{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_29287/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_29287","id":"gutenberg_29287","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29287","summary":null,"tags":["Ainu -- Folklore","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Tales -- Japan"],"text":"Produced by Julie Barkley, Meredith Bach, and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n [Transcriber's Note:\n\n  The substitution [= ] have been used in this version of the text.  When\n  used, it indicates that the vowel it surrounds is a long vowel with a\n  macron (dash) above it.]\n\n\n\n AINO FOLK-TALES.\n\n BY\n BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN.\n\n WITH INTRODUCTION\n BY\n EDWARD B. TYLOR, D.C.L., F.R.S.\n\n Privately Printed\n FOR\n THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY.\n 1888.\n XXII.\n\n\n\n\n List of Officers of the Society.\n 1887-1888.\n\n PRESIDENT.\n\n THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF STRAFFORD.\n\n VICE-PRESIDENTS.\n\n ANDREW LANG, M.A.\n W. R. S. RALSTON, M.A.\n EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL.D., F.R.S.\n\n DIRECTOR.\n\n G. L. GOMME, F.S.A., 1, Beverley Villas, Barnes Common, S.W.\n\n COUNCIL.\n\n A. MACHADO Y ALVAREZ.\n THE EARL BEAUCHAMP, F.S.A.\n EDWARD BRABROOK, F.S.A.\n DR. D. G. BRINTON\n JAMES BRITTEN, F.L.S.\n LOYS BRUEYRE.\n MISS C. S. BURNE.\n EDWARD CLODD.\n PROFESSOR D. COMPARETTI.\n G. L. GOMME, F.S.A.\n A. GRANGER HUTT, F.S.A.\n SIR JOHN LUBBOCK, Bt., F.R.S.\n SIR HENRY MAINE, K.C.S.I.\n REV. DR. RICHARD MORRIS.\n ALFRED NUTT.\n EDWARD PEACOCK, F.S.A.\n Z. D. PEDROSO.\n PROFESSOR A. H. SAYCE, M.A.\n CAPTAIN R. C. TEMPLE.\n HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F.S.A.\n\n AUDITORS.\n\n G. L. APPERSON.\n JOHN TOLHURST, F.S.A.\n\n LOCAL SECRETARIES.\n\n IRELAND: G. H. KINAHAN, R.I.A.\n SOUTH SCOTLAND: WILLIAM GEORGE BLACK.\n NORTH SCOTLAND: REV. WALTER GREGOR.\n INDIA: CAPTAIN R. C. TEMPLE.\n CHINA: J. STEWART LOCKHART.\n\n HONORARY SECRETARIES.\n\n A. GRANGER HUTT, F.S.A., 8, Oxford Road, Kilburn, N.W.\n J. J. FOSTER, 36, Alma Square, St. John's Wood, N.W.\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nTwelve hundred years ago a Chinese historian stated that \"on the eastern\nfrontier of the land of Japan there is a barrier of great mountains,\nbeyond which is the land of the Hairy Men.\" These were the Aino, so\nnamed from the word in their own language signifying \"man.\" Over most of\nthe country of these rude and helpless indigenes the Japanese have long\nsince spread, only a dwindling remnant of them still inhabiting the\nisland of Yezo. Since the early days when a couple of them were sent as\ncuriosities to the Emperor of China their uncouth looks and habits have\nmade them objects of interest to more civilised nations. Many European\nwriters have described them, but hardly any with such opportunities as\nMr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, Professor of Philology at the T[=o]ky[=o]\nUniversity, who has taken down from the Ainos the present collection of\ntheir tales, and prefaced it with an account of their ways and state of\nmind. It would hardly be for me to offer information on a subject so\nexcellently handled, but the request of the Editor of the _Folk-Lore\nJournal_ that I would write an Introduction enables me to draw attention\nto the views put forward by Professor Chamberlain in another\npublication,[A] which, being printed in Japan, may be overlooked by many\nEnglish folk-lore students, even of those interested in the curious Aino\nproblem.\n\nAs is well known, the hairiness of the Ainos marks them sharply off from\nthe smooth-faced Japanese. No one can look at photographs of Ainos\nwithout admitting that the often-repeated comparison of them to bearded\nRussian peasants is much to the purpose. The likeness is much\nstrengthened by the bold quasi-European features of the Ainos\ncontrasting extremely with the Japanese type of face. Of course all\nthis has suggested a theory of the Ainos belonging to the Aryan race;\nand, although the idea comes to nothing when examined strictly, its\nexistence is an acknowledgment of the special Aino race-type. Mention\nmust also be made of an anatomical peculiarity of the Aino skeleton,\nconsisting of a remarkable flattening of the arm-and leg-bones. On the\nwhole it is evident that the Ainos are an ancient race in this part of\nAsia, and so far isolated that anthropology has not yet the means of\nsettling their physical connection with other Asiatic tribes. Professor\nChamberlain's careful examination of the Aino language leads him to a\nsimilar result. It is made not only from his own knowledge, but with the\nadvantage of working with the Rev. John Batchelor, who has lived as a\nmissionary among the Ainos for years, and written the Grammar printed as\na part of these Aino Studies. In structure the resemblances which the\nAino presents to Japanese are outweighed by the differences; and, though\nit may ultimately prove to fall into a north-east Asiatic group of\nlanguages, this is so far from being made out that it is safest for the\npresent to treat both race and language as isolated. Inasmuch as the\nlittle civilisation now possessed by the Ainos has in great measure been\nlearnt from the Japanese, it is natural that their modern language\nshould have picked up numbers of Japanese words, from the name of kamui\nwhich they give to their gods, down to the rice-beer or sake in which\nthey seek continual drunkenness, now their main source of enjoyment. One\npurpose which their language serves is to prove how widely they once\nspread over the country now Japan, where place-names alone remain to\nindicate a former Aino population. Some of these are unmistakeably Aino,\nas Yamashiro, which must have meant \"land of chestnut trees,\" and\nShikyu, \"place of rushes.\" Others, if interpreted as Japanese, have a\nfar-fetched sense, as, for instance, the villages of Mennai and Tonami,\nwhich, if treated as Japanese, would signify \"inside permission\" and\n\"hares in a row\"; whereas, if taken to be originally Aino they may bear\nthe reasonable sense of \"bad stream\" and \"stream from the lake.\" The\ninference from records and local names, worked out with great care by\nProfessor Chamberlain, is \"that the Ainos were truly the predecessors of\nthe Japanese all over the Archipelago. The dawn of history shows them\nto us living far to the south and west of their present haunts; and ever\nsince then, century by century, we see them retreating eastwards and\nnorthwards, as steadily as the American Indian has retreated westwards\nunder the pressure of the colonists from Europe.\"\n\nAs with their language, so with their folk-lore, which largely shows\nitself adopted from the Japanese. In the present collection the stories\nof the Salmon-king (xxxiv.), the Island of Women (xxxiii.), and others,\nare based on episodes of Japanese tales, sometimes belonging to\nworld-wide cycles of myth, as in the theme of the mortal who eats the\ndeadly food of Hades (xxxv.), which has its typical example in the story\nof Persephone. On reading the short but curious tale (xvi.), How it was\nsettled who should rule the World, one sees at once that the cunning\nFox-god has come in from the well-known fox mythology of Japan; and as\nto the very clever mythic episode of looking for the sunrise in the\nwest, I find, on inquiry of a Japanese gentleman living in Oxford, Mr.\nTsneta Mori, that this belongs to the tale of the Wager of the\nPhoenix, known to all Japanese children, and in which the Phoenix is\nplainly derived from China. On the other hand, there is much genuine\nAino matter in the present collection. For instance, we learn from\nProfessor Chamberlain's above-mentioned treatise why it is that Panaumbe\n(\"on the lower course of the river\") does the clever things, while\nPenaumbe (\"on the upper course of the river\") is the stupid imitator who\ncomes to grief. It is simply the expression of the dislike and contempt\nof the coast Ainos, who tell the stories, for the hill Ainos further up\nthe rivers. It is needless to mention here the many touches of Aino\nideas, morals, and customs, which their stories disclose, for it is in\nnoticing these that much of the interest consists which the reader will\nfeel in perusing them. Their most important characteristic indeed is\ninsisted on by Professor Chamberlain, in remarks of which the value must\nnot be overlooked. Of all the difficulties felt by the student of\nfolk-lore the greatest is that of judging how far those who tell and\nlisten really believe their childish wonder-tales of talking beasts and\nthe like, or how far they make and take them as conscious fun. We\nourselves are at the latter sceptical end, and many peoples we can\nexamine are in a halfway state, not altogether disbelieving that big\nstones may once have been giants, or that it is a proper incident in a\nhero's career to be swallowed by a monster and get out again, but at the\nsame time admitting that after all these may be only old wives' tales.\nEven savage tribes under contact with civilised men are mostly in this\nintermediate state, and thus Professor Chamberlain's statement as to the\nplace of folk-lore in the Aino mind, made, as it has been, under his\npersonal scrutiny, is a document of real consequence. He satisfied\nhimself that his Ainos were not making believe, like Europeans with\nnursery tales, but that the explanatory myths of natural phenomena are\nto them theorems of physical science, and the wonder-tales are told\nunder the impression that they really happened. Those who maintain the\nserious value of folk-lore, as embodying early but quite real stages of\nphilosophy among mankind, will be grateful for this collection, in spite\nof its repulsive features, as furnishing the clearest evidence that the\nbasis of their argument is not only theoretical but actual.\n\n                                                       Edward B. Tylor.\n\n\n[A] _The Language, Mythology, and Geographical Nomenclature of Japan,\nviewed in the light of Aino Studies._ By Basil Hall Chamberlain.\nIncluding an _Ainu Grammar_ by John Batchelor. (Memoirs of the\nLiterature College, Imperial University of Japan, No. 1.) T[=o]ky[=o]:\n1887.\n\n\n\n\nAINO FOLK-LORE.\n\nBy Basil Hall Chamberlain.\n\n\n_Prefatory Remarks._\n\nI visited the island of Yezo for the third time in the summer of 1886,\nin order to study the Aino language, with a view to elucidate by its\nmeans the obscure problem of the geographical nomenclature of Japan.\nBut, as is apt to happen on such occasions, the chief object of my visit\nsoon ceased to be the only object. He who would learn a language must\ntry to lisp in it, and more especially must he try to induce the natives\nto chatter in it in his presence. Now in Yezo, subjects of discourse are\nfew. The Ainos stand too low in the scale of humanity to have any notion\nof the civilised art of \"making conversation.\" When, therefore, the\nfishing and the weather are exhausted, the European sojourner in one of\ntheir dreary, filthy seaside hamlets will find himself,--at least I\nfound myself,--sadly at a loss for any further means of setting his\nnative companions' tongues in motion. It is then that fairy-tales come\nto the rescue. The Ainos would not suggest the idea themselves. To\nsuggest ideas is not their habit. But they are delighted to follow it\nwhen suggested. Simply to repeat something which they have known by\nheart ever since the days of their childhood is not such an effort to\ntheir easily-tired brains as is the keeping up of a conversation with\none who speaks their language imperfectly. Their tongues are at once\nloosened.\n\nIn my own case, I found myself, after a short time, listening to the\nstories for their own sake,--not merely as linguistic exercises; and I\nventured to include a few of them in the \"Memoir on the Ainos\" which was\npublished a few months ago by the Imperial University of Japan. Some\nremarks in a review of this \"Memoir,\" contained in _Nature_ of the 12th\nMay, 1887, have encouraged me to believe that anthropologists and\ncomparative mythologists may be interested in having laid before them\nsomething more than mere samples of the mental products of a people\nwhich is interesting for three reasons,--interesting because its domain\nonce extended over the entire Japanese archipelago, interesting because\nabsolutely nothing certain is known as to its origin and affinities,\ninteresting because it is, so to speak, almost at its last gasp. I have,\ntherefore, now collected and classified all the tales that were\ncommunicated to me by Ainos, in Aino, during my last stay in the island,\nand more latterly in T[=o]ky[=o], when, by the kind assistance of the\nPresident of the University, Mr. H. Watanabe, an exceptionally\nintelligent Aino was procured from the North, and spent a month in my\nhouse. These tales form the paper which I now have the honour to offer\nfor the acceptance of your learned Society.\n\nIt would, no doubt, be possible to treat the subject of Aino folk-lore\nin great detail. The gloss might easily be made longer than the text.\nEach story might be analysed according to the method proposed by the\nFolk-Lore Society; a \"survey of incidents\" might be appended to each, as\nin Messrs. Steel and Temple's charming \"Wide-Awake Stories,\" from the\nPunjab and Cashmere. More interesting to the anthropologist than such\nmechanical dissection of each tale considered as an independent entity\nwould be the attempt to unravel the affinities of these Aino tales. How\nmany of them, what parts of them, are original? How many of them are\nborrowed, and whence?\n\nTo carry out such an investigation with that completeness which would\nalone give it serious value, would necessitate a greater expenditure of\ntime than my duties will allow of, perhaps also a fund of multifarious\nknowledge which I do not possess. I would, therefore, merely suggest in\npassing that the probabilities of the case are in favour of the Ainos\nhaving borrowed from their only clever neighbours, the Japanese. (The\nadvent of the Russians is so recent that they need hardly be counted in\nthis connection.) The reasons for attributing to the Japanese, rather\nthan to the Ainos, the prior possession (which, by the way, by no means\nimplies the invention) of the tales common to both races, are partly\ngeneral, partly special. Thus it is _a priori_ likely that the stupid\nand barbarous will be taught by the clever and educated, not the clever\nand educated by the stupid and barbarous. On the other hand, as I have\nelsewhere demonstrated, a comparative study of the languages of the two\npeoples shows clearly that this _a priori_ view is fully borne out so\nfar as far as the linguistic domain is concerned. The same remark\napplies to social customs. Even in religion, the most conservative of\nall institutions, especially among barbarians, the Ainos have suffered\nJapanese influence to intrude itself. It is Japanese rice-beer, under\nits Japanese name of _sake_, which they offer in libations to their\ngods. Their very word for \"prayer\" seems to be archaic Japanese. A\nmedi\u00e6val Japanese hero, Yoshitsune, is generally allowed to be held in\nreligious reverence by them. The idea of earthquakes being caused by the\nwriggling of a gigantic fish under the earth is shared by the Ainos with\nthe Japanese and with several other races.\n\nAt the same time, the general tenour and tendency of the tales and\ntraditions of the Ainos wear a widely different aspect from that which\ncharacterises the folk-lore of Japan. The Ainos, in their humble way,\nare addicted to moralising and to speculating on the origin of things. A\nperusal of the following tales will show that a surprisingly large\nnumber of them are attempts to explain some natural phenomenon, or to\nexemplify some simple precept. In fact they are science,--physical\nscience and moral science,--at a very early stage. The explanations\ngiven in these tales completely satisfy the adult Aino mind of the\npresent day. The Aino fairy-tales are not, as ours are, survivals from\nan earlier stage of thought. They spring out of the present state of\nthought. Even if not invented of recent years they fit in with the\npresent Aino view of things,--so much so, that an Aino who recounts one\nof his stories does so under the impression that he is narrating an\nactual event. He does not \"make believe\" like the European nurse, even\nlike the European child, who has always, in some nook or corner of his\nmind, a presentiment of the scepticism of his later years.\n\nSo far as I can judge, that \"disease of language\" which we call\nmetaphor, and which is held by some great authorities to have been the\nchief factor in the fabrication of Aryan myth, has no place in Aino\nfairy-land; neither have the phenomena of the weather attracted more\nattention than other things. But I speak subject to correction. Perhaps\nit is not wise to invite controversy on such a point unless one is well\narmed for the fight.\n\nFailing an elaborate analysis of the Aino fairy-tales, and a discussion\nof their origin and affinities, what I venture to offer for your\nSociety's acceptance is the simple text of the tales themselves,\nrendered into English. Nine of them have already been printed in the\nAino \"Memoir\" already referred to. One has been printed (but not quite\nin its genuine form, which decency was supposed to forbid) at the end of\nMr. Batchelor's grammar included in the same \"Memoir.\" All the others\nare now given to the world for the first time, never having yet appeared\nin any language, not even in Japanese.\n\nI would draw special attention to the character of the translation, as\nbeing an absolutely literal one in the case of all those stories which I\noriginally wrote down in Aino from the dictation of native informants.\nAs time pressed, however, I sometimes had the story told me more\nrapidly, and wrote it down afterwards in English only, but never more\nthan a few hours afterwards. In such cases, though every detail is\npreserved, the rendering is of course not actually literal. This, and\nthe fact that there were several informants, will account for the\ndifference of style between the various stories. I have appended to each\nstory either the words \"translated literally,\" or the words \"written\ndown from memory,\" together with the date and the name of the informant,\nin order that those who use the collection may know exactly what it is\nthat they are handling. In all such matters, absolute accuracy, absolute\nliteralness, wherever attainable, is surely the one thing necessary. Not\nall the charm of diction, not all the ingenious theories in the world,\ncan for a moment be set in the balance against rigid exactness, even if\nsome of the concomitants of rigid exactness are such as to spoil the\nsubject for popular treatment. The truth, the stark naked truth, the\ntruth without so much as a loin-cloth on, should surely be the\ninvestigator's sole aim when, having discovered a new set of facts, he\nundertakes to present them to the consideration of the scientific world.\n\nOf course Aino tales, like other tales, may also be treated from a\nliterary point of view. Some of the tales of the present collection,\nprettily illustrated with pictures by Japanese artists, and altered,\nexpurgated, and arranged _virginibus puerisque_, are at the present\nmoment being prepared by Messrs. Ticknor & Co., of Boston, who thought\nwith me that such a venture might please our little ones both in England\nand in the United States. But such things have no scientific value. They\nare not meant to have any. They are mere juvenile literature, whose\nEnglish dressing-up has as little relation to the barbarous original as\nthe Paris fashions have to the anatomy of the human frame.\n\nThe present paper, on the contrary, is intended for the sole perusal of\nthe anthropologist and ethnologist, who would be deprived of one of the\nbest means of judging of the state of the Aino mind if the hideous\nindecencies of the original were omitted, or its occasional ineptitude\nfurbished up. Aino mothers, lulling their babies to sleep, as they rock\nthem in the cradle hung over the kitchen fire, use words, touch on\nsubjects which we never mention; and that precisely is a noteworthy\ncharacteristic. The innocent savage is not found in Aino-land, if indeed\nhe is to be found anywhere. The Aino's imagination is as prurient as\nthat of any Zola, and far more outspoken. Pray, therefore, put the blame\non him, if much of the language of the present collection is such as it\nis not usual to see in print. Aino stories and Aino conversation are the\nintellectual counterpart of the dirt, the lice, and the skin-diseases\nwhich cover Aino bodies.\n\nFor the four-fold classification of the stories, no importance is\nclaimed. It was necessary to arrange them somehow; and the division into\n\"Tales Accounting for the Origin of Phenomena,\" \"Moral Tales,\" \"Tales of\nthe Panaumbe and Penaumbe Cycle,\" and \"Miscellaneous Tales,\" suggested\nitself as a convenient working arrangement. The \"Scraps of Folk-Lore,\"\nwhich have been added at the end, may perhaps be considered out of\nplace in a collection of tales. But I thought it better to err on the\nside of inclusion than on that of exclusion. For it may be presumed that\nthe object of any such investigation is rather to gain as minute an\nacquaintance as possible with the mental products of the people studied,\nthan scrupulously to conform to any system.\n\nThere must be a large number of Aino fairy-tales besides those here\ngiven, as the chief tellers of stories, in Aino-land as in Europe, are\nthe women, and I had mine from men only, the Aino women being much too\nshy of male foreigners for it to be possible to have much conversation\nwith them. Even of the tales I myself heard, several were lost through\nthe destruction of certain papers,--among others at least three of the\nPanaumbe and Penaumbe Cycle, which I do not trust myself to reconstruct\nfrom memory at this distance of time. Many precious hours were likewise\nwasted, and much material rendered useless, by the national vice of\ndrunkenness. A whole month at Hakodate was spoilt in this way, and\nnothing obtained from an Aino named Tomtare, who had been procured for\nme by the kindness of H. E. the Governor of Hakodate. One can have\nintercourse with men who smell badly, and who suffer, as almost all\nAinos do, from lice and from a variety of disgusting skin-diseases. It\nis a mere question of endurance and of disinfectants. But it is\nimpossible to obtain information from a drunkard. A third reason for the\ncomparatively small number of tales which it is possible to collect\nduring a limited period of intercourse is the frequency of repetitions.\nNo doubt such repetitions have a confirmatory value, especially when the\nrepetition is of the nature of a variant. Still, one would willingly\nspare them for the sake of new tales.\n\nThe Aino names appended to the stories are those of the men by whom they\nwere told to me, viz. Penri, the aged chief of Piratori; Ishanashte of\nShumunkot; Kannariki of Poropet (Jap. Horobetsu); and Kuteashguru of\nSapporo. Tomtare of Y[=u]rap does not appear for the reason mentioned\nabove, which spoilt all his usefulness. The only mythological names\nwhich appear are Okikurumi, whom the Ainos regard as having been their\ncivilizer in very ancient times, his sister-wife Turesh, or Tureshi[hi]\nand his henchman Samayunguru. The \"divine symbols,\" of which such\nconstant mention is made in the tales, are the inao or whittled sticks\nfrequently described in books of travels.\n\n                                           Basil Hall Chamberlain.\n Miyanoshita, Japan,\n          20th July, 1887.\n\n\n\n\nI.--TALES ACCOUNTING FOR THE ORIGIN OF PHENOMENA.\n\n\ni.--_The Rat and the Owl._[B]\n\nAn owl had put by for next day the remains of something dainty which he\nhad to eat. But a rat stole it, whereupon the owl was very angry, and\nwent off to the rat's house, and threatened to kill him. But the rat\napologised, saying: \"I will give you this gimlet and tell you how you\ncan obtain from it pleasure far greater than the pleasure of eating the\nfood which I was so rude as to eat up. Look here! you must stick the\ngimlet with the sharp point upwards in the ground at the foot of this\ntree; then go to the top of the tree yourself, and slide down the\ntrunk.\"\n\nThen the rat went away, and the owl did as the rat had instructed him.\nBut, sliding down on to the sharp gimlet, his anus was transfixed, and\nhe suffered great pain, and, in his grief and rage, went off to kill the\nrat. But again the rat met him with apologies, and, as a peace-offering,\ngave him a cap for his head.\n\nThese events account for the thick cap of erect feathers which the owl\nwears to this day, and also for the enmity between the owl and the\nrat.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 25th November,\n1886.)\n\n[B] The Aino name here used (_ahunrashambe_) denotes a horned species.\n\n\nii.--_The Loves of the Thunder-Gods._\n\nTwo young thunder-gods, sons of the chief thunder-god, fell violently in\nlove with the same Aino woman. Said one of them to the other, in a\njoking way: \"I will become a flea, so as to be able to hop into her\nbosom.\" Said the other: \"I will become a louse, so as to be able to stay\nalways in her bosom.\"\n\n\"Are those your wishes?\" cried their father, the chief thunder-god. \"You\nshall be taken at your word\"; and forthwith the one of them who had said\nhe would become a flea was turned into a flea, while he who said he\nwould become a louse was turned into a louse. Hence all the fleas and\nlice that exist at the present day.\n\nThis accounts for the fact that, whenever there is a thunder-storm,\nfleas jump out of all sorts of places where there were none to be seen\nbefore.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 27th November,\n1886.)\n\n\niii.--_Why Dogs cannot speak._\n\nFormerly dogs could speak. Now they cannot. The reason is that a dog,\nbelonging to a certain man a long time ago, inveigled his master into\nthe forest under the pretext of showing him game, and there caused him\nto be devoured by a bear. Then the dog went home to his master's widow,\nand lied to her, saying: \"My master has been killed by a bear. But when\nhe was dying he commanded me to tell you to marry me in his stead.\" The\nwidow knew that the dog was lying. But he kept on urging her to marry\nhim. So at last, in her grief and rage, she threw a handful of dust into\nhis open mouth. This made him unable to speak any more, and therefore no\ndogs can speak even to this very day.--(Written down from memory. Told\nby Ishanashte, 29th November, 1886.)\n\n\niv.--_Why the Cock cannot fly._\n\nWhen the Creator had finished creating the world, and had returned to\nthe sky, he sent down the cock to see whether the world was good or not,\nwith orders to come back at once. But the world was so beautiful, that\nthe cock, unable to tear himself away, kept lingering on from day to\nday. At last, after a long time, he was on his way flying back up to the\nsky. But God, angry with him for his disobedience, stretched forth his\nhand, and beat him down to earth, saying: \"You are not wanted in the sky\nany more.\"\n\nThat is why, to this very day, the cock cannot fly high.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Penri, 18th July, 1886.)\n\n\nv.--_The Origin of the Hare._\n\nSuddenly there was a large house on the top of a mountain, wherein were\nsix people beautifully arrayed, but constantly quarrelling. Whence they\ncame was unknown. Thereupon Okikurumi came and said: \"Oh! you bad hares!\nyou wicked hares! who does not know your origin? The children in the sky\nwere pelting each other with snowballs, and the snowballs fell into the\nworld of men. As it would be a pity to waste anything that falls from\nthe sky, the snowballs were turned into hares, and those hares are you.\nYou, who dwell in this world, which belongs to me, should not quarrel.\nWhat is it that you are making such a noise about?\"\n\nWith these words, Okikurumi seized a fire-brand, and beat each of the\nsix with it in turn. Thereupon all the hares ran away. This is the\norigin of the hare[-god]; and for this reason the body of the hare is\nwhite because made of snow, while its ears--which are the place where it\nwas charred by the fire-brand,--are black.--(Translated literally. Told\nby Penri, 10th July, 1886.)\n\n\nvi.--_The Position of the Private Parts._\n\nAt the beginning of the world it had been the Creator's intention to\nplace both men's and women's genitals on their foreheads so that they\nmight be able to procreate children easily. But the otter made a mistake\nin conveying the message to that effect; and that is how the genitals\ncome to be in the inconvenient place they are now in.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 11th July, 1886.)\n\n\nvii.--_The Reason for there being no Fixed Time for Human Beings to\ncopulate._\n\nAnciently the Creator summoned all the birds and beasts, the gods and\ndevils together, in order to instruct them on the subject of copulation.\nSo the birds and all the others of every sort assembled, and learnt from\nthe Creator when to copulate, and when to give birth to their young.\n\nThen the Creator said to the horse: \"Oh! thou divine ancestor of horses!\nIt will be well for thee to copulate one spring, and to give birth to\nthy young in the spring of the following year; and thou mayest eat any\nof the grass that may grow in any land.\" At these words, the horse was\ndelighted, and forthwith trotted out. But, as he rose, he kicked God in\nthe forehead. So God was very angry, and pressed his hand to his head,\nso much did it hurt him.\n\nMeanwhile, the ancestor of men came in, and asked saying: \"How about me?\nWhen shall I copulate?\" To which God, being still angry, replied:\n\"Whenever you like!\" For this reason, that race of creatures which is\ncalled man copulate at all times.--(Translated literally. Told by\nIshanashte, 12th July, 1886).\n\n\nviii.--_The Owl and the Tortoise._\n\nThe tortoise[-god] in the sea and the owl[-god] on land were very\nintimate. The tortoise spoke thus: \"Your child is a boy. My child is a\ngirl. So it will be good for us to unite them in marriage. If I send\ninto the river the fish that there are in the sea your son and my\ndaughter, being both of them enabled to eat fish, will possess the\nworld.\" Thus spoke the tortoise. The owl was greatly obliged. For this\nreason, the child of the tortoise and the child of the owl became\nhusband and wife. For this reason, the owl, without the least\nhesitation, eats every fish that comes into the river.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Penri, 15th July, 1886.)\n\n\nix.--_How a Man got the better of two Foxes._\n\nA man went into the mountains to get bark to make rope with, and found a\nhole. To this hole there came a fox, who spoke as follows, though he was\na fox, in human language: \"I know of something from which great profit\nmay be derived. Let us go to the place to-morrow!\" To which the fox\ninside the hole replied as follows: \"What profitable thing do you\nallude to? After hearing about it, I will go with you if it sounds\nlikely to be profitable; and if not, not.\" The fox outside spoke thus:\n\"The profitable thing to be done is this. I will come here to-morrow\nabout the time of the mid-day meal. You must be waiting for me then, and\nwe will go off together. If you take the shape of a horse, and we go off\ntogether, I taking the shape of a man and riding on your back, we can go\ndown to the shore, where dwell human beings possessed of plenty of food\nand all sorts of other things. As there is sure to be among the people\nsome one who wants a horse, I will sell you to him who thus wants a\nhorse. I can then buy a quantity of precious things and of food. Then I\nshall run away; and you, having the appearance of a horse, will be led\nout to eat grass, and be tied up somewhere on the hillside. Then, if I\ncome and help you to escape, and we divide the food and the precious\nthings equally between us, it will be profitable for both of us.\" Thus\nspoke the fox outside the hole; and the fox inside the hole was very\nglad, and said: \"Come and fetch me early to-morrow, and we will go off\ntogether.\"\n\nThe man was hidden in the shade of the tree, and had been listening.\nThen the fox who had been standing outside went away, and the man, too,\nwent home for the night. But he came back next day to the mouth of the\nhole, and spoke thus, imitating the voice of the fox whom he had heard\nspeaking outside the hole the day before: \"Here I am. Come out at once!\nIf you will turn into a horse, we will go down to the shore.\" The fox\ncame out. It was a big fox. The man said: \"I have come already turned\ninto a man. If you turn into a horse, it will not matter even if we are\nseen by other people.\" The fox shook itself, and became a large chestnut\n[_lit._ red] horse. Then the two went off together, and came to a very\nrich village, plentifully provided with everything. The man said: \"I\nwill sell this horse to anybody who wants one.\" As the horse was a very\nfine one, every one wanted to buy it. So the man bartered it for a\nquantity of food and precious things, and then went away.\n\nNow the horse was such a peculiarly fine one that its new owner did not\nlike to leave it out-of-doors, but always kept it in the house. He shut\nthe door, and he shut the window, and cut grass to feed it with. But\nthough he fed it, it could not (being really a fox) eat grass at all.\nAll it wanted to eat was fish. After about four days it was like to die.\nAt last it made its escape through the window and ran home; and,\narriving at the place where the other fox lived, wanted to kill it. But\nit discovered that the trick had been played, not by its companion fox,\nbut by the man. So both the foxes were very angry, and consulted about\ngoing to find the man and kill him.\n\nBut though the two foxes had decided thus, the man came and made humble\nexcuses, saying: \"I came the other day, because I had overheard you two\nfoxes plotting; and then I cheated you. For this I humbly beg your\npardon. Even if you do kill me, it will do no good. So henceforward I\nwill brew rice-beer for you, and set up the divine symbols for you, and\nworship you,--worship you for ever. In this way you will derive greater\nprofit than you would derive from killing me. Fish, too, whenever I make\na good catch, I will offer to you as an act of worship. This being so,\nthe creatures called men shall worship you for ever.\"\n\nThe foxes, hearing this, said: \"That is capital, we think. That will do\nvery well.\" Thus spake the foxes. Thus does it come about that all men,\nboth Japanese and Aino, worship the fox. So it is said.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 15th July, 1886.)\n\n\nx.--_The Man who Married the Bear-Goddess._\n\nThere was a very populous village. It was a village having both plenty\nof fish and plenty of venison. It was a place lacking no kind of food.\nNevertheless, once upon a time, a famine set in. There was no food, no\nvenison, no fish, nothing to eat at all; there was a famine. So in that\npopulous village all the people died.\n\nNow the village chief was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl.\nAfter a time, only those two children remained alive. Now the girl was\nthe older of the two, and the boy was the younger. The girl spoke thus:\n\"As for me, it does not matter even if I do die, since I am a girl. But\nyou, being a boy, can, if you like, take up our father's inheritance. So\nyou should take these things with you, use them to buy food with, eat\nit, and live.\" So spoke the girl, and took out a bag made of cloth, and\ngave it to him.\n\nThen the boy went out on to the sand, and walked along the sea-shore.\nWhen he had walked on the sand for a long time, he saw a pretty little\nhouse a short way inland. Near it was lying the carcase of a large\nwhale. The boy went to the house, and after a time entered it. On\nlooking around, he saw a man of divine appearance. The man's wife, too,\nlooked like a goddess, and was dressed altogether in black raiment. The\nman was dressed altogether in speckled raiment. The boy went in, and\nstood by the door. The man said to him: \"Welcome to you, whencesoever\nyou may have come.\" Afterwards a lot of the whale's flesh was boiled,\nand the boy was feasted on it. But the woman never looked towards him.\nThen the boy went out and fetched his parcel, which he had left outside.\nHe brought in the bag made of cloth which had been given to him by his\nsister, and opened its mouth. On taking out and looking at the things\ninside it, they were found to be very precious treasures. \"I will give\nyou these treasures in payment for the food,\" said the boy, and gave\nthem to that divine-looking man-of-the-house. The god, having looked at\nthem, said: \"They are very beautiful treasures.\" He said again: \"You\nneed not have paid me for the food. But I will take these treasures of\nyours, carry them to my [other] house, and bring you my own treasures in\nexchange for them. As for this whale's flesh, you can eat as much of it\nas you like, without payment.\" Having said this, he went off with the\nlad's treasures.\n\nThen the lad and the woman remained together. After a time the woman\nturned to the lad, and said: \"You lad! listen to me when I speak. I am\nthe bear-goddess. This husband of mine is the dragon-god. There is no\none so jealous as he is. Therefore did I not look towards you, because I\nknew that he would be jealous if I looked towards you. Those treasures\nof yours are treasures which even the gods do not possess. It is because\nhe is delighted to get them that he has taken them with him to\ncounterfeit them and bring you mock treasures. So when he shall have\nbrought those treasures and shall display them, you must speak thus: 'We\nneed not exchange treasures. I wish to buy the woman!' If you speak\nthus, he will go angrily away, because he is such a jealous man. Then\nafterwards we can marry each other, which will be very pleasant. That is\nhow you must speak.\" That was what the woman said.\n\nThen, after a certain time, the man of divine appearance came back\ngrinning. He came bringing two sets of treasures, the treasures which\nwere treasures and his own other treasures. The god spoke thus: \"You,\nlad! As I have brought the treasures which are your treasures, it will\nbe well to exchange them for my treasures.\" The boy spoke thus: \"Though\nI should like to have treasures also, I want your wife even more than I\nwant the treasures; so please give me your wife instead of the\ntreasures.\" Thus spoke the lad.\n\nHe had no sooner uttered the words than he was stunned by a clap of\nthunder above the house. On looking around him, the house was gone, and\nonly he and the goddess were left together. He came to his senses. The\ntreasures were there also. Then the woman spoke thus: \"What has happened\nis that my dragon-husband has gone away in a rage, and has therefore\nmade this noise, because you and I wish to be together. Now we can live\ntogether.\" Thus spoke the goddess. Afterwards they lived together. This\nis why the bear is a creature half like a human being.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 9th November, 1886.)\n\n\nxi.--_The two Foxes, the Mole, and the Crows._\n\nTwo brother foxes consulted together thus: \"It would be fun for us to go\ndown among men, and assume human shape.\" So they made treasures and they\nmade garments out of the leaves of various trees, and they made various\nthings to eat and cakes out of the gum which comes out of trees. But the\nmole[-god] saw them making all these preparations. So the mole made a\nplace like a human village, and placed himself in it under the disguise\nof a very old man. The foxes came to that village; they came to the very\nold man's house. And the mole himself made beautiful treasures and made\ngarments out of various herbs and leaves of trees; and, taking\nmulberries and grapes from the tops of the trees, he made good food. On\nthe arrival of the foxes, the mole invited all the crows in the place\nand all sorts of birds. He gave them human shape, and placed them as\nowners in the houses of the village. Then the mole, as chief of the\nvillage, was a very old man.\n\nThen the foxes came, having assumed the shape of men. They thought the\nplace was a human village. The old chief bought all the things which the\nfoxes had brought on their backs, all their treasures and all their\nfood. Then the old man displayed to them his own beautiful treasures.\nThe old man displayed all his beautiful things, his garments. The foxes\nwere much pleased. Then the old man spoke thus: \"Oh you strangers! as\nthere is a dance in my village, it will be well for you to see it.\" Then\nall the people in the village danced all sorts of dances. But at last,\nowing to their being birds, they began to fly upwards, notwithstanding\ntheir human shape. The foxes saw this, and were much amused. The foxes\nate both of the mulberries and of the grapes. They tasted very good. It\nwas great fun, too, to see the dancing. Afterwards they went home.\n\nThe foxes, thought thus: \"What is nicer even than treasures is the\ndelicious food which human beings have. As we do not know what it is,\nlet us go again and buy some more of it.\" So they again made treasures\nout of herbs. Then they again went down to that village. The mole was in\na golden house--a large house. He was alone in it, having sent all the\ncrows and the rest away. As the foxes entered the house and looked about\nthem, they saw a very venerable god. The god spoke thus: \"Oh! you foxes;\nbecause you had assumed human shape, you made all sorts of counterfeit\ntreasures. I saw all that you did. It is by me, and because of this,\nthat you are brought here. You think this is a human village; but it is\nthe village of me, your master the mole. It seems you constantly do all\nsorts of bad things. If you do so, it is very wrong; so do not assume\nhuman shape any more. If you will cease to assume human shape, you may\nhenceforth eat your fill of these mulberries and grapes. You and your\ncompanions the crows may eat together of the mulberries and of all\nfruits at the top of the trees, which the crows cause to drop down. This\nwill be much more profitable for you than to assume human shape.\" Thus\nspoke the mole.\n\nOwing to this, the foxes left off assuming human shape, and, from that\ntime forward, ate as they pleased of the mulberries and the grapes. When\nthe crows let any drop, they went underneath the trees and ate them.\nThey became very friendly together.--(Translated literally. Told by\nIshanashte, 11th November, 1886.)\n\n\nxii.--_The Stolen Charm._\n\nA very rich man kept a puppy and a fox-cub. Besides these he possessed a\ntiny silver model of a ship,--a charm given to him by some god, what god\nI know not. One day this charm was stolen, and could nowhere be found.\nThe rich man was so violently grieved at this, that he lay down and\nrefused all food, and was like to die. Meanwhile the puppy and the\nfox-cub played about in his room. But when they saw, after some time,\nthat the man was really going to die, the fox-cub said to the puppy: \"If\nour master dies, we shall die of hunger too; so we had better search for\nthe charm.\" So they consulted as to the best way to search for it; and\nat last the fox-cub was struck by the idea that the ogre who lived at\nthe top of the large mountain that stands at the end of the world might\nhave stolen the charm and put it into his box. The fox-cub seemed to see\nthat this had really happened. So the two little animals determined to\ngo and rescue the charm from the ogre. But they knew that they could not\naccomplish this alone, and resolved to add the rat[-god] to their\nnumber. So they invited the rat, and the three went off, dancing\nmerrily.\n\nNow the ogre was always looking steadily in the direction of the sick\nrich man, hoping that he would die. So he did not notice the approach of\nthe fox-cub, the dog, and the rat. So when they reached the ogre's\nhouse, the rat, with the help of the fox-cub, scooped out a passage\nunder and into the house, by which all three made their way in. They\nthen decided that it must be left to the rat to get hold of the charm by\nnibbling a hole in the box in which it was kept. Meanwhile the fox-cub\nassumed the shape of a little boy, and the puppy that of a little\ngirl,--two beautiful little creatures who danced and went through all\nsorts of antics, much to the amusement of the ogre. The ogre was,\nhowever, suspicious as to how they had come into the house, and whence\nthey had come, for the doors were not open. So he determined just to\ndivert himself awhile by watching their frolics, and then to kill them.\nMeanwhile the rat had nibbled a hole in the box. Then getting into it,\nhe rescued the charm, and went out again through the passage in the\nground. The little boy and girl disappeared too; how, the ogre could not\ntell. He made to pursue them through the door, when he saw them fleeing.\nBut on second thoughts he came to the conclusion that, having once been\ntaken in by a fox, there was no use in further endeavours. So he did not\nfollow the three animals as they fled away.\n\nThey returned to the village; the puppy and the fox-cub to their\nmaster's house, the rat to its own place. The puppy and the fox-cub took\nhome with them the charm, and placed it by their master's pillow,\nplaying about near him, and pulling his clothes a little with their\nteeth. At length he lifted his head and saw the charm. Then he\nworshipped it with great joy and gratitude. Afterwards the fox-cub and\nthe puppy caused him to see in a dream how the charm had been recovered\nthrough the rat's assistance. So he worshipped the rat also.\n\nFor this reason the Ainos do not think so very badly of the rat after\nall. The fox, too, though often pursued by dogs, will sometimes make\nfriends with them; and even when a dog is pursuing a fox, it will not\nbite the latter if it turns its face towards the pursuer.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st November, 1886.)\n\n\nxiii.--_The Fox, the Otter, and the Monkey._\n\nIn very ancient days, at the beginning of the world, there were a fox,\nan otter, and a monkey, all three of whom lived on the most intimate\nterms of friendship.\n\nOne day the fox spoke to the other two as follows: \"What do you say to\nour going off somewhere, and stealing food and treasures from the\nJapanese?\" His two companions having consented, they all went together\nto a distant place, and stole a bag of beans, a bag of salt, and a mat\nfrom the house of a very rich man. When they had come home with their\nplunder, the fox said: \"Otter! you had better take the salt, for it will\nbe useful to you in salting the fish which you catch in the water when\nyou go fishing. Monkey! do you take the mat; it will be very useful for\nyou to make your children dance upon. As for myself, I will take the bag\nof beans.\"\n\nAfter this, all three retired to their respective houses; and a little\nlater the otter went to the river to fish. But, as he took his bag of\nsalt with him when he made the plunge, all the salt was melted in a\nmoment, to his great disappointment. The monkey was equally unlucky;\nfor, having taken his mat and spread it on the top of a tree, and made\nhis children dance there, the children fell, and were dashed to pieces\non the ground below.\n\nThe monkey and the otter, enraged by the misfortunes which the fox's\nwiles had brought upon them, now joined together in order to fight the\nfox. So the latter took a lot of beans out of his bag, chewed them to a\npulp, smeared all his body with the paste, and lay down pretending to be\nvery ill. And when the otter and the monkey came and made to kill him,\nhe said: \"See to what a pitiful plight I am reduced! As a punishment for\nhaving deceived you, my whole body is now covered with boils, and I am\non the point of death. There is no need for you to kill me. Go away! I\nam dying fast enough.\" The monkey looked, and saw that the fox seemed to\nbe speaking the truth. So he went testily away, across the sea to Japan.\nThat is the reason why there are no monkeys in the land of the\nAinos.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 11th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxiv.--_The Fox and the Tiger._--(No. I.)\n\nSaid the tiger to the fox: \"Let us run a race from the top of the world\nto the bottom of the world, and he who wins it shall be lord of the\nworld!\" The fox agreed, and off the tiger bounded, but without noticing\nthat the fox had caught hold of his tail so as to get pulled along by\nhim. Just as the tiger was about to reach the other end, he suddenly\nwhisked round, in order to jeer at the fox, whom he believed to be far\nbehind. But this motion exactly threw the fox safely on to the far end,\nso that he was able to call out to the astonished tiger: \"Here I am.\nWhat are you so long about?\"\n\nFor this reason there are no tigers in Aino-land.\n\n\n(No. II.)\n\nSaid the tiger to the fox: \"You are said to be the craftiest of all\ncreatures. Let us now enter into rivalry, and see which of us can roar\nthe loudest; for to him shall belong the chieftainship of the world.\"\nThe fox consented, and the two stood up alongside of each other. But as\nit was for the tiger to roar first, he remained standing up, and did not\nnotice how the fox scraped a hole with his paws to hide his head in, so\nthat his ears might not be stunned by the tiger's roaring.\n\nWell, the tiger roared a roar which he thought must be heard from the\ntop of the world to the bottom of the world, and must certainly stun the\nfox. But the fox, as soon as he knew the tiger's roar to be at an end,\njumped up out of the hole where he had been hiding his ears, and said:\n\"Why! I hardly heard you. You can surely roar louder than that. You had\nbetter try again.\"\n\nThe tiger was very angry at this; for he had expected that the fox would\nbe stunned to death. However he resolved to make another still more\ntremendous effort. He did so, while the fox again hid his head in the\nhole; and the tiger burst his inside in the attempt.\n\nFor this reason there are no tigers in Aino-land. For this reason, also,\nfoxes are crafty and eloquent even at the present day.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 27th November, 1886.)\n\n\nxv.--_The Punishment of Curiosity._\n\nIn very ancient days, when the world had just been made, everything was\nstill unsettled and dangerous. The crust of the earth was thin, and all\nwas burning beneath. For this reason the people did not dare to venture\noutside of their huts even to obtain food: for they would have scorched\ntheir feet. So they were fed by the god Okikurumi, who used to fish for\nthem, and then send round his wife Turesh with what he had caught. But\nhe commanded the people to ask no questions, and never to attempt to\nlook at Turesh's face. But one day an Aino in one of the huts was not\ncontent with being fed for nothing, and disobeyed Okikurumi's commands.\nHe wished to see who the woman was that came round every day with food.\nSo he waited till her hand was stretched in at the window, seized hold\nof it, and pulled her in by main force. She screamed and struggled; and,\nwhen she was inside the hut, she turned into a wriggling, writhing\ndragon. The sky darkened, the thunder crashed, the dragon vanished, and\nthe hut was consumed by lightning. Okikurumi was very angry at what the\nman had done. So he left off feeding the people, and went away, none,\nknew whither. That is why the Ainos have been poor and miserable ever\nsince that time.--(Written down from memory. Told by Kuteashguru, July,\n1886.)\n\n\nxvi.--_How it was settled who should rule the World._\n\nWhen the Creator had finished creating this world of men, the good and\nthe bad gods were all mixed together promiscuously, and began disputing\nfor the possession of the world. They disputed,--the bad gods wanting to\nbe at the head of the government of this world, and the good gods\nlikewise wanting to be at the head. So the following arrangement was\nagreed to: Whoever, at the time of sunrise, should be the first to see\nthe luminary, should rule the world. If the bad gods should be the first\nto see it rise, then they should rule; and if the good gods should be\nthe first, then they should rule. Thereupon both the bad Gods and the\nbrilliant gods looked towards the place where the luminary was to rise.\nBut the fox[-god] alone stood looking towards the west. After a little\ntime, the fox cried out: \"I see the sunrise.\" On the gods, both bad and\ngood, turning round and gazing, they saw in truth the refulgence of the\nluminary in the west. This is the cause for which the brilliant gods\nrule the world.--(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 10th July,\n1886.)\n\n\nxvii.--_The Man who lost his Wife._\n\nA man had lost his wife, and was searching for her everywhere, over hill\nand dale, forest and sea-shore. At last he came to a wide plain, on\nwhich stood an oak-tree. Going up to it he found it to be not so much an\noak-tree as a house, in which dwelt a kind-looking old man. Said the old\nman: \"I am the god of the oak-tree. I know of your loss, and have seen\nyour faithful search. Rest here awhile, and refresh yourself by eating\nand smoking. After that, if you hope to find your wife again, you must\nobey my orders, which are as follows: Take this golden horse, get on his\nback, fly up on him to the sky, and, when you get there, ride about the\nstreets, constantly singing.\"\n\nSo the man mounted the horse, which was of pure gold. The saddle and all\nthe trappings were of gold also. As soon as he was in the saddle, the\nhorse flew up to the sky. There the man found a world like ours, but\nmore beautiful. There was an immense city in it; and up and down the\nstreets of that city, day after day, he rode, singing all the while.\nEvery one in the sky stared at him, and all the people put their hands\nto their noses, saying: \"How that creature from the lower world stinks!\"\nAt last the stench became so intolerable to them that the chief god of\nthe sky came and told him that he should be made to find his wife if\nonly he would go away. Thereupon the man flew back to earth on his\ngolden horse. Alighting at the foot of the oak-tree, he said to the\noak-god: \"Here am I. I did as you bade me. But I did not find my wife.\"\n\"Wait a moment,\" said the oak-god; \"you do not know what a tumult has\nbeen caused by your visit to the sky, neither have I yet told you that\nit was a demon who stole your wife. This demon, looking up from hell\nbelow, was so much astonished to see and hear you riding up and down the\nstreets of heaven singing, that his gaze is still fixed in that\ndirection. I will profit hereby to go round quietly, while his attention\nis absorbed, and let your wife out of the box in which he keeps her shut\nup.\"\n\nThe oak-god did as he had promised. He brought back the woman, and\nhanded over both her and the gold horse to the man, saying: \"Do not use\nthis horse to make any more journeys to the sky. Stay on earth, and\nbreed from it.\" The couple obeyed his commands, and became very rich.\nThe gold horse gave birth to two horses, and these two bred likewise,\ntill at last horses filled all the land of the Ainos.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st July, 1886.)\n\n\nxviii.--_The First Appearance of the Horse in Aino-land._\n\nA very beautiful woman had a husband. He was a very skilful fellow. Once\nhe went to the mountains, and disappeared. But at night he returned,\nbearing a deer on his back. After feasting on the deer, they went to\nbed. But in the middle of the night, the woman wept and screamed,\nsaying: \"This man is not my husband. Though with shame, I will declare\nthe fact as it is. His penis is so big, so big, so big, that it will not\nget into my vagina; and if it did get in, I should die.\"\n\nAlarmed by her cries, the neighbours ran out, and came into her house;\nand one strong fellow took a stick, and beat the husband, saying: \"You\nmust be some sort of devil,\" whereupon the husband turned into a horse,\nand ran away neighing. Afterwards he was beaten to death.\n\nThe truth was that the husband had been killed and supplanted by the\nhorse. That was the first the Ainos saw of horses. In ancient days every\nsort of creature could thus assume human shape. So it is\nsaid.--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 12th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxix.--_Sunrise._\n\nWhen the sun rises at the head of the world [_i.e._ in the east], a\ndevil tries to swallow it. But some one thrusts two or three crows or\nfoxes into the devil's mouth. Meanwhile the sun mounts on high. The\ncreatures, than which there are none more numerous in this world, are\nthe crows and the foxes. That is why things are thus. In return for this\nservice of theirs, the crows and foxes share in all man's eatables. It\nis because of the above fact.--(Translated literally. Told by Penri,\n13th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxx.--_The Sex of the Two Luminaries._\n\nFormerly it was the female luminary that came out at night. But she was\nso greatly shocked at the immoralities which she saw going on out of\ndoors among the grass, that she exchanged with the male luminary, who,\nbeing a man, did not care so much. So now the sun is a female deity, and\nthe moon is a male deity. But surely the sun must be often shocked at\nwhat she sees going on even in the day-time, when the young people are\nin the open among the grass.--(Written down from memory. Told by\nIshanashte, November, 1886.)\n\n\n\n\nII.--MORAL TALES.\n\n\nxxi.--_The Kind Giver and the Grudging Giver._\n\nA certain man had laid his net across the river; having laid his net, he\nkilled a quantity of fish. Meanwhile there came a raven, and perched\nbeside him. It seemed to be greatly hungering after the fish. It was\nmuch to be pitied. So the fisherman washed one of the fish, and threw it\nto the raven. The raven ate the fish with great joy. Afterwards the\nraven came again. Though it was a raven, it spoke thus, just like a\nhuman being: \"I am very grateful for having been fed on fish by you. If\nyou will come with me to my old father, he too will thank you. So you\nhad better come.\"\n\nThe man went with the raven. Being a raven, it flew through the air. The\nman followed it on foot. After they had gone a long way, they came to a\nlarge house. When they got there, the raven went into the house. The man\nwent in also. When he looked, it appeared like a human being in form,\nthough it was a raven. There were also a divine old man and a divine old\nwoman besides the divine girl. This girl was she who had led the man\nhither. The divine old man spoke thus: \"I am very grateful to you. As I\nam very grateful to you for feeding my daughter with good fish, I have\nhad you brought here in order to reward you.\" Thus spoke the divine old\nman.\n\nThen there were a gold puppy and a silver puppy. Both these puppies were\ngiven to the man. The divine old man spoke thus: \"Though I should give\nyou treasures, it would be useless. But if I give you these puppies, you\nwill be greatly benefited. As for the excrements of these two puppies,\nthe gold puppy excretes gold and the silver puppy excretes silver. This\nbeing so, you will be greatly enriched if you sell these excrements to\nthe officials. Understand this!\" Then the man, with respectful\nsalutations, went away, carrying with him the two puppies, and came to\nhis own house. Then he gave the puppies a little food at a time. When\nthe gold puppy excreted, it excreted gold for him. When the silver puppy\nexcreted, it excreted silver for him. The man greatly enriched himself\nby selling the metal.\n\nThereupon another man, for the sake of imitation, set his net in the\nriver. He killed a quantity of fish. Then the raven came. The man\nsmeared a fish with mud, and then threw it to the raven. The raven flew\naway with it. The man went after it, and at last, after going a long\nway, reached a large house. He went in there. The divine old man was\nvery angry. He spoke thus: \"You man are a man with a very bad heart.\nWhen you gave my daughter a fish, you gave it smeared all over with mud.\nI am very angry. Still, though I am angry, I will give you some puppies,\nas you have come to my house. If you treat them properly, you will be\nbenefited.\" Thus spoke the divine old man, and gave a gold puppy and a\nsilver puppy to the man. With a bow, the man went home with them.\n\nThe man thought thus: \"If I feed the puppies plentifully, they will\nexcrete plenty of metal. It would be foolish to have them excreting only\na little at a time. So I will do that, and become very rich.\" Thinking\nthus, he fed the puppies plentifully on anything, even on dirty things.\nThen they excreted no metal for him. They only excreted dirty dung. The\nman's house was full of nothing but dirty dung. As for the former man,\nwho had received puppies from the divine old man, he fed his on nothing\nbut good food, a little at a time. Gradually they excreted metal for\nhim. He was greatly enriched.\n\nThus in ancient times, with regard to men who wished to grow rich, they\ncould grow rich if their hearts were as good as possible. As for\nbad-hearted men, the gods became angry at all their various misdeeds.\nIt was for this reason that, on account of their anger, even a gold\npuppy excreted nothing but dung. As for the house of that bad-hearted\nman, it grew so full of dung as to be too dirty for other people to\nenter. This being so, oh! men, do not be bad-hearted. That is the story\nwhich I have heard.--(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 20th\nJuly, 1886.)\n\n\nxxii.--_The Man who was changed into a Fox_.\n\nA certain man's conduct was as follows: he went to every place, making\nit his business to do nothing but tell lies and extort things from\npeople. Then, after a time, when wanting to extort again, he went on to\nanother place. While walking along he used to think of what lies he\ncould tell. Afterwards he heard a voice. It was not human language. He\nwalked saying--\"Pau! pau!\"[C] When he looked at his own body, it was a\nfox's. Then he thought that, whether he might return to his own village,\nor go to another place, the dogs would kill him. So, with tears, he went\naway from the road into the mountains. There he found a large, leafy\noak-tree. He lay down crying beneath it.\n\nThen he fell asleep. He dreamt that there was a large house. He was\noutside of that house. A divine woman came out of it, and spoke thus:\n\"Oh! what a bad man! what a villain! You have become a bad god, a devil,\nas a divine punishment for your misdeeds. Being thus made into a devil,\nwhy do you come and stand near my house? I should like to leave you\nalone. But as I am this tree, which is made the chief of trees by\nheaven, and as it would defile me to have you die beside my house, I\nwill turn you into a man again and send you home. Do not misbehave\nyourself henceforth!\" Thus spoke the divine woman.\n\nSuch was his dream. Meanwhile the branches at the top of the tree broke,\nand came crashing down, and he was greatly frightened. But when he\nstarted up, he was a man again. Then he worshipped the tree. Then he\nreturned home. Then afterwards he did not misbehave. So also must you\nnot misbehave, you men who live now!--(Translated literally. Told by\nPenri, 19th July, 1886.)\n\n[C] An onomatopoeia for the bark of the fox.\n\n\nxxiii.--_The Rat Boy._\n\nIn a certain village there lived a very rich couple; but they were\nchildless. They were very anxious for a child. But one day, as the wife\nwent to the mountains to fetch wood, she found a little boy crying\nbeside a tree. Rejoiced at this, she took him down with her to the\nvillage. Thenceforth they kept the boy with them. It was a place where\nthere was plenty of deer and also of fish; it was a place provided with\nall the things which people like to eat. But though they hunted the\ndeer, they could not catch them; though they angled for the fish, they\ncould not catch them. They were very hungry. Hearing that great\nquantities both of fish and of deer were killed in the village next to\ntheirs, towards the mountains, the wife went off to buy food there,\ntaking the child with her. She went to the village next to theirs,\ntowards the mountains. She went to the house of the chief.\n\nThe woman looked and saw fish hanging on poles, and flesh hanging on\npoles. With tears she longed for some. She went in, she went in to the\nchief's house. Then she stayed there. She was feasted on the best bits\nof the fish and on the best bits of the flesh. After that, as she lay\ndown with her little boy, he rose quietly in the middle of the night.\nThen there was the sound of a rat nibbling at the fish and flesh on the\npoles. The woman thought it very strange. So at dawn the boy came\nquietly back, lay down by the woman's side, and slept there till the day\nwas bright. The people of the house rose, and the chief went out and\nmumbled thus to himself: \"Never were there such rats as this. There have\nbeen rats nibbling my good fish and my good flesh.\"\n\nSo the woman bought a quantity of fish and flesh and went off with it.\nShe wanted the little boy to walk in front of her; but he disliked to do\nso. He would only walk after her. Then there was the sound of a rat\nnibbling at her load. When she looked back, the little boy was grinning.\nSo they went on; they went home. Then she put both the fish and the\nflesh into the store-house. Then she whispered to her husband. Then her\nhusband went into the next room, and made a trap. Then the trap was set\nin the store-house. Then they went to bed. The little boy lay between\nthe woman and her husband; but after awhile he quietly rose and went\nout. He stayed away, without coming back. Daylight came. On the man of\nthe house going into the store-house, there was a large rat in the trap.\nSo he brought it down, beat it to death, and swept it on to the\ndust-heap. That night he had a dream. A person of divine aspect spoke to\nhim thus; \"You were childless, and wanting to have a child. The most\nwicked of the rats, seeing this, took the shape of a little boy, and\ndwelt in your house. For this reason, your village has been polluted.\nBut as you have now killed the rat, all will now be right. I am sorry\nfor you, so you shall have a child.\" Thus did he dream that the god\nspoke to him. As it was true, they got a child, though they had been\nchildless.\n\nFor this reason, whether it be on the shore or in the mountains or\nanywhere else that one finds either a child or a puppy, one should not\nlet it dwell in one's house without knowing its origin.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Penri, 20th July 1886.)\n\n\nxxiv.--_Don't throw Useful Things away._\n\nA certain man had a little boy. A divine little boy and a divine little\ngirl used to come and play with him every day. But the little boy alone\ncould see them. His parents could not see them, but believed their child\nto be alone.\n\nNow one day he fell ill, and during his illness his two playmates did\nnot come to see him. Only at the very last did they come, when he seemed\nto be on the point of death. Then they came, and the little girl said:\n\"We know the cause of your illness. Your grandfather possessed a\nbeautiful axe. I myself am a small tray which he fashioned with that\naxe, and the little boy who comes with me is a pestle which was also\nfashioned with it. So the axe was our chieftain, and we are its\nchildren. But your father has been bad. He has thrown away the axe,\nwhich is now rusting under the floor. For this are you ill, in order to\npunish your father, because our chieftain the axe is angry. Therefore,\nas we were your playmates, we have come to warn you that, if you wish to\nlive, you must tell your father to search for the axe, to polish it, to\nmake a new handle for it, and to set up the divine symbols in its\nhonour. Then may you be cured, and the axe too will pay you a visit in\nhuman shape.\"\n\nSo the boy told his father of this. The father thought that his son had\nbeen instructed in a dream. He searched under the floor of the house,\nand found the axe, and polished it, and made a new handle for it, and\nset up the divine symbols in its honour. Then his son was immediately\nhealed.\n\nAfter that, the axe (who appeared as a very handsome man), the tray, and\nthe pestle all came, and became the little boy's brothers and sisters.\nThe axe, being a god, knew all that went on and the causes of\neverything; and it and the tray and the pestle used always to tell the\nboy everything. Thus, if any one was sick, he knew why the sickness had\ncome, and how it should be treated. He was looked upon as a great\nsoothsayer and wizard, who could turn death into life. This was because\nother people only saw him. They did not see his divine informants, the\naxe, the tray, and the pestle.\n\nFor this reason never throw away anything that has belonged to your\nancestors. You will be punished by the gods if you do so.\n\n[In a variant of this tale, the death of child after child borne by a\ncertain woman was owing to the fact that the doll with which she herself\nhad played as a child (a piece of wood shaped like a bird) had been\nthrown away in the grass, and had thus had its anger aroused. A\nconversation on the subject between the spoon, the cup, and the iron\nchain whereby the kettle is hung over the fire from a hook in the\nceiling, is overheard by a half-burnt piece of firewood, who warns the\nwoman's husband in a dream. The doll is then looked for; and, when\nfound, the divine symbols are set up in its honour. Thereupon the woman\nbears again. This time the child survives, to the delight of both its\nparents.]--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 2nd December,\n1886.)\n\n\nxxv.--_The Wicked Wizard punished._\n\nOne day a wizard told a man whom he knew that, if any one were to climb\na certain mountain-peak and jump off on to the belt of clouds below, he\nwould be able to ride about on them as on a horse, and see the whole\nworld. Trusting in this, the man did as the wizard had told him, and in\nvery truth was enabled to ride about on the clouds. He visited the whole\nworld in this fashion, and brought back a map which he had drawn of the\nwhole world both of men and of gods. On arriving back at the\nmountain-peak in Aino-land, he stepped off the cloud on to the mountain,\nand, descending to the valley, told the wizard how successful and\ndelightful the journey had been, and thanked him for the opportunity\nkindly granted him of seeing sights so numerous and so strange.\n\nThe wizard was overcome with astonishment. For what he had told the\nother man was a lie, a wicked lie invented with the sole intention of\ncausing his death; for he hated him. Nevertheless, seeing that what he\nhad simply meant for an idle tale was apparently an actual fact, he\ndecided to see the world himself in this easy fashion. So, ascending the\nmountain-peak, and seeing a belt of clouds a short way below, he jumped\noff on to it, but was instantly dashed to pieces in the valley below.\n\nThat night the god of the mountain appeared to the good man in a dream,\nand said: \"The wizard has met with the death which his fraud and folly\ndeserve. You I kept from hurt, because you are a good man. So when,\nobedient to the wizard's advice, you leapt off on to the cloud, I bore\nyou up, and showed you the world in order to make you a wiser man. Let\nall men learn from this how wickedness leads to condign\npunishment!\"--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st July,\n1886.)\n\n\nxxvi.--_The Angry Crow._\n\nA man came to a certain village--whence was not known,--dressed only in\nfine black robes. While he was there, some rice-beer was brewed. On\nbeing given some of it to drink, he was very joyful, and then danced.\nThen, as he went out-of-doors, he re-entered the house with a piece of\nhard dung in his mouth, and put it in the alcove. As the master of the\nhouse became angry and beat him, he, being a large crow, flew out of the\nwindow, making the sound \"K[=a]! k[=a]!\" For this reason, even crows are\ncreatures to be dreaded. Be very careful!--(Translated literally. Told\nby Penri, 11th July, 1886.)\n\n[In another version of this story, communicated to me by Mr John\nBatchelor, the crow, enraged at not having received an invitation to a\nfeast given by some of the more handsome birds, flies high into the air\nwith a piece of hard dung in its mouth, and lets it drop into the middle\nof the party, to the great confusion of the guests. Some of the smaller\nbirds take counsel together as to the advisability of interfering to\nrestore the harmony of the occasion, but finally decide that it is not\nfor them, who were also omitted from the list of invitations, to mix\nthemselves up with such a matter. _Moral_: If you give a feast, ask all\nyour friends to it. If any are left out, they are sure to feel hurt.]\n\n\nxxvii.--_Okikurumi, Samayunguru, and the Shark._\n\nOkikurumi and his henchman Samayunguru went out one day to sea, and\nspeared a large shark, which ran away, up and down the sea, with the\nline and the boat. The two men grew very tired of pulling at him, and\ncould not prevent the boat from being pulled about in all directions.\nTheir hands were bloody and blistered both on the backs and on the\npalms, till at last Samayunguru sank dead in the bottom of the boat. At\nlast Okikurumi could hold on no longer, and he cursed the shark, saying:\n\"You bad shark! I will cut the rope. But the tip of the harpoons, made\nhalf of iron and half of bone, shall remain sticking in your flesh; and\nyou shall feel in your body the reverberation of the iron and the\nscraping of the bone; and on your skin shall grow the _rasupa_-tree and\nthe _shiuri_-tree of which the spear-handle is made, and the _hai_-grass\nby which the tip of the harpoon is tied to the body of it, and the\n_nipesh_-tree of which the rope tying the harpoon itself is made, so\nthat, though you are such a mighty fish, you shall not be able to swim\nin the water; and you shall die, and a last be washed ashore at the\nriver-mouth of Saru; and even the carrier-crows and the dogs and foxes\nwill not eat you, but will only void their foeces upon you, and you\nshall at last rot away to earth.\"\n\nThe shark laughed, thinking this was merely a human being telling a\nfalsehood. Okikurumi cut the rope, and, after a long time, managed to\nreach the land. Then he revived Samayunguru, who had been dead. And\nafterwards the shark died and was washed ashore at the river-mouth of\nSaru; and the tip of the harpoon made half of iron and half of bone had\nstuck in its flesh; and it had felt in its body the reverberation of the\nhammering of the iron and the scraping of the bone; and in its skin were\ngrowing the _rasupa_-tree and the _shiuri_-tree of which the\nspear-handle used by Okikurumi was made, and the _hai_-grass by which\nthe tip of the harpoon was tied to the body of it, and the _nipesh_-tree\nof which the rope tying the harpoon itself was made; and even the\ncarrion-crows and the dogs and foxes would not eat the bad shark, but\nonly voided their foeces upon him; and at last he rotted away to\nearth.\n\nTherefore take warning, oh! sharks of the present day, lest you die as\nthis shark died!--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 24th\nNovember, 1886.)\n\n\n\n\nIII.--TALES OF THE PANAUMBE AND PENAUMBE CYCLE.[D]\n\n\nxxviii.--_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Weeping Foxes._\n\nThere were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the bank of a\nriver, and called out: \"Oh! you fellows on the cliff behind yonder\ncliff! Ferry me across!\" They replied: \"We must first scoop out a boat.\nWait for us!\" After a little while Panaumbe called out again. \"We have\nno poles,\" said they; \"we are going to make some poles. Wait for us!\"\nAfter a little longer, he called out a third time. They replied thus:\n\"We are coming for you, Wait for us!\" Then the boat started,--a big boat\nall full of foxes.\n\nSo Panaumbe, having first seized hold of a good bludgeon, feigned dead.\nThen the foxes arrived, and spoke thus: \"Panaumbe! You are to be pitied.\nWere you frozen to death, or were you starved to death?\" With these\nwords, all the foxes came up close to him, and wept. Thereupon Panaumbe\nbrandished his bludgeon, struck all the foxes, and killed them. Only one\nfox did he let go, after breaking one of its legs. As for the rest,\nhaving killed them all, he carried them home to his house, and grew very\nrich [by selling their flesh and their skins].\n\nThen Penaumbe came down to him, and spoke thus: \"Whereas you and I were\nboth equally poor, how did you kill such a number of foxes, and thereby\nbecome rich?\" Panaumbe replied: \"If you will come and dine with me, I\nwill instruct you.\" But Penaumbe at once said: \"I have heard all about\nit before.\" With these words he pissed against the door-sill, and went\nout.\n\nDescending to the bank of the river, he called, crying out as Panaumbe\nhad done. The reply was: \"We are going to make a boat. Wait for us!\"\nAfter a little while, he called out again. They replied: \"We are going\nto make the poles. Wait for us!\" After a little longer, they started,--a\nwhole boatful of foxes. So Penaumbe first feigned dead. Then the foxes\narrived, and said: \"Penaumbe here is to be pitied. Did he die of cold?\nor did he die from want of food?\" With these words, they all came close\nto Penaumbe and wept. But one fox among them, a fox who limped, spoke\nthus: \"I remember something which once happened. Weep at a greater\ndistance!\" So all the foxes sat and wept ever further and further away.\nPenaumbe was unable to kill any of those foxes; and, as he brandished\nhis bludgeon, they all ran away. He did not catch a single one, and he\nhimself died a miserable death.--(Literal translation. Told by\nIshanashte, 23rd July, 1886.)\n\n[D] Panaumbe means \"the person on the lower course of the stream.\"\nPenaumbe means \"the person on the upper course of the stream.\" Conf.\nAino \"Memoir,\" p. 28.\n\n\nxxix.--_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, the Fishes, and the Insects._\n\nThere were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore,\nsquatted on the sand, pulled up his clothes, and, turning his back to\nthe sea, opened his anus as widely as possible. Then all the whales and\nthe salmon and the other good fishes, both great and small, thought it\nwas a beautiful cavern in the rocks. They all swam towards it, and\ncrowded into it. Panaumbe was much pleased. When his inside was quite\nfull, he closed his anus and ran home. When he got to the house, he\nclosed the door and the window. Then he opened his anus again, and let\nout all the whales and the salmon and the other good fishes, both great\nand small, so that the whole house was full of them. They could not swim\naway, because the door and window were shut. So Panaumbe caught them\nall. Some he ate, and some he sold. So he became a very rich man.\n\nThen Penaumbe came down, and spoke thus: \"You were poor before. Now you\nare very rich. How have you managed to get so rich?\" Panaumbe said:\n\"Come and dine with me. I can instruct you while we are eating.\" So,\nwhen Panaumbe had told Penaumbe how he had become rich, Penaumbe said:\n\"I knew that before.\" With these words, he pissed against the threshold,\nand went out,--down to the sea-shore. Then he did as Panaumbe had told\nhim, and opened his anus as wide as possible towards the sea. Then he\nfelt all the whales and salmon and the other fishes, both great and\nsmall, crowding in. When his inside was quite full, he closed his anus,\nand ran home very quickly. When he got to the house he closed the door\nand the window, and stopped up even the smallest chinks. Then he opened\nhis anus again, and let out all the whales and salmon, and the other\ngood fishes, both great and small, so that the whole house was full of\nthem. But when they came out, what had felt like whales and salmon, and\nall sorts of fishes, were really wasps and horse-flies and spiders and\ncentipedes, and other poisonous insects, which stung him terribly. They\ncould not get out, because Penaumbe had closed the window and the door,\nand had stopped up even the smallest chinks. So Penaumbe was stung to\ndeath by the wasps and centipedes and other poisonous insects which had\ncome home in his inside.--(Written down from memory. Told by Kannariki,\nJune, 1886.)\n\n\nxxx.--_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Sea-Lion._\n\nThere were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore,\nand walked up and down upon the sand. Then he saw a sea-lion in the\nwater. He wanted to catch that sea-lion, and eat its flesh. So he called\nout to it: \"Oh! Mr. Sea-Lion, if you will come here, I will pick the\nlice out of your head.\" The sea-lion was very glad to have the lice\npicked out of its head. So it swam to him. Then he pretended to pick the\nlice out of its head. But in reality he picked the flesh off its head,\nand the fat, and ate it. Then he said: \"All the lice are picked off. You\nmay go.\" After the sea-lion had swum a short way, it put its paw up to\nits head, in order to see whether the lice had really all been taken\noff. Then it felt that its flesh and fat were all gone, and that only\nthe bones remained. So it was very angry, and swam back quickly towards\nthe shore, to catch Panaumbe and kill him.\n\nPanaumbe, when he saw the sea-lion pursuing him, ran inland towards the\nmountains. After running some time, he reached a place where the path\ndivided. An old crow was perching on a tree there, and said: \"Right or\nleft! right or left! I see a clever man.\" The road to the right was\nbroad, and the road to the left was narrow, because it was in a valley\nwhich ended in a point. Panaumbe thought thus: \"If I take the broad path\nto the right, the sea-lion will overtake me, and kill me. But if I take\nthe narrow path to the left, he will run so fast that he will get stuck\nat the end of the narrow valley, and I, being small, can slip out\nbetween his legs, and beat in his head from behind, and kill him.\" So\nPanaumbe ran along the narrow path to the left, and the sea-lion pursued\nhim. But the sea-lion ran so heedlessly and quickly that it got stuck at\nthe end of the narrow valley. Then Panaumbe slipped out between the\nsea-lion's legs, and beat in his head from behind, and killed him, and\ntook home his flesh and his skin. Then Panaumbe became very rich.\n\nAfterwards Penaumbe came down to him, and said: \"You and I were both\npoor. How is it that you are now so rich?\" Panaumbe said: \"If you will\ncome and dine with me, I will instruct you.\" So they went together to\nPanaumbe's house, where Panaumbe's mother, and his wife and children,\nwere eating the flesh of the sea-lion. But Penaumbe, when he had heard\nwhat Panaumbe had done, said: \"I knew that before.\" Then he stepped in\nthe dishes set before Panaumbe's mother and wife and children, and spilt\ntheir food. Then he pissed on the threshold, and went away.\n\nPenaumbe went down to the sea-shore, and saw a sea-lion, as Panaumbe had\ndone. He called out to the sea-lion: \"Oh! Mr. Sea-Lion, if you will come\nhere, I will pick the lice out of your head.\" So the sea-lion swam to\nhim. Then Penaumbe pretended to pick the lice out of its head. But in\nreality he picked the flesh and the fat off its head, and left nothing\nbut the bones. The sea-lion felt a little pain, but thought that it was\nowing to the lice being picked out. So, when Penaumbe had finished\npicking and eating the flesh off its head, it swam away. But afterwards,\nfeeling the pain more sharply, the sea-lion put its paw up to its head,\nand found that nothing but bone was left. So it was very angry, and swam\nback quickly towards the shore, to catch Penaumbe and kill him.\n\nPenaumbe, when he saw the sea-lion pursuing him, ran inland towards the\nmountains. After running some time, he reached the place where the path\ndivided. The old crow, which was perching on the tree, said: \"Left or\nright! left or right! I see a fool.\" Penaumbe took the broad road to the\nright, in order to be able to run more easily. But the sea-lion ran more\nquickly than he could, and caught him and ate him up. Then Penaumbe\ndied. But if he had listened to advice he might have become a rich man\nlike Panaumbe.--(Written down from memory. Told by Kannariki, June,\n1886.)\n\n\nxxxi.--_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Lord of Matomai_.[E]\n\nPanaumbe wanted very much to become rich. For this reason, he stretched\nhis penis across to the town of Matomai. Then the lord of Matomai spoke\nthus: \"This is a pole sent by the gods; so it will be well to dry all\nthe clothes upon it.\" So all the clothes and beautiful garments were\ndried. After a time Panaumbe drew back his penis, and all those clothes\nand beautiful garments came sticking to it. His house was greatly\nbenefited. He became a very rich man.\n\nAfterwards Penaumbe came down and said: \"My dear Panaumbe, what have you\ndone to become so rich?\" Panaumbe said: \"Come and eat, and I will tell\nyou.\" Afterwards Penaumbe said: \"This is the thing I intended to do.\nAbominable Panaumbe! bad Panaumbe! you have forestalled me.\" With these\nwords, he pissed on the threshold, and went out. Then he went down to\nthe sea-shore, and stretched his penis across the sea to Matomai. The\nlord of Matomai said: \"This is a pole sent by the gods. It will be well\nto dry all the clothes and beautiful garments upon it.\" For this reason,\nall the clothes and beautiful garments were brought down, and put upon\nthe divine pole. Penaumbe wanted to become rich quickly by drawing back\nhis penis. So he drew it back quickly. The divine pole moved, and the\nlord of Matomai spoke thus: \"It happened thus before. There was a pole\nsent by the gods. For this reason the clothes and beautiful garments\nwere dried upon it. Then a thief stole the divine pole away. We all\nbecame poor. Now again our clothes and beautiful garments have been\nplaced upon a pole. Now there seems to be a thief again. Quickly cut the\ndivine pole.\" For that reason the servants of the lord all drew their\nswords. They cut the divine pole, and all the clothes and beautiful\ngarments were taken. Penaumbe was left with only half a penis. He drew\nit in. Then he had nothing. Then he became very poor. If Penaumbe had\nlistened to Panaumbe's advice, he might have had food to eat, he might\nhave become rich. But he did not like to listen to advice. For this\nreason he became poor.--(Translated literally. Original communicated by\nMr. John Batchelor, June, 1886; also printed in \"Aino Memoir,\" p. 133,\nbut with the indecent expressions softened down.)\n\n[E] The Aino pronunciation of _Matsumae_. Matsumae is a town in the\nsouth of Yezo. The lord or _Daimyo_ resident there was formerly the\nchief Japanese authority in the country.\n\n\nxxxii.--_Drinking the Sea dry._\n\nThere was the Chief of the Mouth of the River and the Chief of the Upper\nCurrent of the River. The former was very vainglorious, and therefore\nwished to put the latter to shame, or to kill him by engaging him in the\nattempt to perform something impossible. So he sent for him, and said:\n\"The sea may be a useful thing, in so far as it is the original home of\nthe fish which come up the river. But it is very destructive in stormy\nweather, when it beats wildly upon the beach. Do you now drink it dry,\nso that there may be rivers and dry land only. If you cannot do so, then\nforfeit all your possessions.\" The other (greatly to the vainglorious\nman's surprise) said: \"I accept the challenge.\"\n\nSo, on their going down together to the beach, the Chief of the Upper\nCurrent of the River took a cup, and scooped up a little of the\nsea-water with it, drank a few drops, and said: \"In the sea-water itself\nthere is no harm. It is some of the rivers flowing into it that are\npoisonous. Do you therefore first close the mouths of all the rivers\nboth in Aino-land and in Japan, and prevent them from flowing into the\nsea, and then I will undertake to drink the sea dry.\" Hereupon the Chief\nof the Mouth of the River felt ashamed, acknowledged his error, and gave\nall his treasures to his rival.--(Written down from memory. Told by\nIshanashte, 18th November, 1886.)\n\n\n\n\nIV.--MISCELLANEOUS TALES.\n\n\nxxxiii.--_The Island of Women._\n\nIn ancient days, an Aino chieftain of Iwanai went to sea in order to\ncatch sea-lions, taking with him his two sons. They speared a sea-lion,\nwhich, however, swam off with the spear sticking in its body. Meanwhile\na gale began to blow down from the mountains. The men cut the rope which\nwas fast to the spear. Then their boat floated on. After some time, they\nreached a beautiful land. When they had reached it, a number of women in\nfine garments came down from the mountains to the shore. They came\nbearing a beautiful woman in a litter. Then all the women who had come\nto the shore returned to the mountains. Only the one in the litter came\nclose to the boat, and spoke thus: \"This land is woman-land. It is a\nland where no men live. It being now spring, and there being something\npeculiar to this country of mine you shall be taken care of in my house\nuntil the autumn; and in the winter you shall become our husbands. The\nfollowing spring I will send you home. So now do you bear me to my\nhouse.\"\n\nThereupon the Aino chief and his sons bore the woman in the litter to\nthe mountains. They saw that the country was all like moorland. Then the\nchieftainess entered the house. There was a room there with a golden\nnetting, like a mosquito-net. The three men were placed inside it. The\nchieftainess fed them herself. In the day-time numbers of women came in.\nThey sat beside the golden mosquito-net, looking at the men. At\nnightfall they went home. So gradually it got to be autumn. Then the\nchieftainess spoke as follows, \"As the fall of the leaf has now come,\nand as there are two vice-chieftainesses besides me, I will send your\ntwo sons to them. You yourself shall be husband to me.\" Then two\nbeautiful women came in, and led off the two sons by the hand, while the\nchieftainess kept the chief for herself.\n\nSo the men dwelt there. When spring came, the chieftain's wife spoke\nthus to him: \"We women of this country differ from yours. At the same\ntime as the grass begins to sprout, teeth sprout in our vaginas. So our\nhusbands cannot stay with us. The east wind is our husband. When the\neast wind blows, we all turn our buttocks towards it, and thus conceive\nchildren. Sometimes we bear male children. But these male children are\nkilled and done away with when they become fit to lie with women. For\nthat reason, this is a land which has women only. It is called\nwoman-land. So when, brought by some bad god, you came to this land of\nmine, there were teeth in my vagina because it was summer, for which\nreason I did not marry you. But I married you when the teeth fell out.\nNow, as the teeth are again sprouting in my vagina because spring has\ncome, it is now impossible for us to sleep together. I will send you\nhome to-morrow. So do you tell your sons to come here to-day in order to\nbe ready.\"\n\nThe sons came. The chieftainess stayed in the house. Then, with tears\nstreaming down her face, she spoke thus; \"Though it is dangerous,\nto-night is our last night. Let us sleep together!\" Then the man, being\nmuch frightened, took a beautiful scabbard in a bag in his bosom, and\nlay with the woman with this scabbard. The mark of the teeth remained on\nthe scabbard. The next day dawned. Then the man went to his boat, taking\nhis sons with him. The chieftainess wept and spoke thus: \"As a fair wind\nis blowing away from my country, you, if you set sail and sail straight\nahead, will be able to reach your home at Iwanai.\" So then the men\nentered their boat, and went out to sea. A fair wind was blowing down\nfrom the mountains, and they went along under sail. After a time they\nsaw land; they saw the mountains about Iwanai. Going on for a time, they\ncame to the shore of Iwanai. Their wives were wearing widows' caps. So\ntheir husbands embraced them. So the story of woman-land was listened to\ncarefully. All the Ainos saw the beautiful scabbard which the chief had\nused with that woman.--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 17th July,\n1886.)\n\n\nxxxiv.--_The Worship of the Salmon, the Divine Fish._\n\nA certain Aino went out in a boat to catch fish in the sea. While he was\nthere, a great wind arose, so that he drifted about for six nights. Just\nas he was like to die, land came in sight. Being borne on to the beach\nby the waves, he quietly stepped ashore, where he found a pleasant\nrivulet. Having walked up the bank of this rivulet for some distance, he\nsaw a populous place. Near the place were crowds of people, both men and\nwomen. Going on to it, and entering the house of the chief, he found an\nold man of very divine aspect. That old man said to him: \"Stay with us a\nnight, and we will send you home to your country to-morrow. Do you\nconsent?\"\n\nSo the Aino spent the night with the old chief. When next day came, the\nold chief spoke thus: \"Some of my people, both men and women, are going\nto your country for purposes of trade. So, if you will be led by them,\nyou will be able to go home. When they take you with them in the boat,\nyou must lie down, and not look about you, but completely hide your\nhead. If you do that, you may return. If you look, my people will be\nangry. Mind you do not look.\" Thus spoke the old chief.\n\nWell, there was a whole fleet of boats, inside of which crowds of\npeople, both men and women, took passage. There were as many as five\nscore boats, which all started off together. The Aino lay down inside\none of them and hid his head, while the others made the boats go to the\nmusic of a pretty song. He liked this much. After awhile, they reached\nthe land. When they had done so, the Aino, peeping a little, saw that\nthere was a river, and that they were drawing water with dippers from\nthe mouth of the river, and sipping it. They said to each other: \"How\ngood this water is!\" Half the fleet went up the river. But the boat in\nwhich the Aino was went on its voyage, and at last reached his native\nplace, whereupon the sailors threw the Aino into the water. He thought\nhe had been dreaming. Afterwards he came to himself. The boat and its\nsailors had disappeared--whither he could not tell. But he went to his\nhouse, and, falling asleep, dreamt a dream. He dreamt that the same old\nchief appeared to him and said: \"I am no human being. I am the chief of\nthe salmon, the divine fish. As you seemed in danger of dying in the\nwaves, I drew you to me and saved your life. You thought you only stayed\nwith me one night. But in truth that night was a whole year. When it was\nended, I sent you back to your native place. So I shall be truly\ngrateful if henceforth you will offer rice-beer to me, set up the divine\nsymbols in my honour, and worship me with the words 'I make a libation\nto the chief of the salmon, the divine fish.' If you do not worship me,\nyou will become a poor man. Remember this well!\" Such were the words\nwhich the divine old man spoke to him in his dream.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 17th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxxxv.--_The Hunter in Hades._\n\nA handsome and brave young man, who was skilful in the chase, one day\npursued a large bear into the recesses of the mountains. On and on ran\nthe bear, and still the young fellow pursued it up heights and crags\nmore and more dangerous, but without ever being able to get near enough\nto shoot it with his poisoned arrows. At last, on a bleak\nmountain-summit, the bear disappeared down a hole in the ground. The\nyoung man followed it in, and found himself in an immense cavern, at the\nfar end of which was a gleam of light. Towards this he groped his way,\nand, on emerging, found himself in another world. Everything there was\nas in the world of men, but more beautiful. There were trees, houses,\nvillages, human beings. With these, however, the young hunter had no\nconcern. What he wanted was his bear, which had totally disappeared. The\nbest plan seemed to be to seek it in the remoter mountain district of\nthis new world underground. So he followed up a valley; and, being tired\nand hungry, picked the grapes and mulberries that were hanging to the\ntrees, and ate them as he trudged along.\n\nHappening suddenly, for some reason or other, to look down upon his own\nbody, what was not his horror to find himself transformed into a\nserpent! His very cries and groans, on making the discovery, were turned\ninto serpent's hisses. What was he to do? To go back like this to his\nnative world, where snakes are hated, would be certain death. No plan\npresented itself to his mind. But, unconsciously, he wandered, or rather\ncrept and glided, back to the entrance of the cavern that led home to\nthe world of men; and there, at the foot of a pine-tree of extraordinary\nsize and height, he fell asleep.\n\nTo him then, in a dream, appeared the goddess of the pine-tree, and\nsaid: \"I am sorry to see you in this state. Why did you eat of the\npoisonous fruits of Hades? The only thing you can do to recover your\nproper shape is to climb to the top of this pine-tree, and fling\nyourself down. Then you may, perhaps, become a human being again.\"\n\nOn waking from this dream, the young man,--or rather snake, as he still\nfound himself to be,--was filled half with hope and half with fear. But\nhe resolved to follow the goddess' advice. So, gliding up the tall\npine-tree, he reached its topmost branch, and, after hesitating a few\nmoments, flung himself down. Crash he went. On coming to his senses, he\nfound himself standing at the foot of the tree; and close by was the\nbody of an immense serpent, ripped open so as to allow of his having\ncrawled out of it. After offering up thanks to the pine-tree, and\nsetting up the divine symbols in its honour, he hastened to retrace his\nsteps through the long, tunnel-like cavern, through which he had\noriginally entered Hades. After walking for a certain time, he emerged\ninto the world of men, to find himself on the mountain-top, whither he\nhad pursued the bear which he had never seen again.\n\nOn reaching his home, he went to bed, and dreamt a second time. It was\nthe same goddess of the pine-tree, that appeared before him and said: \"I\nhave come to tell you that you cannot stay long in the world of men\nafter once eating the grapes and mulberries of Hades. There is a goddess\nin Hades who wishes to marry you. She it was who, assuming the form of a\nbear, lured you into the cavern, and thence to the under-world. You must\nmake up your mind to come away.\"\n\nAnd so it fell out. The young man awoke; but a grave sickness\noverpowered him. A few days later he went a second time to Hades, and\nreturned no more to the land of the living.--(Written down from memory.\nTold by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886.)\n\n\nxxxvi.--_An Inquisitive Man's Experience of Hades._\n\nThree generations before my time there lived an Aino who wished to find\nout whether the stories told about the existence of an under-world were\ntrue. So one day he penetrated into an immense cavern (since washed away\nby the waves) at the river-mouth of Sarubutsu. All was dark in front,\nall was dark behind. But at last there was a glimmer of light a-head.\nThe man went on, and soon emerged into Hades. There were trees, and\nvillages, and rivers, and the sea, and large junks loading fish and\nseaweed. Some of the people were Ainos, some were Japanese, just as in\nthe every-day world. Among the number were some whom he had known when\nthey were alive. But, though _he_ saw _them_, _they_,--strange to\nsay,--did not seem to see _him_. Indeed he was invisible to all,\nexcepting to the dogs; for dogs see everything, even spirits, and the\ndogs of Hades barked at him fiercely. Hereupon the people of the place,\njudging that some evil spirit had come among them, threw him dirty food,\nsuch as evil spirits eat, in order, as they thought, to appease him. Of\ncourse he was disgusted, and flung the filthy fish-bones and soiled rice\naway But every time that he did so the stuff immediately returned to the\npocket in his bosom, so that he was greatly distressed.\n\nAt last, entering a fine-looking house near the beach, he found his\nfather and mother,--not old, as they were when they died, but in the\nheyday of youth and strength. He called to his mother, but she ran away\ntrembling. He clasped his father by the hand, and said: \"Father! don't\nyou know me? can't you see me? I am your son.\" But his father fell\nyelling to the ground. So he stood aloof again, and watched how his\nparents and the other people in the house set up the divine symbols, and\nprayed in order to make the evil spirit depart.\n\nIn his despair at being unrecognized he did depart, with the unclean\nofferings that had been made to him still sticking to his person,\nnotwithstanding his endeavours to get rid of them. It was only when,\nafter passing back through the cavern, he had emerged once more into the\nworld of men, that they left him free from their pollution. He returned\nhome, and never wished to visit Hades again. It is a foul\nplace.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886.)\n\n\nxxxvii.--_The Child of a God._\n\nThere was a very beautiful woman, who was still without a husband. A man\nhad already been fixed upon to become her husband, but he had not yet\nlain with her. Nevertheless the woman suddenly was with child. For this\nreason she was greatly surprised. As for other people, they thought\nthus: \"She has probably become with child through lying with some other\nman.\" That was what other people said. The man who was to be her husband\nwas very angry. But he could not know whence it was that she was with\nchild.\n\nThen she was delivered. She bore a little snake. She was greatly\nashamed. Her mother took the little snake, went out, and spoke thus,\nwith tears: \"What god has deigned to beget a child in my daughter?\nThough he should deign to beget one, it would at least be well if he\nhad begotten a human child. But this little snake we human beings cannot\nkeep. As it is the child of the god who begot it, he may as well keep\nit.\" So saying, she threw it away. Then the old woman went in.\n\nThis being so, afterwards there was the noise of a baby crying. The old\nwoman went out, and looked. It was a nice baby. Then the old woman\ncarried it in. The woman who had given birth to the child rejoiced with\ntears. Then the baby was found to be a boy, and was kept. Gradually he\ngrew big. After a time he became a man. Then, being a very fine man, he\nkilled large numbers both of deer and of bears.\n\nThe woman who had given birth to him was alone astonished. What had\nhappened was that, while she slept, the light of the sun had shone upon\nher through the opening in the roof. Thus had she become with child.\nThen she dreamt a dream, which said: \"I, being a god, have given you a\nchild, because I love you. When you die, you shall truly become my wife.\nYour and my son, when he gets a wife, shall have plenty of children.\"\nThe woman dreamt thus, and worshipped. Then that son of hers, when\npursued by the bears, could not be caught. He was a great hunter, a very\nrich man.\n\nThen the woman died, without having had a human husband. Afterwards her\nson, getting a wife, had children, and became rich. His descendants are\nliving to this day.--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 21st July,\n1886.)\n\n\nxxxviii.--_Buying a Dream._\n\nA certain thickly populated village was governed by six chiefs, the\noldest of whom lorded it over the other five. One day he made a feast,\nbrewed some rice-beer, and invited the other five chiefs, and feasted\nthem. When they were departing, he said: \"To-morrow each of you must\ntell me the dream which he shall have dreamt over-night; and if it is a\ngood dream I will buy it.\"\n\nSo next day four of the chiefs came and told their dreams. But they were\nall bad dreams, not worth buying. The fifth, however, did not come,\nthough he was waited for at first, and then sent for several times. At\nlast, when brought by force, he would not open his lips. So the senior\nchief flew into a rage, and caused a hole to be dug in front of the door\nof his own house, and had the man buried in it up to his chin, and left\nthere all that day and night.\n\nNow the truth was that the senior chief was a bad man, that the junior\nchief was a good man, and that this junior chief had forgotten his\ndream, but did not dare to say so. After dark, a kind god,--the God of\nthe Privy,--came and said: \"You are a good man. I am sorry for you, and\nwill take you out of the hole.\" This he did; and, at that very moment,\nthe chief remembered how he had dreamt of having been led up the bank of\na stream through the woods to the house of a goddess who smiled\nbeautifully, and whose room was carpeted with skins; how she had\ncomforted him, fed him plenteously, and sent him home in gorgeous array,\nand with instructions for deceiving and killing his enemy, the senior\nchief. \"I suppose you remember it all now,\" said the God of the Privy;\n\"it was I who caused you to forget it, and thus saved you from having it\nbought by the wicked senior chief, because I am pleased with the way in\nwhich you keep the privy clean, not even letting grass grow near it. And\nnow I will show you the reality of that of which before you saw only the\ndream-image.\"\n\nSo the man was led up the bank of a stream through the woods to the\nhouse of the goddess, who smiled beautifully, and whose room was\ncarpeted with skins. She was the badger-goddess. She comforted him, fed\nhim plenteously, and said: \"You must deceive the senior chief, saying\nthat the god of door-posts, pleased at your being buried near him, took\nyou out, and gave you these beautiful clothes. He will then wish to have\nthe same thing happen to him.\" So the man went back to the village, and\nappeared in all his splendid raiment before the senior chief, who had\nfancied him to be still in the hole,--a punishment which would be\nsuccessful if it made him confess his dream, and also if it killed him.\n\nThen the good junior chief told him the lies in which the badger-goddess\nhad instructed him. Thereupon the senior chief caused himself to be\nburied in like fashion up to the neck, but soon died of the effects.\nAfterwards the badger-goddess came down to the village, and married the\ngood man, who became the senior of all the chiefs.--(Written down from\nmemory. Told by Ishanashte, 16th November, 1886.)\n\n\nxxxix.--_The Baby in the Box._\n\nThere was once a woman who was tenderly loved by her husband. At last,\nafter some years, she bore him a son. Then the father loved this son\neven more than he loved his wife. She therefore thought thus: \"How\npleasant it used to be formerly, when my husband loved me alone! But\nnow, since I have borne him this nasty child, he loves it more than he\ndoes me. It will be well for me to make away with it.\"\n\nThus thinking, she waited till her husband had gone off bear-hunting in\nthe mountains, and then put the baby into a box, which she took to the\nriver and allowed to float away. Then she returned home. Later on, her\nhusband came back; and she, with feigned tears, told him that the baby\nhad disappeared--stolen or strayed,--and that she had vainly searched\nall round about the house and in the woods. The man lay down, like to\ndie of grief, and refused all food. Only at length, when he saw that his\nwife, too, went without her food, did he begin to eat a little, fearing,\nin his affection for her, that she too might die of hunger. However, it\nwas only when he was present that she fasted. She ate her fill behind\nhis back.\n\nAt last, one day, not knowing what to do to rouse him, she said to him:\n\"Look here! I will divert you with a story.\" Then she told him the whole\nstory exactly as it had happened, being herself, all the while, under\nthe delusion that she was telling him an ancient fairy-tale. Then he\nflew into a rage, took his bludgeon, beat her to death, and then threw\nher corpse out-of-doors. This was the way in which the gods chose to\npunish her.\n\nThen the husband, knowing now that his search must be made down the\nstream, started off. At last, after seeking for a long time, he came to\na lonely house, where he found a very venerable-looking old man, an old\nwoman, and their middle-aged daughter, and also a boy. He said to the\nold man: \"I come to ask whether you know anything of my little boy, who\nwas placed in a box and set to float down the stream.\" The old man\nreplied: \"One day, when my daughter here went to draw water from the\nriver, she found a box with a little boy in it. We knew not whether the\nchild was a human creature, a god, or a devil. So doubtless he is yours.\nWe have kept the box too. Here it is. You can judge by looking at it.\"\n\nIt turned out to be the same box, and the same boy. So the father\nrejoiced. Then the old man said: \"Remain here. I will give to you for\nwife this daughter of mine, my only child. Live with us as long as my\nold wife and I remain alive. Feed us, and then you shall inherit from\nme.\" The man did so. When the old people died, he inherited all their\npossessions; and then, with his new wife and his beloved son, returned\nto his own village. So you see that, even among us Ainos, there are\nwicked women.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 17th\nNovember, 1886.)\n\n\nxl.--_The Bride Bewitched._\n\nThere was once a very beautiful girl who had many suitors. But, as soon\nas she was married to one, and he lay down beside her and then stretched\nout his hand towards her vagina, a voice came from it, warning him to\ndesist. This so much alarmed the bridegroom that he fled. This happened\nnine or ten times, till at last the girl was in despair; for none would\nnow wed her, and her old father was put to shame. They plunged her into\nthe water of the river, but it had no effect. So at last, in her grief,\nshe ran to the mountains, and threw herself down at the foot of a\nmagnolia-tree.\n\nWhen, after some difficulty, she fell asleep, she dreamt that the tree\nwas a house, outside of which she was lying, and from the window of\nwhich a lovely goddess popped out her head and said: \"What has happened\nis in no way your fault. Your beauty has caused a wicked fox to fall in\nlove with you. It is he who has got into your vagina, and who speaks out\nof it, in order to prevent the approach of any ordinary mortal husband.\nHe, too, it is who has lured you out here, to carry you away altogether.\nBut do not allow yourself to become subject to his influence. I will\ngive you some beautiful clothes, and cause you to reach your house in\nsafety. You must tell your father all about me.\" Then the girl awoke and\nwent home. Her father exorcised the fox at last by carving an exact\nlikeness of his daughter, and offering it to the fox with respectful\nworship. Then she married, and gave birth to children, and was happy all\nher life.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 17th November,\n1886.)\n\n\nxli.--_The Wicked Stepmother._\n\nIn ancient days, when men were allowed to have several wives, a certain\nman had two--one about his own age, the other quite young,--and he loved\nthem both with equal tenderness. But when the younger of the two bore\nhim a daughter, his love for his daughter made him also perhaps a little\nfonder of the mother of the child than of his other wife, to the\nlatter's great rage. She revolved in her mind what to do, and at last\nfeigned a grave illness, pretending not to be able even to eat, though\nshe did eat when everybody's back was turned. At last, being to all\nappearance on the point of death, she declared that one thing alone\ncould cure her. She must have the heart of her little step-child to eat.\n\nOn hearing this, the man felt very sad, and knew not what to do; for he\nloved this wicked wife of his and his little daughter equally dearly.\nBut at last he decided that he might more easily get another daughter\nthan another wife whom he would love as much as he did this one. So he\ncommanded two of his servants to carry off the child to the forest while\nher mother was not looking, to slay her there, and bring back her heart.\nSo they took her. But, being merciful men, they slew, instead of her, a\ndog that came by that way, and brought the child back secretly to her\nmother, who was much frightened to hear what had happened, and who fled\nwith the child. Meanwhile the dog's heart was brought to the\nstep-mother, who was so overjoyed at the sight of it, that she declared\nshe required no more. So, without even eating it, she left off\npretending to be sick.\n\nFor some time after this, she lived alone with her husband. But at last\nhe was told of what had happened, and he grew very sullen. She, seeing\nthis, wished for a livelier husband. So one day, when her husband was\nout hunting, a young man, beautifully dressed all in black, came and\ncourted her, and she flirted with him, and showed him her breasts. Then\nthey fled together, and came to a beautiful house with gold mats, where\nthey slept together. But when she woke in the morning it was not a house\nat all, but a rubble of leaves and branches in the midst of the forest;\nand her new husband was nothing but a carrion-crow perching overhead,\nand her own body, too, was turned into a crow's, and she had to eat\ndung.\n\nBut the former husband was warned in a dream to take back his younger\nwife and his child, and the three lived happily together ever after.\nFrom that time forward most men have left off the bad habit of having\nmore than one wife.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte,\nNovember, 1886.)\n\n\nxlii.--_The Clever Deceiver._\n\nA long, long time ago there was a rascal, who went to the mountains to\nfetch wood. As he did not know how to amuse himself, he climbed to the\ntop of a very thick pine-tree. Having munched some rice he stuck it\nabout the branches of the tree, so as to make it look like birds' dung.\nThen he went back to the village, to the house of the chief, and spoke\nthus to him: \"I have found a place where a beautiful peacock has its\nnest. Let us go there together! Being such a poor man, I feel myself\nunworthy of going too near the divine bird. You, being a rich man,\nshould take the peacock. It will be a great treasure for you. Let us\ngo!\"\n\nSo the chief went there with him. When the chief looked, there truly\nwere many traces of birds' dung near the top of the tall pine-tree. He\nthought the peacock was there. So he said: \"I do not know how to climb\ntrees. Though you are a poor man you do know how to do so. So go and get\nthe peacock, and I will reward you well. Go and get the divine peacock!\"\nSo the poor man climbed the tree. When he was half way up it, he said:\n\"Oh! sir, your house seems to be on fire.\" The chief was much\nfrightened. Owing to his being frightened, he was about to run home.\nThen the rascal spoke thus: \"By this time your house is quite burnt\ndown. There is no use in your running there.\" The rich man thought he\nwould go anywhere to die; so he went towards the mountains. After he had\ngone a short way, he thought thus: \"You should go and see even the\ntraces of your burnt house.\" So he went down there. When he looked, he\nfound that his house was not burnt at all. He was very angry, and wanted\nto kill that rascal. Then the rascal came down. The chief commanded his\nservants, saying: \"You fellows! this man is not only poor, but a very\nbadly behaved deceiver. Put him into a mat, and roll him up in it\nwithout killing him. Then throw him into the river. Do this!\" Thus spoke\nthe chief.\n\nThe servants put the rascal into the mat, and tied it round tight. Then\ntwo of them carried him between them on a pole to the river-bank. They\nwent to the river. The rascal spoke thus: \"Though I am a very bad man, I\nhave some very precious treasures. Do you go and fetch them. If you do\nso, it can be arranged about their being given to you. Afterwards you\ncan throw me into the river.\" Hearing this, the two servants went off to\nthe rascal's house.\n\nMeanwhile a blind old man came along from somewhere or other. His foot\nstruck against something wrapped up in a mat. Astonished at this, he\ntapped it with his stick. Then the rascal said: \"Blind man! If you will\ndo as I tell you, the gods will give you eyes, and you will be able to\nsee. So do so. If you will untie me and do as I tell you, I will pray to\nthe gods, and your eyes will be opened.\" The blind old man was very\nglad. He untied the mat, and let the rascal out. Then the rascal saw\nthat, though the man was old and blind, he was dressed very much like a\ngod. The rascal said: \"Take off your clothes and become naked, whereupon\nyour eyes will quickly be opened.\" This being so, the blind old man took\noff his clothes. Then the rascal put him naked into the mat, and tied it\nround tight. Then he went off with the clothes, and hid.\n\nShortly afterwards, the two men came, and said: \"You rascal! you are\ntruly a deceiver. So, though you possess no treasures, you possess\nplenty of deceit. So now we shall fling you into the water.\" The blind\nold man said: \"I am a blind old man. I am not that rascal. Please do\nnot kill me!\" But he was forthwith flung into the river. Afterwards the\ntwo men went home to their master's house.\n\nAfterwards the rascal put on the blind old man's beautiful clothes. Then\nhe went to the chief's house and said: \"My appearance of misbehaviour\nwas not real. The goddess who lives in the river was very much in love\nwith me. So she wanted to take and marry my spirit after I should have\nbeen killed by being thrown into the river. So my misdeeds are all her\ndoing. Though I went to that goddess, I felt unworthy to become her\nhusband, because I am a poor man. I have arranged so that you, who are\nthe chief of the village, should go and have her, and I have come to\ntell you so. That being so, I am in these beautiful clothes because I\ncome from the goddess.\" Thus he spoke. As the chief of the village saw\nthat the rascal was dressed in nothing but the best clothes, and thought\nthat he was speaking the truth, he said: \"It will be well for me to be\ntied up in a mat, and flung into the river.\" Therefore this was done,\njust as had been done with the rascal, and he was drowned in the water.\n\nAfter that, the rascal became the chief, and dwelt in the drowned\nchief's house. Thus very bad men lived in ancient times also. So it is\nsaid.--(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 18th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxliii.--_Yoshitsune._\n\n    [It has been generally believed, both by Japanese and Europeans who\n    have written about the Ainos, that the latter worship Yoshitsune, a\n    Japanese hero of the twelfth century, who is said,--not, indeed, by\n    Japanese historians, but by Japanese tradition,--to have fled to\n    Yezo when the star of his fortune had set. The following details\n    concerning Yoshitsune bear so completely the stamp of the myth, that\n    they may, perhaps, be allowed a place in this collection. It should\n    be mentioned that Yoshitsune is known to the Ainos under the name of\n    _Hongai Sama_. _Sama_ is the Japanese for \"Mr.\" or \"Lord.\" _Hongai_\n    is the form in which, according to a regular law of permutation\n    affecting words adopted into Aino from Japanese, the word _H\u00f5gwan_,\n    which was Yoshitsune's official title, appears! The name of _Hongai\n    Sama_ is, however, used only in worship, not in the recounting of\n    the myth. Mr. Batchelor, whose position as missionary to the Ainos\n    must give his opinion great weight in such matters, thinks that the\n    Ainos do _not_ worship Yoshitsune. But I can only exactly record\n    that which I was told myself.]\n\n\nOkikurumi, accompanied by his younger sister Tureshi[hi], had taught the\nAinos all arts, such as hunting with the bow and arrow, netting and\nspearing fish, and many more; and himself knew everything by means of\ntwo charms or treasures. One of these was a piece of writing, the other\nwas an abacus; and they told him whence the wind would blow, how many\nbirds there were in the forest, and all sorts of other things.\n\nOne day there came,--none knew whence,--a man of divine appearance,\nwhose name was unknown to all. He took up his abode with Okikurumi, and\nassisted the latter in all his labour with wonderful ability. He taught\nOkikurumi how to row with two oars instead of simply poling with one\npole, as had been usual before in Aino-land. Okikurumi was delighted to\nobtain such a clever follower, and gave him his sister Tureshi[hi] in\nmarriage, and treated him like his own son. For this reason the stranger\ngot to know all about Okikurumi's affair, even the place where he kept\nhis two treasures. The result of this was that one day when Okikurumi\nwas out hunting in the mountains the stranger stole these treasures and\nall that Okikurumi possessed, and then fled with his wife Tureshi in a\nboat, of which they each pulled an oar. Okikurumi returned from the\nmountains to his home by the seaside, and pursued them alone in a boat;\nbut could not come up to them, because he was only one against two. Then\nTureshi excreted some large foeces in the middle of the sea, which\nbecame a large mountain in the sea, at whose base Okikurumi arrived. But\nso high was it that Okikurumi could not climb over it. Moreover, even\nhad not the height prevented him, the fact of its being nothing but\nfilthy foeces would have done so. As for going round either side of\nit, that would have taken him too much out of the way. So he went home\nagain, feeling quite spiritless and vanquished, because robbed of his\ntreasures.\n\nThis is the reason why, ever since, we Ainos have not been able to\nread.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 25th November,\n1886.)\n\n\n\n\nV.--SCRAPS OF FOLK-LORE.\n\n\nxliv.--_The Good Old Times._\n\nIn ancient days, rivers were very conveniently arranged. The water\nflowed down one bank, and up the other, so that you could go either way\nwithout the least trouble. Those were the days of magic. People were\nthen able to fly six or seven miles, and to light on the trees like\nbirds, when they went out hunting. But now the world is decrepit, and\nall good things are gone. In those days people used the fire-drill.\nAlso, if they planted anything in the morning, it grew up by mid-day. On\nthe other hand, those who ate of this quickly-produced grain were\ntransformed into horses.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte,\nNovember, 1886.)\n\n\nxlv.--_The Old Man of the Sea._\n\nThe Old Man of the Sea (_Atui koro ekashi_) is a monster able to swallow\nships and whales. In shape it resembles a bag, and the suction of its\nmouth causes a frightfully rapid current. Once a boat was saved from\nthis monster by one of the two sailors in it flinging his loin-cloth\ninto the creature's open mouth. That was too nasty a morsel for even\nthis monster to swallow; so it let go its hold of the boat.--(Written\ndown from memory. Told by Ishanashte, July, 1886.)\n\n\nxlvi.--_The Cuckoo._\n\nThe male cuckoo is called _kakkok_, the female _tutut_. Both are\nbeautiful birds, and live in the sky. But in spring they come down to\nearth, to build their beautiful bottle-shaped white nests. Happy the man\nwho gets one of these nests, and lets no one else see it. He will become\nrich and prosperous. Nevertheless, it is unlucky for a cuckoo to light\non the window-sill and look into the house; for disease will come there.\nIf it lights on the roof, the house will be burnt down.--(Written down\nfrom memory. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxlvii.--_The [Horned] Owl._\n\nThere are six owls,--brethren. The eldest of them is only a little\nbigger than a sparrow. When perching on a tree, it balances itself\nbackwards, for which reason it is called \"The Faller Backwards.\" The\nyoungest of the six has a very large body. It is a bird which brings\ngreat luck. If anyone walks beneath this bird, and there comes the sound\nof rain falling on him, it is a very lucky thing. Such a man will become\nvery rich. For this reason the youngest of the six owls is called \"Mr.\nOwl.\"\n\n[The rain here mentioned is supposed to be a rain of gold from the owl's\neyes.]--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886.)\n\n\nxlviii.--_The Peacock in the Sky._\n\nA cloudless sky has a peacock in it, whose servants are the eagles. The\npeacock lives in the sky, and only descends to earth to give birth to\nits young. When it has borne one, it flies back with it to the\nsky.--(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July, 1886, and by\nIshanashte, November, 1886.)\n\n\nxlix.--_Trees turned into Bears._\n\nThe rotten branches or roots of trees sometimes turn into bears. Such\nbears as these are termed _payep kamui_, _i.e._ \"divine walking\ncreatures,\" and are not to be killed by human hand. Formerly they were\nmore numerous than they are now, but they are still sometimes to be\nseen.--(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July, 1886.)\n\n\nl.--_Coition._\n\nThe Ainos think it very unlucky for the woman to move ever so slightly\nduring the act of coition. If she does so, she brings disasters upon her\nhusband, who is sure to become a poor man. For this reason, the woman\nremains absolutely quiet, and the man alone moves.--(Written down from\nmemory. Told by Penri, July, 1886.)\n\n\nli.--_Birth and Naming._\n\nBefore birth, clothes are got ready for the expected baby, who is washed\nas soon as born.[F] The divine symbols are set up, and thanks are\noffered to the gods. Only women are present on the occasion. Generally\nin each village there are one or two old women who act as midwives.\n\nThe child may be named at any time. Ishanashte said that it was usually\ntwo or three months, Penri said that it was two or three years, after\nbirth. The name chosen is usually founded on some circumstance connected\nwith the child, but sometimes it is meaningless. The parent's name is\nnever given, for that would be unlucky. How, indeed, could a child\ncontinue to be called by such a name when its father had become a dead\nman, and consequently one not to be mentioned without tears?--(Written\ndown from memory. Told by Penri and Ishanashte, July, 1886.)\n\n[F] For the only time in its whole life!\n\n\nlii.--_The Pre-eminence of the Oak, Pine-tree, and Mugwort._\n\nAt the beginning of the world the ground was very hot. The ground was so\nhot that the creatures called men even got their feet burnt. For this\nreason, no tree or herb could grow. The only herb that grew at that time\nwas the mugwort. Of trees, the only ones were the oak and the pine. For\nthis reason, these two trees are the oldest among trees. Among herbs, it\nis the mugwort. This being so, these two trees are divine trees; they\nare trees which human beings worship. Among herbs, the mugwort is\nconsidered to be truly the oldest.\n\nListen well to this, too, you younger folks!--(Translated literally.\nTold by Penri, 19th July, 1886.)\n\n\nliii.--_The Deer with the Golden Horn._--(A specimen of Aino history.)\n\nMy very earliest ancestor kept a deer. He used to tie the divine symbols\nto its horns. Then the deer would go to the mountains, and bring down\nwith it plenty of other deer. When they came outside the house my\nancestor would kill the deer which his deer had brought from the\nmountains, and thus was greatly enriched. The name of the village in\nwhich that deer was kept was Setarukot.\n\nThere was a festival at a neighbouring village. So the man who kept the\ndeer went off thither to the festival with all his followers. Only his\nwife was left behind with the deer. Then a man called Tun-uwo-ush\n[_i.e._ \"as tall as two men\"], from the village of Shipichara, being\nvery bad-hearted, came in order to steal that deer. He found only the\ndeer and the woman at home. He stole both the woman and the deer, and\nran away with them. So the man who kept the deer, becoming angry,\npursued after him to fight him. Being three brothers in all, they went\noff all three together. So Tun-uwo-ush invoked the aid of the whole\nneighbourhood. He called together a great number of men. Then those\nthree brethren came together to fight him. As they were three of them,\nthe eldest, having killed three score men, was at last killed himself.\nThe second brother killed four score men, and was then killed himself.\nThen the youngest brother, seeing how things were, thought it would be\nuseless to go on fighting alone. For this reason he ran away. Having run\naway, he got home. Having got home, he came to his house. Then he\ninvoked the aid of all the neighbourhood. He invoked the aid even of\nthose Ainos who dwelt in the land of the Japanese. Then he went off with\nplenty of men. Having gone off, he fought against Tun-uwo-ush. In the\nwar, he killed Tun-uwo-ush and all his followers. Then he got back both\nthe deer and the woman. That was the last of the Aino wars.--(Translated\nliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 8th November, 1886.)\n\n\nliv.--_Dreams._\n\nTo dream of rice-beer, a river, swimming, or anything connected with\nliquids, causes rainy weather. For instance, I dreamt last night that I\nwas drinking rice-beer, and accordingly it is raining to-day.\n\nTo dream of eating meat brings disease. So does dreaming of eating sugar\nor anything red.\n\nTo dream of killing or knocking a man down is lucky. To dream of being\nkilled or knocked down is unlucky.\n\nTo dream that a heavy load which one is carrying feels light is lucky.\nThe contrary dream prognosticates disease.\n\nTo dream of a long rope which does not break, and in which there are no\nknots even when it is wound up, is lucky, and prognosticates victory.\n\nTo dream of flying like a bird, and perching on a tree, prognosticates\nrain and bad weather.\n\nWhen a man is about to start off hunting, it is very lucky for him to\ndream of meeting a god in the mountains, to whom he gives presents, and\nto whom he makes obeisance. After such a dream, he is certain to kill a\nbear.\n\nTo dream of being pursued with a sharp weapon is unlucky.\n\nTo dream that one is wounded, and bleeding freely, is a good omen for\nthe chase.\n\nTo dream of the sun and moon is probably unlucky, especially if one\ndreams of the waning moon. But it is not unlucky to dream of the new\nmoon.\n\nTo dream of a bridge breaking is unlucky. But to dream of crossing a\nbridge in safety is lucky.\n\nFor a husband to dream of his absent wife as smiling, well-dressed, or\nsleeping with himself, is unlucky.--(Written down from memory. Told by\nIshanashte, November, 1886.)","title":"Aino Folk-Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":23748}