boas the origin of death

8/2/2019 Boas the Origin of Death

1/7

The Origin of Death

Franz Boas

The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 30, No. 118. (Oct. - Dec., 1917), pp. 486-491.

Stable URL:

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8715%28191710%2F12%2930%3A118%3C486%3ATOOD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P

The Journal of American Folklore is currently published by American Folklore Society.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtainedprior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content inthe JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://www.jstor.org/journals/folk.html.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printedpage of such transmission.

The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academicjournals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers,and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community takeadvantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

http://www.jstor.orgFri Jun 29 16:24:33 2007
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8715%28191710%2F12%2930%3A118%3C486%3ATOOD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Phttp://www.jstor.org/about/terms.htmlhttp://www.jstor.org/journals/folk.htmlhttp://www.jstor.org/journals/folk.htmlhttp://www.jstor.org/about/terms.htmlhttp://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-8715%28191710%2F12%2930%3A118%3C486%3ATOOD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P


2/7

Journal of American Folk-Lore.

N O T E S A N D Q U E R I E S.THEORIGINOF D E A T H .- T he s t o r y of th e o rig in of d ea th , due to a de -cis ion of t w o personages, on e of w hom w an ts m an t o be immo rta l , while th eo th er one wishes h im to d ie , is wide ly sp read in wes te rn N or th Amer ica .A m o n g t h e Thompson Indians, Co y o t e a n d Ra v e n d i s c u s s w h e t h e r m a n

is t o b e i m m o r t a l o r m o r t a l. Ra v e n w a n t s m a n t o d ie , be c au se o t h er w i sethere would be tDo ma ny people. H e ca ll s th em h is enemies. In a counci l,Ra v e n , C r o w , F l y , Ma g g o t , v o t e fo r d e a t h , b e ca u se t h e y w a n t t o fe ed o ncorpses. Co y o t e w a n t s d e a t h t o b e l i k e s l e e p . The dec i s ion i s made infavor of Rav en , an d Rave n ' s da ugh te r is the f ir s t one to d ie . f h e n R a v e nw ishe s t o c h a n g e t h e d e ci si on , C o y o t e s a y s t h a t i t c a n n o t b e a l t e re d ( T e i t ,M A F L S 11 : I ) . I n ano the r ve r s ion Sp ider say s th a t A nt will cu t himse lfin two, an d wil l d ie . A nt replies t h a t he wil l revive af ter a few days.S p i d e r w a n t s p e op le t o r e m a i n d e a d , b e c a u se o th e r w ise t h e r e w o u ld b e t o oma ny . F ly i s consu l t ed , and dec ides in favor of Sp ider , because he wa n t shis chi ldren to live on the dea d bodies . Spider 's child d ies , an d in vain her e g r e t s t h e d e ci si on ( T e i t , J E 8 : 329) . In s t i ll ano the r ve rs ion R ave nask s Old-One to l e t hi s ch ild d ie fo r good ( Te i t , J E 8 : 330).- I n t h eKutenai t a l e th e chie f wishes th a t everybo dy sha l l d i e twice . T he peop lea g r ee , e x ce p t in g Ra v e n , w h o w a n t s t o e a t t h e e y e s of c o rp se s . His d ec i s ionis accepted. T h e people ki ll R aven ' s tw o ch i ld ren , and he wishes in v a into have the p rev ious dec i s ion r ever sed (Boas , BBAE 59 : 213). - T h eLillooet vers ions a r e as fol lows: Som e one asks R ave n t h a t peop le sha l l d ie .Ra ven consen t s . T h e man ' s ch i ld d ies , an d he r eg re ts th e dec is ion (Te i t ,J A F L 2 5 : 356) . I n ano the r ve rs ion R aven wins over Old-One , an d the re -fo re people d ie. Rav en ' s ch i ld is the f ir s t one to d ie , an d he r eg re t s t h edec is ion (Te i t , JA F L 25 : 356). I t seems l ike ly th a t in the fo rmer L i l looe tvers ion th e persons have been reversed b y mistake. - A Shuswap f r a g m e n tp robab ly re f er s to the sam e t a l e . T h e son of Old-One d ies , and th us de a thi s i nt r od u c e d ( T e i t , J E 2 : 746).- A Sanpoil ta le i s not ve ry c lear . A m a nki l l s and bur i es h i s son , and h i s s i s t e r d i sappear s in the cave in which herb r o t h e r h a d b e en b u ri ed . F o x , H a w k , a n d E a g le t r y i n v a i n t o b r in g h e rb a c k . T h r e e d a y s a f t e r t h i s t h e V u l t u r e lo se s h is d a u g h t e r , a n d a sk s t h echie f t o r es to re he r to life . T he n he i s to ld , th a t , s ince a t his ins t ance i t wa sdec ided th a t peop le sha l l d i e, t h e gi rl can no t be res to red (Gould , M A F L S11 : 106).- T h e Ute te l l of the d iscussion of two brothers . T h e you nge ro n e w a n t s m a n t o r e t u r n a f te r d e a t h ; t h e e ld er o n e w a n t s h i m t o r e m a indead . T he younger then k i ll s th e e lde r one ' s ch ild , wh ich , owing to th eprev ious dec is ion , cann o t r e tu rn to l if e (Powel l, R B A E I : 44). - T h eShoshoni ver s ion i s ve ry b r ie f. Wolf s ay s th a t the Ind ian s sha l l no t d ie .C o y o t e w a n t s t h e m t o d i e ( L ow ie , P a A M 2 : 239) . -T h e Assiniboin s a yth a t Ink ton 'mi d i scussed the ques t ion of l if e and de a th w i th . th e an imal s .So me one wan ted people to r ev ive a f t e r four days , b u t Ink ton 'mi dec idedt h e y sh o u ld r e m a i n d e a d ( L ow i e, P a A M 4 : 104).-T h e Quinault t e l l t ha tE a g l e ' s c h i l d d i e s , a n d Ra v e n d e c i d e s t h a t i t m u s t r e m a i n d e a d ( F a r r a n d ,J E 2 : I I I ) .-T h e Coos sa y th a t the chi ld of a ma n d ies. Hi s cousin w an t s


3/7

487otes and Queries.it to remain dead, while he himself wants it to come back after four days.Then the child of the other man dies and cannot be revived (Frachtenberg,CU I :4 3 ; translation in lower Umpqua, CU 4 : 4 1 ) .- In Takelma, Coyoterefuses to lend his blanket to a Bug whose child has died because he doesnot want i t to revive. Then Coyote's child dies, and cannot be revived onaccount of his previous refusal (Sapir, UPenn 2 :99 , see also JAFL 20: 4 9 ) .-The Klamath say that dea th was arranged in a discussion between K'mut-kamtch, Mole, Fly-Bug, and Garter-Snake. Garter-Snake wants man t oshed his skin as he does, while the others want man to grow old and die(Gatschet, CNAE 2 : 103) .- Professor Kroeber informs me that the Yurokhave several versions of the tale of the origin of death, in all of which thelarva of a locust. sometimes associated with the mole. amear as the actors., a .Often they are designated as "those through whom we die." According toone version, they plot death, and they are evils that are partly checkcd; inanother one there is an argument in which they prevail over their opponents.Th e latter become anchored under certain rocks along the course of theriver in which their s ~ i r i t still reside.-The Huba tell th at the culture-herotries t o travel around the world to make it large enough for people, when old,t o be rejuvenated. His enemies plot to prevent this, and place women inhis way who seduce him and thus thwart his plan. Therefore man is mortal(Goddard, UCal I : 132) .- According to the Shasta, Cricket's child dies,an d Coyote wants it to be buried. He wants man to die, because the worldwill be too full. When Coyote's child dies, the previous arrangement can-not be changed (Dixon, JAFL 23 :1 9 ; Kroeber, UCal4 : 1 8 0 ) .- ln anotherversion the same story is told of Spider and Coyote (Frachtenberg-Farrand,JAFL 28 : 209) .- Among the Wintun , Olelbis wants people to go up tothe sky when old, to bathe there, and return young. He orders Buzzardto build a road for this purpose. Coyote tells Buzzard to stop work.Coyote is the first to die (Curt in, Creation Myths of Primitive America,163 , 174) . The Achomawi tell that Fox wants man to come back afterdeath. Coyote wants him to remain dead. Nobody comes back afterdeath, and so Coyote prevails (Powers, CNAE 3 : 2 7 3 ) .- The Yanatell that Coyote, Cottontai l-Rabbit , Gray-Squirrel, and Lizard are ina sweat-house. Coyote wants man to die. The others object, and wantth e dead to come back. Lizard causes a man to become sick. He dies,and is buried in a sweat-house. He moves until Coyote kicks th e grave.Then the people make a rattlesnake, which kills Coyote's son. Althoughhe wishes him to revive, the former decision cannot be changed (Sapir,UCal 9 : 9 1 ) .-Among the Maidu, Earth-Namer wants people to comeback t o life. Coyote objects. Then Coyote's son is bitten by a rattlesnakeand dies. In vain he wishes him to revive (Dixon, BAM 17 :46 , 47; PAES4 :29 , 51 ) . In another Maidu version, Earth-Initiate wants people to re-vive. Coyote objects (Dixon, BAM 17 :4 3 ; JAFL 1 6 : 3 4 ) . Still anotherMaidu version has been recorded by Merriam. Hi1-kaht wants people torevive. Meadow-Lark objects, and Coyote agrees with Meadow-Lark.Then Coyote's child is bitten by a rattlesnake and dies. I t cannot be re-vived on account of the previous decision (Merriam, The Dawn of the World,55). The Nishinam (southern Maidu) say that Moon wanted men toreturn, as the moon waxes and wanes. Coyote wanted bodies to be cre-mated. Then Moon created the rattlesnake, which killed Coyote's child,


4/7

J o u r n a l of Am erica n Folk -Lore .a n d t h e d e ci si o n c o u ld n o t b e c h a n g e d ( P ow e r s, C N A E 3 : 341).- T h eWishosk hav e a simi l a r con tes t be tween Frog and Sp inaga r lu . F rog ' s ch i ldd i e s , and Sp inaga r lu dec ides t ha t he sha l l r ema in dead . L a t e r o n S p i n a -g a r lu ' s c h il d d i es a n d c a n n o t b e r ev iv e d ( K r o e b e r , J A F L 18 : 96, 499).-I n a Miwok t a l e , B lack -Liza rd wan t s peop le t o rev ive . $ l e a d o w - L a r k r e -f u se s , s a y i n g t h a t d e a d b o d i es s t i n k ( M e r r i a t n , LC.,j j). I n a n o t h e r v e r si onF a l c o n t r i es t o r e v iv e h i s wife , b u t M e a d o w - L a r k s a y s t h a t h e s m e ll s a d e a db o d y . If he had no t don e so , t h e dead wou ld rev ive a f t e r fou r da ys (Ibid.,132). In s t il l an o th e r ve rs ion C oyo te is so u th of t he f i r st person th a t d i ed ;M e a d o w - L a r k , n o r t h . T h e c o r p s e s t i n k s . C o y o t e w a n t s t o r e v iv e t h ed e a d o n e , b u t M e a d o w - L a r k o b j e c t s , s a y i n g t h a t t h e r e w i l l b e t o o m a n ypeop le (Kroebe r , UCa l 4 : 203).- T h e s a y t h a tashoxv~ Yok~~ts s o m ep e op l e w a n t e d t h e d e a d t o l ie n e a r t h e h o u s e f o r t h r e e d a y s . RIeadow-Larkd is li ke d t h e s m el l, a n d p e r s u ad e d p e o pl e t o b u r n t h e b o d y ( K r o e b e r, U C a l4 : 20j). X r a t h e r c on f us ed s t a t e m e n t h a s b ee n r e co r d ed a m o n g t h eTruhohi Yokuts. T w o in s e c ts a r g u e . O n e of t h e m d o e s n o t w a n t m a n ypeople to l ive . H e a r r a n g e s t h a t m e d ic in e -m e n s h a ll k il l p e op l e, a n d t h a tthe re sha l l be a ceremony fo r t h e dead . Co yo te ag rees . O the r peop le d ono t l i ke i t . Ap paren t ly t h i s be longs t o a s imi l a r t a l e . A YauelmaniYokuts s t o r y se e m s t o b e c on f us ed w i t h t h e o ri gi n of t h e h u m a n h a n d . I ti s s t a t e d t h a t C o y o t e b r o u g h t i t a b o u t t h a t p e o ple d i e b ec au se h u m a n h a n d sare no t c losed l ike h is . L iz ar d t h e n m a d e t h e h u m a n h a n d s a s th e y a r e ;b u t C o y o t e o r d ai n ed t h a t m a n s h o ul d d ie . - A m o n g t h e Yuki, d e a t h i sb r o u g h t i n t o t h e w o rl d t h r o u g h t h e i n s t r u m e n t a l it y of C o y o t e , w h o s e s o nd ies an d is bur i ed by h im. T h e c rea to r of fe rs t o res to re h im t o lif e, bu tC o y o t e in s i st s t h a t t h e d e a d s h a l l r e m a in d e a d ( K r o e b e r , U C a l 4 : 184).-T h e Pomo of C lear L ak e be lieve th a t Meado w-L ark i s responsib le fo r per-m a n e n t d e a t h ( M e r r i a m , LC., 213).-T h e Ll~iseffoell of a qu ar re l inw h i c h F o g , T h u n d e r (?), and LVind (?) w a n t e d m a n t o d ie , w h il e o t h e r sw a n t e d h i m t o li ve a n d c h an g e . N o f u r t h e r d e t ai ls a r e g iv e n, b u t t h e m y t hs e e m s t o f o r m p a r t of t h a t of t h e d y i n g g od ( K r o e b e r, J A F L 19 : 313).-A m o n g t h e DiegueRo t h e p e op l e d e l i b e r a t e w h e t h e r t h e y s h a ll d i e fo r e v e r,l e av e f o r a t i m e a n d r e t u r n , o r li ve f o re v er . T h e F l y d e ci de s t h a t t h e y a r et o d i e f or e ve r ( D u B o is, J A F L 14 : 183).- T h e Papago s a y t h a t a W o r mwa n ted peop le t o d ie , an d t h a t d ea th was i n t roduced a s a re su lt of a d i scus-s ion in wh ich i t was sa id t ha t t he wor ld wou ld be t oo sma l l i f eve rybodyc o n t i n u e d t o l iv e (H . R. K r o e b er , J A F L 25 : 97).- T h e C ~ u rd'Aldne ta lep rob ab ly be longs he re , a l thou gh the reco rd d if fe rs som ewh a t i n t ype . Aw o m a n h a s t w i n c h i ld r e n w h o fa i n t a w a y . W h e n t h ei r m o t h e r r e t u r n s i nth e evening , she no t ices t rack s of fee t . Sh e obse rves t he ch i ld ren sec re t ly ,a n d h e a r s t h e m a rg u in g . T h e o n e s a y s i t is b e tt e r t o b e d e a d ; t h e o t h e r o n ewishes to be a l ive . W h e n t h e y d i s co v e r h e r, t h e y s t o p t a l k in g ; a n d s in c et h a t t i m e p e o p le d ie . A p p a r e n t l y t h i s s t o r y c o n t a i n s e l em e n t s of t h e d o g -m o t h e r s t o r y ' ( T e i t , M A F L S I I : 125).I d o u b t w h e th e r t h e IVishram s t o ry of t h e or ig in of d ea th be longs here .Coyo te ' s a nd Eag le ' s wives and the i r two sons d ie . T h e y a r e b r o u gh t b a c kf r o m t h e c o u n t r y of t h e G h o s t s , b u t C o y o t e l e t s t h e m e s c ap e f r o m t h e b o xi n w h i c h t h e y a r e c a r ri e d . There fo re peop le d i e fo r good . I f h e h a d n o td o n e s o , t h e y w o u ld c o m e b a c k t o s t a y i n o u r w o r l d d u r i n g t h e f all a n d s p r in g .

See, for instance.Thompson Indians (Teit, MAFLS 6 :62 ; I I :30) .


5/7

489otes and Queries.Of somewhat different type is the story of the Plains. Two individualsagree th at if a n object thrown into the water comes up after having been

thrown in, man shall revive. If i t stays a t the bottom, he shall remain dead.I n a tale of the H a r e I n d i a n s the beetle agotsu tt ( L a m i a obscura) and Frogargue. Th e former wants man to die; the latter, to live. Th e formerthrows a stone into the water, which sinks, and therefore man dies (Petitot,115 ) .- The Dog-Rib Indians say that the animals wanted the dead to belike seeds thrown into the water, tha t spring to life. The culture-heroChapewee, however, decided that they were to be like stones, that disap-pear (Sir John Franklin, Narrat ive of a Second Expedition t o the Shoresof the Polar Sea [London, 18281, p. 293) .- The K a s k a tell that Fox andBear have a contest. Fox throws a stick into the water, which rises to thesurface: therefore old people are to come back young. Th en Bear throws astone on top of the stick, so that it does not come up again, and thereforepeople do not revive after they have died (Kaska, JAFL 3 0 : 4 3 4 , 4 4 4 ) .- In an Arapaho story , buffalo-chips are thrown into the water, whichfloat. Then a stone is thrown in, which sinks (Dorsey and Kroeber,FM 5 : 1 7 ) . In another Arapaho version a stick is thrown first, thena buffalo-chip, pith, and a stone. The sto ry is referred to the whites andthe Indians, pith representing the whites ( Ib id . , FM 5 : 8 1 ) . The sametale occurs among the Blackfeet. Old-Man throws into the water abuffalo-chip, saying that if it floats, people shall be dead for four days.Old-Woman does not accept this, but throws a stone into the water,saying th at if i t sinks, people shall remain dead forever (Wissler, PaAM2 :20 ) . In another version the woman's child dies a few days after, andcannot be revived on account of the previous decision (Grinnell, BlackfootLodge Tales, 1 3 8 ) . In a Nor th Piegan version the same discussion occurs;but when Old-Man throws the buffalo-chip, Old-Woman transforms it intostone (Wissler, PaAM 2 : 2 1 ) . At another place it is stated t ha t a woman'schild is sick. Old-Man goes to a river with the mother, and asks herwhether he shall throw a stone or buffalo-chip. If what he throws floats,the child will recover; if i t sinks, it will die. She chooses the stone, whichsinks, and therefore the child dies. Therefore all the people must die(Grinnell, Blackfoot Lodge Tales, 2 7 2 ) .- In a Cheyenne tale it is agreedthat if a stone floats, and if a buffalo-chip sinks, man is to live. When thestone is thrown into the water, it floats for a moment and finally sinks.When the chip is thrown in, it sinks for a moment and then rises (Kroeber,JAFL I 3 : 1 6 1 ) .- In the Comanche story it is said t ha t in former times thedead came to life after four days. Coyote throws a stone into the waterand says the dead shall do as the stone. As i t did not come back, the deadremain dead (Lowie-St. Clair, JAFL 22 :280) .- The Jicar i l la Apachesay th at Raven divined to see whether people would die. First he threwinto the water a stick on which skins are stretched when drying. Whenthis came to the surface, he tried again and threw a stone muller. I t didnot come to the surface, and therefore people die (Goddard, PaAM 8 : 194) .Russell records the same story from the Jicarilla Apache, telling that a logwas thrown into the water which sank (JAFL I I :2 5 8 ) .-The N a w h o tellof a divination. The hide-scraper is thrown into the water; and the dis-putants say th at if i t floats, man is to live. When Coyote divines, he throwsa stone into the water, and, since it sinks, man is mortal. He says th at if


6/7

490 Journal of American Folk-Lore.m a n w e r e n o t m o r t a l , t h e e a r t h w o u ld b e t o o s m a ll ( M a t t h e w s , L l A F L S5 :77).

H an s Errede ha s a l so recorded a s imi l a r t a l e f rom Greenlan'd . A d i s ~ u t ea r os e bet w e e n t w o m e n r e ga r d ing t h e a dva n t a g e s of ha v i ng m a n d i e. Sincet h a t t i m e m a n is m or t a l . ( Se e a l so R i nk , T a l e s a nd T r a d i t i o ns of t h eE s k i m o , 41; D a v i d C r a n t z , H i s t o r i e von G r on l a nd [ B a r by , 176 jJ, 262.)I d o n o t f ee l q u i t e c e rt a in t h a t t h i s s t o r y is co r re c tl y i n te r p r e te d . I t isp r oba b l y a na l ogous t o t he s t o r y of t he o ri g in of d a y a n d n i gh t, t o ld o n t hew e s t c oa s t of H ud s on B a y ( B oa s , B A M I j : 306).P e t i t o t (114) r e c o rds a no t he r H a r e - I nd i a n t a le , i n w h ic h i t is sa i d t h a t am a n a n d h is w ife w e r e p l a y ing a n d da nc i ng on t he bo rde r of t h e s ky . T h e yb e g a n t o c r y , " O h , o u r c h i ld r e n ! " a n d s in c e t h a t t i m e m a n is m o r ta l.

I t a p p e a r s fr o m t h e se n o te s t h a t t h e s t o r y of t h e o r ig in of d e a t h d u e t o ad i scuss ion occurs i n tw o pr inc ipa l fo rms , - a wes t e rn one , i n which t hedec is ion i s made in a counc il : a second one . i n which th e dec is ion i s due t o a na c t of divina t ion . I n t h e f o r m e r c as e al l t he t yp i c al f o r m s of t h e s t o r y e ndw i t h t h e i nc ide n t t h a t t he c h i ld of t h e pe rs on w ho i n s t i t u t e d d e a t h d i e s, a n dt h a t t he n t h e de ci si on c a nno t be r e voke d . T h i s s t o r y is f ound i n a c on -t i nuo us t e r r it o r y e x t end i ng f r om s ou t he r n C a l if o r n ia no r t hw a r d a s f a r a sL il looe t. I t i s p r oba b l y n o t know n t o t h e coa s t t r i be s i n t he re gion of t h eC o l u m b i a R iv e r. T h e s e co n d t y p e , i n w h ic h d e a t h is d u e t o t h e o u t c o m eof d i v i na t i on , ha s be e n r e c o rde d a m o ng no r t he r n A t ha pa s c a n t r ibe s , t heA r a pa h o , B l a c k f ob t, C he ye nne , C om a nc he , Ji ca ri ll a A pa c he , a nd K a va h o .I t i s therefore ch arac ter i s t ic of th e whole region of th e eas te rn foot -hi l ls oft h e R o c k y M o u n t a i n s a n d of t h e a dj o in in g t e r ri t o ry . I t c a n n o t b e s t a t e dw i t h c e r t a i n t y how f a r e a s t i t e x t e nds i n t he Ma c ke nz i e a r e a .Ou t s ide of t h e d i s t r i c t he re desc r ibed , t a l e s of o the r t ypes a re found . T h eta l e s of t h e or ig in of de a th which a re found o n th e K or th Pac i f ic coas t no r thof Van couve r I s l and h av e been d i scussed in m y sum m ary of Ts imsh ian my-t ho lo g y ( R B A E 31 : 663).- I n t h e Paw nee t al e of t h e orig in of t h e baske t -ga m e t he o ri gi n of de a t h is m e n t i oned . T h e gods m a ke t he im a ge s of a b o ya n d of a g irl. T h e y g i ve a r r ow s t o t he boy , a n d o r de r h im t o s hoo t a n i m a l si n o r d e r t o se e w h e t h e r m a n i s t o b e m o r t a l o r i m m o r t a l . T h e y s a y , " L e th im k il l on e of t h e an im a l s : an d wha tev e r k ind he k il ls , l e t i t be so!" Th e r ei s no fur the r exp lana t ion of t he i nc iden t (Dorsey , CI 59 : 44). I n a q u i t ed i f fe ren t t a l e , L igh tn ing p l aces t he cons t e l l a t i ons on the ground . T h e ywould hav e li ved on e a r th a n imm or t a l r ace if a wolf h ad n o t been sen t byt h e s t a r F oo l- C oyo t e t o s te a l L i gh t n ing ' s ba g. T he W ol ves a r e kille d by t h ep eo p le , a n d t h u s d e a t h i s i n tr o d u c e d ( D o r s e y , M A F I A S 8 : I;). - T h eCaddo say tha t Coyote was d i s sa t i s f i ed because some dead re turned whi l eo t he r s s t a i d a w a y . T he r e fo r e he a r r a nge d s o t h a t e ve r ybody shou l d r e m a i nd e a d ( D o rs e y, C I 41 : 14). I n a n o t h e r v e rs io n i t i s s ai d t h a t a ll t h e p eo p lew a n t t h e d e a d t o r e t u r n a f te r a s h o r t ti m e. C o y o t e w a n t s t h e m t o r em a i ndead . T h e de ad a re rev ived in a medic ine - lodge to which th e sou l s come ina w h i rl w ind . C oyo t e s h u t s t he doo r of t h e l odge w he n t h e w h i rl w ind a p -p r oa c he s , a nd s i nc e t ha t t i m e pe op l e d i e ( I b i d . , I j).- T h e ta l e s of t h eCherokee (Mooney , RBAE 19 : 254) an d of t h e Zuiii ( C u s h i n g , R B A E13 : 72), an d of o the r t r ibes fa r the r t o t h e ea s t , d o no t be long he re ( see a lsoC r e e [S im m s , J A F L 19 : 3341, W i n n e ba g o [ R a d i n , J A F L 22 : 3111).I n t he t e r r i t o ry unde r d i scussion the re a r e a l so some t a l e s of t h e or ig in of


7/7

Notes and Queries. 491de at h t ha t do not belong here, a s the Hupa story of the child of the culture-hero tha t was taken ou t of its grave by its father, bu t ran back ten times.For this reason people remain dead (Goddard, UCal I :224). FRANZOAS.COLUMBIANIVERSITY. NEWYORK.

OJIBWATALES. following tales were collected from Ojibwa IndiansThein western Ontario. Since they were writ ten down from dictation of inter-preters given in broken English, only brief abstracts are given here.Nenabosho.- I. While Nenabosho was setting hooks for fish, he saw hiscousin the Wolf, and his nephews the young Wolves. Th ey invited Nena-bosho to go along with them. At night, when they camped, Nenaboshodeclared t ha t the place was too cold. They went on to another place, whichwas still colder. The Wolves turned around three times, and lay downwithout blankets. Nenabosho did the same, but nearly froze. The youngWolves covered him with their tails, and he became so warm t hat he orderedthem to t ak e off the dog-tails.

2. They had nothing to eat, and the old Wolf said that he had some drymea t a t the place where they were going. The Wolf brought back somewillow-sticks and cedar-bark, and told Nenabosho that he would not beallowed to ea t of them until the next day. Th e willow and bark were givent o Nenabosho as his pillow. During the night he felt th at t hey were gettingsoft. He bit out a piece and found that it was meat. Then Nenaboshoand the Wolves separated; apd Nenabosho travelled on, accompanied byone of the young Wolves.

3. The young Wolf told Nenabosho that he made fire by rubbing theback of his neck, and by jumping to and fro over a pile of wood. He in-structed him not t o t ry until he had reached th e place where Wolf had lefthis pack. Nenabosho tried to make fire this way, and, when he succeeded,threw away his own fire-drill. The next time he tried, he was unsuccessful,and had to look for his fire-drill.4. Nenabosho dreamed th at his nephew was going to be drowned. Hetold him always, before crossing a hollow in the ground, to throw a stickinto it. While hunt ing a caribou, the Wolf forgot about these instructionsand was drowned.

5. Nenabosho cried on account of t he death of his nephew. He saw aKingfisher looking into the water. The Kingfisher told him that a whitewater-lion had captured the young Wolf. Nenabosho was instructed to goup the river t o a sandbar near the end of the world, where the water-lionsused to bask in the sun. Kingfisher also instructed him to build a raft on ahigh peak, and to put one pair of every kind of animal on the raft. He toldhim to make two arrows with iron points, and to hide in a hollow stump onthe sandbar. Nenabosho obeyed. He went into the stump, and saw snakesand lions coming out of the water. When they were asleep, he shot thewhite lion with his two arrows. Water came out, and Nenabosho took tohis raft. He attached a bark line to Beaver and let him dive. After a whilehe pulled up the Beaver, who was drowned. Next he sent Otter, andfinally Muskrat, who brought up some mud. Nenabosho blew on it untilit became very large. Then he sent Fox to run around the world to see ifit was large enough. Fox did not come back, and Nenabosho let all theanimals go.

boas the origin of death

Documents