a Kwakiutl stor about ...

["This is an important and powerful Medicine story. A lot within it."]

Mountain-Goat Hunter - Kwakiutl

Tradition of the Lê'LEgêd, a clan of the wâlas Kwâ'gûl.

(Dictated by Yâ'gôLas, 1900)

 

 

Rolling-down saw (some) mountain-goats. "Let me go up to the mountain-goats walking about on the rocks" (he said).

 

"Where are they?" said his wife.

 

"They are there at LEsElê'k^u." Don't talk that way, else you might fall off (from the mountain). Don't talk that way, else you might fall off."

 

"I do not fall off."

 

"Then go on," said his wife. He had four wives. Then Rolling-down went up. He arrived and hid. Then he took out his charm. He put the dried frog on the rock. Then the mountain-goats could not walk. They just became like the frog, and just lay there. Then he went and hid himself. He just sat by the side of a rock and shot with his arrows. He hit the chest (of a mountain-goat), then he also shot its neck.

 

 

He did not know that he was being pursued by a grisly bear. What should it be? It was standing there, and began to growl. "Do not say so, friend. I am your friend." Then the grisly bear sat down on the rock and listened to the word of Rolling-down. Then another grisly bear arose and began to growl. The bear went right up to take hold of him. He took the man by the shoulder and threw him upward. Behold! there were many grisly bears. They threw the man to one another while they were going up with him to the top of the mountain. Then they came to a fine place in the woods, and the man was thrown about by the grisly bears. His limbs were torn to pieces. His fingers and his toes, and the bones of the man, were scattered on the ground. Then the grisly bears left and went home, and the man was dead.

 

 

Then one of the grisly bears felt badly, "Why did you do so? Did you not hear what our dead friend said?"

 

"Not I," said, on his part, another one, the one who had killed the man. "What do you think?" said, on his part, the one. "Don't you love our friend? Indeed, I feel sad on account of our friend. Let us try to revive him. Go on to Head-Wolf and Head-Runner, that all our friends may come, all the animals."

 

 

Then many animals came. They assembled. They were going to the place where the man had been killed, and sat on the ground. Then the bones of the man were gathered up, and were pushed together. Some of the bones had disappeared. Then the Ermine and the Mouse were sent, because they had a good scent. They searched for the toes of the man. The ermine found the toes of the man, and gave them to the supernatural person. Then he put them on his feet, and the man was sprinkled with the water of life. Then the man sat up on the ground and revived.

 

To no purpose he rubbed his eyes. He thought that he had only slept. Then he discovered the many animals sitting there. "Now you are alive, friend. I killed you by accident. Don't do it again, ["It had gone bad with you. That happens only once"] that you come up here, although you may know that we were laying for the mountain-goats. That is called mountain-goat hunting. For that reason our friend acted in this way. Now you are alive. That was the reason he tried his supernatural powers. Now you shall do as I do. Now your supernatural treasure will be this water of life, and this means of throwing."

 

 

Then he sang his sacred song in the night, and his tribe heard it. "Don't sleep, for somebody is singing his sacred song. It may be our chief"

 

He came to the other side of the village, singing his sacred song. The house site was called Middle-of-Beach. Day had not come yet when the tribe arose and went bathing. Then the sound was heard on the other side. Then his tribe went across and tried to catch him. From time to time he just flew away.

 

For four days they tried to do so. Then he was caught by Gâ'usdês. He was snared. (Time) was beaten for him by his tribe. Then he threw (his supernatural power) at his tribe, and his tribe groaned in the house. He did so to try to tease his tribe. He had four children the princesses of chiefs. His tribe only worked for him. His wives only went out and purified themselves. Then his tribe planned that he should die. Their anger rose quickly when he teased them. He was made to drink blood, menstrual blood of a woman. Then he became sick; then he was given medicine by the one side of his tribe (either father's or mother's family). Then he was bewitched that something should happen to him quickly. It was not one year, and he lay sick. Then he died when summer came. Then his tribe revived: they were no longer afraid.

 

 

That is the end.

 

 

 

Kwakiutl Tales, by Franz Boas; (Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology, Volume II) New York: Columbia University Press; [1910] and is now in the public domain.

 

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