When it is desired that the owner of an afterbirth should understand the cries of the raven, the afterbirth is put down on the beach where the ravens peck at it. And when it is pecked at by the ravens, the man, when he is full grown, will understand the cries of the raven, for […]
Tag: Kwakiutl
Bird stories, Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
The Kwakiutl coastal Indians of British Columbia say the birds did not select their own costumes, but that one of their ancestors painted all the birds he found at a certain place. When he reached the cormorant his colors were exhausted and he had only charcoal left, hence the cormorant is wholly black. A favorite […]