The Storyteller Trilogy (129 page)

One last explanation: some of my readers may wonder why the old woman Ligige’ addresses the wolverine she inadvertently caught in her snare trap as a parka hood ruff (see chapter 48). Among the various Athabascan peoples, and in numerous other Native cultures, women traditionally do not say the names of animals considered to have unusual or sacred powers. Instead, they will use a euphemism. Thus, a woman talking about a black bear will say, “The black one,” “The black place,” “That humpback.” This usage is intended to show the bear respect and to give spiritual protection to the speaker. In
Cry of the Wind
, Ligige’ is following this practice when she addresses the wolverine as a parka hood ruff.

Thank you for joining me on another journey to ancient Alaska! I hope you will check out my website for information about upcoming books—
www.sueharrison.com

Sue Harrison

Pickford, Michigan

February 1998

PEOPLE OF THE COUSIN RIVER VILLAGE

Elders (Men):

Take More

Elders (Women):

Day Woman (mother of Chakliux and Sok)

Hollow Cup

Ligige’ (aunt of Chakliux and Sok)

Long Eyes (mother of Night Man and Star)

Twisted Stalk (aunt of Dii)

Yellow Bird

Hunters:

Chakliux (adopted son of K’os; biological son of Day Woman and Gull Wing; brother to Sok)

First Eagle (Near River husband of Awl)

Man Laughing

Night Man (son of Cloud Finder and Long Eyes; brother of Star)

Sky Watcher (husband of Bird Caller)

Sok (son of Day Woman and Gull Wing; brother of Chakliux)

Wives and Young Women:

Aqamdax (half-sister of Ghaden; stepsister of Yaa)

Awl (wife of First Eagle)

Bird Caller (wife of Sky Watcher) Dii (niece of Twisted Stalk)

Green Bird (sister of Squirrel and Black Stick)

Gguzaakk (deceased, wife of Chakliux)

Little Mouse

Owl Catcher

Red Leaf (wife of Sok; mother of Cries-loud and Sok’s infant daughter)

Snow-in-her-hair (wife of Sok; mother of Carries Much)

Star (daughter of Cloud Finder and Long Eyes; sister of Night Man; wife of Chakliux)

Children:

Angax (infant son of Aqamdax and Night Man)

Black Stick (brother of Squirrel and Green Bird)

Carries Much (infant son of Sok and Snow-in-her-hair)

Cries-loud (son of Sok and Red Leaf)

Ghaden (brother of Aqamdax; stepbrother of Yaa; adopted son of Chakliux and Star; son of Cen, the trader)

Squirrel (brother of Black Stick and Green Bird)

Yaa (stepsister of Aqamdax and Ghaden; adopted daughter of Chakliux and Star)

Dogs:

Biter (male; Ghaden’s)

Ligige’’s dog (male)

Snow Hawk (female; Sok’s)

PEOPLE OF THE NEAR RIVER VILLAGE

Elders (Men):

Anaay (also called Fox Barking; stepfather of Chakliux and Sok; husband of Dii and Gull Beak; owner of K’os)

Blue-head Duck (deceased; former chief elder)

Giving Meat

Summer Face (deceased; father of Yaa)

Sun Caller (father of Least Weasel) Tsaani (deceased; grandfather of Chakliux and Sok; brother of Ligige’)

Wolf-and-Raven (deceased; former shaman; cousin of Ligige’; husband of Blue Flower)

Elders (Women):

Blue Flower (Wolf-and-Raven’s widow)

Gull Beak (wife of Anaay)

Lazy Snow

No Teeth

Three Baskets

Vole (widow of Blue-head Duck)

Hunters:

Black Mouth (owner of K’os; husband of Two Fist)

First Eagle (husband of Awl)

Gull Wing (deceased; father of Sok and Chakliux, brother to Anaay)

Least Weasel (son of Sun Caller)

Many Words (husband of Owl Catcher)

Muskrat Singer

River Ice Dancer (son of Wolf Head)

Third Tree

Wolf Head (father of River Ice Dancer)

Wives and Young Women:

Awl (Cousin River captive; wife of First Eagle)

Cut Ear (Cousin River captive)

Daes (deceased; mother of Ghaden and Aqamdax; originally from the First Men Village)

Dii (Cousin River captive; wife of Anaay)

Green Bird (Cousin River captive) Happy Mouth (deceased; mother of Yaa)

K’os (Cousin River captive; adoptive mother of Chakliux; slave of Black Mouth and later of Anaay)

Light Hair Owl Catcher (Cousin River captive; wife of Many Words)

Red Leggings

Stay Small (Cousin River captive)

Talks-all-night

Two Fist (wife of Black Mouth) Willow Leaf (Cousin River captive)

Children:

Best Fist (girl)

Blue Necklace (girl) Daughter of Red Leggings

PEOPLE OF THE FOUR RIVERS VILLAGE

Elders (Men):

Brown Foot

Tree Climber (husband of Sand Fly)

Elders (Women):

Near Mouse

Sand Fly (wife of Tree Climber)

Hunters:

Brown Eye

Cen (a trader; husband of Gheli)

Eagle Catcher

Fat Mink

First Spear (chief hunter)

Gives-dogs

Jumps-too-far

Willow Stick

Wives and Young Women:

Fern

Gheli (also known as Red Leaf; wife of Cen)

K’os (adoptive mother of Chakliux)

White Lake

Children:

Daes (Gheli’s infant daughter)

Dogs:

Tracker (male; Cen’s)

AA, AAA
(Aleut Athabascan) Interjection used to express surprise: “Oh!” (The double or triple
a
carries a long
a
sound.)

ANAAY
(Ahtna Athabascan) That which moves, caribou or caribou herd. (The Athabascan vowel
a
is pronounced like the
u
in the English word
but.
The
n
is similar to the English
n
, and the
aa
takes on an
aw
sound. The
y
is like the
y
in the English word
you.
The accent falls on the
naay
.)

ANGAX
(Aleut) Power.
Anga
is the root used in the Aleut word for “elder brother.” (The
a
’s are short; because it falls before the letter
n
, the first
a
takes on more of a short
e
sound. The Aleut
n
is quite nasal; the
g
is a voiced velar fricative, quite guttural; and the final
x
is a voiceless velar fricative.)

AQAMDAX
(Aleut) Cloudberry,
Rubus chamaemorus.
(See Pharmacognosia.) (The
a
’s are short. The Aleut
q
is like a harsh English
k
, the
m
like an English
m
and
d
much like the English
th.
The Aleut
x
is a voiceless velar fricative.)

BABICHE
(English—probably anglicized from the Cree word
assababish
, a diminutive of
assabab
, “thread”) Lacing made from rawhide.

CEN
(Ahtna Athabascan) Tundra. (The
c
sounds like an English
k.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
n
sounds like the English
n
.)

CET’AENI
(Ahtna Athabascan) Creatures of ancient Ahtna legend. They are tailed and live in trees and caves. (The
c
sounds like an English
k.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The
t’
is much like an English
t
followed by a glottal release. The diphthong
ae
is pronounced like the
a
in the English word
cat.
The
n
is much like the English
n
, and the final
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
t’aen
is accented.)

CHAKLIUX
(Ahtna Athabascan, as recorded by Pinart in 1872) Sea otter. (The word is pronounced as it would be in English, with the final
x
a voiceless velar fricative.)

CHIGDAX
(Aleut) A waterproof, watertight parka made of sea lion or bear intestines, esophagus of seal or sea lion, or the tongue skin of a whale. The hood had a drawstring, and the sleeves were tied at the wrists for sea travel. These knee-length garments were often decorated with feathers and bits of colored esophagus. (The Aleut
ch
is much like the English
ch
, the
g
like a guttural English
g
, and the
d
carries almost a
th
sound. The vowels are short. The
x
should be properly written as
x
, and is a voiceless uvular fricative.)

CILT’OGHO
(Ahtna Athabascan) A container hollowed out of birch and used to carry water. (The c sounds like an English
k.
The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
l
is properly written
Ł
and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue. The
t’
is much like an English
t
followed by a glottal release. The Ahtna
o
is like the
o
in the English word
for.
The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
t’ogh
carries the accent.)

DAES
(Ahtna Athabascan) Shallow, a shallow portion of a lake or stream. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The diphthong
ae
has an
a
sound similar to that in the English word
hat.
The final s has almost an
sh
sound.)

DII
(Ahtna Athabascan) One alone, on one’s own. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The double
i
carries a long
e
sound as in the English word
free
.)

DILK’AHOO
(Koyukon Athabascan) Raven. (The
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word sir. The
l
is pronounced like the
l’
s in the English word
call.
The
k’
has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut
x
and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The Athabascan vowel
a
is pronounced like the
u
in the English word
but.
The
h
is similar to the
h
in the English word
help
, and the
oo
takes on the long
o
sound as in the English word
rove
.)

DZUUGGI
(Ahtna Athabascan) A favored child who receives special training, especially in oral traditions, from infancy. (The
dz
takes the sound of the final
ds
in the English word
leads.
The
uu
sounds like the
ui
in the English word
fruit.
The Ahtna double
gg
has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The
i
has a short
i
sound as in the English word sir. The accent is on the first syllable.)

GGUZAAKK
(Koyukon Athabascan) A thrush,
Hylocichla minima, H. ustulata
and
H. guttata.
These birds sing an intricately beautiful song that the Koyukon people traditionally believe to indicate the presence of an unknown person or spirit. (The double
gg
has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The
u
sounds similar to the oo in the English word
book.
The z is similar in sound to
zh
, or like the s in
treasure.
The
aa
carries an
aw
sound. The
kk
is a very hard
c
sound.)

GHADEN
(Ahtna Athabascan) Another person. (The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
a
sounds like the English vowel
u
in the word
but.
The Ahtna
d
is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a
t
sound. The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
n
sounds like the English
n
.)

GHELI
(Ahtna Athabascan) True, good. (The Ahtna
gh
has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French
r.
The
e
carries a short sound like the
e
in the English word
set.
The Ahtna
l
sounds like the
l
’s in the English word
call.
The
i
is like the
i
in the English word
sit
.)

’IH
(Ahtna Athabascan) Exclamation of amazement made by a listener. (The apostrophe denotes an initial glottal stop. When a word begins with a vowel preceded by a glottal stop, it takes on a quick, crisp beginning with a burst of air forced quickly through the vocal cords to produce the vowel sound. The
i
takes on a short
i
sound as in the English word
sit.
The
h
is a voiceless glottal fricative.

IITIKAALUX
(Atkan Aleut) Cow parsnip, wild celery. See the pharmacognosia. (The
ii
is pronounced like a long
e.
The
t
and
l
are much like their corresponding English letters. The single
i
and
u
are short, and the
aa
carries a long
a
sound. The
k
is a guttural English
k.
The
x
is properly written as
x
, and is a voiceless uvular fricative. Accent on the penult.)