II

		The Transformer of the World and the Ancestor of the Koryak	17
		The Supreme Being	23
		Malevolent Beings	27
		"Owners" and Other Supernatural Beings	30

The Transformer of the World and the Ancestor of the Koryak. - Big-Raven (Ouikmn-a'qu, or Kutkinira'ku) is looked upon by the Koryak as the founder of the world. The termination-n-aku is the augmentative form of the mythical name of the raven (Ku'tqi, Oui'kiy, Ku'skil, or Oui'kil1). In some myths he is designated as Raven-Big-Oui'kil (Va'lvam-Quikinna'qu). The Kamchadal call him Kutq.3 Krasheninnikoff writes this word Ku'tkhu (Russian Ку'тху);3 and Steller, Ku'tka or Kutga.4 The Chukchee call him Ku'rkil.2

The Maritime Koryak of the western shore of Penshina Bay call Big-Raven also Big-Grandfather (Acicerra'qu ⁵), as may be seen from the myths recorded at the villages of Itkana, Kuel, and Paren-, while the Reindeer Koryak of the Taigonos Peninsula call him Creator (Tenanto'mwAn), as is evidenced by the myths recorded on the Taigonos Peninsula. The last two names, however, Acicen'a'qu and Tenanto'mwAn, are well known to the Koryak of other localities. The identity of Creator with Big-Raven (Ouikmn'a'qu) and with Big-Grandfather (Aëicen-a'qu) is also recognized by the Taigonos Koryak, in some of whose tales the last two names are also found. On the other hand, we find in texts recorded in other localities, sometimes the name Big-Raven, then Creator or Big-Grandfather; and sometimes in the same tale we meet with two names.⁸

It may be pointed out here that the Chukchee make a distinction between Raven (Ku'rkil) and Creator. The former appears as a companion and assistant of Creator when creating the world. The latter is considered as a benevolent deity of an indefinite character, living on the zenith, and is identified with another benevolent deity, Outer-One, World⁷ (Ña'iñmen; Chukchee, Ña'rñmen), which, as be seen farther on, is considered by the Koryak to be one of the names for the Supreme Being .8

In one of the Chukchee myths related by Mr. Bogoras,⁹ "Creator" himself turns into a raven and ascends to heaven, in order to get reindeer for men from the Supreme Being; but this myth looks very much like an adaptation from the Koryak. Mr. Bogoras states, however, that in shamamstic incantations, Raven is sometimes called "the outer garment of the Creator. This passage is in full accord with the Koryak conception of the Creator, or the Big-Raven, who turns into a raven when putting on a raven's coat.

' In ordinary language the word for "raven" is va'lve. The names for Big-Raven and other mythical beings are written here as pronounced in the various Koryak dialects.

² Bogoras, Anthropologist, p. 637. ³ Krasheninnikoff, II, p. 100. ⁴ Steller, p. 253.

7 Bogoras, Brief Report, p. 30; Anthropologist, p. 587; Chukchee Materials, p. viii..
⁸ See p. 24. ⁹ Bogoras, Chukchee Materials, p. 168 (Tale 57).

All the tales about Big-Raven belong to the cycle of raven myths which are popular on the American as well as on the Asiatic shores of the North Pacific Ocean. But while the Ku'rkil of the Chukchee, and the Raven of the North American Indians, play a part only in their mythology, particularly in the myths relating to the creation of the world, and have no connection with religious observances, Big-Raven (Quikinn,a'qu) plays an important part in the religious observances of the Koryak. Steller calls the Kamchadal Ku'tka "the greatest deity of the Kamchadal, who created the world and every living being."¹ Like the heroes of the other raven myths, Big-Raven of the Koryak appears merely as the transformer of the world. Everything in the world had existed before he appeared. His creative activity consisted in revealing things heretofore concealed, and turning some things into others; and, since everyhing in nature is regarded by the Koryak as animated, he only changed the form of the animated substance. Some things he brought down ready made to our earth from the Supreme Being in heaven. Big-Raven appears as the first man, the father and protector of the Koryak; but at the same time he is a powerful shaman and a supernatural being. His name figures in all incantations. These are either prayers addressed to him, or, in cases of treating the sick, dramatic representations of myths relating how Big-Raven treated his own children, the patient personifying one of Big-Raven's children. His presence is presupposed in pronouncing the incantation, and sick people are treated by means of his name. In the same manner he is supposed to be present at every shamanistic ceremony. When the shamans of the Maritime Koryak commence their incantations, they say, "There, Big-Raven is coming!" The Reindeer Koryak told me that during shamanistic ceremonies a raven or a sea-gull comes flying into the house, and that the host will then say, "Slaughter a reindeer, Big-Raven is coming!" I had no opportunity to witness personally any sacrificial offering to Big-Raven ; but at the fawn festival,- which is now observed only by the Reindeer Koryak of the Palpal Mountains, the antlers piled up during the festival constitute a sacrifice to Big-Raven.

The name Tenanto'mwan, 3 but not his other two names, is always used in incantations, as will be seen later on from the texts which I succeeded in recording. His wife appears under one name only, Miti'.

In some of the myths we meet, together with Big-Raven (Quikinn'a'qu), who turns into a raven only when putting on a raven's coat, the real raven (va'lve, "raven;" or Valva'mtila'n,4 "Raven-Man") as a representative of birds .

1 Steller, p. 253. But on p. 255 he says, "If it is at all permissible to speak of any kind of a god, we do not find any description of his nature, faculties, or deeds, though there is a name for him, in the Kamchadal language. They, the Kamchadals, call him Dustechtschitsch." This is evidently the Supreme Being of the Kamchadal, corresponding to the supreme benevolent deity of the Koryak. Unfortunately, Steller does not give any further information about that deity. At the present time the Kamchadal call the Christian God by the
name Duste'qcic.

of that species, - a droll and contemptible personage, who feeds on dog carcasses and excrement, and has nothing in common with the cult. The Koryak do not consider it a sin to kill a raven. The raven, nevertheless plays some part in their cosmogony. He swallowed the sun,¹ and Big-Raven's daughter got it out from his mouth, whereupon she killed him. This suggests the tale of the liberation of the sun told by the Indians of the North Pacific coast. In another tale 2 the raven and the sea-gull appear as shamans, bringing Eme'mqut, the son of Big-Raven, back to life several times, after he had been killed by an invincible giant who keeps his heart hidden in a box.

There are many contradictory accounts of the origin of Big-Raven. According to information given by a Koryak from Opu'ka, the Supreme Beincr was once sharpening his knife in heaven, and a piece of dust from the grindstone fell down to earth and turned into a man, and that man was Big-Raven. Many Koryak say that they do not know where Big-Raven came from, but that in olden times the people knew it. Others say that the Supreme Being created him, and sent him down to establish order on earth. According to one tale,³ Big-Raven grew up all alone, having been left in the house by his father, Self-created (Tomwo'get), when quite a little boy. When he grew up, and commenced to go out hunting, he once happened to run up against a house in which a girl, Miti' by name, lived. She had been deserted when a little girl by her father, Twilight-Man (Gi'thilila'n), and had grown up alone. Big-Raven married her, and the Koryak are their descendants.

Almost all of the recorded Koryak myths, with very few exceptions,¹deal with the life, travels, adventures, and tricks of Big-Raven, his children, and other relatives. In this respect the Koryak mythology is very similar to the transformer myths of the Tlingit relating to the raven Yelch 5 or Yëtl.⁶

Struck with the ridiculous and disrespectful character of the tales about "Ku'tka" in Kamchadal mythology, Steller calls the Kamchadal "geborene Gotteslästerer," ⁷ and considers such an attitude toward the gods an anomalous exception. But the myths of the civilized peoples of antiquity, as well as those of other primitive tribes that have been collected since, prove that in point of coarseness the crude imagination of the Kamchadal does not stand alone. Indecent tales are, nevertheless, especially characteristic of the inhabitants of both shores of the North Pacific; and their obscene character constitutes one of the points of resemblance between Koryak and American mythology.

Big-Raven and his wife Miti' play all sorts of indecent tricks just for their amusement. They turn their sexual organs into dogs and people, and then set them back again in their places.⁸ Miti' takes her anus and puts it in place

of her vulva, and vice versa.1 Miti' prepares puddings out of her genitalia, and treats her husband to them. He enters her anus as though it were a house.¹ In another place, on the occasion of a famine, Big-Raven, as well as every member of his family, - except his sons, who are absent with the reindeer, - following Big-Raven's order, each puts his head into his own anus, and, feeding there on excrement, imagines that he is wandering along a river-valley, and procuring fish.³ Big-Raven appears, besides, as a being of a very low order of intelligence. Not only Miti', who is represented as being brighter than he, succeeds in deceiving him, and excels him in cunning inventions, but even mice, foxes, and other animals cheat him, make fun of him, and deride him. It goes without saying, that all these funny, foolish, or indecent adventures of Big-Raven and other members of his family, go hand in hand with supernatural deeds and transformations. Although reflecting the Koryak view of nature and deities, they serve mainly as a source of amusement. The coarseness of the incidents does not prevent the Koryak from considering the heroes of those tales as their protectors.

According to some information, Big-Raven's wife Miti', whose name is also connected with incantations, was thrown down from heaven upon earth by her father, The-Master-on-High³ (Çïcho'l-eti'nvila'n). Big-Raven found her in the wilderness, and, knowing nothing of her origin, kept constantly taunting her, saying that she had no kin. Another informer told me that Miti' fell down upon the tundra from the clouds during a thunder-storm.

According to a third tradition, related to me by an Opu'ka Koryak, Miti' was the daughter of Crab (Toko'yoto),

the master of the sea. This name designates a large sea-crab found in the Pacific Ocean. From what follows, it might seem that it is the spider-crab. Miti' remained on the shore after high water. Big-Raven found her and took her for his wife. According to Tale 116, Big-Raven found in a water-hole a White-Whale woman, Miti' by name, whom he took for his wife. Another tradition relates that Miti' had been married to the master of the sea, and that Big-Raven took her away from him ; that Miti''s older daughters were not Big-Raven's

Fig1. Koryak Sketch illustrating the Tale of Big-Raven and the Spider-Crab.

children, but Crab's. This last tale is accompanied by an illustration (Fig. 1) made by a Maritime Koryak, Ka'mmake from the Opu'ka River. Ka'mmake

explained his drawing as follows: Big-Raven maltreated his daughters Yiñe'a-ñe'ut and Can'a'i-ña'ut, giving them nothing to eat or to drink. They got angry with him, and decided to run away to their real father, Crab (Toko'yoto) the master of the sea. They made a wooden whale, launched it upon the sea, and boarded it. Then it turned into a real whale. They started off in it. Their brother Eme'mqut, who happened to be on a rocky island huntino- ducks saw the whale, and aimed at it; but the elder sister shouted to him from within, and bow and arrows fell out of his hands. The sisters came to Crab and remained with him.¹ Ka'mmake thus described the crab drawn by him: "He has ten legs, each as long as a man's arm, and without bones. He has no trunk. His head is round, like a man's, and has a beak like that of a ptarmigan. He lives on the bottom of the sea."

According to one tale, Big-Raven had seven sons and five daughters; but the following names only are mentioned: the sons, Eme'mqut,- Big-Light (Oeskin-a'qu), One-who-paints-his-Belly (Na'ñqa-ka'le), Bear's-Ear (Ka'iñi-vi'lu), and in northern Kamchatka also Kihihicnra'xu and Dawn-coming-out (Tña'nto); and the daughters, Yiñe'a-ñe'ut, Can'a'i-ña'ut, Ici'me-ñe'ut, and in northern Kamchatka An'a'rukca-ña'ut.³ Of all the children, Eme'mqut and Yiñe'a-ñe'ut play the most important part in the myths. Both of them are shamans. These two are constantly engaged in a struggle with the cannibal kalau. 4 Their travels are full of adventures. They conquer their powerful rivals, ascend to heaven, or descend to the underground world. As told in Tale 9, Eme'mqut, together with his father, once put on a raven's coat, and turned into a raven; in Tales 8 and 136 Eme'mqut himself turned into a raven; and in Tale 82 Yiñe'a-ñe'ut set free the sun, which had been swallowed by Raven-Man. One of the stars of the Pleiades bears her name.

Among the other relatives of Big-Raven and Miti' are mentioned his brother Oaitaka'lñm (Brother); his sister A'na (also pronounced Ha'na or Ga'na ⁵), who is also called Xe'llu; Great-Cold (Mai'ñi-ca'ican or Caican-a'qu), her husband; and Miti's brother, Little-Charm-Man (Ikle'mtila^sn). Besides the children of Big-Raven, an important part is played in the myths by Illa' and Kïlu', the son and daughter of Ga'na. White-Whale-Woman (Yi'yi or Yi'yi-ñe'ut) is mentioned as Kïlu''s younger sister.

have been distorted by defective recording, Ku'tkhu, his wife Ilkxum, his sister Xu'tlizic, his sons Si'mskalin and Ti'zil-Ku'tkhu, and his daughter Si'duku. Ti'zil- Ku'tkhu married Si'duku. They had a son Amle'i, and a daughter, who also intermarried, and the Kamchadal are their descendants. Neither Steller nor Krasheninnikoff give the meaning of any of the above-mentioned names.

One-who-paints-his-Belly (Na'ñqa-ka'le), the son of Big-Raven, is a strong man or a hero who remains sitting at one place, and does nothing but paint his belly. It is only after urgent entreaties on the part of his father that he starts out in search of his brothers, who were killed by cannibal monsters.

The tales relating to Big-Raven's life and creative activity are just as contradictory as those which treat of his appearance on earth. According to some of them, not only the earth and all phenomena of nature, but animals
and even men, had existed before him. It is frequently told in the tales that Big-Raven lived alone, and that there were no other people; but then it turns out that, far away from his habitation, other people live. For instance, in
Tale 6 it is said that his neighbors were Chukchee, with whom he was engaged in warfare. It is apparently meant by this that there were no Koryak as yet, and in that sense Big-Raven was alone. In other tales, Reindeer people from a distance are mentioned. This must be understood to mean that there were no Maritime people, who, by the way, are clearly distinguished from the Reindeer people; Big-Raven himself being always described as a Maritime settler.

According to a tradition recorded by myself in the Itkana settlement, there were no other people when Big-Grandfather appeared on earth. Real men appeared later on, or were the descendants of his children; while Big- Grandfather lived with animals, birds, and phenomena of nature as though they were human beings. He used to pay them visits, and received them at his house. According to other traditions, however, Big-Raven created mankind, reindeer, and other animals. As has been said before, however, this creative activity entirely excludes the conception of calling new objects or beings into existence, but simply means the change of things from one form into another, and the bringing to light of hitherto hidden objects. For instance, according to some tales, Big-Raven pulls out the post to which dogs are tied, and herds of domestic reindeer come out of the ground: in other tales he brings reindeer from the Supreme Being in heaven, or makes wooden reindeer and endows them with life. Big-Raven introduced order on earth. He taught people how to catch sea-animals and fish; he gave them the drum and the fire-drill; he gave them protection from evil spirits, and incantations against diseases; but he also introduced death among mankind.

It is unknown whither Big-Raven disappeared. He bade his descendants burn their dead; but he ordered that after death his own body should be placed in a separate house, which should be closed up. This house and Big- Raven himself were turned into stone after his death.

According to other traditions, Big-Raven wandered away from the Koryak country, no one knows where. The same is related in the Kamchadal tra-ditions ; but, according to the latter, Raven (Kutq) went away from the Kamchadal to the Koryak and Chukchee. Some say that Big-Raven departed because he was displeased with men, since they ceased to heed his advice: others say that once, after having procured a whale, he arranged the whale festival, but the whale could not be induced to start off.¹

Traces of Big-Raven's former places of abode are shown in several localities. On the Taigonos Peninsula it is said that he lived on a sea-cliff, not far from the village of Middle Itkana (Osgi'nco). Before leaving the Koryak country, Big-Raven turned his house, his skin boat, and his storage-house into stone. The Koryak say that all these things have retained their previous forms. The stone plug for the hole in the roof of the porch 3 is still lyino-on top of the house. Big-Raven had some iron under his skin boat; but the Koryak are unable to lift the boat in order to get it, and therefore use the imported Russian iron. He also thrust his grindstone into the rock, where it forms a thick layer of slate. Since the rock is disintegrating, the Koryak manage to get pieces of grindstone, and make whetstones out of them. Stone hatchets and knives that are occasionally found in the bank which is being washed away, and that are simply remnants of ancient Koryak settlements, are considered by the Koryak to be Big-Raven's implements.

In the village of Kamenskoye (Vai'kenan) the Koryak told me of traces of Big-Raven's footsteps, and of those of his reindeer, upon a ridge along the left bank of the Penshina River. The Alutora Koryak say that Big-Raven's petrified house is in Baron Korff's Bay.

Big-Raven lived in an underground house, like the Maritime Koryak; but he had a herd of reindeer at the same time, and his sons used to roam about with it just as the Reindeer Koryak do. Such a method of living may be found at present among the Koryak of northern Kamchatka and Alutora. Tales describing tljis mode of life seem to reconcile the antagonism between the Maritime and Reindeer Koryak which may be noticed in some tales, in which the Maritime Koryak are always given the preference. Thus, for example, in Tales 7 and 59 Eme'mqut represents the Maritime Koryak, while Envious-One (Nipai'vaticñin) represents the Reindeer people; and the wife of the former excels the wife of the latter in beauty and in shamanistic art.

The Supreme Being. - Though occupying the most important place in the religious life of the Koryak, the conception of the Supreme Being is vague. It is quite materialistic, although some names of this deity, translated into a civilized language, suggest abstract ideas. Nothing is known of his origin or

¹The same is told in Tale 20 about Creator's (Tenanto'mwan) and Miti''s fathers (see Chapter V, The Whale Festival).

his world-creating activity, except that he sent Big-Raven down to our earth to establish order; but he is the personification of the vital principle in nature taken in its entirety. On the other hand, he is an anthropomorphic being, - an old man living in a settlement in heaven, and having a wife and children. He is a benevolent being, well disposed toward men, but displaying little activity. The course of events takes place under his supervision. If he wills, he can give abundance and plenty, or put an end to prosperity, and send a visitation of famine and other calamities upon mankind ; but he seldom makes use of his power to do evil to men.

The Supreme Being is known under the following names: Ña'iñinen (Universe, World, Outer-One); Ina'hitela'n or Gina'gitela'n (Supervisor); Yaqhi'cñin or Caqhi'cñin (Something-Existing), called by the Paren people Vahi'cñin by those of Kamenskoye Vahi'tñin, or by the Reindeer Koryak Vahi'yñin (Existence, also Strength); Gi'chola^sn (The-One-on-High); Gicho'l-eti'nvila'n (The-Master-on-High) or simply E'tin (Master); Tña'irgin (Dawn). Some identify the sun with him. In Tale 113 we meet with the name Kihi'gila'n (Thunder- Man) for the Supreme Being.

The Chukchee call Existence Va'irgin (from the verb titva'rkin, "I exist," "I am"). It should be noted here that Mr. Bogoras¹ considers this word, not as the name of an individual deity, but as that applied to the entire class of benevolent spirits. In the same manner the Asiatic Eskimo use the word Kiya'rnarak (from kiyarnakuña, "I exist," "I am"). Mr. Bogoras states that the name Va'irgin is used in some cases even with reference to evil spirits; but the Koryak among whom I collected information identified this name with the other names of the Supreme Being. It is probable that previously the Koryak may also have applied this name to a class of beings. It is also possible that all names now applied by them to one deity may have formerly been applied to various beings or phenomena of nature, and that, owing to their intercourse with the Russians, a monotheistic tendency of uniting all names of the various deities into one may have developed; and, indeed, I used to notice such a tendency, and wondered at it. Once a Cossack was trying to persuade a Maritime Koryak to embrace the Orthodox faith. "Why should I be baptized?" the latter replied evasively, pointing upward with his hand. "We all have one God, anyway." On the other hand, Cloud-Man (Ya'hal or Ya'hala'n) figures as the son of the Supreme Being under his various names. This idea appears equally clear in the tales and in my notes. It does not seem likely that this identification of the father of Cloud-Man with one single supreme being, known under many different names, should be due to Russian monotheistic influence. I recollect one case in which a Koryak identified the dawn with the Supreme Being. It was in spring, in the camp

of the chief¹ of the Reindeer Koryak on the Taigonos Peninsula. One morning, as soon as dawn was visible in the east, he called the herdsmen who were sleeping near our tent, and, pointing to the east, said, "The-One-on-High has woke up: it is time for us to get up too." Such occasional expressions lead to a much better insight into the ideas of primitive man about cosmogony than questions, which are usually put in such a way that they necessarily suggest the reply.

What are the relations of the people to this deity? They are based rather on a sense of gratitude and the desire to secure his good-will than on fear. Gratitude is expressed in the offering of sacrifices; but the latter are also offered in advance to secure future prosperity, or as atonement for transgressions of taboos.

All thoughts of the Koryak are concentrated upon the procuring of food, the hunting of sea and land animals, picking berries and roots, and the safekeeping of the herds. All these things are in abundance as long as The-One-on-High looks down upon earth; but no sooner does he turn away than disorder reigns. In Tale 9 Big-Raven becomes unsuccessful in his hunt when Universe (Ña'iñinen) has gone to sleep. Failure to offer customary sacrifices may also lead to disaster. In Tale III young Earth-Maker (Tanu'ta), the husband of Yiñe'a-ñe'ut, Big-Raven's daughter, fails to sacrifice reindeer to Supervisor's (Ina'hitela^sn) son Cloud-Man (Ya'hala^sn), as is customary to do at a wedding; and in consequence Supervisor pushes Yiñe'a-ñe'ut to the very edge of the hearth, owing to which she is roasted by the fire, and wastes away. Of course, it must be understood here that it is her soul which was close to the fire, for Yiñe'a-ñe'ut herself was not at the edge of the hearth at all.

The notions as to the direct interference of the Supreme Being with worldly affairs are very confused. Men seem to be left to their own resources in their struggle with evil spirits, diseases, and death: they appeal for help to Big-Raven, to protecting spirits, and to amulets.

The abode of the Supreme Being is identified with the world beyond the clouds, the sky, "the heaven village" inhabited by the people of the sky (I'ye-nimyi'sa^sn, "inhabitants of the heaven village"), who possess reindeer, and resemble the people our world, of the earth.

The wife of the Supreme Being is called Supervisor-Woman (Lap-ña ut, literally "the woman who looks or supervises").² In Tale 9 she is called Rain-Woman or Dampness-Woman (I'leña or I'le-ñe'ut). According to other notes collected by me, the sea itself figures as the wife of The-One-on-High, and her name is Sea-Woman (A'nqa-ña'ut).

¹That is, the chief elected by the natives, or appointed by the government, who is responsible for the payment of tribute to the Russian Government.

Besides his general function as supervisor of the course of things on earth, The-One-on-High is particularly concerned in birth. He sends the souls of the new-born into the wombs of their mothers. The souls (uyi'cit or uyi'rit) are hung up in the house of the deity on posts and beams. The duration of the earthly life of each soul is marked beforehand on thongs tied to them. A long strap indicates longevity; a short one, the early death of the child to be born. After death the human soul returns to The-One-on-High, who after some time sends it into a relative of its former owner, to be re-born. A drawing (Fig. 40) made by the Koryak Yulta of the village of Kamenskoye serves to illustrate the tale in which is described how the souls are hanging in the deity's house.

Two children of the Supreme Being are mentioned by name, - his son Cloud-Man (Ya'hal or Ya'hala'n) or Cloud-Maker (Ta'yañ), and his daughter Cloud-Woman (Ya'hal-ña'ut). Cloud-Man figures as the protector of young couples. Young men beat the drum, and appeal to him to turn to them the "mind" or heart of the girl, and vice versa. On the right side of a picture drawn by the above-mentioned Koryak (see Fig. 41) a girl is represented beating the drum in order to attract to herself the heart of a young man. The sounds of the drum reach the ears of Cloud-Man, who draws a line con-necting the affections of the two young people. In one tale¹ Fog-Man beats the drum to attract the heart of Big-Raven's daughter. Cloud-Man causes Big-Raven to conceive the thought of marrying Yiñe'a-ñe'ut to her brother, and thus induces Yiñe'a-ñe'ut to flee to Fog-Man. For his mediation in love- matters Cloud-Man gets a sacrificial reindeer from the bridegroom after the marriage has taken place. In another tale 2 Earth-Maker (Tanu'ta), after his marriage, fails to follow this custom, and his bride ails and wastes away until he does his duty toward Cloud-Man.

The Supreme Being plays no active part in mythology, at least not in the myths collected by me; but there are numerous tales relating to Cloud- Man's marriage with Big-Raven's daughter Yiñe'a-ñe'ut, and to Cloud-Woman becoming Eme'mqut's wife. On such occasions, Big-Raven and his family ascend to heaven to visit with his divine father-in-law: and Cloud-Man, with his sister and other inhabitants of heaven, come down to Big-Raven's settlement to return his visit.

Only one tale³ relating to The-Master-on-High, and containing coarse details, can be compared with the tales relating to Big-Raven. In order to cause rain on earth, Universe (Ñai'ñinen) attaches his wife's vulva to a drum,
which he beats with his penis : and the liquid which is squirted out from the vulva falls down on earth as rain. In order to put an end to the incessant rain, Big-Raven and his son Eme'mqut turn into ravens and fly up to heaven. They cause the deity and his wife to fall asleep, and carefully dry their privates

by the fire. On awakening, Universe is no longer able to produce rain by beating the drum, and thus it clears up on earth. It is interesting to note that this tale is told in order to put an end to rain or to a snow-storm. On the other hand it must not be told in fine weather, lest it bring on rain or a storm. The tale was told to me during fine weather, and therefore a sacrifice to Universe had to be offered first. This was done by burning some fat, the idea being that the fire acts as an intermediary between the supplicant and Universe. However I had to take upon myself the responsibility for the consequences.

Malevolent Beings. - The first place among beings that are ill-disposed to mankind is occupied by the so-called kalau {sing. kala '), which correspond to the Chukchee kelet. The people of Paren call them also kalak or kamak; and among the Reindeer Koryak they are frequently called ñe'nveticñin or ñi'nvit. However, the above- mentioned names for evil spirits are known among all the Koryak. The Koryak conception of their dual nature finds expression in their myths, and appeared clearly in conversation. The kala appears sometimes as an invisible being that kills people by supernatural or rather invisible means; and sometimes he appears as a common cannibal. His material and spiritual features are often intermingled.

The relations between the kalau and the Supreme Being were described to me by an old man named Yulta, from the village of Kamenskoye. At one time the kalau lived with The-Master-on-High in the upper world; but he quarrelled with them, and sent them down to our world. This resembles somewhat the biblical conception of the fallen angels. The official chief of the Reindeer Koryak on the Taigonos Peninsula used to tell me that The-Master-on-High sends the kalau to people when they do wrong, just as the Czar sends his Cossacks against those that are disobedient. Others told me that The-Master-on-High sends the kalau to the people that they may die, and that he may create other people. A similar story was told to me about Big-Raven: He sends the kalau down to the people to give them a chance to test the power of their incantations against diseases and death, which he had bequeathed to them. In one tale 2 the dead ancestors send the kalau from the underground world into the village of their descendants to punish the young people for playing games at night, and thus disturbing the rest of the old people.

According to Koryak ideas, the kalau constitute families, just like human beings, with an old man as the head of the family, his children, their wives, etc. I heard various accounts concerning the abode of the kalau, from which it may be concluded that several groups are distinguished, according to their place of residence.³ Some live in the world under us. They have daytime

³ It is interesting to note, t while the idea of evil spirits dwelling in the upper world is foreign to the Koryak mind, the Yakut subd' their evil spirits (Abasyla'r), which correspond to the kalau, into upper (that is, heavenly), middle (earthly), and lower (or those of the underground world).

when it is night here. The)' sleep when we are awake. When visiting the houses to cause diseases and to kill people, they enter from under ground through the hearth-fire, and return the same way. It happens at times that they steal people, and carry them away. They are invisible to human beings, and are capable of changing their size. They are sometimes so numerous in houses, that they sit on the people, and fill up all corners. With hammers and axes they knock people over their heads, thus causing headaches. They bite, and cause swellings. They shoot invisible arrows, which stick in the body, causing death, if a shaman does not pull them out in time. The kalau tear out pieces of flesh from people, thus causing sores and wounds to form on their bodies.

Other kalau live on the earth, toward the west, where the sun sets, on the borders of the Koryak country. They are thus identified with the dark- ness of night. They live in villages, whence they invade the camps and settle- ments of man. Their mere approach to a settlement is enough to cause people to get ill, for "their breath is as poisonous as nux vomica." Thus, when Big-Raven's children began to ail, he said, "The kalau must be near by." Their arrows are supplied with mouths, and they can be shot without the use of a bow, and fly wherever they are sent. They enter the houses of the Reindeer Koryak from above, and those of the Maritime people by descending along the back of the ladder. Sometimes these kalau appear in visible form, as animals. Some Koryak, for instance, in speaking about the epidemic of measles of 1900, which exterminated a considerable number of the inhabitants of the Gishiga district, told me that the kalau which caused the epidemic came running from the direction of sunset in the guise of colts. This particular idea can be explained by the fact that the measles had been brought to the country by the Russians, hence the kala of that disease assumed the form of a Russian animal. In one tale 1 the kala is described as having a human face and a dog's body. They appear frequently in the guise of human beings with pointed heads.

In some myths relating to the kalau, they appear, not as supernatural beings, but as common cannibals, longing for human flesh, and with a ravenous appetite. They resemble in this respect the malevolent beings of the Yukaghir called Mythical-Old-Man (Cu'oleji-Po'lut) or Mythical-Old-Woman (Cu'oleji- Ten'ke). Cannibalism, in the tales of the kalau, is at times so vividly depicted, that the tales appear like descriptions of tribes of cannibals.

Big-Raven and his children wage a constant war against the kalau. At one time his children and he himself were first eaten by them, and then revived by shamanistic exercises of the members of Big-Raven's family who
had remained alive. According to mythology, the kalau are coarse, stupid

beings, whom Big-Raven often vanquishes by means of cunning devices. The final victory is always on the side of Big-Raven or of his children. Sometimes he completely destroys the kalau, and thereupon his children recover : at other times he renders them harmless. He causes them to fall asleep; he takes out their cannibal-stomachs during their sleep, and puts other ones in their places, usually those of some rodents. At still other times he devises some other means of protecting himself and his children against the invasion of the cannibals. In one story ¹ it is told that he heated stones in his house until they were red-hot, invited the kalau to sit on them, and thus burned them. At another time 2 he got rid of them by making a steam-bath for them, in which they were smothered. At times an incantation serves him as a means of rescue. In another story³ Big-Raven appealed to The-Master-on-High for help against the mouthed arrows of the kalau with whom he had been at war; and the deity gave him an iron mouth, which caught all the arrows sent by the kalau.

There are Maritime and Reindeer kalau. The houses of the former have no storm-roof 4 to protect them from the snow: they have only an opening to admit the light; but it does not serve as an entrance, since the kalau go in and out through the ground under the hearth-fire. Instead of dogs, they keep bears, which tear up their human victims. The Reindeer kalau have reindeer herds; but, according to some myths, mountain-sheep constitute their herds. There are kalau also in the tundra and in the woods, where they waylay man, and whence they invade human settlements to procure human flesh. They hunt human beings just as men hunt reindeer and seals.

At the time when Big-Raven lived, the kalau were visible beings; but ever after he took away their herds, and waged war against them, they became invisible; and after Big-Raven disappeared, they assailed man, and death became his lot.

Some kalau perform special functions, representing particular diseases. There is the kala that "causes one to shudder;" that is, produces certain nervous diseases among women.

Some kalau have proper names; thus, the eldest son of one old kala is called Able-to-do-Everything (Apka'wka; literally, " not powerless to do anything") _; his daughter, E'me-ñe'ut.5 She was so beautiful that her bare hand would illuminate the darkness of the night. Eme'mqut married her, after having killed all the cannibals.

Names of some cannibals that apparently do not belong to the kalau are mentioned in the myths. These are Lo'cex⁶ and Gormandizer⁷ (A'wye-qla'ul). There are also names of some kalau that are not cannibals: for instance, Big-Kamak-who-turns-Himself-Inside-Out (Cihi'lli Kamakn-a'qu), a kala whose mouth

turned inside out as soon as he began to laugh, and who is considered a ludicrous figure.

Although, on the whole, the word "kala" denotes all powers harmful to man, and all that is evil in nature, there are numbers of objects and beings known under the name of "kalak" or "kamak" that do not belong to the class of evil spirits. Thus, the guardian spirits of the Koryak shamans, and some varieties of guardians of the village, of the family, or of individuals, are called by this name. These will be discussed later on.¹

"Owners" and Other Supernatural Beings. — Another class of super- natural beings are known as Owners or Masters (E'tin). They represent the idea of a more or less powerful being who is the "owner" of an object, who resides in the object. Among the Koryak the conception is not well developed. It seems to me that this conception belongs to a stage of religious conscious- ness higher than that of the Koryak, among whom it is not yet differentiated from a lower animistic view of nature. The conception of "masters" residing, under the name of inua ("its man"), within things, or phenomena of nature, is quite clear among the Eskimo, is well developed with the Yukaghir (they call their "owners" po'gil), and is especially developed among the. Siberian tribes with typical Asiatic culture. Among the Yakut the "masters" are called i'cci; and the word e'cen or i'sin is used in the same sense among the Buryat. According to the idea prevalent among all these tribes, every object - or at least every important natural object — has a spirit-owner residing within it. I have been unable to observe a clear conception of this kind among the Koryak.

The following data are characteristic of the nations of the Koryak: - One Reindeer Koryak from the Taigonos Peninsula, who had gone to the seashore in the beginning of summer to hunt seals and to fish, offered a reindeer as a sacrifice to the sea. The Koryak for "sea" is a'ñqa; and for "master of the sea," añqa'ken-eti'nvila^sn. I asked him whether he offered his sacrifice to the sea, or to the master of the sea. He did not understand the question at first. Apparently he had never thought about it, and very likely the two conceptions were confused in his mind. After a little while, however, he replied, "I don't know. We say, 'sea' and 'owner of the sea:' it is just the same." At the same time I was told by the Koryak of other places that the owner of the sea is a woman; while others considered the sea itself as a woman. The Crab (Toko'yoto) is considered to be the deity of the sea, along the North Pacific coast; and, according to Mr. Bogoras, the Koryak of Kamchatka consider the crab A'vvi as such.2

I have received similar incoherent replies when inquiring about the so- called apa'pel (from a'pa, "father" in the Kamenskoye dialect, "grandfather" in the Paren dialect). Certain hills, capes, and cliffs are called by this name.