Compiled and Edited by Alexander B. Dolitsky Translated by Henry N. Michael ANCIENT TALES OF CHUKOTKA Compiled and edited by Alexander B. Dolitsky With editorial assistance by Linda E. Kruger, Peter Metcalfe and Mark Kissel Translated by Henry N. Michael Alaska–Siberia Research Center Revised and Updated Edition Publication No. 18 Copyright ã AKSRC 2019 i Copyright ã 2019 by the Alaska–Siberia Research Center All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. First edition Published by the Alaska–Siberia Research Center, P.O. Box 34871, Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A. 99803. www.aksrc.homestead.com Cover illustrations are by Tamara Semenova, St. Petersburg, Russia and Leigh Rust, Victoria, Australia. General editor: Alexander B. Dolitsky, President, Alaska–Siberia Research Center, Juneau, Alaska Copy editor: Linda E. Kruger, Ph.D., a former research social scientist with the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Juneau, Alaska Illustrators: Tamara Semenova and Leigh Rust Translator: Henry N. Michael Book designer: Andy Romanoff, Alaska Litho, Inc., Juneau, Alaska Cover designers: Alexander B. Dolitsky, AKSRC and Andy Romanoff, Alaska Litho, Inc. Key words: Siberian Yupik, Eskimo, Chukchi, Tales, Myths, Legends, Bering Strait, Chukotka ii CONTENTS Preface by Alexander B. Dolitsky ........................................................................................................... i Foreword by Oksana Y. Danchevskaya ................................................................................................ ii Introduction by Gregory Menovshchikov ........................................................................................... iv Ethnographic Information by Alexander B. Dolitsky .....................................................................xv Siberian Yupik 01. The Youth Who Became Northern Lights ................................................................................... 1 02. The Quarrel of the Wind and the Sun .......................................................................................... 2 03. Thunder and the Creator of Life ................................................................................................... 4 04. Tykyvak ............................................................................................................................................ 5 05. The Boy and the Eagles .................................................................................................................. 7 06. The Ruler of the Sea ...................................................................................................................... 11 07. Lost at Sea ...................................................................................................................................... 13 08. Amek .............................................................................................................................................. 16 09. The Tale about the Flying Shaman ............................................................................................. 18 10. The Hunter and the Giants .......................................................................................................... 21 11. The Hunter and the Polar Bear ................................................................................................... 24 12. The Younger Son ........................................................................................................................... 26 13. The Reindeer Herder and the Wolves’ Family ......................................................................... 30 14. The Man with Two Wives ........................................................................................................... 32 15. The Woman Who Did Not Want to Marry ............................................................................... 35 16. The Jealous Man from Ukivak and His Wife ............................................................................ 41 17. The Alikhpagmitsy ....................................................................................................................... 46 18. The Wolf and the Loon ................................................................................................................ 51 19. The Nunagmit Whale ................................................................................................................... 54 20. The Old Man and the Wild Deer ................................................................................................ 57 21. The Miraculous Drum .................................................................................................................. 59 22. The Master of Fire and the Child ................................................................................................ 62 23. The Story about Ememkut ........................................................................................................... 64 24. The Lost Brothers .......................................................................................................................... 68 25. Five Brothers and a Woman ........................................................................................................ 70 26. Kayaksigvik ................................................................................................................................... 72 27. The Abandoned Young Man ....................................................................................................... 75 28. Isuklik ............................................................................................................................................. 77 29. Akhakhanavrak ............................................................................................................................. 80 30. The Orphan .................................................................................................................................... 82 31. The Second Wife .......................................................................................................................... 84 32. The Invisible Man ......................................................................................................................... 88 33. The Hunter and the Eagle ............................................................................................................ 90 34. The Hunter and the Giant Eagles ............................................................................................... 95 35. Two Brothers and the Raven ....................................................................................................... 99 36. How the Raven Got Married ..................................................................................................... 102 iii 37. The Marriage of an Orphan ....................................................................................................... 105 38. Mayyrakhpak .............................................................................................................................. 109 39. The Five Daughters .................................................................................................................... 113 40. The Two Strongmen and the Oldster ...................................................................................... 118 41. The Revenge ................................................................................................................................ 119 42. The Reindeer Herders ................................................................................................................ 122 43. The Raven and the Fox ............................................................................................................... 129 44. The Ground Squirrel and the Raven ........................................................................................ 133 45. The Raven and the Owl ............................................................................................................. 135 46. The Little Mouse and the Mountain ........................................................................................ 136 47. The Raven and the Sea Gull ...................................................................................................... 137 48. The Bullock and the Little Vixen .............................................................................................. 139 49. The Moose and the Bullock ....................................................................................................... 140 50. The Smart Fox .............................................................................................................................. 141 51. The Little Bird .............................................................................................................................. 144 52. The Smart Vixen and the Teals ................................................................................................. 146 53. Kanagakhsilyak ........................................................................................................................... 147 54. The Grandmother and Her Grandson ....................................................................................