Customer Reviews

Shamans and Kushtakas: North Coast Tales of the Supernatural

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is awsome! Beck does a wonderful job retelling the legends of Tlingit and Haida mythology. This book is excellent if you want/need to learn about the old Indian tales of southeast Alaska. I'd also highly recommend Beck's other book "Hero's & Heroines in Tlingit-Haida Legend"

Mary Giraudo Beck did an admirable job of gathering information that has not been readily available to readers for several decades. The Tlingit and Haida cultures are quite fascinating, and their Kushtaka (and some other) legends are very well elaborated here. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Northwest Coast cultures, or in the relation of wildlife to native peoples. It is a very engaging, yet quite easy read, that nevertheless loads the reader with solid research.

We see lots of Otters here on the Olympic Peninsula, and though I've always been fascinated to watch them I have always wanted to keep a good distance away from them. I have to laugh at myself, but in some way these old legends concerning the Land Otter People finally illluminate my caution.

Among the ancient Haida and Tlingit tribes of the Northwest Coast, the boundary between the animal world and human world was not very distinct. Kushtakas were people who had been kidnapped by the Land Otter People and transformed into creatures who retained some of their human qualities but were responsible for trickery, sickness, storms, famine, etc. They weren't all bad--sometimes they would save people lost at sea, but the rescue was always at a cost. It was the Shaman's job to try to prevent his people from the strange fate of becoming a Kushtaka, which meant he had to instill in them a careful regard for both the natural world and the Supernatural world, a strong will in order to resist the Otter People illusions and spells, and a respect for the tribal customs. Apparently, it was a thankless job, human nature being what it is.

These are stories that deal with the age-old battle between "good" and "evil", conscience and carelessness, awareness and ignorance. They are sensitively retold, with an effort made to be complete tales, not just snatches of myth and legend. Because they come from an oral tradition and were meant to be told around the fire or while working, they don't always succeed in the way we have come to expect from "short stories", and some of the endings are flat. Anne Cameron's book, Daughters of Copper Woman, does a better job of giving the old tales poetry and punch. However, these simple and direct re-tellings are a welcome glimpse into a vanished world.

This book is great! I love those old stories, and like to tell them to my friends. There are many things to be learned from these tales. Next time you are lost in the woods, this would be a good book to have with you ... give it a go, eh?