The Raven in Native American Cultures

Of all the wildlife I see every day, ravens top the list. They are everywhere these large, inky-blue feathered magnificent birds. They are around my house, atop the roof, on the trees nearby. One even came onto the porch and stole my dog’s bone-shaped biscuit. Then sat there teasing the poor dog, holding the bone in its beak.

As I eagerly learn about the many Native American cultures, ravens also stand out in all the stories and tales told by Native American tribes from the Northwest Cost (Haida, Kwakiutl among others) to the northern Athabascan tribes, namely the Tanaina.  It is practically impossible to see totem poles without a raven figure; and no story teller would tell a story without mentioning the raven as the magical creature that can metamorphose into human or other animal shapes to perform its tricks but also help the world be a better place. Indeed, the raven is known as the master trickster, a glutton who gets whatever it desires (like my dog’s bone!), and a hero.

As I read the mythology and tales about ravens from different tribes, I find this majestic bird more of a hero than trickster. For example, the Northwest tribes believe that originally humans were hiding in a giant clam shell and that they were discovered by the raven that liberated them from that shell. Then it brought food (berries and salmon) to help humans get strength and prosper. But this inky-blue bird did not only help the humans. According to the Sioux, there was a white raven that enjoyed warning the buffalo when hunters were getting close. And, as tales go, a Shaman was asked to punish the trickster – so he caught the bird and threw it into a fire. And that is how the raven got black.

… I was surprised that the raven, as a trickster and a hero, was also recognized in ancient Sumeria and maintains its reputation in today’s Alaska. The metamorphosis of this bird, its ability to turn itself into a human, another animal or even a speck of tree leaf makes it the perfect figure for teaching children and adults about adaptation. But what really stand out is perhaps the moral lesson one shares regarding the desirability or not of the raven’s ability to cheat, trick and tease often for personal greed regarding gluttony.  But the most revered act of the raven seems the mythology about it bringing light to the dark world of ours by stealing the sun! For such a deed, perhaps all his trickster and gluttony traits can be forgiven….

…. The human side of the raven, as I learn from Native American tribal cultures, fascinates me. I do not think about the macabre and noir poem by Edgar Allan Poe. I do not feel intruded when a raven steals my dog’s bone and sits nearby to tease him. And I do not mind when a couple of the genus Corvus sit upon the roof of my house and call sounding like screaming goats. Instead, I am grateful to see the important figure of many Native American tales in person.

Furthermore, as a street photographer, I was eager to capture a moment of interaction between a raven and a human. The opportunity materialized during an art show when a woman was introducing her 10 year old raven to the public. I asked to take a picture of the two of them, and in B&W, it was the way I wanted to show it. Her night-black hair and pleasant smile harmonized well with the look in the raven’s eyes.

Was it the look of a trickster or a super-hero?

October 24, 2015

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2015