Alaskan FolkTales

Folktales are woven into the cultural fabric of every
nation around the globe. Alaska, with its unique
environment and long history, is rich in folklore.
For centuries, Native Alaskans have passed folktales
down from generation to generation, and they continue
to do so today. While these mythical tales may
sometimes seem entirely fanciful, each possesses a
core of truth, revealing an important aspect of the
culture it has grown out of.

~The First Tears~ is one such traditional Alaskan folktale.
It tells of how the first human tears were shed. At its
beginning, a man goes off to hunt for seals, leaving his
son and wife at home with the promise that he will bring
back dinner. At first the hunter sees a whole group of seals
on the shore, but when he approaches them, all but one of
the animals slip into the ocean. Then, as the hunter gets
even closer, the last seal escapes into the water. Suddenly
the man gets a choking feeling in his throat and feels
liquid seeping from his eyes. His son sees him from afar
and alerts his mother, and the two run out to the shore to
see what is wrong with the man. He tells them about his
experience, and soon the wife and son also begin to feel
water coming from their eyes. The son resolves to help the
father catch a seal, and after they are successul in
trapping an animal they learn to fashion a trap from its
skin, so that they will never starve again.

~The House Dog and the Wolf,~ another piece of folklore,
finds a wolf and an ordinary house dog having a chance
meeting near the woods one evening.  While the dog is plump
and appears to be well fed, the wolf is quite lean and in
danger of starving.  When they first meet, the wolf asks
the dog how he manages to get enough to eat and stay so
plump.  The dog invites him home to his master~s house, all
the while explaining his role in the family.  In exchange
for good food ~ hand-fed to him by his master ~ he guards
the house every night from thieves and other dangerous
elements.  The wolf likes the sound of this but, as they
continue to walk, he notices a small mark on the dog~s
neck.  When asked what caused this mark, the dog replied
that it had probably come from the chain that stayed around
his neck, which attached to the leash that he wore during
the day.  Though he was free to roam each night, he was
kept on a leash during the daytime, so that he would stay
around the house.  The wolf, upon hearing this, starts to
leave.  When the dog questions him about his sudden change
of heart, the wolf replied that he~d rather have ~lean
freedom~ than ~fat slavery~.

Folktales such as these are vivid additions to the lives
of Alaskan youths and those who tell them. They also
enrich the lives of visitors from foreign societies who
are inducted, at least briefly, into Alaskan life and
culture.





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</a>one of the leading information resources on the
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