Kwakiutl story: Otter

Mink goes to make War with his Friend Land, Otter

(Dictated by MalE'd, a Kwâ'gul, 1893.)


"Let us go and make war, friend," said Born-to-be-the-Sun to Land-Otter. "Whom shall we make war against, friend?" said, on his part, Land-Otter to Born-to-be-the-Sun. "Those are the ones whom we will take, on the beach, the Innumerable-Ones." Then they started in the morning. If was fogy. They paddled to an island. "Ê, ê, ê, ê!" said Born-to-be-the-Sun. "Back-water! My nose-ornament fell into the water." Then his friend tried to back-water. Born-to-be-the-Sun stood up in the canoe and dived. He was not under water long when he came up carrying sea-eggs in the fold of his blanket. Then he ate them. He only lied when he said that his nose ornament fell into the water. What he meant was, that he had seen the sea-eggs. Give me some, friend," said his friend Land-Otter. "Don't," said Born-to-be-the-Sun. "Do those who war here and there give to each other? Just go, friend," said Born-to-be-the-Sun to his friend Land-Otter.

Then Land-Otter dived. He came up again, and Land-Otter did not get anything. "How did you do it, friend?" said Land-Otter, questioning his friend. "Put your face up and pull your knees up when you come up." Then Land-Otter dived, and Born-to-be-the-Sun jumped up in the canoe, went to the bow of the canoe, and took what murdered by itself Land-Otter. Then Born-to-be-the-Sun was standing in the canoe, ready for his friend to come up lying on his back. When his face came up, Born-to-be-the-Sun speared his friend just over the breast-bone. Then his friend was dead. He just pushed his friend into the water.

Then Born-to-be-the-Sun went ashore. He went out of the canoe and sat down on the beach. He pulled out his musk-bag and transformed it into a man, who was sitting there, small, on the beach. Then he spoke to his past Musk-Bag. "To what tribe do you belong, slave?" Thus said Born-to-be-the-Sun. "I am the Musk-Bag of Born-to-be-the-Sun," [only] said the child. "Don't say that, slave," said Born-to-be-the-Sun. "You shall say, when you are asked, 'I am the prince of the Innumerable-Ones.'" Then he went home. The Musk-Bag was sitting in the bow of the canoe. He said that he had taken him in war. Then he wailed for his past friend, "Tsanâ'nanâ'! My friend died by going behind the houses, tsanâ'nanâ'! My friend died by going in front of the houses, tsanâ'nanâ'!"--"Our chief says something important on the water," said his tribe. Then he went ashore. Born-to-be-the-Sun went out of the canoe. Then he pulled out of the canoe the slave he had gotten. The slave was questioned. "To what tribe do you belong, slave?" Thus was said by the tribe of Born-to-be-the-Sun. "I am the musk-bag, of Born-to-be-the-Sun," [only] said the slave. Then he was made fun of. They just threw at each other the musk-bag of Born-to-be-the-Sun; and Born-to-be-the-Sun's sister sang for him, "Try to sit on it! Try to sit on his musk-bag!" Then Born-to-be-the-Sun tried to sit on his musk-bag, and he caught it. He put it back in its place.

Then he entered the house. Then the wife of the dead friend came in. She was dressed well, and inquired what had killed her dead husband. "Don't!" said Born-to-be-the-Sun. "Go to your house. Let me point out what killed my dead friend. Just stop up all the holes in your house." Then the woman went home. Immediately she stopped up the holes. Then Born-to-be-the-Sun entered her house. "That is what killed my past friend," he said, pointing to her forehead. He went down pointing at the body of the woman. "Lean back, that I may point out all that killed my friend. Open your legs! That is what killed my friend." There was no place on the woman's groins that he did not point at. Then he climbed on Sawbill-Duck-Woman. He only wanted to cohabit with Sawbill-Duck-Woman. "I am the one who did it to my dead friend." That is the end. 1

Footnotes:
161:1 For the story of Mink and the Wolves, see F. Boas, The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians (Annual Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1895, p. 725).

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.