, “hurry!” And they took the sled up, and put the contents into the house, — oil and fat; and they became rich. She was glad, that poor old grandmother, because she was thankful. And there they lived.

Raven and his eye

Raven removes one of his eyes and places it atop his canoe to serve as a lookout while he gathers materials in the woods. Hearing his eye call out, he returns to find it missing. Unable to locate it, he returns to the forest.

Source:
Ten’a Texts and Tales
(from Anvik, Alaska)
by John W. Chapman
The American Ethnological Society
Publications, Volume 6 (ed. Franz Boas)
E.J. Brill, Leyden, 1914

► Themes of the story

Trickster: The Raven is often portrayed as a cunning figure in various mythologies, using wit to navigate situations.

Sacred Objects: The Raven’s eye can be considered a sacred object, imbued with special significance and power.

Conflict with Nature: The Raven’s journey into the woods and his interactions with the natural environment highlight a relationship with nature.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Koyukon Lore

Learn more about Koyukon people

A Raven was paddling along in his canoe at the edge of the river, and he thought to himself, “I must get some fish-trap sticks!” So he went to the shore, and got out on the beach. Then he took out one of his eyes and put it on top of his canoe, and said to it, “If you see any one coming, you must call me, and I will come to you.” Then he went up into the woods to find some fish-trap sticks, and began to cut them, when he heard his eye calling him. He ran out of the woods; and when he came to the place where he had left his eye, it was gone. He could not find it anywhere, so he ran back to the woods.

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