Manataka American Indian Council
"The
Owl Gets Married"
Cherokee Story
There once
was an old woman (agayvligei) who constantly reminded her daughter,
Standing Deer (Awigadoga) to marry only a good hunter.
One day a young man came to ask
the old woman permission to marry Standing Deer. She gnarled her
face and said, "Only a good hunter may marry my daughter." The
young warrior replied, "I am a good hunter, will you ask your
beautiful daughter if she will marry me?" The old woman
thought about this and finally went to Standing Deer and told her
that a young man had come to ask for her hand. She advised her
young daughter that this man was a good hunter and she should marry
him.
So it was
that Standing Deer consented to marry the young man as her mother
advised. When the young man returned, a wedding was arranged and the
young man came to live with the daughter and old woman. (As was the
custom in those days.)
The next morning, the young man announced to his new bride that he was going to hunt, but before Standing Deer could bid him goodbye, he hanged his mind and said he was going fishing. He was gone all day and came home long after dark bearing only three small fish.
The
next morning he left their camp again to go fishing. He was gone all
day and most of the evening when he returned carrying two worthless
lizards (duwe'ga). The following day the young man said he would go
hunting instead. Again, he was gone all day and late that night came
home with only a few meat scraps he found where other hunters had
cut up a deer.
Now the
old woman was upset and suspicious. So, the next morning when the
young man announced that he was going fishing again, she went to
Standing Deer and told her to secretly follow her new husband to see
how he fished.
Standing Deer followed him through the woods and watched
him as he came to the river. There, much to her surprise, the young
man turned into an owl (wahuhu)! He began to fly over the water
singing, "U-gu-ku! Hy? Hu U! U!."
Standing
Deer was angry as she stood watching the owl fly above the water. "I
thought I married a man but he is only an OWL!," she gritted though
her teeth. As she stood watching, the owl circled for a
long time before swooping down into the shallow water and bringing
up a craw fish. The owl flew to the bank where he took the
form of a human again. Standing Deer ran ahead of him through the
woods to her camp.
When the
young man came with the crawfish in his hand, Standing Deer asked
him where were all the fish he had caught. He looked surprised and
said he had none because an owl had frightened them all away. "I
think YOU are the OWL!," she yelled as she picked up a stick and
drove him from the lodge. The poor owl went into the woods and there
he cried with grief and lost love until there was no flesh left on
his body except his head.
So it is the owl today appears that he has no body - only a
big head."
- Submitted by
Linda Mahoney
OWL'S
EYES & SEEKING A SPIRIT: Kootenai Indian
Stories
By Kootenai Culture Committee & Staff, Debbie Joseph (Illustrator), Howard Kallowat, Jr. (Illustrator), Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Two tales of the Kootenai are told by Kootenai elders and illustrated by Kootenai artists of Flathead Indian Reservation. Recommended for children 4-8. Gathered around the fire on long, cold, winter nights in the Northern Rocky Mountains, Kootenai elders shared tribal stories and legends with their people. The tales were both entertainment and education, for that was a way their wisdom, culture, and history were passed on to the next generation. This book seeks to preserve two of those traditional tales. The first tells the story of how the owl got his big eyes. The second tells of a young Kootenai boy's encounter with the spirit of the buffalo on his quest for self-knowledge. The Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana is home to the elders and artists who retold and illustrated these stories. It is their hope that through this book, children around the world will be able "to share in the traditional values of the Kootenai Indian Storytellers. Montana Historical Society, March 2000, Soft Cover, 32pp. $8.95
Proceeds from book purchases go to support the nonprofit, cultural, educational and religious purposes of the Manataka American Indian Council. Thank you for your support.
Notice: Occasionally books may be discontinued or out of stock without prior notice. With written permission, your order may be filled from the 'shelf'. Shelf books are new, but some may be slightly discolored or sale tags may be still attached. Fulfillment rate: 98.6%.
THE
JOURNEY: Book Two Guardians of Ga'Hoole series,
By Kathryn Lasky
Soren, Gylfie, Twilight, and Digger travel to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, a mythical place where an order of owls rises each night to perform noble deeds. Soren and his group are seeking help to fight the evil they discovered in the owl world (in Guardians #1). After a harrowing journey, they arrive at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree and learn they will need to stay to receive training from the Ga'Hoolian elders. During his time at the Great Ga'Hoole Tree, Soren finds (and then loses) a great mentor and he is reunited with his beloved sister. Scholastic, September 2003, Soft Cover, 244pp. $8.95
Proceeds from book purchases go to support the nonprofit, cultural, educational and religious purposes of the Manataka American Indian Council. Thank you for your support.
Notice: Occasionally books may be discontinued or out of stock without prior notice. With written permission, your order may be filled from the 'shelf'. Shelf books are new, but some may be slightly discolored or sale tags may be still attached. Fulfillment rate: 98.6%.