According to a Haida story, in the beginning the world was in total
darkness.
The Raven, who had existed from the beginning of time, was tired of
groping about and bumping into things in the dark.
Eventually the Raven came upon the home of an old man who lived alone
with his daughter. Through his slyness, the Raven learned that the old man had
a great treasure. This was all the light in the universe, contained in a tiny
box concealed within many boxes.
At once the Raven vowed to steal
the light.
He thought and thought, and finally came up with a plan. He waited until
the old man's daughter came to the river to gather water. Then the Raven
changed himself into a single hemlock needle and dropped himself into the
river, just as the girl was dipping her water-basket into the river.
As she drank from the basket, she swallowed the needle. It slipped and
slithered down into her warm belly, where the Raven transformed himself again,
this time into a tiny human. After sleeping and growing there for a very long
time, at last the Raven emerged into the world once more, this time as a human
infant.
Even though he had a rather strange appearance, the Raven's grandfather
loved him. But the old man threatened dire punishment if he ever touched the
precious treasure box. Nonetheless the Ravenchild begged and begged to be
allowed to hold the light just for a moment.
In time the old man yielded, and lifted from the box a warm and glowing
sphere, which he threw to his grandson.
As the light was moving toward him, the human child transformed into a
gigantic black shadowy bird-form, wings spread ready for flight, and beak open
in anticipation. As the beautiful ball of light reached him, the Raven captured
it in his beak!
Moving his powerful wings, he burst through the smokehole in the roof of
the house, and escaped into the darkness with his stolen treasure.
And that is how light came into the universe.
This story was
told to me, with wonderful effects, one summer in the Great Hall of the Museum
of Civilisation in a performance called People of the Salmon