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Miss Judson has collected these myths and legends from many printed sources. She disclaims originality, but she has rendered a service that will be appreciated by the many who have sought in vain for legends of the Indians. There is an agreeable surprise in store for any lover of folk-lore who will read these books. Contents: Preface The Raven Myth The Flood The Origin Of The Tides How The Rivers Were Formed The Origin Of Fire Duration Of Winter Raven's Feast Creation Of The Porcupine How Raven Taught The Chilkats Raven's Marriage Raven And The Seals Raven And Pitch Raven's Dancing Blanket Raven And The Gulls The Land Otter Raven And Coot Raven And Marmot The Bringing Of The Light By Raven Daylight On The Nass River The Naming Of The Birds The Origin Of The Winds Duration Of Life Ghost Town How Raven Stole The Lake The Killer Whale Origin Of The Chilkat Blanket Origin Of Land And People Creation Of The World Origin Of Mankind The First Woman The First Tears Origin Of The Winds Origin Of The Wind North Wind East Wind And North Wind Creation Of The Killer Whale Future Life The Land Of The Dead The Ghost Land The Sky Country The Lost Light The Chief In The Moon The Boy In The Moon The Boy In The Moon The Meteor (?) Sleep House Cradle Song How The Fox Became Red Beaver And Porcupine ... and many more ...
ÊLONG ago, even before the days of the animal people, the world was only a great ocean wherein was no land nor any living thing except a great Bird. The Bird, after a long, long time, flew down to the surface of the water and dipped his great black wings into the flood. The earth arose out of the waters. So began the creation. While the land was still soft, the first man burst from the pod of the beach pea and looked out upon the endless plain behind him and the gray salt sea before him. He was the only man. Then Raven appeared to him and the creation of other beings began. Raven made also animals for food and clothing. Later, because the earth plain was so bare, he planted trees and shrubs and grass and set the green things to growing. With creation by a Great Spirit, there came dangers from evil spirits. Such spirits carried away the sun and moon, and hung them to the rafters of the dome-shaped Alaskan huts. The world became cold and cheerless, and in the Land of Darkness white skins became blackened by contact with the darkness. So it became necessary to search for the sun and hang it again in the dome-shaped sky above them. Darkness in the Land of Long Night was the cause, through magic, of the bitter winds of winterÑwinds which came down from the North, bringing with them ice and cold and snow. This was the work of some Great Spirit which had loosened the side of the gray cloud-tent under which they lived, letting in the bitter winds of another world. Spirits blow the mists over the cold north sea so that canoes lose sight of their home-land. Spirits also drive the ice floes, with their fishermen, far over the horizon of ocean, into the still colder North. Spirits govern the run of the salmon, the catching of whales, and all the life of the people of the North who wage such a terrific struggle for existence. So there must needs be those who have power over the evil spirits, those who by incantations and charms of magic, by ceremonial dancing in symbolic dress, can control the designs of those who work ever against these children of the North. Thus there arose the shamans with all their ceremonies. The myths in this volume are authentic. The original collections were made by government ethnologists, by whose permission this compilation is made. And no effort has been made, in the telling of them, to change them from the terse directness of the natives. The language of all Indian tribes is very simple, and to the extent that an effort is made to put myths and legends into more polished form, to that extent is their authenticity impaired. Only the quaintest and purest of the myths have been selected. Many Alaskan myths are very long and tiresome, rambling from one subject to another, besides revealing low moral conditions. These have been omitted, as have also those which deal with the intermarriage of men and birds, and men and animals. Such myths are better left among government documents where they can be readily consulted by those making a special study of the subject. They are hardly suitable for any collection intended for general reading. The leading myth of the North, however, the Raven Myth, is given with a fair degree of completeness. It would not be possible, nor would it be wise, to attempt a compilation of all the fragments of this extensive myth.
A collection of twenty myths from the Eyak, Tsimshian, Haida, & Tlingit Peoples of southeast Alaska. Each chapter includes an introduction & the book is illustrated throughout. These narratives keenly capture the mystical world of Alaska Native Legend--a world in which the supernatural is natural. To order contact SALMON RUN, P.O. Box 231081, Anchorage, AK 99523, (907) 561-8371, or contact BAKER & TAYLOR, PACIFIC PIPELINE, QUALITY BOOKS, or BODART CO.
Myths & Mysteries of Alaska explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in the Last Frontier's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in Alaska history.
"Mary Beck’s collection of legends from Tlingit and Haida folklore provides an excellent look at not only the mythology but the value and culture of these Southeast Alaska Natives." - Jan O’Meara Homer News Over uncounted generations the Tlingits and Haidas of Southeast Alaska developed a spoken literature as robust and distinctive as their unique graphic art style, and passed it from the old to the young to ensure the continuity of their culture. Even today when the people gather, now under lamplight rather than the flickering glow from the central fire pit, the ancient myths and legends are told and retold, and they still reinforce the unity of the lineage, and clan and the culture. "Mary Beck opens this collection of legends by setting the tradition scene: ‘…It will be a time of feasting, singing, and dancing, of honoring lineages and of telling ancestral stories.’ In this small, beautifully produced volume, enhanced by the wonderful illustrations by Nancy DeWitt, Becks tells nine traditional ancient myths and legends from the oral literature that are authentic for one group or another from this region, including Fog Woman, Volcano Woman, Bear Mother and The Boy Who Fed Eagles." - Bill Hunt Anchorage Daily News