Representation of Human Nature in "Raven and Marriage"
"Raven and Marriage" is a narrative which originated from the Tlingit Indian tribe. This story comes under the category of Trickster Tale; a story where the main character, usually an animal which takes the form of a human, is a deceiver. In this story, the major character is Raven who married a girl, Fog-over-the-salmon, whose father is a chief. Fog-over-the-salmon provided Raven with plenty of salmon fish that he loved; but somehow they quarelled, Raven hit his wife and she went away. Later on, Raven wanted to marry the daughter of another chief. A bird who knew about Raven's past prevented Raven from marrying her. Angered by that, Raven cursed that neither he nor the bird will get the woman, instead she will get married to a "nobody". With his magic, Raven turned a poor, old man named Damnadji into a handsome, rich man. The woman instantly fell in love with Damnadji and they got married. Eventually, the truth was revealed and it displeased everybody.There are variety of characters in "Raven and Marriage". It is clear that Raven is the 'villain' of the story. Probably, raven was chosen instead of other animals because black, which is the colour of a raven, is often associated with death, darkness, and evil. Damnadji is a grey
It is also said that when Damnadji went to a creek to get some water from his guests, the creek moved and Damnadji had to run after it. The tradition is, if a brother-in-law gives them something, the bride's family must return a much more valuable gift. All of these actions took place because the practise of a man marrying a woman of higher social status is frowned upon by the society. First of all, the social norm that a man should not marry a woman of higher status is the most perceptible moral of the story. Tlinguit Indians are said to have complex social systems and religious ceremonies. Towards the end of the story, the chief and his wife accidentally killed their daughter for they mistakenly took her as a fox, so they, together with all their brothers and relations in the village, fasted. Raven and Marriage also conveys that eventually the truth will be revealed and everything will fall back into their own places, whether we like it or not. He can easily put a death sentence upon the people of his town, he was ungrateful and blinded by power. The story ended with Damnadji's wife being brought back to life, her parents were happy but Damnadji lost all his wealth and become poor again, Damnadji become his true self. It seems that for a high-caste marriage, a man must have slaves to be presented to the bride's family. Damnadji's wife is still unsatisfied when later Damnadji actually become rich. The chief and his daughter are not totally bad but, as ordinary humans, they are tempted by materialistic wealth. After a very old woman turned Damnadji into a truly rich man, he became a cruel man. There is caste distinction: the chief and his family are high-caste, shamans are also a respected caste, whereas poor people are the low-caste people.
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