
. . . that are reflected in Alaskan life and seasons. Take the one about Fog Woman. She married Raven who came to live in her in the village. Unfortunately, the village was starving at the time so Fog Woman asked her new mate to take his slaves and find food. Raven went out hunting but returned empty handed. Fog Woman asked him again to go and again he returned with no food. She asked a third time and he left. This time, Fog Woman was extremely hungry. She sent a helper to draw water from the river and bring it to her. She looked deep into the bucket and called on fish to come to her then quickly tossed the water back into a nearby stream. Salmon swam up in such numbers the entire village feasted. Raven was jealous when he returned and begged Fog Woman to show him her trick. Some say she did show him, others say she did not. At any rate, each year to this day, the salmon swim up river in enough numbers to keep the people fed. I know the legend is true because I watched the salmon migrating and saw a totem honoring Fog Woman and Raven at Potlatch Park near Totem Bight, Ketchikan, Alaska.
I love these kind of legends. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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Thanks, Russ. The legends offer a good explanation as to why things happen. Lots more fun than scientific explanations.
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Love the pictures your words paint. I particularly like Native American spirit-world stories.
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Thanks MC – the Native American legends come to us over and over with great explanations for living and the spirit world.
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Congrats Nancy, I see you joined the wordpress family! I like the tall tales too. 🙂 Brad
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Cheers for you as we move into the holiday season. Here’s wishing you good friends and good reading for 2014
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Great bloog you have
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Thanks, David. This totem pole post was among my favorite memories of Alaska. Glad you liked it.
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