raven

Raven is my guide/totem/animal/ally/source of frustration.
Raven as a spirit/guide has been around since time immemorial.  He is one of the Creators, having created the Earth.  Helpful and caring to some, self-centred and greedy to others, he is always seen as having great wisdom and power.

To the Celts, Raven is mystery and magic.  Some of the lessons he teaches are initiation, creation, healing, protection and shapeshifting. Raven is also one of the few creatures able to travel freely between worlds. The Celtic Raven received his negative image from his function as a lightbringer; he brings things to the surface that people would rather keep buried.

He is also a messenger, warning of things to come.  Raven is similar to the Tower card in the major arcana; illumination through destruction.

To the Tlingit of Alaska and the native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, Raven is a trickster...many stories about Raven are fully interchangeable with stories about Coyote (the main difference is that Coyote is considerably more lecherous).   Most of his stories revolve around tricking people into doing his work for him (usually involving food).

Much of Raven's history is passed down by oral tradition.  Because of this, the story changes with the storyteller.  No two stories will ever sound the same, often even when told by the same storyteller.  The stories here are told the way i heard them, and i'm sure that you've heard them differently.  As stated, many of Raven's stories are interchangeable with Coyote and/or Crow (for instance, i've heard the first story as How Mánákahas [Rainbow Crow] Brought Fire).  The main difference as far as I can tell is that Coyote's stories usually  involve getting someone in bed, and Crow's stories usually have to do with Law and equalisation.

How Raven Invented Fire
How Raven Lost His Beak
How Raven Made the World
the young man and the raven people

Raven didn't always look like he does now. This story tells how he got the way he is.

How Raven Invented Fire

In the beginning, the world was a cold and dark place.  The only light ever seen was that of the Sun, but that never lasted long enough. The First People were cold at night and many of the Old couldn't last through the harsh winters.

Back in those days, people and animals lived together peacefully.  The animals were people back then...they didn't take their present-day shapes until much later.  They were the creators.

A council of the animals was called to try to do something about the cold problem.  They all agreed that something must be done, but none could agree on what.  After much debate it was decided that someone had to go to the Sun to try to bring fire back to the Earth for people. The only question now was who would do it.

They went around the circle to decide who would get fire for the first people.  This being winter, Bear was too tired to undertake such a task.  Wolf knew that if he went, there would be no-one left to watch over people.  Squirrel was too scattered to be of much help.  Snake had no way of carrying anything.  It was eventually decided that a bird would be the best suited for the task.

Peacock was too self-possessed and too worried that such a task might harm his feathers. Robin and Wren were both too small to make the long journey.  When they came around to Raven, he offered to do it.

Now it's important to note that in the first days, Raven didn't look anything like he did today.  He had a straight beak, feathers of very colour of the rainbow and a melodic voice that was the envy of all the other birds.

Now that it was settled who would do it, the question remained, "How?"  Raven looked around him for tools but all he saw were a few dead branches.  Inspiration struck.  He picked up one of the longest branches and headed off toward the Sun.

He flew for three days and nights.  When he finally got to the sun, he held the branch to the sun and it started to smoke.  Raven beat his wings a little, and before he knew it the branch had caught fire.

As Raven headed back to the Earth and the First People, the fire slowly consumed the branch.  As he neared the Earth, the branch grew shorter and shorter.  The smoke choked his lungs and made it difficult to see.  The fire singed his feathers and burned away at his beak.

Raven finally made it back to the First People and gave them the branch.  They just stared at him.  Gone was his beauty and his voice.  They were faced with a sooty, hoarse-sounding creature.  They didn't know how to react so they just ignored him and started cultivating fire.

A great feast was held by people to celebrate this wondrous new thing.  But when Raven showed up, they wouldn't let him near the table.  They just threw him scraps.

This hurt Raven pretty bad, considering all he went through to help out.  So he wandered off into the woods alone.  As he got deeper and deeper into the woods, he heard a voice calling his name.

Raven, it said.  He ignored it.

RAVEN, it insisted.  "What do you want from me?  I have nothing else to give!" he dismissed.

What you did was very noble, the voice stated.  Raven finally snapped out of it and realised that the voice belonged to the Creator.

"It may have been noble, but look at me! I'm black as night and my voice is choked.  The People want nothing to do with me!" he stated.

I've been thinking about that, the voice said. So people don't forget your sacrifice, I won't give you back your original form. You will stay as you are from now on...black feathers, choked voice and you will always scrounge for food...to remind people of your sacrifice. But as recognition, your black feathers will reflect all the colours of the rainbow like you once had.  Your voice will strike a shiver in Man to remind him of what he did to you. And your meat will be bitter, so you will never be hunted for food.

And that's how people got fire, and why Raven looks like he does.

Raven is always hungry. Always. Many of the stories concerning him have to do with his enormous appetite and the trouble it caused him. Here is one such story:

How Raven Lost His Beak

So Raven was out in the ocean trying to catch some fish.  He managed to catch enough to feed a village but he still was hungry.  He looked around but couldn't see any more fish.  He was about to give up when he saw a fisherman on a boat trying to catch some fish himself. The fisherman didn't really interest Raven that much but the bait looked like it would make a tasty morsel.

Now Raven knew he was faster than any man so he didn't even think twice about it.  He swam right over to the boat and just snatched the bait up.

But Raven didn't realise that the fisherman was paying attention the whole time.  As soon as he felt a pull on the line, he started to reel it in.  This took Raven by surprise...he thought he was so clever that he wouldn't be caught. As soon as he realised that he was caught, he started struggling for all his worth.

Eventually the fisherman pulled so hard that Raven's beak pulled right off!

The fisherman pulled the thing out of the water and picked it up. He just couldn't figure out what it was.  While he was taking so long looking at this black thing he caught, Raven flew up out of the water and onto the boat.  He snatched the beak out of the confused fisherman's hands and stuck it back on.  It wasn't until much later that Raven realised that it wasn't straight anymore, that it was all curved now. But he decided that he liked it better that way and it's been that way ever since.

Raven also has been noted for his temper and lack of patience.  Here is a good example.

How Raven Made the World

Long ago there was no world. When Raven was a fledgeling, his father told him that one day he would be big and strong enough to create a world. This stuck with Raven...he liked the idea of being the creator of a world. So time went by and Raven got bigger and older and stronger. Eventually he decided that he was big and strong enough to create a world. He wondered how to go about it and had many ideas but none of them seemed to work.

One day he almost gave up and went flying out on the wind. while he was gliding around on the wind, inspiration struck.

Raven went flying around and eventually found some dirt and rocks. He knew that they would be the good foundation for a world, but he just couldn't make them stick together. No matter what he tried to do, they just stayed dirt and rocks. He started kicking the rocks around in frustration and anger when he was finished, he realised he needed a drink. He went to where water was and inspiration struck. He brought back some water to mix in with the dirt and rocks to make it all stick together.

Raven worked on that mixture for a good long time, patting it down, smoothing it out, rolling it around.  But it never stayed the way he wanted it it never stayed perfectly round, the mixture was inconsistent, all sorts of problems.  Eventually he got so frustrated with it that he just kicked the whole thing as hard as he could.

A little while later Raven went to go pick it up and work on it a little more.  But when he picked it up, it was all bumpy and dented and not at all what he wanted.  But he was so tired of working on it that he just said to hell with it and left it as it is.

And that's why the world isn't perfectly round, and why we have mountains and rivers and oceans.

Please see the update at the end of this section.

the young man and the ravens

once there was a young man that was fascinated by the raven people who lived near his people. he would always wander off and hide in trees to watch them.

the raven people, being very sharp and observant, noticed him but for the most part ignored him. but after awhile, one of the raven people flew up to where the young man was watching and asked what he was doing. the young man said, "i mean you no harm. i am fascinated with your people. i only want to know more about you." the raven responded, "we are honoured that you are interested, and if you like, we will teach you our ways."

for many months the Raven people taught the young man all about the the raven people and how they lived from day to day. over time, the raven people accepted him as one of their own.

one day, one of the raven people dropped a nut the man's head. all the ravens people pointed and laughed so hard that they almost fell off their branches. the young man was hurt by this, and yelled out, "why are you all picking on me!?!" one of the raven people stopped laughing and became very serious. "i thought you understood us, but apparently you don't. it was a joke, a bit of fun. you really should know us better by now."

some time passed, and things settled down a bit, but one day one of the young raven people swooped down and pecked the man on the head. another followed suit. then another. and another. the young man ran across the field and into the woods but the young raven people kept chasing him tormenting him.

fed up, the young man decided to leave and head for home. the same one who first spoke with him all that time ago stopped him. he asked the young man where he was going. "home," he replied, "back to where people want me to be around."

"you still don't understand," the older raven said. "the young ones did not mess with you because you are different, it is because they accepted you as one of us. you should know by now that we fight amongst ourselves. instead of sulking and leaving you should have fought back."

after a pause, he added, "leaving is your choice, but again I tell you that you have come closer to us than any other outsider. do you really want to give up when you've come so far?"

the young man considered this. he didn't really belong with his old village anymore, and the raven people were still fascinating after all this time. he thought for a few moments, then finally responded, "alright, i'll come back."

as he started to head back toward the village of the raven people, one of the raven people shat on the young man's head. the young man looked up at the old Raven and laughed, "good one, grandfather."

Printed by permission of the author, December 2001.
Story by Charles P. White

Apparently, this story was not traditional, as believed. A few weeks ago i received this email requesting acknowledgement. I have left this version of the story intact not out of defiance, but because my Group places a very high value on storytelling, and to simply reprint someone else's words goes against that. That said, however, we are scavengers, not thieves, and always wish to give credit where it is due. Out of respect for the author's wishes and in thanks for his kind words, I am also providing a copy of the original story here.