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The '''Raven Tales''' are the group of over 150 stories from Native American Mythology, centering on the creator and [[trickster]] god [[Raven (mythology)|Raven]]. Raven Tales describes the way Raven tricked, to create the world, to find the first human hiding in a clam shell and bring him berries and salmon, as well as to bring light to the world. The Raven Tales remain one of the least known, but greatest oral traditions of Native American cultures. |
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[[File:The Raven Flood Totem. - NARA - 298052.jpg|thumb|The Raven sits on a frog after having rescued children from a flood.]] |
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{{Indigenous Peoples of Canada}} |
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The '''Raven Tales''' are the traditional [[creation stories]] of the [[indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]] primarily in the region of [[Athabaskan_languages|Athabaskan]]. Raven stories exist in nearly all of the tribes throughout the region but are most prominent in the tales of the [[Tlingit]] and [[Tahltan]] people. |
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==The beginning== |
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Although there were many worlds, Raven was born all alone, then one day Raven's father Kitaki told him that one day he would be bigger, older and stronger enough that he could create the world. Raven liked the idea of being the 'Creator of the World'. When he grew older and stronger, he started thinking of the different ideas to create the world, but none seemed to work. |
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Raven is known by many different names by many different tribes and is an important figure amongst written and [[oral history|verbal stories]]. His tales are passed down through the generations of [[storytelling|story tellers]] of each tribe and are of cultural and historical significance. It's important to note that [[Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America|Native myths]] such as the Raven Tales, as opposed to tall tales and little stories for children, are not entertainment and are cultural property of the clan or individual that the story originates from. It is customary that others should not tell stories that are owned by another clan, especially if they do not live in the same area.<ref name=ownership>{{cite web|last1=Giese|first1=Paula|title=Who Owns the Stories — A Letter to Eldrbarry|url=http://www.eldrbarry.net/rabb/rvn/whoowns.htm|accessdate=1 September 2014|year=1996}}</ref> |
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Finally, he gave up the idea and went flying in the wind. Suddenly he saw some dirts and rocks, thereby the idea struck in his mind, that these things could be the foundation of the world, but he could not make it stick together. Over the time he became frustrated and thirsty, thereby he gave up again and went flying in search of the drink. When he saw water, the inspiration struck him again. He brought some water and mix it to make it all stick together. |
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While each tribe's stories of the Raven are different, there are even those that share the same title; certain attributes of Raven remain the same. The Raven is always a [[Legendary creature|magical creature]] able to take the same of human, animal, even inanimate objects. He is a keeper of secrets, and a [[trickster god|trickster]] often focused on satisfying his own [[gluttony]] for whatever he desires. His stories tell of how worldly things came to be or offer suggestion to children on how to behave.<ref name="boas1">{{cite journal |last=Boas |first=Franz |authorlink=Franz Boas |date=October–December 1914 |title=Mythology and Folk-Tales of the North American Indians |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/534740 |journal=[[The Journal of American Folklore]] |publisher=[[American Folklore Society]] |volume=27 |issue=106 |doi=10.2307/534740 |accessdate=1 September 2014}}</ref>{{rp|394-395}} Raven's creative nature shows itself through circumstance rather than intent, through the desire to satisfy his own needs, rather than any [[altruistic]] principles. Raven is both the protagonist among the stories of some tribes, and the antagonist of others. He is a hero and an amusement. |
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After working on it for a long time, he wanted to make it smooth and perfectly round, but he failed again, thereby out of frustration he kicked it as hard as he could. Later after coming out of his frustration, he wanted to work on it a bit more, but when he picked it up again, it already hardened and the world was already created. |
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Tales that feature the Raven as the hero are specific to areas in the north of the continent such as [[Alaska]] and northern [[British Columbia]]<ref>{{cite book | url=http://books.google.com/books?id=iToLLxlIIiQC&pg=PA58 | title=Native American Culture | publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group | author=Kuiper, Kathleen | year=2011 | pages=58 | isbn=1615301380}}</ref> and their peoples,<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|387}} such as the [[Tsimshian]]<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|397}} and the Haida. [[Kutkh|Similar tales]] appear in [[Chukchi people|Chukchi]] cultures in the north-west of Asia and it is probable that they are influenced by Native American stories.<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|383-384}} |
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==Bringing the Light== |
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The [[Haida people|Haida]] tribe credits Raven for discovering the first humans who were hiding in a clam shell; he brought them berries and salmon.{{cn span|date=September 2014|The [[Sioux]] tell of how a [[common raven|white raven]] used to warn [[american bison|buffalo]] of approaching hunters. Eventually an angry shaman caught the bird and threw it into a fire, turning it black.}} |
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At the beginning, the world was in total darkness. Raven the creator of the world vowed that he would bring the light to the world. One day he came to know that only light was hoarded by a mean old Chief who lived with his daughter, and he was not ready to share the light with anyone. So Raven played his trick, he turned himself into cedar leaf and sneakily fluttered into the chief's dwelling. |
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==Common features== |
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When chief's daughter was taking a drink, Raven fluttered into the cup of the drink and the Chief's daughter swallowed him. She immediately became pregnant. Finally chief's daughter gave birth to Raven as the human infant. The chief began to love him a lot and said "Give the baby what it wants". |
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While Raven tales tell the origins of man, they do not address the origins of organized society. In tales which mirror development and organization of Native American societies, the hero is often man himself. Raven tales do not offer a detailed picture about the social relations and realities of Native American tribal life.<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|395-397}} |
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==Traditional myths== |
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Firstly, he asked for the bag that contains stars, the Chief gave him the bag unknowing of his tricks, one day out of excitement he threw the bag up in the sky thereby scattering the stars in the sky. Next he did the same with the bag that contains moon in it. Finally, he asked for the bag that contains Sun in it. The chief gave the bag to him though he said not to untie it. As soon as he got the final bag in his hand, he turned himself into his real Raven form and flew though smokehole in the roof of the house and escaped into the darkness with his stolen treasure. |
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===Aleuts=== |
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{{further|Aleut}} |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "Princess Raven"<ref name=indexoflegends>{{cite web|title=Native American Legends (A-B)|url=http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-AB.html|website=First People, The Legends|accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Raven and His Grandmother"<ref name=aleut-grandmother>{{cite web|title=Raven and His Grandmother|url=http://www.indigenouspeople.net/ravengra.htm|accessdate=5 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Raven's Great Adventure" |
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}} |
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== |
===Athabaskan=== |
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After the [[Great Flood]], world became lifeless. When Raven gazed up and down the beach, he became upset cause there was no one even to play the tricks upon. After searching for some time, Raven began to cry out loud to the empty sky. Before the echo of his cry faded away, he heard a muffled squeak. After searching, initially he found nothing, but later he noticed that the sound was coming from the half buried giant clamshell. When he peered down into the opening of the shell, he saw it was full of tiny creatures '''The Male Humans'''. |
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# "Great Raven Makes The World"<ref name=indexoflegends>{{cite web|title=Native American Legends (A-B)|url=http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-AB.html|website=First People, The Legends|accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Raven Steals The Light"<ref name=athabascan>{{cite web|title=Raven's Athabaskan Tales|url=http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/NPE/CulturalAtlases/Yupiaq/Marshall/raven/athabaskan.html|accessdate=5 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "When Raven Was Killed" |
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# "How Raven Killed The Whale" |
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# "Raven and Mink" |
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# "Raven Lost His Eyes" |
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# "Raven and Goose-Wife" |
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}} |
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===Cahto=== |
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He started enjoying with them, he taught them some of the tricks too, but over the time, it became monotonous for him. He thought, that here was only males, no females, but as he knew that for every creatures there must be both men and women. There must be the females somewhere, thus he started searching the women. After a long search he spotted some giant Chitons clinging to the rocks, when he looked inside, he found the creatures similar to the creatures he found in clamshell, but are more like the Chiton, softer and rounder, in contrast to the hard shell and strong muscles of the clam, '''The Female Humans'''. He brought the men and women together. Over the time they began to produce children and the mankind began to grow. |
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The [[Cahto]] are an [[indigenous Californian]] group of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. The Kato lived farthest south of all the Athapascans in California, occupying Cahto Valley and [[Long Valley Caldera|Long Valley]], and in general the country south of [[Blue Rock Springs Creek|Blue Rock]] and between the headwaters of the two main branches of [[Eel River (California)|Eel River]]. The Kato language is one of four [[Athabascan language|Athabaskan]] languages that were spoken in northwestern California. Most Kato speakers were also bilingual in [[Northern Pomo language|Northern Pomo]]. |
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====Creation story==== |
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The creation story of Raven originates from the Cahto tribe of Native Americans.<ref name=goddard>{{cite journal|last1=Goddard|first1=Pliny Earle|authorlink=Pliny Earle Goddard|author2=Bill Ray|title=Kato texts|journal=Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnography|volume=8|issue=3| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=v8k6AQAAIAAJ|accessdate=24 August 2012|year=1909|publisher=University of California|page=184}}</ref> |
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One version of the Raven creation story begins when Raven was taught by his father, Kit-ka'ositiyi-qa to be a creator, but Raven was unsatisfied with the product. Raven created the world but was unable to give it light or water. On hearing that light could be found hidden in a far off land, Raven decided he would travel there and steal it. When he discovered that dwelling in the house of light was a young woman who lived there with her father, he played the first of many tricks. He turned himself into a small speck of dirt and slipped into her drinking water and was swallowed. This made the daughter pregnant, and she gave birth to an unusual and fussy child who cried demanding to touch one of the bundles which had been stored hanging from the walls. The child was given one of the bags to quiet him, but when tired of playing with it he let it go, and it floated away from him and disappeared through the [[smoke hole]]. Once it reached the sky the bundle came undone and scattered stars across the sky. When the child cried to have it back again he was given the second bundle to play with, and he let it to float away through the hole in the ceiling, and it released the moon. This would happen again with the third and last bundle, which flew away and became sunlight. After Raven's tricks succeeded in bringing all the light to the world, he flew away through the smoke hole.<ref name="thompson1">{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=Stith|title=Tales of the North American Indians|date=1929|publisher=Harvard Univ. Press|location=Cambridge, Mass.|isbn=978-0253200914|edition=3rd pr.|url=http://aren.org/prison/documents/american-indian/1/1.pdf|accessdate=3 September 2014|format=PDF|chapter=1 Mythological Stories}}</ref>{{rp|30}} |
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====Bringing the light====<!-- I think this is where this belongs, but not positive --> |
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At the beginning, the world was in total darkness. Raven the creator of the world vowed that he would bring the light to the world. One day he came to know that only light was hoarded by a mean old Chief who lived with his daughter, and he was not ready to share the light with anyone. So Raven played his trick, he turned himself into cedar leaf and sneakily fluttered into the Chief's dwelling. |
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When the Chief's daughter was taking a drink, Raven fluttered into the cup of the drink and the Chief's daughter swallowed him. She immediately became pregnant. The Chief's daughter gave birth to Raven as a human infant. The Chief began to love him a lot and said "Give the baby what it wants". |
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Firstly, he asked for the bag that contains stars, the Chief gave him the bag unknowing of his tricks, one day out of excitement he threw the bag up in the sky thereby scattering the stars in the sky. Next he did the same with the bag that contains moon in it. Finally, he asked for the bag that contains Sun in it. The Chief gave the bag to him though he said not to untie it. As soon as he got the final bag in his hand, he turned himself into his real Raven form and flew though a smoke-hole in the roof of the house and escaped into the darkness with his stolen treasure. |
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In Northwest coast tales Raven is not motivated by pity for humans. Instead, he follows his own desires and when the Sun is released he uses it to coerce fishermen to give him part of their catch.<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|395}} In a version of this legend, Raven transformed himself into a pine needle which is swallowed by the unmarried daughter of the owner of the box of daylight, who then becomes pregnant and gives birth to Raven in disguise.<ref name="Singer">{{cite web|url=https://www.msu.edu/user/singere/fakelore.html|title=Fakelore, Multiculturalism, and the Ethics of Children's Literature|last=Singer|first=Eliot A.}}</ref> |
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===Coeur d'Alene=== |
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The [[Coeur d'Alene people|Coeur d'Alene]] live in villages along the [[Coeur d'Alene River|Coeur d'Alene]], [[St. Joe River|St. Joe]], [[Clark Fork River|Clark Fork]] and [[Spokane River]]s; as well as sites on the shores of [[Lake Coeur d'Alene]], [[Lake Pend Oreille]] and [[Hayden Lake]], in what is now northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. |
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<!-- list to be expanded --> |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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# "Circling Raven and the Jesuits"<ref name=thompson3>{{cite book|last1=Thompson|first1=edited by M. Terry|last2=Egesdal|first2=Steven M.|title=Salish myths and legends : one people's stories|date=2008|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|location=Lincoln|isbn=9780803210899|url=http://www.gbv.de/dms/sub-hamburg/568571789.pdf|accessdate=5 September 2014|format=PDF}}</ref>{{rp|287}}}} |
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===Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast=== |
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The territories of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast]] comprise coastal areas of the province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Alaska, Washington and Oregon. |
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====Inuit==== |
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The [[Inuit]] are native to the [[Canadian Arctic]] and [[Greenland]]. Among Inuit tradition the owl, fish, and raven are of greatest prominence. Ravens are also common in the artwork of the Inuit and they have several stories that tell of Raven's birth which is often juxtaposed with the owl with whom Raven shared a deep friendship.<ref name="skinner">{{cite journal|title=Inuit Views of Nature|first1=Kelly|last1=Skinner|first2=Laura|last2=Brill|publisher=St. Lawrence University|url=http://www.stlawu.edu/gallery/exhibitions/f/11nipirasait/skinner-brill.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|5}} |
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The [[Eskimo]] say that Raven was born out of the darkness. He was weak and lost. As he began traveling aimlessly experiencing the world, he realized that he was the Raven Father, Creator of All Life. Once he realized who he was, he gathered up his strength and flew out of the darkness to a new place which he called earth, but he was still alone, so he decided to create plants. As he flew around exploring this new world, he came upon a man whom the legend claims was the first of the Eskimo people. Raven fed the man and taught the man to respect the world around him. Soon after, a woman came to be and Raven taught the both of them how to cloth themselves, build shelter, and make canoes to travel the water. As the two bred and spawned children, Raven cared for their children and educated them as he had done before.<ref name="eco"/> |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "Eskimo Story of Owl and Raven"<ref name=indexoflegends>{{cite web|title=Native American Legends (D-H)|url=http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-DH.html|website=First People, The Legends|accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Raven's Great Adventure" |
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# ''Owl Paints the Raven'' by Ningeokuluk Teevee<ref name="skinner"/>{{rp|5}} |
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}} |
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====Cup'ik (Yupik)====<!-- in the ref it mentions Cupik is Eskimo --> |
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Raven is known as Tulukaruq to the [[Yupik people|Yupik]] people and is seen as a culture hero to them who is benevolent and helps the people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yupik Legends|url=http://www.native-languages.org/yupik-legends.htm|accessdate=5 September 2014}}</ref> |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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# "Raven Seeks A Wife" |
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# "Raven and Goose-Wife" |
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# "Ellagpiim Yua" |
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# "Raven's Daughter" |
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# "How The Owl Got Its Grey Spots" |
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}} |
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====Haida==== |
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{{further|Haida mythology}} |
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[[File:Raven and the First Men, left side.jpg|thumb|[[Bill Reid]]'s ''Raven and The First Men'' (1980), [[UBC Museum of Anthropology]], depicts a scene from the Haida creation myth. The Raven represents both the creator and trickster figures, common to many mythologies.]] |
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The [[Haida people|Haida]] people lived in what is now present day [[British Columbia]]. To The Haida, Raven was the Bringer of Light and before Raven the world was nothing more than a gigantic flood. Raven was the Maker of Things, as well as the Transformer, Magician and Healer.<ref name="eco">{{cite web|url=http://www.ravenecoventures.com/aboutstory.php?lang=eng|title=The Story of the Raven|website=Raven Eco Ventures|year=2004}}</ref> Raven was bored of the world being nothing but water and decided to fly as the waters receded. Once Raven became hungry, land was formed so he could land and find food. It was at this point he noticed strange sounds coming from a gigantic clam shell. Confused as to the sound, Raven decided he would begin singing to the clam shell in response to its sound, hoping to calm it with his pleasant sounds. Raven did this because he was a beautiful singer. Finally, a small creature emerged from the clam shell. It had long black hair, a round head, brown smooth skin and two legs like Raven but no feathers. This was the first of the First People.<ref name="kenny">{{cite AV media|medium=Keynote presentation|accessdate=4 Sept 2014|first1=Kenny|last1=Carolyn|date=June 1994|series=Our Legacy: Work and Play|place=Annual conference of the American Association for Music Therapy|title=Connections: Integrating our Work and play|url=https://essexmyth.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/haida-talk.doc|volume=4|number=2|format=DOC}}</ref> <ref name="Bastian2004"/> |
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When he got bored with them, he considered returning them to their shell, but opted instead to find female counterparts of these male beings. The raven found some female humans trapped in a [[chiton]], freed them, and was entertained as the two sexes met and began to interact. The Raven felt responsible and very protective of them, thus many Haida myths and legends often suggest the raven as a provider to mankind and combine the roles of the creator and the trickster.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}{{Repetition-inline|date=September 2014}} |
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There are other versions that tells of a different creation. When the earth was only sky and water with a single reef that rose out of the water where all of the great beings lived with the greatest of them living at the highest point on the reef and the weakest of them living at the bottom. But Raven flew above them all and could never find a place to land. For that reason he decided to travel to the sky country where he met the Chief's daughter who had recently had a child. While it was dark, Raven possessed the baby and intended to take it's place as Raven Child.<ref name="eco"/> |
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=====Sun, Moon and Stars=====<!-- potentially remove this section unless it is significant. the rest of the article is not structured to give individual stories their own section and individual stories are only mentioned if they are significant (e.g. origin/creation stories mostly and even then they are summarized in prose in the main tribe section --> |
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[[File:Newraven.jpg|thumb|right|x275px|Todd Baker: ''Raven Releasing the Sun'']] |
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One ancient story told on [[Haida Gwaii]] tells about how Raven helped to bring the Sun, Moon, Stars, Fresh Water, and Fire to the world:<ref>Clark, Ella E.: ''Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest'', [[University of California Press]], 1953.</ref> |
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{{cquote|Long ago, near the beginning of the world, Gray Eagle was the guardian of the Sun, Moon and Stars, of fresh water, and of fire. Gray Eagle hated people so much that he kept these things hidden. People lived in darkness, without fire and without fresh water. |
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Gray Eagle had a beautiful daughter, and Raven fell in love with her. In the beginning, Raven was a snow-white bird, and as a such, he pleased Gray Eagle's daughter. She invited him to her father's longhouse. |
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When Raven saw the Sun, Moon and stars, and fresh water hanging on the sides of Eagle's lodge, he knew what he should do. He watched for his chance to seize them when no one was looking. He stole all of them, and a brand of fire also, and flew out of the longhouse through the smoke hole. As soon as Raven got outside he hung the Sun up in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far out to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the Sun set, he fastened the Moon up in the sky and hung the stars around in different places. By this new light he kept on flying, carrying with him the fresh water and the brand of fire he had stolen. |
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He flew back over the land. When he had reached the right place, he dropped all the water he had stolen. It fell to the ground and there became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. Then Raven flew on, holding the brand of fire in his bill. The smoke from the fire blew back over his white feathers and made them black. When his bill began to burn, he had to drop the firebrand. It struck rocks and hid itself within them. That is why, if you strike two stones together, sparks of fire will drop out. |
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Raven's feathers never became white again after they were blackened by the smoke from the firebrand. That is why Raven is now a black bird.}} |
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<!-- expand list of Haida stories --> |
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Other Haida stories include: |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "The Coming of the Salmon"<ref name=usforest>{{cite journal|title=Native American Legends|page=3|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_025634.pdf|publisher=US Forest Service, United States|format=PDF}}</ref> |
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# "The Raven and the First Men"<ref name=ubc>{{cite journal|title=First Nations in British Columbia: An Exploration of Cultural Continuity and Change|date=2003|volume=Education Program|issue=Grades 8 to 12|page=8|url=http://www.bestlibrary.org/sc9/files/MOA_Continuity_Change.pdf|accessdate=5 September 2014|publisher=Museum of Anthropology|location=UBC}}</ref> |
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# "The Bear and His Indian Wife" <ref name=ortiz2>{{cite book|last1=Ortiz|first1=selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso|title=American Indian myths and legends|date=1985|publisher=Pantheon Books/Random House|location=New York|isbn=0-394-74018-1|edition=[2nd impr.].|url=http://www.musicoterapias.net/coppermine/albums/Documentos/029_American_Indian_Myths_Legends.pdf}}</ref>{{rp|419}} |
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}} |
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===Heiltsuk (Bella Bella)=== |
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The [[Heiltsuk]] were formerly known as the Bella Bella people and lived along the central coast of British Columbia. To the Bella Bella Raven was known as the Real Chief or He'mask.as. Raven is revered by them as a benevolent figure. He helps people, but he is also a trickster spirit whose unreflected behavior gets him into trouble.<ref>{{cite web|title=Heiltsuk/Bella Bella Legends, Myths, and Stories|url=http://www.native-languages.org/heiltsuk-legends.htm|accessdate=5 September 2014|year=1998}}</ref> |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "The World is Burnt"<ref>{{cite web|title=Heiltsuk/Bella Bella Legends, Myths, and Stories|url=http://www.native-languages.org/heiltsuk-legends.htm|accessdate=5 September 2014|year=1998}}</ref> Raven foretells a world fire |
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}} |
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===Kwakwaka'wakw=== |
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Another story of the Kwakiutl or [[Kwakwaka'wakw]] of [[British Columbia]] who exposed boys' placentas to ravens to encourage future prophetic visions, thereby associating the raven with prophecy, similar to the traditions of [[Scandinavia]].<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://bcribley.buchananschools.com/uploads/8/7/0/4/8704457/___reproductive_physiology_298-312.pdf | title=Reproductive Physiology Lecture Notes | last1=Cribley|first1=Byron | page=310 | publisher=Buchanan High School | location=Buchanan, MI 49107|format=PDF|accessdate=2 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Wakiash and the First Totem Pole"<ref name="ortiz2"/>{{rp|423}} |
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}} |
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===Maidu=== |
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An alternate version of the creation story originates from the [[Maidu]].<ref name="thompson1"/>{{rp|24}} |
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===Miwok=== |
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The [[Miwok]] are segregated into three distinct groups: the [[Coast Miwok]], the [[Lake Miwok]], and the [[Plains and Sierra Miwok|Interior Miwok]] which make up the majority of the overall population. |
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The Miwok territory is defined by the Maidu to their right, the [[Yokuts people|Yokuts]] to the left, and the [[Washoe people|Washoe]] and [[Mono people|Mono]] behind them.<!--as I write this I'm curious.. what does behind them mean (north or south or what) ?--> The Interior Miwok [[Separatism|faction]] live primarily on the western side of the [[Sierra County, California|Sierra]] above the lower [[San Joaquin Valley]]. The Sierra territory of the Miwok extended from the Cosumnesr River on the north to the [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] on the |
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south but the other boundaries that are shared with the Yokuts, [[Wintun people|Wintun]], and Maidu has always been a matter of controversy.<ref name=kroeber>{{cite book|last1=Kroeber|first1=A.L.|title=Handbook of the Indians of California|date=1919|publisher=Dover Publications|location=New York|isbn=9780486233680|edition=[Nachdr.]|url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/kroeber/kroeber.pdf|accessdate=5 September 2014|archiveurl=http://books.google.com/books?id=YDdn0WNMQMYC|archivedate=1976|format=PDF|chapter=Geography}}</ref>{{rp|5}} |
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Amongst the [[Sierra Miwok|Northern Miwok]] of what is now [[Central California]] the story of Raven begins with a world covered in water except for a single mountain top where people had gathered during the flooding of the world. As the waters receded the people tried to come down from the mountain but the land was so soft with mud that those that tried would sink into the ground. Where ever a person sank, a raven would come and stand on that spot. One raven at each hole. Once the ground hardened the raven turned into a person, explaining why Miwok are so dark.p101<ref name="merriam">{{cite journal|title=The Dawn of the World|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|year=1910|last1=Hart|first1=Merriam C|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PSE-AAAAIAAJ|archivedate=30 Aug 2007|oclc=2581152|archiveurl=https://archive.org/details/dawnworldmythsa01merrgoog}}</ref> |
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===Nuu-chah-nulth=== |
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The [[Nuuchahnulth]] are also known commonly as the Nootka. |
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<!-- expand list of Haidu stories --> |
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# "Octopus and Raven"<ref name=deloria>{{cite book|last1=Deloria|first1=told by Joseph Bruchac ; foreword by Vine|last2=Fadden|first2=Jr. ; illustrations by John Kahionhes|last3=Fadden|first3=David Kanietakeron|title=Native American animal stories|date=1992|publisher=Fulcrum Pub.|location=Golden, Colo.|isbn=9781555911270}}</ref>{{rp|39}} |
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}} |
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===Ojibwe=== |
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The [[Ojibwe]] are also known by other names including [[Anishinaabe]] which is the name of their language, [[Odawa]], or [[Algonquian languages|Algonquin]]. |
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The Plains Ojibwa, also known as Bûngi Indians, lived on the [[Long Plain First Nation|Long Plains Reserve]] in Manitoba.<ref name="skinner1">{{cite journal|title=The Cultural Positions of the Plains Ojibway|first1=Alanson|last1=Skinner|pages=314-318|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/659613.pdf|format=PDF|journal=American Anthropologist|series=New Series|volume=16|issue=2|date=Apr-Jun 1914|doi=10.1525/aa.1914.16.2.02a00090|archiveurl=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/aa.1914.16.2.02a00090/abstract|archivedate=28 Oct 2009|publisher=American Anthropological Association}}</ref> |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "Turtle's War-Party"<ref name="skinner2">{{cite journal|title=Plains Ojibwa Tales|journal=The Journal of American Folk-lore|volume=32|first1=Alanson|last1=Skinner|editor=Boas, Franz|publisher=American Folk-lore Society, G.E. Stechert and Co|location=Lancaster, PA|date=1920|doi=10.2307/534982|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/534982.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>{{rp|295-297}} |
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# "The Man and the Ravens"<ref name=ojibwe-manraven>{{cite web|title=The Man and the Ravens|url=http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore108.html|accessdate=5 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=White|first1=Charles Phillip|title=The Man and the Ravens|url=http://www.indians.org/welker/raven1.htm|accessdate=5 September 2014|date=15 Aug 1995}}</ref> |
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}} |
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===Puget Sound region===<!-- section needs expansion and work.. cite needed on paragraph 1 --> |
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Another raven story from the [[Puget Sound]] region describes the "Raven" as having originally lived in the land of spirits (literally ''bird land'') that existed before the world of humans. One day the Raven became so bored with ''bird land'' that he flew away, carrying a stone in his beak. When the Raven became tired of carrying the stone and dropped it, the stone fell into the ocean and expanded until it formed the firmament on which humans now live.{{cn|date=September 2014}} |
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<!-- list needs expansion--> |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "The Legend of Raven"<ref name=muncie>{{cite web|title=Raven Stories|url=http://www.bsu.edu/eft/ancestors/p/teachers/downloads/ravenStories.pdf|publisher=Ball State University|accessdate=5 September 2014|location=Muncie, IN|format=PDF}}</ref> |
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}} |
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===Pima=== |
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The [[Pima people|Pima]] are in Arizona. |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "The Children of Cloud"<ref name=judson>{{cite book|last1=Judson|first1=Katharine Berry|title=Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest|date=1912|publisher=Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co.|edition=2nd Ed.|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/mlcal.txt|accessdate=5 September 2014|format=TXT}}</ref>{{rp|34}} |
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}} |
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===Quileute=== |
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The [[Quileute]] are a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] people in western [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]] state in the United States, currently numbering approximately 2000. Their language belongs to the [[Chimakuan languages|Chimakuan]] family of languages. |
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The native name for Raven among the Quileute is Báyaḳ (''By''-yuhk).<ref name="quileuteschool">{{cite journal|title=Raven Tales:Traditional Quileute Stories of Bayak, the Trickster|last1=Woodruff, Sr|first1=Fred|editor1=Jensen, Vickie|editor2=Powell, Jay|url=http://www.quileutenation.org/images/stories/culture/raventales.pdf|format=PDF|website=Quileute River Classroom|publisher=Quileute Tribal School of the Quileute Nation|location=La Push, Washington}}</ref>{{rp|9}} |
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Quileute Indians were the southern-most Indian tribe along the Pacific Coast whose mythology included several stories of the Raven. Though the Quileute's primary protagonist was not the Raven, but [[Kweeti]], whose stories can be very closely related to similar stories of the [[Tlingit]] involving the Raven.<ref name="quileuteschool"/>{{rp|6}} |
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The Raven, amongst the Quileute people, is used to tell scary stories to children of how Raven's feet {{rp|226}}<ref name="livingston32">{{cite journal|title=The Journal of American Folk-lore|volume=32|first1=Livingston|last1=Farrand|first2=Theresa|last2=Mayer|editor=Boas, Franz|publisher=American Folk-lore Society, G.E. Stechert and Co|location=Lancaster, PA|date=1920|doi=10.2307/534981|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/534981.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>{{rp|259}} look the way they do; others pursued children to be generous rather than selfish, or to be true to themselves and work hard rather than trying to take shortcuts. In their stories Raven is often punished, or must witness suffering by the people whom he cares for as a result of his trickery.<ref name="quileuteschool"/>{{rp|4}} |
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In the Quileute story of Duskeah<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|255}} |
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In the first story of "Kweeti" the story goes "At [[Neah Bay]] he taught them to fish, as all men do. He traversed the whole world." which is compared to the Tlingit story "Raven teaches people their mode of life".<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|252}} |
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Again in the story of the "Kweeti and the Wolves", "Finally, when the wolves had all but caught him, Kweeti urinated and made [[Ozetta Lake]]." which is compared to "Raven Creates Rivers".<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|254}} |
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But in one story, Raven and Kweeti meet and Kweed entertains Raven.<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|259-260}} |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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# "Báyaḳ and Ákil" (Raven and Bear) |
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# "Báyaḳ and K<sup>w</sup>íd" (Raven and Fishduck) |
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# "Báyaḳ and Pák<sup>w</sup>ad" (Raven and Skatefish) |
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# "Báyaḳ and Píxťadax" (Raven and Eagle) |
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# "The Bungling Host"<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|259-261}} |
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# "Duskeah"<ref name="livingston32"/>{{rp|255-256}} |
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# "Raven lights the world: Hungry for clams"<ref name=ortiz>{{cite book|last1=Ortiz|first1=selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso|title=American Indian trickster tales|date=1998|publisher=Penguin Books|location=New York|isbn=0-670-87829-4|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/american-indian-trickster-tales/oclc/605543947|accessdate=5 September 2014}}</ref> |
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}} |
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===Sechelt=== |
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{{further|Sechelt people}} |
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<!-- list to be expanded --> |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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# "The Seal and the Raven"<ref name="thompson3"/>{{rp|200}}}} |
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===Squamish===<!-- section needs more content about the squamish. Hope to get at least 2 more good paragraphs, perhaps a brief summary of their most significant Raven story (most likely to be the creation origin of the world story --> |
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The [[Squamish people|Squamish]] see Raven to be a symbol of their God and even to this day is the subject of preachings.<ref name=unitedchurch>{{cite web|title=God Outside the Lines|url=http://www.squamishunitedchurch.org/pdfs/godoutsidethelines_july_28.pdf|publisher=Squamish United Church|accessdate=5 September 2014|page=1|format=PDF|date=28 July 2013|quote=(2nd Paragraph) Why not think of the Holy Spirit as the legendary Raven, the Trickster, who is always surprising us, turning things upside down, helping us to see in new ways. ..(Last paragraph, page 1) it has encouraged my home congregation ... to portray the Spirit as a great blue heron.}}</ref> |
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<!-- list to be expanded --> |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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# "Raven: The Brave Warrior"<ref name=indexoflegends>{{cite web|title=Native American Legends (P-S)|url=http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-PS.html|website=First People, The Legends|accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "Raven Proposes and is Accepted" |
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# "Raven and the Fish Melt" |
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# "The Mink, the Raven and the Sea Eggs" |
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}} |
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===Tahltan=== |
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Locally among the [[Tahltan]] people, their customs and livelihoods varied widely as they were often widely separated and would have to endure varying conditions depending on their locality.<ref name=sturtevant>{{cite book|last1=editor|first1=William C. Sturtevant, general|title=Handbook of North American Indians|date=1978|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|location=Washington|isbn=9780160045783|page=463|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WOCL_SwWH-sC&pg=PA465|accessdate=3 September 2014}}</ref> In Tahltan culture it was believed that some of their ancestors had knowledge that others did not from times before a great flood.<ref name="teit">{{cite journal|title=Tahltan Tales|journal=The Journal of American Folk-lore|volume=32|first1=James A|last1=Teit|editor=Boas, Franz|publisher=American Folk-lore Society, G.E. Stechert and Co|location=Lancaster, PA|date=1920|doi=10.2307/534980|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/534980.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>{{rp|232}} Some of these ancestors used that knowledge for the good of the people, while others used it for evil and to the disadvantage of others. Raven is considered to be the protagonist hero against these evil ancestors.<ref name="sams">{{cite journal|title=The Raven cycle|journal=SAMS Anthology|url=http://www.samstudies.org/anthology/library/periodicals/afs/jaf/32-124/a/01|accessdate=3 September 2014|publisher=Society for Ancient & Medieval Studies}}</ref> |
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Among the stories from the Tahltan tribe, Raven is referred to as Big-Crow (''Tse'sketco'' or ''tceski'tco'', "big raven" - from ''tceski'a'', "raven").<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|198}} |
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====The Birth of Raven==== |
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They claim that Big-Crow was born miraculously as the youngest of many brothers in the northern [[Tlingit]] country and was raised speaking the local language.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|198}} He was separated from his father at birth and his father is never spoken of in all of their stories. Raven was born, the third child of a woman whose previous two boys had killed by her uncle. Each time the woman gave birth, her uncle would offer to each them to hunt once they were old enough; each time he would take them out on a canoe and trick them, he would instruct the boys to sit on the edge of the canoe, at which point he would rock the canoe, forcing them to fall into the water where he would leave them their to drown.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|199}} |
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But her third child was Raven who took well to carving. Just as he'd done 2 times before, her uncle asked if he could teach Raven how to hunt after he'd grown a few years. Several times she refused her uncle until Raven insisted that she allow him to go. So they went out to sea and the same scenario played out. Raven fell into the water but rather than drown, he took one of the toy canoes he had carved and made it grow into a full size canoe. He went straight back to his mother and told of what his uncle had done.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|200}} |
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Twice more the uncle tried to drown Raven in the same manner but Raven outsmarted him each time until the uncle gave up and no longer took Raven hunting but would go alone.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|200}} |
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As Raven grew into a man, he met the uncle's wife where he tried to play with her. He tickled the girl and two birds flew out from under her arms, a bluejay and a woodpecker; and the girl died. When the uncle returned from his hunt, he saw that his wife had died and he intended to kill Raven again, but this time in rage rather than trickery. But once again, Raven escaped with his canoe carvings. But when Raven escaped this time, he did not return home and his journey began; never to return to his home.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|200}} |
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He starting off traveling by canoe along the seashore all alone but would stop whenever he came upon a village. When he met people whom he saw take disadvantage of others or use their power for evil, he would kill in his efforts to deprive them of power.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|199}} |
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Raven traveled for many years along the coast of the Tlingit territory, first traveling south, having started in the north until he had gone so far south, beyond Tlingit territory until he reached the Mink people at which point he turned around and continued back the other direction. He did this north south, south north journey for several years. Not until his work along the coast was done, did he head inland along the [[Stikine]] river all the way to its source. He also traveled along the [[Nass River|Nass]], [[Skeena River|Skeena]], and [[Taku River|Taku]] Rivers and all of their many streams never staying in one place for very long and never traveling far off from the water ways. Through his inland journeys he met the [[Kaska people|Kaska]] tribe, the [[Haida people|Haida]] people, and other tribes to the east.<ref name="sams"/> |
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Later in life, when Raven had done all the work he could do, he traveled back out to the coastal regions guided by the setting sun until he disappeared mysteriously. The only suggestion is that he may have gone to live with the Kanu'gu and other ancient gods on an island far out into the ocean where they believed weather was created from.<ref name="sams"/> |
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[[File:The Story of Fog Woman and Raven 4.JPG|thumb|right|[[Dempsey Bob]]'s ''The Story of Fog Woman and Raven'', exhibited at [[Vancouver International Airport]], tells how Raven's greed resulted in [[salmon run]].]] |
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As the Raven stories continue after "The Birth of Raven"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|199-200}}, many stories follow: |
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{{columns-list|3| |
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# "Origin of the Tides"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|201}} |
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# "Origin of Fresh Water"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|201-203}} |
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# "Origin of Olachen"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|203-204}} |
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# "Origin of Daylight"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|204}} |
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# "Raven and the Salmon"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|205}} |
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# "Raven Creates the Salmon and Teaches the People"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|206}} |
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# "Raven Institutes Birth and Death"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|206}} |
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# "Raven and the Grizzly-Bear"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|208}} |
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# "Raven Paints the Bird"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|208}} |
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# "Raven Paints his Men for War"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|208-209}} |
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# "The Tree Eats the Bird"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|209}} |
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# "Raven Kills Pitch-Man"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|210}} |
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# "Raven and His Sister"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|210}} |
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# "Raven Tires to Marry a Princess"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|210-211}} |
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# "Raven in the Country of the Tahltan"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|211-212}} |
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# "Raven and Kanu'gu"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|212-213}} |
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# "Raven and the Haida"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|213}} |
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# "Raven Institutes the Kuwega'n Ceremonies"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|213-215}} |
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# "Raven Makes the Wolf Women Good-Looking"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|215-216}} |
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# "Raven Considers how to Provide for the People"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|216}} |
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# "The Origin of Birth and Death"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|216}} |
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# "Raven Curtails the Powers of Game"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|216-218}} |
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# "Raven Steals Fire"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|218-219}} |
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# "Raven Ballasts the Earth"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|219}} |
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# "Raven Makes Lakes"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|219-220}} |
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# "Raven Makes Mud"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|220}} |
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# "Raven Creates Bear"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|220}} |
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# "Raven and Bear-Man"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|220-221}} |
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# "Raven and E'dista or Big-Toad"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|221}} |
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# "Raven and Rabbit-Man Kextsaza"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|222}} |
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# "Raven and Crow"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|222-223}} |
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# "Raven and His Blanket"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|223-224}} |
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# "Raven Loses his Nose"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|224-225}} |
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# "Raven and the Ghosts"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|225-226}} |
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# "Raven and Porcupine Make the Seasons"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|226}} |
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}} |
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Raven appears in other stories not directly related to him as well. In the story of the 'Warm and Cold Wind People' it is said that someone, possibly Raven, ordained that the people send out the winds.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|230}} |
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He appears again in the story of "The Great Flood", which reaccounts for the killing of the evil ancestors who used their powers to take away the sun, moon, and Dipper which were lost during the flood.<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|234}} |
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===Tlingit=== |
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[[File:Tlingit dancers.jpg|thumb|left|Tlingit tribal dancers dancing around [[totem pole]]s featuring Raven]] |
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[[File:Tlingit-map.png|thumb|right|Tlingit and neighboring peoples]]<!-- geography of tribes to each other is important --> |
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[[Tlingit people|Tlingit]] territory is in Southeast Alaska.<ref name=tlingit-geo>{{cite web|title=The Raven Story|url=http://www.echospace.org/articles/131/sections/197.html|accessdate=3 September 2014}}</ref> Most of their territory is in present day Canada. |
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The native name for Raven among the Tlingit people is Katce'de but it is disputed whether this derives from the name of another place in the region named Kate, meaning "cedar-bark" or from Tlingitka, signifying "man" or "people"<ref name="teit"/>{{rp|207}} |
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In Tlingit culture, there are two different raven characters which can be identified, although they are not always clearly differentiated. One is the creator raven, responsible for bringing the world into being and who is sometimes considered to be the individual who brought light to the darkness. The other is the childish raven, always selfish, sly, conniving, and hungry. When the [[Great Spirit]] created all things he kept them separate and stored in cedar boxes. The Great Spirit gifted these boxes to the animals who existed before humans. When the animals opened the boxes all the things that comprise the world came into being. The boxes held such things as mountains, fire, water, wind and seeds for all the plants. One such box, which was given to [[Seagull]], contained all the light of the world. Seagull coveted his box and refused to open it, clutching it under his wing. All the people asked Raven to persuade Seagull to open it and release the light. Despite begging, demanding, flattering and trying to trick him into opening the box, Seagull still refused. Raven became angry and frustrated, and stuck a thorn in Seagull's foot. Raven pushed the thorn in deeper until the pain caused Seagull to drop the box. Then out of the box came the sun, moon and stars that brought light to the world and allowed the first day to begin.<ref name=swanton>{{cite journal|last1=Swanton|first1=John|title=Tlingit Myths and Texts|journal=Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology|date=1909|issue=39|url=https://ia700504.us.archive.org/16/items/tlingitmythstexts00swanrich/tlingitmythstexts00swanrich.pdf|accessdate=3 September 2014|series=Bulletin|publisher=Harvard University|format=PDF}}</ref> |
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====Theft of water==== |
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Raven continued using such trickery to bring water and stamp people, animals and other features in the world with certain characteristics.<ref name="leeming">{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia =Creation Myths of the World |last=Leeming |first=David A. |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2009 |pages=260,343 | edition=2nd |isbn=978-1-59884-174-9 |url=http://maghon.weebly.com/uploads/2/0/0/3/20035969/small_creation-myths-of-the-world.pdf|ref=harv }}</ref> Many versions of Raven's theft of water are told but all center on Raven's trickery against the owner of water. In one version Raven leads its owner to believe he has soiled his bed in his sleep and threatens to shame him unless he shares his water with Raven. In another version Raven puts ash on his tongue to fool the owner to believe his extreme thirst is unquenched. Instead of drinking the water Raven collects it in a seal's bladder hidden under his clothes and flees with all of it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bulletin|url=https://si-pddr.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/15466/bulletin1721960smit.pdf.txt;jsessionid=4925B968BFDDF2F0BD32104C4228C24E?sequence=2|publisher=Bureau of American Ethnology|accessdate=3 September 2014|page=72|quote=Emmons also published petro-glyphs on Lisiansky Bay, Baranof Island, where the totemic crestsare organized to illustrate the Raven myth of the theft of water}}</ref> |
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====Men made from leaves==== |
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In one story, when an earlier people were all killed by a flood, Raven created new ones from leaves.<ref name="Bastian2004">{{cite book |last=Bastian |first=Dawn E. |last2=Mitchell |first2=Judy K. |title=Handbook of Native American Mythology |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |page=157 |location=Santa Barbara |ref=harv }}</ref> North Pacific coast stories tell the tale of Raven first crafting men from stone, and after failing at that, from leaves. Since man is made of leaves, he is destined to die. Like many other Native American [[myths of creation]], the man created here is not necessarily the first man. There were prior men in existence, but this story is used as an [[Origin-of-death myth|explanation for the mortality of men]].<ref name="boas1"/>{{rp|391}} |
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===Tsimshian=== |
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{{further|Tsimshian mythology}} |
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To the [[Tsimshian]], Raven, was known as Txamsem or ''ganhada'' or the Clever One and was accompanied by a brother named Lagabula or Lazy One.<ref name='turner">{{cite book|last1=Turner|first1=Nancy J.|title=Ancient pathways, ancestral knowledge : ethnobotany and ecological wisdom of Indigenous peoples of northwestern North America|date=2014|pages=256,259,263,273-278,286,288|isbn=9780773585409|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=BpDdAwAAQBAJ}}</ref> |
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The two had been born in a kelp patch and adopted by a Chief's wife and a magical being from the region of Price Rupert Harbor. At the time of their birth things such as daylight did not yet exist; only dusk. Some records contradict this stating that they were of Gispaxloats origin, born of a Gispaxloats Chief who married a beautiful princess.<ref name="vickers">{{cite thesis|type=Doctorate of Philosophy|title=Ayaawx (Ts'msyen ancestral law): The power of Transformation|date=1993|publisher=University of Victoria|url=http://dspace.library.uvic.ca:8080/bitstream/handle/1828/1299/AyaawxDec16.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>{{rp|86}} |
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Among their journeys, they traveled to a mountain at the head of the [[Nass River]]. Txamsem, who could transform into anything, and often took the form of a human or bird, turned himself into a pine needle and was consumed by the daughter of the Chief who guarded daylight. She then gave birth to him as a baby and the baby cried incessantly to play with daylight. As soon as it was given to the baby in the form of a playful ball, he transformed back into Raven and flew away with it. He traveled back up the Nass River with daylight and released it; immediately lighting up the river and allowing it to spread all over the world.<ref name=macdonald>{{cite book|last1=Barbeau|first1=Marius|last2=Beynon|first2=William|editor1-last=Cove|editor1-first=John J.|editor2-last=MacDonald|editor2-first=George F.|title=Tsimshian narratives|date=1987|publisher=Directorate, Canadian Museum of Civilization|location=Ottawa|isbn=978-0660107615|url=http://www.amazon.com/Tsimshian-Narratives-Tricksters-Civilization-Directorate/dp/0660107619/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409992755&sr=1-2|accessdate=6 September 2014}}</ref>{{rp|1}} |
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The most prominent of all the [[culture hero]] tales of the northwestern Native American tribes is Raven. There are numerous stories, widely distributed which focus on the Raven myth and his adventures to satisfy his insatiable desire to obtain whatever he wants. The plot of most Raven tales, tell of how Raven is able to use force or trickery to obtain or motivate someone else to relinquish an object he desires. Throughout his many stories, Raven claims daylight, water, fire, the oceans waves, the olachen, salmon, the soil, and even the weather.<ref name=boas2>{{cite journal|last1=Boas|first1=Franz|last2=Tate|first2=Henry W.|title=Tsimshian mythology|date=1916|issue=1|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=cjxDAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA721|accessdate=3 September 2014|series=Annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology}}</ref>{{rp|618}} |
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Through the Raven tales, tribes are able to explain why their surrounding environment was the way it was by linking the Raven or his companions as the cause for why various things in the world come about. |
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Some stories account for the creation of dangerous animals which were transformed from inanimate objects(No 61. p 572), others suggest that men, animals and objects could be turned to stone.(nos89-93). While other stories suggest how names were attributed to important landmarks, and how significant geographical features came about. |
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There is a vague mention that Raven was the ancestor of the [[Ganhada|Raven Clan]], but there are no other direct references between Raven and the ancestry of the Indian people.<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|619}} |
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{{columns-list|3| |
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# "The Beginning"<ref name=harper>{{cite book|last1=McEntee|first1=retold by Fran Martin ; pictures by Dorothy|title=Raven-who-sets-things-right : Indian tales of the Northwest coast|date=1975|publisher=Harper & Row|location=New York|isbn=0060240717|edition=Rev. ed., with all new art, of Nine tales of raven.|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/26075135|accessdate=1 September 2014}}</ref> |
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# "The Theft of Light" |
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# "Raven Becomes Voracious"<ref name="boas3">{{cite book|title=Tsimshian Texts|last1=Boas|first1=Franz|date=1902|publisher=Washington : Govt. print. off.|isbn=978-1141405503|url=http://www.amazon.com/Tsimshian-Texts-Franz-Boas/dp/1141405504|accessdate=3 September 2014|archiveurl=https://ia600508.us.archive.org/13/items/tsimshiantexts02boas/tsimshiantexts02boas.pdf|archivedate=10 Mar 2001|format=PDF}}</ref><ref name="thompson1"/>{{rp|19}} |
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# Origin 0f Txa'msem<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|58}} |
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# Origin of daylight<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|60}} |
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# Stone and Elderberry Bush<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|62}} |
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# Origin 0f fire <ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|63}} |
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# Txa'msem uses the sinews of the tomtit<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|63}} |
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# Origin of tides<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|64}} |
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# Giant gambles with Gull<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|65}} |
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# Giant obtains the olachen<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|}} |
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# Giant learns how to cook olachen<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|66}} |
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# Giant and the gulls<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|66}} |
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# Txa'msem and the steelhead-salmon<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|67}} |
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# Txa'msem and Lagobola’<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|68}} |
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# Txa'msem and the crab<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|70}} |
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# Origin of the bullhead<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|71}} |
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# Txa'msem frightens away the owners of a whale<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|71}} |
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# Txa'msem finds a beautiful blanket<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|72}} |
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# Txa'msem and his slave<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|73}} |
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# Txa'msem kills his slave<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|74}} |
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# Fishermen break off Txa'msem jaw<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|74}} |
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# Txa'msem and the Hunter<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|75}} |
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# Txa'msem and the children<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|75}} |
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# Txa'msem and the salmon woman<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|76}} |
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# Txa'msem makes war on the south wind<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|79}} |
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# Txa'msem makes a girl sick and then cures her<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|81}} |
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# Txa'msem pretends to build a canoe<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|84}} |
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# Txa'msem visits Chief Echo<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|85}} |
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# Txa'msem kills Little Pitch<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|86}} |
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# Txa'msem kills Grizzly Bear<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|87}} |
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# Txa'msem kills Deer<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|88}} |
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# Txa'msem imitates Chief Seal<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|90}} |
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# Txa'msem imitates Chief Kinfisher<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|91}} |
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# Txa'msem imitates the thrush<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|91}} |
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# Txa'msem and Cormorant<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|92}} |
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# Txa'msem returns to the Wolves<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|94}} |
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# Txa'msem invites the monsters <ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|100}} |
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# The further history of Txa'msem <ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|100}} |
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# Txa'msem invites the monsters<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|100}} |
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# The further history of Txa'msem'msem<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|100}} |
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# Raven obtains fresh water<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|651}} |
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# Raven paints the birds<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|664}} |
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# Raven carves salmon out of various kinds of wood<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|666}} |
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# Raven marries the dead twin<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|667}} |
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# Raven abducts the daughter of the salmon chief<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|671}} |
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# Raven gets the soil<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|674}} |
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# Why Crow and Raven are black<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|677}} |
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# Raven and Eagle gather red and black cod<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|692}} |
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# Raven marries Hair-Seal-Woman<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|702}} |
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# Raven steals salmon eggs<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|705}} |
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# Raven steals his sisters' berries<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|705}} |
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# Raven's gizzard is torn out<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|706}} |
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# Raven kills the seals<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|706}} |
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# Raven pretends to be dead<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|706}} |
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# Raven burns his sister's groins<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|707}} |
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# Raven deserts Master Fisherman on a lonely island<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|710}} |
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# War with the Thunderbird<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|711}} |
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# Wren kills the Bear<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|718}} |
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# Raven pulls off the arm of a chief<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|719}} |
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# Raven is set adrift<ref name="boas2"/>{{rp|720}} |
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}} |
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===Zuni=== |
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[[File:Coyoteinacanoe.png|thumb|right|The Coyote canoeing up [[Columbia River]]. The Raven shares the [[trickster]] nature with the coyote in Native American mythologies, but for the Zuni people he lacks the negative characteristics.]] |
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The raven is not a traditional [[fetishism|fetish]] of the [[Zuni people|Zuni]] but he, along with the Macaw play a part in the Zuni story of migration and is carved often in their artwork, typically carved from [[black marble]] though not exclusively. |
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The Zuni consider Raven to be a prankster but without negative characteristics which they associate with the [[Coyote (mythology)|coyote]]. The Raven's greatest traits are his ability to assist the people in overcoming their failures by offering gentle reminders that anything people have the courage to face, thus too do they have the power to transform.<ref name="zunifetish">{{cite web|title=Zuni Fetish Meanings|url=http://www.zunispirits.com/2006/zunitopics/zunifetishmeanings.html|last1=Riggs|first1=Darlene Meader|series=The Zuni Fetish Story|year=2006}}</ref> |
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{{columns-list|1| |
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# "Origin of Raven and the Macaw"<ref name=indexoflegends>{{cite web|title=Native American Legends (V-Z)|url=http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/Legends-VZ.html|website=First People, The Legends|accessdate=4 September 2014}}</ref><ref name="judson"/>{{rp|40}} |
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# "The Search for the Corn Maidens"<ref name="judson"/>{{rp|40}} |
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}} |
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==Modern adaptations== |
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There have been many [[Native Americans in children's literature|children's]] and picture books that recount traditional Raven Tales. These new versions have been criticized for portraying a much "nicer" Raven with little left from the original greedy [[trickster]]. In some stories Raven acts for the good of people and not for himself. In other stories Raven refuses to use force, and sexual themes are edited out. Trickery is in some instances substituted for magic. These newer tales are also written in conventions of Western rather than Native American literature thus conveying the message that native storytellers' ability or style is inferior.<ref name="Singer"/> |
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In 2004, The [[Smithsonian Institution]] sponsored [[Chris Kientz]] to develop a series of half-hour animated television programs targeted at school children as an entertaining way of educating kids on aboriginal folklore. The show ''Raven Tales'' was produced by New Machine Studios working with producer Winadzi James and aired for two seasons with a total of 26 episodes.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Award-Winning Animated Series|url=http://www.raventales.com/|publisher=RavenTales (Alberta) Ltd|accessdate=1 September 2014|year=2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Raven Tales Episode Guide|url=http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/series/731/raven-tales|website=Smithsonian Channel|publisher=SNI/SI Networks L.L.C|accessdate=1 September 2014}}</ref> |
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In 2010, Matt Dembicki produced an anthological graphic novel of the trickster stories, making sure to maintain the cultural integrity of the stories with the help of 21 Native American story-tellers who were paired directly with several graphic designers.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Higgins|first1=Jim|title='Trickster Tales': Gladstone, Indian storytellers team with artists|url=http://missoulian.com/lifestyles/territory/trickster-tales-gladstone-indian-storytellers-team-with-artists/article_f517b738-7016-11df-a81d-001cc4c03286.html|publisher=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel|accessdate=1 September 2014}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal|Aboriginal peoples in Canada|Indigenous peoples of North America|Mythology}} |
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* [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada]] |
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* [[Alaska Native storytelling]] |
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* [[Cultural depictions of ravens]] |
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* [[History of the west coast of North America]] |
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* [[Native Americans in the United States]] |
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* [[Northwest Coast art]] |
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* ''[[The Raven (Brothers Grimm)|The Raven]]'' – a German fairy tale [[Grimm's Fairy Tales|collected]] by the Brothers Grimm |
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* ''[[The Seven Ravens]]'' – a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm |
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* [[Thunderbird (mythology)]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist|30em}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book|last1=Greene|first1=Diana Scesny|last2=Paul|first2=Louise|last3=Malcolm|first3=Eliza|title=Raven tales & medicine men : folktales from Eagle Village|date=1988?|location=Alaska|pages=38|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/raven-tales-medicine-men-folktales-from-eagle-village/oclc/18392019}}{{year missing|date=September 2014}} |
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* {{cite book|last1=Goodchild|first1=Peter|title=Raven tales|date=1991|publisher=Chicago Review Press|location=Chicago|isbn=9781556521010|pages=202|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/raven-tales/oclc/22907395}} |
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* {{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=Bill|authorlink1=Bill Reid|last2=Bringhurst|first2=Robert|authorlink2=Robert Bringhurst|title=Raven tales|title=The raven steals the light: Native American tales|date=1996|publisher=Shambhala|location=Boston|isbn=9781570621734|pages=152|url=http://www.worldcat.org/title/raven-steals-the-light-native-american-tales/oclc/32819116}} |
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==External links== |
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* [https://repository.asu.edu/attachments/107975/content/JSA_VOL6_NO1_Pages39-60_Mesch.pdf Journal of Surrealism and the Americas Vol 6, No. 1, Pages 39-60 'What Makes Indians Laugh' Claudia Mesch, Arizona State University] |
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* [http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/tales/nw_indian_tales_index_region.pdf List of Indian Tales by Region] |
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* [http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/reid/reid14e.shtml Bill Reid, storyteller: "The Raven steals the light"] |
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* [http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/images/map2.jpg Map of North-Western Regional Indian Territories]<!-- also a discussion about this on talk page --> |
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{{Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest}} |
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[[Category:Creation myths]] |
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[[Category:Creator gods]] |
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[[Category:Culture of the Pacific Northwest]] |
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[[Category:Fictional ravens]] |
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[[Category:First Nations culture]] |
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[[Category:Folkloristic characters]] |
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[[Category:Haida]] |
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[[Category:Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau]] |
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[[Category:Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest]] |
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[[Category:Literary archetypes]] |
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[[Category:Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America]] |
[[Category:Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of North America]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Native American history]] |
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[[Category:Native American literature]] |
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[[Category:Native American religion]] |
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[[Category:Native American topics]] |
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[[Category:Native American tribes]] |
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[[Category:North American folklore]] |
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[[Category:North American mythology]] |
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[[Category:Ravens]] |
[[Category:Ravens]] |
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[[Category:Tahltan]] |
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[[Category:Trickster gods]] |
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[[Category:Tsimshian]] |