The Mythology Book

(Chris Devlin) #1

242


F


or the Inuit in Alaska and
other parts of the western
Arctic region, Raven was
a powerful creator god. He created
the world, bringing light, man, and
animals into being. At the same
time, Raven was a trickster and
a shape-shifter, concealing his
human form inside a bird’s body.
This is a common characteristic
of other animal heroes in Native
American myth.
Inuit stories involving Raven
and the whale explored the dual
nature of Raven’s transformation: he
changed his shape, but also learned

from the disasters that befell him.
In many retellings of the story,
the trickster hero was entirely
manipulative and self-serving,
while other adaptations allowed
Raven to redeem himself through
healing dances and songs. Central
to each story, however, was the
sacred sacrifice of the whale, and
the honoring of its inua, or soul.

Raven sees the whale
According to one Inuit myth, Raven
gazed out at sea from the shore,
admiring the world he had created.
In the wide expanse of blue, he
spied a large, graceful shape
moving through the water. Curious,
Raven flew closer and realized it
was a whale. He had never seen the
inside of this mammoth creature
and commanded the great beast
to open its mouth. When the whale
obeyed, Raven flew inside, carrying
his fire drill, as he always did.
He found himself in a room,
beautifully lit by a lamp at one end
and guarded by a young woman.

The Inuit carved masks, such as
this 19th-century stylized raven, to
wear at ritual dances. Animal masks
were popular, but masks could also
represent people or characteristics.

SHE WAS THE


SHADE OF


THE WHALE


THE RAVEN AND THE WHALE


IN BRIEF


THEME
Animal tricksters

SOURCE
Oral tradition recorded in The
Eskimo about Bering Strait,
Edward W. Nelson, 1899.

SETTING
The Arctic in ancient times.

KEY FIGURES
Raven Creator of the world,
a trickster god.

Whale A sea creature honored
by the Inuit.

A woman The inua, the heart
and soul, or spirit, of the whale.

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THE AMERICAS 243


Carved from wood, this mask takes
the form of a whale, but also resembles
a canoe with oars. It may have been
worn during Inuit ceremonies to
ensure a successful hunt.

See also: Cherokee creation 236–37 ■ Spider Woman 238–39 ■ The Woge settle a dispute 240–41 ■ The Hero Twins 244–47

Raven recognized the woman as
the whale’s inua, its heart and soul.
The woman told Raven to stand
back from the lamp. He did as she
asked but noticed that oil dripped
into the lamp from a tube running
along the whale’s backbone.

Tempted by the oil
The inua offered to fetch berries
and oil for her guest. Before she left
the room, she warned Raven not to

touch the tube from which the
oil was dripping while she was
out of the room. The same thing
happened the next day, and the day
after that. Each time the woman
fetched food for Raven, she warned
him not to touch the oil.
For three days, Raven was
patient, but on the fourth day, he
could not contain his greed. As
soon as the woman had left the
room, Raven clawed at the tube and
licked the oil as fast as he could.
When he ripped the tube from the
ceiling to make the oil flow faster,
the oil gushed out, flooded the
whale’s belly, and extinguished
the lamp, plunging the room into
total darkness.
The inua never returned. Raven
rolled around inside the whale as it
thrashed about in the ocean. The
great animal only became still as
the waves washed its dead body

The sacred whale hunt


The whale hunt is an ancient Inuit
practice, central to the Artic
people’s survival and beliefs, a
version of which continues today.
Whaling communities prepared for
the annual hunt by making new
clothes and boat covers. Hunters
performed cleansing ceremonies
and armed themselves with
specially carved amulets and

weapons. These rituals showed
great respect to the whale and
its spirit, and represented deeply
held beliefs that the hunters’
success depended on securing
the spirit’s cooperation.
After the hunt, the Inuit
welcomed the dead whale with
a gift of fresh water presented in
a ceremonial bucket. They sang
songs to celebrate the whale’s
sacrifice. Honoring the whale in
this way ensured success the
following year, for the whale’s
spirit would return to the sea to
tell other whales that it had
been well treated.

Inuit people traditionally hunted
narwhals and other whales, sea otters,
and seals. They also fished for salmon
through holes in the ice.

The raven raised one of
its wings, pushed up its beak,
like a mask, to the top of
its head, and changed at
once into a man.
The Eskimo about
Bering Strait

to the shore. As soon as the people
heard about the whale, they ran to
the shore to cut away the meat, and
Raven escaped unnoticed. He
returned as a man and warned the
people that if they found a fire drill
inside the whale they would die.
The people ran away in fright
while Raven, transformed back into
a bird once more, gave thanks to
the whale’s inua for the feast he
was about to enjoy. ■

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