The Momentum
All that is here
is somewhere else.
I see a black
raven rubbing its beak
in the dust and
the storm is coming:
we are naked under
the clouds.
You said you see
nothing but
the darkness in
the night; the darkness
in life.
Who are you? – our
God asks.
And we are looking
up
where the sky used
to be,
but now there is
only me.
And you answered:
We are everything,
but we are not
there yet.
Raven -- Þorgrímur Andri Einarsson
The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest have many stories about Raven. A magical creature, he is an agent in creation. The Inuit say that Raven was born out of the darkness. After a period of wandering, he flew out of the darkness to a new place which he called earth, but he was still alone, so he decided to create plants. Soon he came upon the 1st man, whom he fed the man and taught to respect his environment. They were joined by a woman, and Raven taught them how to clothe themselves, build shelter, and make canoes. Then he cared for their children and continued to educate the human race. Many accounts relate how he taught people how to fish and engage in other daily activities. In another tale Raven left the spiritual Bird Land, carrying a stone in his beak. When he got tired he dropped it into the ocean, and it expanded to form the firmament on which humans now live. The Cahto people of California related that Raven created the world but was unable to give it light or water. He went to the home of a young woman and began to play with her child. To placate the crying child he gave him one of the bundles hanging from the walls. When the child got bored with it and let it go, it floated through the smoke hole; when it reached the sky it came undone and scattered stars across the sky. When the child was given a 2nd and 3rd bundle to play with, they too floated away and released the moon and sunlight. To the Haida he had a more active role: Raven visited the lodge of Grey Eagle, the guardian of the sun, moon, stars, fresh water, and fire, and stole the treasures hanging on the sides of the longhouse. After he exited through the smoke hole he hung the sun in the sky. It made so much light that he was able to fly far away to an island in the middle of the ocean. When the sun set he hung the moon up and fastened the stars around in different places to enable him to keep on flying. When he had reached the right place he dropped the water, and the spot where it fell became the source of all the fresh-water streams and lakes in the world. But Raven kept flying, holding the fire in his bill. Its smoke turned his white feathers black, and when his bill began to burn he dropped the fire. It struck some rocks and hid itself within them (when they are struck together, sparks of fire spring out). The Tsimshian relate that Raven turned himself into a pine needle, which was eaten by the daughter of the chief who guarded daylight. He was reborn as a baby, who cried incessantly to play with the light. When it was given to him he turned back into Raven and stole it. According to the Tlingit, the Great Spirit created all things, stored them in cedar boxes, and gave the boxes to the animals who existed before humans. When the animals to open. Out of the boxes came such things as mountains, fire, water, wind, and seeds. But Seagull refused to open his box, which contained light, and clutched it under his wing. Raven pushed a thorn into Seagull's foot, and the pain caused Seagull to drop the box, and the sun, moon, and stars all escaped and allowed the 1st day to begin.
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