How Raven and Loon Got Their Colors

Setting:

This story takes place in a qasgiq which means

“men’s community house”

Characters:

Raven. A trickster spirit.

Characters:

Loon. Raven’s cousin.

Raven and his cousin Loon were in a

Qasgiq in the bottom of the ocean.

They decided to paint each other.

Raven and Loon agreed that they

were not to laugh when their necks

were painted so as not to spoil the

painting.

Raven painted the loon's stomach with

white-colored clay and the loon's

head, neck and back with soot from

the fire pit. The loon's back was

dotted with white colored clay. The

loon did as agreed and did not laugh

when his neck was being painted

although he was ticklish and wanted

to laugh.

When the loon's new color was done, it was Raven’s turn to be

painted. Raven’s stomach was painted black and the loon

proceeded to paint the Raven’s back and neck with the white

colored clay. Raven, being the mischievous rascal trickster he

sometimes is, began to giggle disrupting the careful painting

being done by the loon. Loon got distracted and was disturbed by

the laughing Raven . In anger, the loon repainted Raven back

black making him completely dark.

The loon ran away towards the

underground entrance. Raven realized that

he was completely black and grabbed

some fire wood ash. He threw it at the

running loon.

To this day, the loon has a gray spot on the

back of its head.

Slide 1: Central Yup'ik Eskimo Raven Mask of Doolagiak Carved and painted wood raven

mask. The name of the Mask is "Doolagiak" and represents the trickster - raven.;

Medium/Materials: Wood, sandhill crane feathers, red, black and white pigment;

Marks: Under beak, typewritten on circular label: "467"; on reverse, in black ink:

"9/3433" "46"; in pencil: "1911/Dooloogoak/(Raven)/20/Buil“

http://www.fenimoreartmuseum.org/files/fenimore/collections/thaw/exhibit1/e10233b.htm

Slide 2: Model of Qasgiq and photograph of exterior -

http://www.yupikscience.org/2qasgi/2-1a.html

Photo of interior - http://funtongue.tripod.com/alaska/anchorage_08.html

Slide 3: source- http://ofthewing.blogspot.com/2009/12/raven-on-wednesday.html

Slide 4: Internet Bird Collection - http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/great-northern-diver-gavia-

immer/hunting-near-shore

Slide 5: Yup’ik folktale adapted from

http://archserve.id.ucsb.edu/courses/rs/natlink/old_natlink/NATraditions/Yup%27ik/H

TML/4Creation.html

Loon Mask from The Living Tradition of Yup'ik Masks: Agayuliyararput (Our Way of

Making Prayer) by Ann Fienup-Riordan Page 246

Notes: