Thunderbird and Whale
Encyclopedia
"Thunderbird and Whale" is a story belonging to the mythological traditions
of a number of tribes from the Pacific Northwest
.
, a benevolent supernatural
being, saw from its home high in the mountains that the people were starving.
It soared out over the coastal waters, then plunged into the ocean and seized Whale.
A struggle ensued; the ocean receded and rose again. Many canoes were flung into trees and many people were killed.
Thunderbird eventually succeeded in lifting Whale out of the ocean, carrying it high into the air and then dropping it.
Then another great battle occurred on land.
In one of many variant versions of the myth, the sound of the whale dropping into the sea is the source of thunder. A young boy of a Vancouver Island
people, the Comox
, was fascinated by the sound of thunder, and heard it from behind a point of land. He crossed that point, following the sound of thunder, and discovered the spectacle of the Thunderbird seizing and dropping the whale. The Thunderbird saw the boy, and told him that the story was now his, and he had the right to wear the Thunderbird mask and wings at the potlatch
.
In another variant, the flapping of the Thunderbird's wings is the source of the thunder.
s found evidence that an earthquake
, powerful enough to send a tsunami
all the way to Japan
, hit the American Pacific Northwest
in 1700. Some ethnologists
believe that "Thunderbird and Whale" is a description of that disaster.
Aiornis, the prehistoric giant bird on which the Thunderbird mythology seems to be partly based, was a carrion feeder known from fossils found near Los Angeles. It is most likely that these birds, which were encountered by the first human settlers of the Americas, would feed on stranded whale carcasses.
Native American mythology
Native American mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Native American religion from a mythographical perspective. Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons,...
of a number of tribes from the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Summary
Whale was a monster, killing other whales and depriving the quileute tribe of meat and oil. ThunderbirdThunderbird (mythology)
The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a "supernatural" bird of power and strength...
, a benevolent supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
being, saw from its home high in the mountains that the people were starving.
It soared out over the coastal waters, then plunged into the ocean and seized Whale.
A struggle ensued; the ocean receded and rose again. Many canoes were flung into trees and many people were killed.
Thunderbird eventually succeeded in lifting Whale out of the ocean, carrying it high into the air and then dropping it.
Then another great battle occurred on land.
In one of many variant versions of the myth, the sound of the whale dropping into the sea is the source of thunder. A young boy of a Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
people, the Comox
Comox people
The Komox people, usually known in English as the Comox people and also spelled K'omoks, are an indigenous group of Coast Salishan-speaking people in Comox, British Columbia and in the Toba Inlet and Malaspina Peninsula areas of the British Columbia mainland across Georgia Strait...
, was fascinated by the sound of thunder, and heard it from behind a point of land. He crossed that point, following the sound of thunder, and discovered the spectacle of the Thunderbird seizing and dropping the whale. The Thunderbird saw the boy, and told him that the story was now his, and he had the right to wear the Thunderbird mask and wings at the potlatch
Potlatch
A potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. This includes Heiltsuk Nation, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures...
.
In another variant, the flapping of the Thunderbird's wings is the source of the thunder.
Reconstructing the myth
In the 1980s, geologistGeologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
s found evidence that an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, powerful enough to send a tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
all the way to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, hit the American Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
in 1700. Some ethnologists
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
believe that "Thunderbird and Whale" is a description of that disaster.
Aiornis, the prehistoric giant bird on which the Thunderbird mythology seems to be partly based, was a carrion feeder known from fossils found near Los Angeles. It is most likely that these birds, which were encountered by the first human settlers of the Americas, would feed on stranded whale carcasses.