Myths and Legends of British North America/Beliefs (Haida)
MYTHS AND LEGENDS
OF
BRITISH NORTH AMERICA
BELIEFS
THE Earth World is flat and has a circular outline, and above it is a solid sky like a great bowl. Upon the top of the sky is the Sky Country. The sky rises and falls regularly, and so the clouds strike against the mountains and make a noise.
The Earth World floats, but it rests upon Sacred-One-standing-and-moving, and he rests upon a copper box. Upon his breast rests a pole which reaches up to the sky. When Sacred-One-standing-and-moving is about to move, a marten runs up the pole making the thundering noise which is always heard just before an earthquake. Because when this Sacred-One moves, it causes an earthquake.
In the Sky Country, the greatest power is held by Power-of-the-Shining-Heavens. He gives power to all things. The clouds are his blankets. Thunderclouds are the "dressing up" of the Thunder Bird. Thunder Bird produces a very loud noise by rustling his feathers.
Southeast Wind lives under the sea. Northeast Wind abides along the northern mountains.
There are many tribes of Ocean People. Now in Haida Land, that is, the Queen Charlotte Islands, the land and sea are entangled in an extraordinary way.
Just so it is with the lands of the Ocean People the Devilfish People, the Porpoise People, the Killer-Whale People, and the Black-Whale People. Of all the Ocean People the Killer-Whale People are the most powerful. They have towns scattered along the shore beneath the water, just as the Indians have their towns along the shore above the water.
When a man dies in Haida Land, he follows a trail until he reaches the shore of a bay. On the other side of the bay lies the Ghost Land. Then he calls across, and soon a person appears who pushes a raft from the farther side. This raft is made of fine cedar bark, such as is used in the rings of the secret society. Then the raft comes of itself to where the man is standing, and ferries him over.
Now in Ghost Land there are many towns, and many houses in each town. So if a man is looking for his wife there, it may take him a long time. These towns lie in numberless inlets, near the water, just as the Haida towns on earth do.
When food or grease is put into the fire in the family of a man who has just died, it comes to him at once; therefore he is not hungry. And if his family sing songs loudly when he dies, then he enters Ghost Land proudly, with his head up. It gives him a good name in that country. But if they do not, then he enters Ghost Land with his head hanging down, and people do not think so much of him. When a man enters Ghost Land there is always a dance given in his honor.
People who are drowned go to Killer-Whale Country. But first they go to The-One-in-the-Sea who gives them their fins and then they go into the houses of the other Killer Whales. When killer whales gather in front of a town, it is thought they are human beings who have been drowned and take this way of informing the people.
One man who went to the Ghost Land, after he had been there for some time, put all his property in his canoe and went to Xada, which is the second Ghost Land. Then he went on to a third one, and later to a fourth, and then came back to earth as a blue fly. Therefore when a blue fly bumps into a man on earth, he says, "This is my friend, who thus shows me that he recognizes me."
At a place beyond the Ghost Land, and just visible from it, lives a chief called Great Moving Cloud. He owns all the dog salmon. Once when a gambler died, he went there and gambled with him. The stakes were the dog salmon, and ghosts. When Great Moving Cloud won, many ghosts came into Ghost Land. When the gambler won, there was a great run of salmon.