Post by blackcrowheart on Jun 10, 2008 11:52:01 GMT -5
Legend of the Moon - Kwakiutl
Taken from Tales of Kitamaat by Gordon Robinson, July 1956.
Haisla people, a branch of the Kwakiutl
Weegit surveyed the situation and was sad. It was night time and there was no light- things looked black indeed. He thought of the fact that the sun shone during the day and there was plenty of light then but who wanted light during the day? That only meant a man had to work for a living. What was necessary was some source of light for the night; something which would give just enough light so that people would think of nothing but pleasure. Ah, that was it. Something that would make that particular person think of nothing but pleasure.
But where was such an object available Of course there was that luminous globe which was known as the Na-gwa-chi and which belonged to that old man, but who- ever heard of that old goat thinking of pleasurable things? "He will never let me have the Nagwachi even by fair means. There- fore I will have to get it by other means," thought Weegit to himself. He assumed the form of a raven and flew to a tree close by the house of the old man and there he sat spying on the activities of the people in the house. He soon noticed that the old man s daughter quite often went to a well close by to get pailfuls of water. Weegit turned himself into a pine needle and sat floating on the water in the well. Very soon the girl came for another pail of water and when she dipped it up she also got Weegit in the form of a pine needle into her pail. She decided to take a drink and as she did so she unintentionally swallowed the pine needle. Weegit now found himself within the lair and unsuspecting maiden and in due course was born to her as a son. Time passed and Weegit was now a mischievous toddler, the apple of his grandfather's eye, and forever trying to manoeuvre himself into a position where he could take possession of the Nagwachi.
One evening when the old man was dozing on his couch Weegit grabbed the Nagwachi and started rolling it out the door. The old man suddenly awakened and pursued Weegit. In and out among the trees Weegit rolled the Nagwachi trying to outdistance the old man, but the old man wanted so badly to' regain the Nagwachi that he steadily closed the distance separating himself from Weegit. Just as the old man overtook him, Weegit suddenly threw the Nagwachi up into the sky, changed himself into a raven and flew away satisfied that he had at last connived to get a source of light for the night-for the Nagwachi stayed up in the night sky destined forever, it seemed, to give a soft light to mischievous Weegit.
Taken from Tales of Kitamaat by Gordon Robinson, July 1956.
Haisla people, a branch of the Kwakiutl
Weegit surveyed the situation and was sad. It was night time and there was no light- things looked black indeed. He thought of the fact that the sun shone during the day and there was plenty of light then but who wanted light during the day? That only meant a man had to work for a living. What was necessary was some source of light for the night; something which would give just enough light so that people would think of nothing but pleasure. Ah, that was it. Something that would make that particular person think of nothing but pleasure.
But where was such an object available Of course there was that luminous globe which was known as the Na-gwa-chi and which belonged to that old man, but who- ever heard of that old goat thinking of pleasurable things? "He will never let me have the Nagwachi even by fair means. There- fore I will have to get it by other means," thought Weegit to himself. He assumed the form of a raven and flew to a tree close by the house of the old man and there he sat spying on the activities of the people in the house. He soon noticed that the old man s daughter quite often went to a well close by to get pailfuls of water. Weegit turned himself into a pine needle and sat floating on the water in the well. Very soon the girl came for another pail of water and when she dipped it up she also got Weegit in the form of a pine needle into her pail. She decided to take a drink and as she did so she unintentionally swallowed the pine needle. Weegit now found himself within the lair and unsuspecting maiden and in due course was born to her as a son. Time passed and Weegit was now a mischievous toddler, the apple of his grandfather's eye, and forever trying to manoeuvre himself into a position where he could take possession of the Nagwachi.
One evening when the old man was dozing on his couch Weegit grabbed the Nagwachi and started rolling it out the door. The old man suddenly awakened and pursued Weegit. In and out among the trees Weegit rolled the Nagwachi trying to outdistance the old man, but the old man wanted so badly to' regain the Nagwachi that he steadily closed the distance separating himself from Weegit. Just as the old man overtook him, Weegit suddenly threw the Nagwachi up into the sky, changed himself into a raven and flew away satisfied that he had at last connived to get a source of light for the night-for the Nagwachi stayed up in the night sky destined forever, it seemed, to give a soft light to mischievous Weegit.