A Story As Sharp As a Knife:
The Classical Haida Mythtellers and Their World
Which i believe contains a more lively translation of the first telling that follows; it might have both of these, translated with a more modern understanding of the dialogue.
"It accomplishes nothing to ask the poem to come to us. We must try to make the pilgrimage to the poem." -Robert Bringhurst
I've corrected what looked like obvious scanner errors & left the rest. John Swanton is the guy who recorded the stories c. 1900.
"It accomplishes nothing to ask the poem to come to us. We must try to make the pilgrimage to the poem." -Robert Bringhurst
I've corrected what looked like obvious scanner errors & left the rest. John Swanton is the guy who recorded the stories c. 1900.
[SWANTON] HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTH p.271
HOW SOMETHING PULLED A ROW OF EAGLES INTO THE WATER
[Told by the chief of Kloo, of ThoHe-boni-Ht-Skedanfi]
There lay the town of Skedans. The nephew of the town chief there sat around whittling. He came to have many boxes of arrows. And one day he put shavings into the fire in front of his uncle's wife. Then and there she propositioned him by flashing.
Then he looked on as they were gambling. His uncle also sat there. By and by a flicker came flying about. It showed red when it spread it’s wings. Then he said “Just now I saw something in the house exactly like that," whereupon his uncle became ashamed.
Then his uncle had a block of cedar cut out, and they shaped it like a canoe. Then they scraped off some pitch, put it into the cedar, warmed it, and made him sit on it. Then they went out with him to the open sea and put him in it. He was crying. He cried himself to sleep.
Night and day the wind blew from the ocean. After he had floated for a time he floated ashore at Broken-shells-of-the-supernatural-beings.* Then he put his back to the sunshine, and the heat melted him off.
Now he rose and came to a town. And at evening he peered into the houses. After he had looked about for a while he looked into the chiefs house and [saw] a woman sitting between the screens which pointed toward each other. She was pretty. He looked in at her.
And, when they all were gone to bed, he went in to her. And the woman asked him: "Who are you? My father keeps me for him alone whom his uncle had taken toward the open sea." And he said to her: "I am he." Then she let him lie with her. While he was lying with her, her father overheard.
Next day her father said: “Come! let us see who was talking with my child." Then he said: "I wonder what supernatural being got in that way. I was keeping my daughter for him whom they said his uncle had carried toward the open sea."
-"It is he, father, he says."
-"Come down to the fire with your husband, child." Then she went down with him, and his father-in-law gave him food.
And, after he had stayed with her for a while, he told his wife that he wanted to see his uncle's town. Then his wife told her father.
And he told his son-in-law to bring him a box which was near the wall. And, when he brought it over to him, he took four out of it in succession, and began pulling from the inmost the feather clothing of an eagle. Then he gave him one among them in which fine black feathers were mixed with white.
Then he went outside, put it on (lit., went into it), and flew up to a high frame in front of the house. He flew easily. Then he flew down. Soon he looked down upon his uncle's town. Then he sat at Skedans point. He looked from where he sat at his uncle's town.
By and by some children came to him. And the children shot up at him with blunt arrows. But every time they shot at him he sat lower down. In the inside of [the skin] he made himself small. He changed himself many times in a way his father-in-law had given him directions. For that purpose he had given him one all of fine feathers.
Presently the boys were forbidden to shoot, and the grown people began shooting at him. Every time they shot at him he came lower. When a big crowd was about him, he seized one person by the top of his head {This is Jeff: I’m compelled to mention; in Bringhurst’s “A Story as Sharp as a Knife” this “top of his head” is likely translated as “overgrown topknot”, referring to long hair on the “town mother” or Chief, the protagonist’s uncle.} And, when he flew up with him, some one else seized his feet. When he also went up another seized his feet. In the same way they all seized one another's feet until he flew up with the whole town. Then he flew seaward with them and let them fall there. They became islands. The town of Skedans became empty. Then he flew up.
And all the time he was at this town they entered their feather clothing just before daybreak and sat in line upon a kind of pole, which was in front of the town. After they had discussed the place they should go to they flew away. In the evening they flew back. They returned with all kinds of things. They took whale tails, white porpoises, porpoises; and halibut, red cod, spring salmon — everything one can think of.
One time he told his wife he wanted to go out for food with them. He wanted to go for the things they brought in. Then his father-in-law again gave him a [skin]. He gave him one that belonged to a young person. Then he put it on, flew seaward with them, and caught spring salmon. His father-in-law was pleased with him.
And at daybreak his father-in-law warned him. He told him not to touch a thing which stuck out of the water at Skedans point. And one day, when he flew out with them, he looked at a whale, thought it easy, and seized it in his talons. He did not feel it. At that time his father-in-law was still more pleased with him.
And when day broke he told him all the places upon this island where they get things. Then he sat with them in front of the house, and even to the south end of the island the things under the waters, fish and sea mammals,* were plainly visible to him.
One day he flew downward and nearly touched the thing sticking out. And, when he did the same thing again, he siezed it. He flapped his wings to pull it up. It acted like a solid object and nearly carried him under the water. Another took hold of the end of his wing. He, too, was drawn under, and another seized his wing. As soon as they saw him they flew toward him from the south end of the island and from the north end of the island. All flew about above him. They also saw him from the town. The first were drawn in. They were nearly all pulled in one after the other, holding each other's wings, when the town people, too, came flying thither. Those, too, were at once drawn in.
Then his father-in-law and his wife dressed themselves. And, when those also were almost drawn under, and his wife was nearly drawn under with them, his wife's grandmother also dressed herself. She sharpened her claws which were dull. At the same time she said: '”Ha-i ha-i, what things happen by means of the claws of my child's husband, ha-i ha-i." She was very old, they say.
By and by she flew out and seized her. After she had flapped her wings for a while she saw one coming up. As she saw another one come up something cracked at the bottom of the island. Then she pulled them out. The thing came up with them. That was Greatest-clam (stAn),*^ they say.
Then the town was restored. And he again began getting food for his father-in-law as formerly. But Skedans continued to lie empty.
That is why the same thing keeps happening to it, they say.*
[Another version of this story, obtained by Prof. Franz Boas from Charlie Edenshaw, chief of the StA'stas, a prominent Masset family.]
At Laltg'iwas,^ near Skida'ns, lived a chief and his sister, who had a son. This young man loved the chief’s wife. When the chief discovered this he became jealous and thought of killing his nephew.
He sent his slaves to fetch gum. The slaves went and bought a canoe load of gum, which the chief boiled. Then he covered the board which covers the bow of the canoe with the gum. After this was done he sent his slaves to shoot eagles, and he spread the down over the gum so as to make it invisible. After he had thus prepared his canoe he called his nephew. His slaves went into his house to call him. He obeyed their summons, and went to his uncle's house, who requested him to go out to sea, hunting. The young man took his quiver, which contained two bows and many arrows. The young man asked his uncle: “What kind of a blanket shall I wear when I go hunting?” Then the chief gave him two marten blankets. He continued: “What kind of ear ornament shall I wear when I go hunting?” His uncle gave him ear ornaments made of caribou skin
(t^^'EniiCjal = caribou).
When the weather was clear and calm he started hunting seals (xot).
Before they started the chief said to his slaves: “When he harpoons a seal push him so that he will fall on the board in the bow of the canoe. He will stick to it, and then throw him overboard.” They went out to sea, and, when the young man was about to harpoon a seal, the slave pushed him so that he fell down on the board. He was unable to free himself because the gum was holding him. Then the slaves took the board, threw it overboard, and returned home. They said that the young man had fallen overboard and that they had been unable to save him. Then all the people were sad.
The young man drifted about on the sea, and the wind drifted the board ashore near a town. He crawled up toward the houses, but, when the sun was shining warmly, the gum softened, and he was able to free himself. He dried his blankets in the warm sunshine.
Now he heard two women singing. Their voices were very beautiful. After a while they approached him. They were very beautiful. They addressed him, saying: “We know that your uncle is jealous of you, and therefore he ordered his slaves to throw you into the sea. Accompany us to our father’s country. It is not far from here. We will look after you." Then he accompanied them, and soon they arrived at a large town. One of the girls was the chief's daughter, while the other one was her slave. She was the daughter of the Eagle.
Now they entered the chiefs house. He was offered a seat and was given to eat. The chief was glad to see him. The girls mother, whose name was G.otso'na, was very old. She was quite bald. Early every morning the Eagles went out hunting whales. When they returned they gave the whales to the old woman. One day the youth desired to accompany the hunters. He said to his wife: “Tell your father that I wish to see how he hunts whales.” The young woman told her father, who replied: "Here is an eagle skin. Give it to your husband." He put it on and flew out with the Eagles. Before he started, the old woman warned him, saying: “Don't try to catch a clam. Its head looks just like that of a sea otter. A long time ago one of our hunters tried to catch it, and it drowned him. For this reason we are afraid of it.”
They went out to sea and saw many whales. The young man caught one. He did not find it difficult to lift it. The eagle skin which he had on was one the chief had used when he was a young man. For that reason it made him very strong. In the evening they returned, and he gave his whale to the old woman. He was so eager to go out again whaling that he was unable to sleep. Early next morning he started and continued to catch whales. Thus he continued to do for many years. The old woman warned him frequently, saying: “Don't try to catch that small black animal whose head looks like that of a sea otter.”
One morning, when he started, he thought: “To-day I shall try to catch two whales, one in each hand." When he saw two whales he swooped down and took one in each talon. He did not find them too heavy and carried them home. He gave them to the old woman.
When he found that he was strong enough to lift two whales, he thought he would be able to conquer the animal of which the old woman had warned him. He started early in the morning, and, as soon as he saw the clam, he swooped down on it and succeeded in lifting it. But soon he felt his strength leaving him, and he began to sink down lower and lower. Now the clam had dragged him down to the surface of the water.
Then one of the Eagles came to his assistance. He took hold of his wings and tried to pull him up, but in vain. The clam pulled him down. Another Eagle came to their help, but they were unable to overcome the clam. All the whale hunters came to their assistance, but all of them were dragged down under the water.
Now only one of the Eagles was left. He returned home and told the old woman what had happened. Then she said: “Ngai,ngai,ngai!" She sharpened her nails and put on her skin, which looked very old and ragged. Now she was an old Eagle, who had lost many feathers. She flew out to sea, and sang: "Why did my son-in-law disobey me? Ngai, ngai, ngai!" When she came to the place where the clam had drowned the Eagles, she saw the wings of one Eagle only above the surface of the water. She took hold of them and tried to lift them. She was almost dragged under water; but gradually she began to rise. She tried three times. The fourth time she succeeded in raising the Eagle. Again she sang: "Why did my son-in-law disobey me? Ngai, ngai, ngai!"
Then she heard a noise under water, “Ox!" Then she lifted all the Eagles, and took them back home.
Now the young man resolved to take revenge on the people who had killed him. He put on his eagle skin and flew to his uncle's village. There he alight on the top of a tree. When the people saw him they attempted to shoot him, because they were desirous of obtaining the Eagle's feathers for winging their arrows; but they were unable to hit him. Now his uncle's son attempted to shoot him. At once he swooped down, grasped him, and carried him upward. One of the men of the village tried to hold the boy, but he also was lifted upward; and thus he raised all the men of the village. He carried them but to sea and dropped them into the water, where they were drowned.
The young man continued to live there for many years, but finally he became homesick. He did not laugh and stayed at home all the time. Then the old woman asked her daughter: “Why is your husband sad?” His wife replied: “He wishes to return to his uncle's village." Then the old woman gave him the skin of the bird t'En. [It has a red throat, and is eaten by the whites].* He put it on and flew back. The village was entirely deserted, because he had killed all the people. Only his two younger sisters remained, who had been hidden at the time of his former visit. They were crying all the time. When they saw the bird they made a noose of their own hair, and he allowed himself to be caught.
* See the story of Stone-ribs.
* So as not to be hurt by the arrows.
' See the story of Upward, note 35.
* The distinction shows that Haida zoology was fairly well advanced in at least one respect.
* Identified by Doctor Newcombe, of Victoria, as Tresus Xuttalli, Conv.
*That is, Skedans continues to be occupied and abandoned alternately.
' La^llglx.iwas, another name for Many-ledges.
*The western robin; see the story of Raven traveling, note 97.
