Mythology Book

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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