Raven: A Native American Trickster

1. Chapter 19 Raven: A Native American Trickster

2. Raven�s Place in Native American Belief According to Native American beliefs, all beings are appreciated according to their individual capabilities. There is no single supreme deity or a group of chosen gods with extraordinary powers. Extraordinary beings like Raven emphasize the importance of a symbiotic relationship between humans and nature. Raven is an outrageous trickster as well as a culture hero.

3. Geography of Raven Prominent throughout a broad area of northwestern North America and northeastern Asia. People whose ancestors crossed the Bering Strait on a land bridge between Siberia in Asia and Alaska in North America. In North America: Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl peoples.

4. Comparison of Tricksters

5. Raven�s Nature as a Trickster Shape-changer Transformer Not anthropomorphic

6. How the Raven Stories were Collected John R. Swanton, an anthropologist who lived with the Tlingit during the first decade of the twentieth century, collected two versions: Katishan, chief of the Kasq!aque�d� of Wrangell in the southeastern part of Alaska in January 1904, assumed less familiarity on the part of his audience. His version seems to explain everything from the very first sentence, and gives the story a historical perspective whenever possible. Another, unnamed storyteller at Sitka in April 1904 performed for the benefit of listeners more familiar both with the Raven myth and with other stories that explain the origins of bodies of water, various animals, and the reputation of Petrel.

7. Raven Myth from Sitka Raven causes his own birth � Girl swallows dirt and becomes pregnant with him. Raven steals light � Cries to play with the stars, then moon, then sun, then lets them escape into the sky through the smoke hole in his grandfather�s house. Raven steals water for his world � Tricks Petrel and steals water from him; is trapped in the smoke hole; turns from white to black. Water falling from his mouth is turned into rivers and creeks. Raven turns people into animals � Threatens people catching eulachon with exposing them to daylight. When he does, they turn into animals.

8. Raven Myth from Wrangell At the beginning of things, there was no daylight and the world lay in blackness. Raven-at-the-head-of-Nass (Nas-ca�ki-yel), the principal deity, lived with his daughter. In his house were all kinds of things including sun, moon, stars, and daylight. Nas-ca�ki-yel created the Heron as a very tall and very wise man and after him the Raven, who was also a very good and very wise man at that time. Nas-ca�ki-yel�s daughter tried and failed to have children. She followed Heron�s directions and gave birth to Raven after swallowing a small, smooth heated stone. Therefore Raven�s name was really Itca�k!, the name of a very hard rock, and he was hence called Ta�qlik!-ie (Hammer-father). This is why Raven was so tough and could not easily be killed.

9. Raven Myth from Wrangell, 2 Heron and Raven both became servants to Nas-ca�ki-yel, but he thought more of Raven and made him head man over the world. Raven felt very sorry for the few people in darkness, turned himself into a hemlock needle in some water; Nas-ca�ki-yel�s daughter swallowed it and became pregnant. Nas-ca�ki-yel made some people out of leaves, not rock, and so they were mortal. Raven cries for the things in his grandfather�s house and then lets them go up into the sky, as in the story from Sitka.

10. Raven Myth from Wrangell, 3 Raven turns people into animals by exposing them to daylight while they are fishing for Eulachon, as in the story at Sitka. Raven steals fresh water from Petrel, as in the story from Sitka. Raven teaches the people to bring back fire. �Raven (Yel) went about among the natives of Alaska telling them what to do, but Nas-ca�ki-yel they never saw. Raven showed all the Tlingit what to do for a living, but he did not get to be such a high person as Nas-ca�ki-yel, and he taught the people much foolishness.�