Qugaaĝix̂ - First Nation Tales From Alaska & The Arctic

I have edited Clive Gilson’s books for over a decade now – he’s prolific and can turn his hand to many genres. poetry, short fiction, contemporary novels, folklore and science fiction – and the common theme is that none of them ever fails to take my breath away. There’s something in each story that is either memorably poignant, hauntingly unnerving or sidesplittingly funny.

Lorna Howarth, The Write Factor

Tales From The World's Firesides is a grand project. I've collected ‘000’s of traditional texts as part of other projects, and while many of the original texts are available through channels like Project Gutenberg, some of the narratives can be hard to read for modern audiences, & so the Fireside project was born. Put simply, I collect, collate & adapt traditional tales from around the world & publish them as a modern archive. This book is the 4th in Part 2 – North America, following on from the 19 titles in Part 1 covering a host of nations & regions across Europe. I'm not laying any claim to insight or specialist knowledge, but these collections are born out of my love of story-telling & I hope that you'll share my affection for traditional tales, myths & legends.

Images by OpenClipartVectors & Alan Frijns from Pixabay

Qugaaĝix̂

-

First Nation Tales From Alaska & The Arctic

Traditional tales, fables and sagas from the First Nations of North America

Compiled & Edited by Clive Gilson

Tales from the World’s Firesides

Book 4 in Part 2 of the series: North America

Qugaaĝix̂,

edited by Clive Gilson, Solitude, Bath, UK

www.clivegilson.com

First published as an eBook in 2020

2nd edition © 2020 Clive Gilson

3rd edition © 2023 Clive Gilson

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by United Kingdom copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Printed by IngramSpark

ISBN: 978-1-913500-26-9

SOLITUDE

Contents

Preface

And There Was Light

Wolverene And The Geese

Wolverene And Rock

Wolverene And Brant

The Two Friends Who Set Off To Travel Round The World

The Coming Of Men, A Long, Long While Ago

The Raven Myth

Thunder, Lightning, And Rain

Nukúnguasik, Who Escaped From The Tupilak

The Man In The Moon

Ímarasugssuaq, Who Ate His Wives

The Flood

Qalagánguasê, Who Passed To The Land Of Ghosts

Isigâligârssik

The Origin Of The Tides

The Insects That Wooed A Wifeless Man

How The Rivers Were Formed

The Origin Of Fire

Duration Of Winter

Bird Beginnings

Owl

The Very Obstinate Man

Raven's Feast

The Dwarfs

Creation Of The Porcupine

How Raven Taught The Chilkats

The Boy From The Bottom Of The Sea, Who Frightened The People Of The House To Death

The Raven And The Goose

When The Ravens Could Speak

Raven's Marriage

Origins Of Animals

Makíte

Raven And The Seals

Asalôq

Ukaleq

Raven And Pitch

Íkardlítuarssuk

The Raven Who Wanted A Wife

The Man Who Took A Vixen To Wife

Raven's Dancing Blanket

Raven And The Gulls

The Water Carrier

The Great Bear

The Venturesome Hare

The Land Otter

The Man Who Became A Star

The Woman With The Iron Tail

Raven And Coot

How The Fog Came

The Man Who Avenged The Widows

Raven And Marmot

The Man Who Went Out To Search For His Son

The Bringing Of The Light By Raven

Atungait, Who Went A-Wandering

Daylight On The Nass River

Kumagdlak And The Living Arrows

The Naming Of The Birds

The Origin Of The Winds

Duration Of Life

Ghost Town

Rabbit And Frog

The Giant Dog

How Raven Stole The Lake

The Inland-Dwellers Of Etah

The Man Who Stabbed His Wife In The Leg

The Killer Whale

The Soul That Lived In The Bodies Of All Beasts

Origin Of The Chilkat Blanket

Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother

Origin Of Land And People

Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle

Creation Of The World

Origin Of Mankind

The First Woman

The First Tears

The Men Who Changed Wives

Artuk, Who Did All Forbidden Things

Origin Of The Winds

Origin Of The Wind

East Wind And North Wind

The Thunder Spirits

Nerrivik

The Wife Who Lied

Creation Of The Killer Whale

Kâgssagssuk, The Homeless Boy Who Became A Strong Man

Future Life

Qasiagssaq, The Great Liar

The Land Of The Dead

The Eagle And The Whale

The Ghost Land

The Two Little Outcasts

Atdlarneq, The Great Glutton

The Lost Light

Ta-Ka The Mosquito And Khandatagoot The Woodpecker

The Chief In The Moon

The Boy In The Moon

The Meteor

Ángángujuk

How The Fox Became Red

Âtârssuaq

Beaver And Porcupine

Tungujuluk And Saunikoq

Anarteq

The Wolves And The Deer

The Guillemot That Could Talk

Kánagssuaq

Kúnigseq

The Woman Who Had A Bear As A Foster-Son

The Camp Robber

The Circling Of Cranes

The Last Of The Thunderbirds

How The Kiksadi Clan Came To Sitka

Origin Of The Grizzly Bear Crest

Origin Of The Frog Crest

Origin Of The Beaver Crest

Origin Of The Killer Whale Crest

The Discontented Grass Plant

The Wind People

Tricks Of The Fox

Historical Notes

About The Editor

ORIGINAL FICTION BY CLIVE GILSON

Songs of Bliss

Out of the Walled Garden

The Mechanic’s Curse

The Insomniac Booth

A Solitude of Stars

AS EDITOR – FIRESIDE TALES – Part 1, Europe

Tales From the Land of Dragons

Tales From the Land of The Brave

Tales From the Land of Saints And Scholars

Tales From the Land of Hope And Glory

Tales From Lands of Snow and Ice

Tales From the Viking Isles

Tales From the Forest Lands

Tales From the Old Norse

More Tales About Saints and Scholars

More Tales About Hope and Glory

More Tales About Snow and Ice

Tales From the Land of Rabbits

Tales Told by Bulls and Wolves

Tales of Fire and Bronze

Tales From the Land of the Strigoi

Tales Told by the Wind Mother

Tales from Gallia

Tales from Germania

EDITOR – FIRESIDE TALES – Part 2, North America

Okaraxta - Tales from The Great Plains

Tibik-Kìzis – Tales from The Great Lakes & Canada

Jóhonaaʼéí –Tales from America’s Southwest

Qugaaĝix̂ - First Nation Tales from Alaska & The Arctic

Karahkwa - First Nation Tales from America’s Eastern States

Pot-Likker - Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Settler Stories from America

EDITOR – FIRESIDE TALES – Part 3, Africa

Arokin Tales – Folklore & Fairy Tales from West Africa

Hadithi Tales – Folklore & Fairy Tales from East Africa

Inkathaso Tales – Folklore & Fairy Tales from Southern Africa

Tarubadur Tales – Folklore & Fairy Tales from North Africa

Elephant And Frog – Folklore from Central Africa

Preface

Notes in this preface are taken from Wikipedia and The Canadian Encyclopaedia

I’ve been collecting and telling stories for a couple of decades now, having had several of my own works published in recent years. My particular focus is on short story writing in the realms of magical realities and science fiction fantasies.

I’ve always drawn heavily on traditional folk and fairy tales, and in so doing have amassed a collection of many thousands of these tales from around the world. It has been one of my long-standing ambitions to gather these stories together and to create a library of tales that tell the stories of places and peoples from the four corners of our world.

One of the main motivations for me in undertaking the project is to collect and tell stories that otherwise might be lost or, at best forgotten. Given that a lot of my sources are from early collectors, particularly covering works produced in the late eighteenth century, throughout the nineteenth century, and in the early years of the twentieth century, I do make every effort to adapt stories for a modern reader. Early collectors had a different world view to many of us today, and often expressed views about race and gender, for example, that we find difficult to reconcile in the early years of the twenty-first century. I try, although with varying degrees of success, to update these stories with sensitivity while trying to stay as true to the original spirit of each story as I can.

I also want to assure readers that I try hard not to comment on or appropriate originating cultures. It is almost certainly true that the early collectors of these tales, with their then prevalent world views, have made assumptions about the originating cultures that have given us these tales. I hope that you’ll accept my mission to preserve these tales, however and wherever I find them, as just that. I have, therefore, made sure that every story has a full attribution, covering both the original collector / writer and the collection title that this version has been adapted from, as well as having notes about publishers and other relevant and, I hope, interesting source data. Wherever possible I have added a cultural or indigenous attribution as well, although for some of the tiles, the country-based theme is obvious.

This volume, Qugaaĝix̂ covers a range of cultures and themes based around the peoples who inhabit the far north. Inuit cosmology provides a narrative about the world and the place of people within it. Rachel Attituq Qitsualik (Inuk) writes: The Inuit cosmos is ruled by no one. There are no divine mother and father figures. There are no wind gods and solar creators. There are no eternal punishments in the hereafter, as there are no punishments for children or adults in the here and now.

Traditional stories, rituals, and taboos of the Inuit are often precautions against dangers posed by their harsh Arctic environment. Knud Rasmussen asked his guide and friend Aua, an angakkuq (spiritual healer), about Inuit religious beliefs among the Iglulingmiut (people of Igloolik) and was told: We don't believe. We fear.

The environment in which the Inuit lived inspired a mythology filled with adventure tales of whale and walrus hunts. Long winter months of waiting for caribou herds or sitting near breathing holes hunting seals gave birth to stories of mysterious and sudden appearance of ghosts and fantastic creatures.

Some Inuit looked into the aurora borealis, or northern lights, to find images of their family and friends dancing in the next life. However, some Inuit believed that the lights were more sinister and if you whistled at them, they would come down and cut off your head. For others they were invisible giants, the souls of animals, a guide to hunting and as a spirit for the angakkuq to help with healing. They relied upon the angakkuq (shaman) for spiritual interpretation. The nearest thing to a central deity was the Old Woman (Sedna), who lived beneath the sea. The waters, a central food source, were believed to contain great gods.

Like all mythology, Inuit myths and legends are both entertaining and instructive. The Inuit designated the powers of good and evil to deities living in a spirit world closely entwined with the starkly beautiful northern landscape. These tales were intrinsically linked to Inuit shamanism.

Inuit myths and legends are usually short dramatic forms dealing with the wonders of the world: the creation, the heavens, birth, love, hunting and sharing food, respect for the aged, polygamy, murder, infanticide, incest, death and the mystery of afterlife.

Inuit myths are rarely simple, usually abounding with behavioural codes that may only be fully understood by those living within that society. The stories reinforce a close relationship with all of nature, as well as the belief that animals have the magical power to hear and understand human words.

Inuit religion was closely tied to a system of rituals integrated into the daily life of the people. These rituals were simple but held to be necessary. According to a customary Inuit saying, The great peril of our existence lies in the fact that our diet consists entirely of souls.

By believing that all things, including animals, have souls like those of humans, any hunt that failed to show appropriate respect and customary supplication would only give the liberated spirits cause to avenge themselves.

The harshness and unpredictability of life in the Arctic ensured that Inuit lived with concern for the uncontrollable, where a streak of bad luck could destroy an entire community. To offend a spirit was to risk its interference with an already marginal existence. The Inuit understood that they had to work in harmony with supernatural powers to provide the necessities of day-to-day life.

Clive

Bath, 2023

And There Was Light

This adaptation is taken from a story collected by James Frederic Thorne, also known as Kitchakahaech, in the book In The Time That Was, which was originally published in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., in 1909. This is a tale from the Chilkats of the Klingats, as told by Zachook, the Bear, to Kitchakahaech, the Raven.

BEFORE THERE WAS A NORTH OR South, when Time was not, Klingatona-Kla, the Earth Mother, was blind, and all the world was dark. No man had seen the sun, moon, or stars, for they were kept hidden by Yakootsekaya-ka, the Wise Man. They were locked in a great chest, in a chest that stood in the corner of the lodge of the Wise Man, in Tskekowani, the place that always was and ever will be. Carefully were they guarded, for the chest had many locks, curious, secret locks, beyond the fingers of a thief. The locks were made to outwit the cunning of Yaeethl the God, Yaeethl the Raven, Yaeethl the Great Thief, of whom the Wise Man was most afraid.

The Earth Mother needed light so that her eyes might be opened, that she might bear children and escape the disgrace of her barrenness. To Yaeethl the Clever, Yaeethl the Cunning, went Klingatona-Kla, weeping, and of the Raven begged aid. And Yaeethl took pity on her and promised that she should have Kayah, the Light, to father her children.

Many times had Yaeethl, because of this promise, tried to steal the Worlds of Light, and as many times had he failed. But with each attempt his desire grew, grew until it filled his belly and his brain.

Was he not Yaeethl, the Great White Raven, the Father of Thieves? And what of it if the Wise Man put new and heavier locks upon the chest after each attempt? Were locks greater than the cunning of the Raven?

Now Yakootsekaya-ka, the Wise Man, and his wife had a daughter, a young girl, beautiful and good. No man had ever seen her face. On no one, god or man, had the eyes of the young girl ever rested, save only her father and mother, the Wise Ones. Ye-see-et was a virgin.

Yaeethl, knew that the weakness of men is also the strength of children, that a babe may enter where a warrior may not cast his shadow. He thought now of this virgin, this daughter of Yakootsekaya-ka. As the thought and its children made camp in his brain Yaeethl spread wide his snow-white wings.

Three times he circled high in air, then took flight towards Tskekowani, the meeting place of Memory and Hope. Like Chunet, the Arrow, he flew, straight, and as Heen, the River, swift. Twice ten moons, and another, Yaeethl flew without rest before he drew near the cabin of the Wise Man. He landed some way away from the lodge, and he folded his white wings by the edge of a spring, by the spring where the daughter of the Wise Man would come for water.

Then, with the power that was his, Yaeethl, the God, changed his shape, from the shape of the raven into a small white pebble, and lay in the water of the spring, and in the water waited for the coming of the girl.

Long waited Yaeethl, the Pebble, with the patience of wisdom and great desire. And the girl came.

Beautiful in her maidenhood, graceful in the dawning of her womanhood, came the girl, the virgin, the daughter of Yakootsekaya-ka, the Keeper of the Worlds of Light. Stooping, she dipped her cup into the cool water. From the edge of the spring Yaeethl rolled into the cup, and lay quiet in the shadow of her hand. Quiet he lay, but full of the Great Desire.

And the girl did not see him.

To the lodge returned the maiden, bearing the cup, the water, and the Pebble. And so Yaeethl went into the lodge with the maiden, into the lodge where lay the Sun, Moon, and Stars. From the cup the Wise Man drank, but Yaeethl did not move. From the cup the Mother drank, and Yaeethl was motionless. When the Daughter raised the cup to her lips, toward her lips rolled Yaeethl. Softly he rolled, but the Mother, ever careful, heard the sound of the pebble on the cup-side, and the keen eyes of the Father saw the white pebble shine.

Do not drink, Daughter, said the Wise Man, laying his hand on the maiden's arm. Small things sometimes contain great evils. A white pebble it may be, and only a white pebble. Yaeethl it may be, Yaeethl the Raven, Yaeethl the Father of Thieves.

Then the Mother took the cup and out through the door cast the water and the pebble. And when the door of the lodge was closed behind him Yaeethl, the Disappointed, once more took his own form, the shape of the raven, white of wing and white of feather. Back to earth flew Yaeethl, angry, ashamed, but more than ever filled with a great longing for the Worlds of Light that lay locked in the chest of the Wise Man.

Klingatona-Kla, Earth Mother, wept long and sore when Yaeethl returned empty-handed. Loud she wailed, being sure she must remain forever dark and barren. But Yaeethl, the Undaunted, comforted her with strong words, and renewed his promise that the Light should be given to her in marriage, and her disgrace forgotten in many children. He promised that she should she have as many children as the shore has grains of sand.

Though he had flown as speeds Hoon, the North Wind, the going and coming of Yaeethl had eaten three winters and two summers. He rested for a while in the lap of Klingatona-Kla. He rested for the winter, but with the coming of the spring, he spread again his wings and took flight towards the lodge of the Wise Man, towards the Great Desire. Mightily he flew, and swift, for though the dead make the journey between the opening and the closing of an eye, for the living it is a long trail.

When again he landed, wing weary, by the spring where the daughter of Yakootsekaya-ka drew water, Yaeethl remembered the shape and whiteness that had betrayed him, remembered the traitor Pebble, and from that memory he gathered wisdom.

Close to his side folded his white wings, and beneath his feathers he tucked head and feet, and grew small. Small and yet smaller he grew, as melts ice before the fire, and when the shrinking was ended he had taken upon himself the form of Thlay-oo, the sand grain. As Thlay-oo, the Little, he waited. As Thlay-oo, the Invisible, Yaeethl watched for the coming of the maiden. He waited as does the bear for the coming of Takeete, the After Winter, the spring. He watched as does the lynx for the young caribou.

And as before the girl came, cup in hand, innocent in her maidenhood, wise in her womanhood, and in both ways she was beautiful. Gracefully she stooped and filled the cup with water from the spring. Into the cup floated Yaeethl in the shape of Thlay-oo. In the spring water he sank and lay against the bottom of the cup. Small was Yaeethl, but he was big with desire for what was within the chest of the Wise Man.

Then the lodge door opened and the maiden with the cup went in, and Yaeethl the Grain of Sand, Yaeethl the Raven, entered the lodge once more.

To Yakootsekaya-ka, her father, the girl gave the cup, and the Wise Man drank the water. Drank, but she did not see Yaeethl, the Invisible. To the wife, her mother, the maiden gave the cup, and she too drank the water, but she did not hear Yaeethl, the Still. Then the maiden, Ye-see-et, the Virgin, daughter of Yakootsekaya-ka, the Keeper of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, lifted the cup to her lips.

The Mother spoke not. The Father moved not. The Daughter drank.

Past the red of her lips, by the white of her teeth, down the throat of the girl rolled the grain of sand. It rolled until it lay close under her heart, and paused. Under the heart of the maiden lay Yaeethl. He waited and he grew. Warmed by the heart of the maiden Yaeethl grew.

And time passed.

Then the mother of the maiden, looking upon her daughter, and was troubled in her mind. Troubled was the mind of the Mother, but silent was her tongue.

And time passed.

Again the Mother looked upon her daughter, and looking, spoke to the Wise Man, her husband, of her troubled mind. She spoke of her troubled thought concerning the maiden, their daughter.

When they shared these thoughts the Father’s heart was filled with anger at his daughter for the disgrace she would bring upon his name. Angrily he questioned her, that he might revenge himself upon the thief of her innocence. But the girl looked into the eyes of her father and denied both thief and theft. She had never seen any man save him, her father. Of the cause of The Thought that troubled them was she ignorant, and as innocent as ignorant. And the truth shone from her eyes as she spoke, and straight was her tongue, and empty of shame was her face.

And the Mother, looking into the eyes of her daughter, believed her. And after a time the Wise Man was convinced too. Yet troubled