When Raven Was Killed...
relations with humans:When Raven Was Killed
Raven had played so many tricks on mankind for so long that one day a great chief decided to kill him. The chief invited Raven to visit him and when the black bird wasn't watching, he quickly threw him into a large skin bag which he tied tightly shut so that the troublesome bird would not escape. Then, with the large bag over his shoulder, the man began to climb a very high and steep mountain which was close by the village. It was very dark inside of the skin bag so Raven could not see anything. He asked the man what he was doing, but the chief ignored him. As the chief climbed higher and higher, Raven spoke out again. "Where are you taking me?" he asked. The chief just kept on climbing. "I can tell that you are climbing a mountain," insisted Raven. "Why are you carrying me there? What are you going to do to me?" The man ignored him still and continued to climb. Raven warned the chief that he would be sorry if he killed him, saying that bad things would befall his people. When the chief was on top of the mountain he threw the bag with Raven over the side. As it fell, it struck the side of the steep cliff and ripped open. Raven was torn to pieces by the jagged rocks as he crashed to the ground far below. The chief had killed Raven! When the chief returned to his village, he showed the people the pieces of Raven so that they knew what he had done. All of the men called him a great chief for killing the mischievous trickster. For several days the villagers were happy and they celebrated. Finally, though, some people started to notice that all of the water was gone. They went to the river, but it was dry. They went to a lake, but it was empty. There was no water to be found! Then the people began to get thirsty. They knew that they could not live long without water. The people asked why the water had vanished and a shaman told them that it was gone because the chief had killed Raven. Now the villagers were not happy that Raven was dead and they wanted him back before everyone died. The shaman told the chief that he had to put Raven back together. The chief took all of the pieces of the dead bird and put them together again. When he was finished Raven came back to life! He jumped up and started to fly away, but he first asked the chief why he had brought him back to life. "All of the water has gone," the chief replied, "and only you can return it."
Raven flew up higher and then spoke to the man, "Look around you, there is water everywhere." The chief turned and saw that the lake was full and that the river ran deep and fast again. As Raven disappeared in the distance, the chief promised never to try to kill Raven again. Because of his powers and role in their heritage, natives do not kill ravens.
Raven had played so many tricks on mankind for so long that one day a great chief decided to kill him. The chief invited Raven to visit him and when the black bird wasn't watching, he quickly threw him into a large skin bag which he tied tightly shut so that the troublesome bird would not escape. Then, with the large bag over his shoulder, the man began to climb a very high and steep mountain which was close by the village. It was very dark inside of the skin bag so Raven could not see anything. He asked the man what he was doing, but the chief ignored him. As the chief climbed higher and higher, Raven spoke out again. "Where are you taking me?" he asked. The chief just kept on climbing. "I can tell that you are climbing a mountain," insisted Raven. "Why are you carrying me there? What are you going to do to me?" The man ignored him still and continued to climb. Raven warned the chief that he would be sorry if he killed him, saying that bad things would befall his people. When the chief was on top of the mountain he threw the bag with Raven over the side. As it fell, it struck the side of the steep cliff and ripped open. Raven was torn to pieces by the jagged rocks as he crashed to the ground far below. The chief had killed Raven! When the chief returned to his village, he showed the people the pieces of Raven so that they knew what he had done. All of the men called him a great chief for killing the mischievous trickster. For several days the villagers were happy and they celebrated. Finally, though, some people started to notice that all of the water was gone. They went to the river, but it was dry. They went to a lake, but it was empty. There was no water to be found! Then the people began to get thirsty. They knew that they could not live long without water. The people asked why the water had vanished and a shaman told them that it was gone because the chief had killed Raven. Now the villagers were not happy that Raven was dead and they wanted him back before everyone died. The shaman told the chief that he had to put Raven back together. The chief took all of the pieces of the dead bird and put them together again. When he was finished Raven came back to life! He jumped up and started to fly away, but he first asked the chief why he had brought him back to life. "All of the water has gone," the chief replied, "and only you can return it."
Raven flew up higher and then spoke to the man, "Look around you, there is water everywhere." The chief turned and saw that the lake was full and that the river ran deep and fast again. As Raven disappeared in the distance, the chief promised never to try to kill Raven again. Because of his powers and role in their heritage, natives do not kill ravens.