The North American Raven

The north

American Raven

Hero, Trickster, Shapeshifter

Start

index

7.Sitka Translation Pt.2

8. Sitka Translation Pt.3

9. Wrangell Translation

10. Wrangell Translation Pt.2

1. Cover page

11. Wrangell Translation Pt.3

2. Index

12. Conclusion

3. Intro

13. Speaker Notes Pt.1

4. Intro Pt.2

14. Speaker Notes Pt.2

5. Intro Pt.3

15. Speaker Notes Pt.3 &4

6. Sitka Translation

The North American Raven

The Raven is one of many trickster god beings seen in world mythologies but the Native American view of the Raven wasn't as a supreme diety unlike other cultures. The raven bridges between realms specifically the human world and animal kingdom. He is seen as a rauceous tricker who pulls devious pranks to get what he wants but also is a huge benefactor to humans.

intro 2

Raven is a being that has been around since the beginning of time. In Native American mythology his origin is unknown. Raven plays a major role in the formation of the world and surrounding heavenly bodies. He brings light to the world which is similar to Prometheus but he has similar characteristcs to Hermes and Loki. Raven is soley motivated by his own appetites and desires and uses is shapeshifting and trasnforming abilities to get what he wants.

intro 3

In Native American tradtion only high-caste people know the full story of the Raven.The Raven was an important figure in thier belief system and traditonal practices. Different native peoples had serval names for raven such as "He-Whose-Voice-Is-Obeyed", "Great Inventor" and "Chief". The Sitka and the Wrangell peoples in Alaska have given stories of the raven that were translated to english but they differ slightly.

Sitka peoples tell that...The Raven was first called " Kit ka'ostiyi-qa-yit" Raven was the son of Kit ka'ostiyi-qa, and his father trained him in all of his ways. At first there was no light in the world, a very rich man lived with his daughter and they kept day-light all to themselves. As a plan to steal day-light, Raven shapedshifted into a grain of dirt and placed himself in a cup of water that the daughter was drinking. Due to swallowing Raven she became pregant and eventually gave birth to a son, who was Raven shape shifted as a child...

Raven in sitka tradition

Raven was born onto a bed of moss and quickly grew of age to be able to play with items around the house.

Raven saw the " bag of stars" so he cried until he was handed the bag to play with. He then released all of the stars into the sky.

Raven next saw the moon. So he cried until he was handed the moon to play with. Then he released the moon.

Raven lastly saw " the box that held daylight" and did the same scheme to steal daylight from the house.

Sitka translation finale

Petrel caught him in the smoke hole and lit a fire underneath him. This turned his feathers black as we know it to be today. Raven was a origonally white colored. Using the Everlasting Spring he stole, Raven created all of the rivers in Northern America and using sand Raven created islands in the nearby oceans. Lastly, in a conflict with Native peoples, Raven unleased the box of daylight which turned people wearing animal furs into the animals that they were wearing. Because of the Raven we have the world we see today. The stars are in the same places they were when Raven released them and we no longer live in darkness because of the Raven's trickster ways.

After stealing the stars, moon and sun from the house. He revealed himself to be the Raven and flew away from the house.Raven then flew to Petrel, a man known to have an everlasting spring. Raven shape shifted into a human and tricked the man into leaving the spirng alone. Once Petrel left his gaurd, Raven changed back into a bird, drank from the spring and attempted to fly away through a smoke hole.

the wrangell translations

After Raven was born he was given title of head man over the world by Heron. After Heron's and Raven's creation, humans were made but they lived in darkness and because of this Raven felt bad for them. He devised a plan and shapeshifted into a hemlock needle and floated in Nas-ca'ki-yel's daughters water, and when she drank the water she became pregnant. After Raven was born he consipired to steal the moon, stars and the power of daylight from Nas-ca'ki-yel and he did so just as told in the Sitka translation.

The Wrangell translations are similar to the Sitka peoples but differ slightly.In the beginning there was no daylight and the world lay in blackness. The first of all beings, Nas-ca'ki-yel created the Heron as a very tall and wise man and second he created the Raven who was just as wise. It is said that Raven's mother was Nas-ca'ki-yel's sister. Raven's mother had many failed attempts for children before Heron and she concieved Raven by Herons instruction of consuming a rock. Due to this Ravens orginal name was Itca'k! ( Very Hard Rock) and because of his conception this way he became strong and immortal like a rock

Wrangell translation cont.

After Raven freed the moon, stars and daylight, anyone wearing animal furs as clothing became those animals due to the power Raven unleashed. thus, this connected the humans and animal realm. After this Raven serached for Petrel, The first made created by Nas-ca'ki-yel as it was said he had an everylasting spring.

Wrangell Translation finale

Same at the Sitka translation, Raven stole a mouth full of the everlasting spring and he used this to create all of the great rivers in the world. After many of the Ravens creations he taught man how to create fire, had an influnce on the belief in witchcraft and was a representation of the connection between animals and humans spiritually.

Conclusion

Throughout both traslations we can see how the Raven was a creature respected in Native American mythology as they prasie him for the creation of our very world. The Raven is a symbol for the connection between human and animals and also is a trickster deity that benefits humans though his own selfish desires.

Thank you for reading!

Speaker Notes: hero Raven is a raucous trickster who pulls outrageous pranks to get what he wants. At the same time, he is also a creator and provider who gives humans what they need and teaches them both practical and moral lessons. As a benefactor of humans, he reinforces the notion that humans are responsible for what happens to their world. Importance of human and nature relationship Humans and animals are related and all have spirits Native Americans don’t believe in a single supreme deity although there is a hierarchy of importance Also in North Eastern Asia . Raven always existed, but he was born of a virgin whom he tricked into eating a seed. He also shares the godlike attribute of the creator. Raven created land by dropping grains of sand into the sea, and he caused different types of animals to come into being. He does not take part in the activities of the group, but instead, often prevents those activities to get what he wants. For example, Raven behaves as a child might to get his grandfather to give him the boxes containing the sun and the moon: he cries. In another story, he lies to Petrel to get him to leave his house so that Raven can drink all of his water. (For a discussion of liminality, see Ch. 28, pp. 510–12.) Raven is, like many tricksters, often motivated by his appetites and desires. For example, in the tales recounted in this chapter, Raven brings light and fire to the world for all humans. Although Raven has brought good things to earth, his actions are ultimately the result of his wanting to get something for himself, not for mankind. Shape shifter- child, dirt Transformer- is able to create land masses and rivers. Created rivers by stealing water from Petrel and spitting it out as he flies. Created islands by dropping sand over the ocean as he flies. Raven is one of the most important figures in the belief system of the native peoples of the Northwest Coast. They give him prestigious names like “He-Whose-Voice-Is-Obeyed'' in Haida and “Great Inventor " and""Chief " in Kwakiutl. Raven is also one of the most frequently used motifs in Northwest Coast native artwork.

Speaker Notes: Raven Myth Recorded in English at Sitka No one really knows the Ravens origin Raven was first called Kit ka’ositiyi-qa-yit (Son of Kit-ka’ositiyi-qa). When his son was born, Kit-ka’ositiyi-qa tried to instruct him and train him in every way and, after he grew up, told him he would give him strength to make a world. After trying in all sorts of ways Raven finally succeeded. Then there was no light in this world but it was told to him that far up the Nass was a large house in which someone kept light just for himself. Raven thought over all kinds of plans for getting this light into the world and finally he hit on a good one. The rich man living there had a daughter, and he thought, “I will make myself very small and drop into the water in the form of a small piece of dirt.” The girl swallowed this dirt and became pregnant. When her time was completed, they made a hole for her, as was customary, in which she was to bring forth, and lined it with rich furs of all sorts. But the child did not wish to be born on those fine things. Then the raven was born onto moss “ bag of stars' ' Raven cried until he was given the bag of stars. Then he played with the bag of stars and let it go up through the smoke hole and the stars spread out amongst the sky. He did the same thing with the moon He lastly did the same thing with “ the box that held daylight” the grandfather grieved as he gave the baby the box because that was his prize possession but after the baby had the box in his possession he cried out a raven cry “ Ga” and flew out of the smoke hole stealing the last possession of the grandfather. Petrel ( Ganu’k) had an everlasting spring of water. The raven tricked him by making him think he shit himself, by spreading dog poop on his clothes while the petrel was in a deep sleep. In the morning the raven pointed out that the petrel had shit himself and the petrel left the spring to go change and during it the raven drank from the spring and said his raven cry “ Ga” and then flew away. Petrel caught him in the smoke hole with his spirits and lit a fire underneath him. The raven was once white before the smoke from the fire colored him black the way he is today. He dropped some water out and made the Nass, did the same thing and made the Stikine. The Taku river, Chilkat and the Alsek and all other rivers. Small drops made salmon creeks Then raven asked a large town to take him across a river bank. They refused to take him over the river bank and in his frustration he opened the box of daylight fully freeing the sun to the sky and the people that were wearing the animal skins, bears, otters, seals and all other animals became those animals in reality.

Speaker Notes:Raven myth Recorded in English at Wrangell In olden times only high-caste people know the story of raven properly because they were the only ones with the time to learn it. At the beginning of things there was no daylight and the world lay in blackness. Then there lived in a house at the head of Nass river a being called Raven-at-the-Head-of-the-Nass (Nas-ca’ki-yel), the principal deity to whom the Tlingit formerly prayed but whom no one had seen; and in his house were all kinds of things including sun, moon, stars, and daylight. He was addressed in prayers as Axcagu’n, or Axkinaye’gi, My Creator, and Wayigena’lxe, Invisible-Rich-Man. With him were two old men called Old-Man-Who Foresees-All-Troubles-in-the-World and He-Who-Knows-Everything-that-Happens. Under the earth was a third old person, Old-Woman-Underneath, placed under the world by Nas-ca’ki-yel. Nas-ca’ki-yel was unmarried and lived alone with these two old men, and yet he had a daughter, a thing no one is able to explain. Nor do people know what this daughter was. The two old persons took care of her like servants, and especially they always looked into the water before she drank to see that it was perfectly clean. First of all beings Nas-ca’ki-yel created the Heron as a very tall and very wise man and after him the Raven, who was also a very good and very wise man at that time Ravens mom-According to some, this woman was Nas-ca’ki-yel’s sister and it was Nas-ca’ki-yel who was doing this because he did not wish her to have any male children. Ravens conception- , “What is it that you are crying about all the time?” She answered, “I am always losing my children. I cannot bring them up.” Then he said, “Go down on the beach when the tide is lowest, get a small, smooth stone, and put it into the fi re. When it is red hot, swallow it. Do not be afraid.” She said, “All right.” Then she followed Heron’s directions and gave birth to Raven. Therefore Raven’s name was really Itca’k!, the name of a very hard rock, and he was hence called Ta’qlik!-ie (Hammer-Father). This is why Raven was so tough and could not easily be killed. Raven was made head man over the world by Heron Then Nas-ca’ki-yel made some people. All of the beings Nas-ca’ki-yel had created, however, existed in darkness, and this exis tence lasted for a long time, how long is unknown. But Raven felt very sorry for the few people in darkness and, at last, he said to himself, “If I were only the son of Nas-ca’ki-yel I could do almost anything.’’ So he studied what he should do and decided upon a plan. He made himself very small, turned himself into a hemlock needle, and fl oated upon the water Nas-ca’ki-yel’s daughter was about to drink. Then she swallowed it and soon after became pregnant.

Speaker Notes: Then Nas-ca’ki-yel instructed them to get moss for his daughter to lie upon, and on that the child was born. They named him Nas-ca’ki-yel also. Then Nas-ca’ki-yel cut a basket in two and used half of it for a cradle, and he said that people would do the same thing in future times, so they have since referred its use to him. , “We are unfortunate in not having been made from a rock. Being made from a leaf, we must die.” Nas-ca’ki-yel also said, “After people die, if they are not witches, and do not lie or steal, there is a good place for them to go to.” Wicked people are to be dogs and such low animals hereafter. The place for good people is above, and, when one comes up there, he is asked, “What were you killed for?” or “What was your life in the world?” The place he went to was governed by his reply. So people used to say to their children, “Do not lie. Do not steal. For the Maker (Nas-ca’ki-yel) will see you.” Because Nas-ca’ki-yel got it into his mind to wish for daylight in the world, he had wished for a grandchild through whom it might come. Now, therefore, although he knew what answer he would receive, he sent for Liu’wat-uwadji’gi-can and questioned him to see whether he would answer right: “Where did this child come from? Who is it? Can you tell?” And the other said, “His eyes look like the eyes of Raven.” That’s how he came to get the name Raven. Raven cried for the moon ad the stars and let them free from the house like the previous interpretation Then Raven shouted to the fi shermen, “Why do you make so much noise? If you make so much noise I will break daylight on you.” Eight canoe loads of people were fi shing there. But they answered, “You are not Nas-ca’ki-yel. How can you have the daylight?” and the noise continued. Then Raven opened the box a little and light shot over the world When this daylight burst upon the people they were very much frightened, and some ran into the water, some into the woods. Those that had hair-seal or fur-seal skins for clothing ran into the water and became hair seals and fur seals. Hair seal and fur seal were formerly only the names of the clothing they had. Those who had skins called marten skins, black-bear skins, grizzly-bear skins, etc., ran into the woods and turned into such animals. Petrel (Ganu’k) was one of the fi rst persons created by Nas-ca’ki-yel. The spring he owned was on a rocky island outside of Kuiu, called Deki’-nu (Fort-far-out), where the well may still be seen. Raven stole a great mouthful of this water and dropped it here and there as he went along. This is the origin of the great rivers of the world, the Nass, Skeena, Stikine, Chilkat, and others. Raven also tied up some witches, and so it was through him that the people believed in witchcraft. Then he told the people that some wild animals were to be their friends (i.e., their crest animals) to which they were to talk. After this Raven saw a fi re far out at sea. Tying a piece of pitchwood to a chicken hawk’s bill, he told him to go out to this fi re, touch it with the pitchwood, and bring it back. When he had brought it to him Raven put it into the rock and the red cedar saying, “This is how you are to get your fi re, from this rock and this red cedar,” and that is the way they formerly did. Thus Raven (Yel) went about among the natives of Alaska telling them what to do, but Nas-ca’ki-yel they never saw. Raven showed all the Tlingit what to do for a living, but he did not get to be such a high person as Nas-ca’ki-yel, and he taught the people much foolishness.

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