by Sue Harrison
Then the boy did something no Dzuuggi had been able to do for years, the skill lost in the years before he was born. He lifted his voice and brought it from the smokehole of the lodge, then from the doorflap and from the hearthfire, so it seemed as though each person was telling his own story in his own words.
And when he spoke about Chakliux, the boy took off his boots. The old woman heaved herself to her knees and lifted her head until she could see past those who sat in front of her.
“’Ih!” she said in amazement.
The toes were webbed like otter toes; the foot was bent and ready to swim.
Author’s Notes
Cry of the Wind is a study of war and war’s most natural and tragic aftermath: revenge. Like its prequel, Song of the River, it weaves a story around the inhabitants of the Near River and Cousin River villages and is set in ancient Alaska.
Many of the characters and plot elements are based on Native mythologies, two of which perhaps need further explanation.
In traditional Native literature—which is, of course, oral literature—heroes and villains abound. Often the villains are very evil indeed and are used as foils for the heroes of the stories. Sometimes, especially for those of us who have grown up within the nebulous gray world of situational ethics, this stark dichotomy is difficult to understand.
Quite obviously, I have followed Native literary traditions in creating my villainess K’os and the villain Anaay. In an effort to make their behavior believable to modern readers, I have given them motivating factors and mind-sets that provide a psychological basis for their actions, but I would ask my readers to remember that they represent a long-standing tradition in North American Native literature: the classic, unredeemable antihero.
The second mythological tradition is that of the nuhu’anh, known by many names, including windigo, witigo, outside man, and woodsman. Most groups of northern Native peoples tell legends about the windigo or nuhu’anh. In my studies, I have noticed that in areas with an extremely cold climate and limited winter food resources the legends take on more mystical and terrifying proportions than among those peoples who experience less winter starvation. The Aleut and some of the Athabascan peoples generally consider the nuhu’anh a nuisance more than a threat—someone whose behavior has mandated exclusion from his or her village. The nuhu’anh may kill to steal a wife or food but is seldom if ever cannibalistic, like the windigo/witigo of the Ojibwa or Cree.
Scientists have only recently begun to believe there is a physiological basis for windigo mythology. Research points toward the possibility that people who face extreme fat deprivation under bitter weather conditions may suffer delusions that lead them to believe other humans are food resources—animals that may be legitimately butchered. It is interesting to note that though Native stories offer many different ways to kill a windigo, one often cited is to pour hot fat down the windigo’s throat.
I have had a number of requests from readers asking that I explain the concept of the “handful,” which I use in the Storyteller Trilogy to denote counting. According to what I have been able to find through my research, most Native peoples of North America based their counting systems on five (rather than ten, as we do), thus the concept of the handful—five fingers.
For those who, like me, are mathematically disadvantaged, I offer this explanation in the hope that it will help. In a base five counting system, the sequence of numbers one to ten would be as follows: one, two, three, four, five, five plus one, five plus two, five plus three, five plus four, two fives. Eleven would be two fives plus one…and so on.
The reader may notice that in this trilogy, and in my previous trilogy (Mother Earth, Father Sky; My Sister the Moon; and Brother Wind), the First Men count by tens. The Unangan or Aleut people upon whom the First Men are patterned have (and this is very unusual for Native Americans) a base ten number system. Thus, in my novels I include two number systems, one used by the First Men and designated by “tens” and the other used by the Walrus Hunters and the River People and denoted by the term “handful.”
One last explanation: some of my readers may wonder why the old woman Ligige’ addresses the wolverine she inadvertently caught in her snare trap as a parka hood ruff (see chapter 48). Among the various Athabascan peoples, and in numerous other Native cultures, women traditionally do not say the names of animals considered to have unusual or sacred powers. Instead, they will use a euphemism. Thus, a woman talking about a black bear will say, “The black one,” “The black place,” “That humpback.” This usage is intended to show the bear respect and to give spiritual protection to the speaker. In Cry of the Wind, Ligige’ is following this practice when she addresses the wolverine as a parka hood ruff.
Thank you for joining me on another journey to ancient Alaska! I hope you will check out my website for information about upcoming books—www.sueharrison.com
Sue Harrison
Pickford, Michigan
February 1998
Character List
PEOPLE OF THE COUSIN RIVER VILLAGE
Elders (Men):
Take More
Elders (Women):
Day Woman (mother of Chakliux and Sok)
Hollow Cup
Ligige’ (aunt of Chakliux and Sok)
Long Eyes (mother of Night Man and Star)
Twisted Stalk (aunt of Dii)
Yellow Bird
Hunters:
Chakliux (adopted son of K’os; biological son of Day Woman and Gull Wing; brother to Sok)
First Eagle (Near River husband of Awl)
Man Laughing
Night Man (son of Cloud Finder and Long Eyes; brother of Star)
Sky Watcher (husband of Bird Caller)
Sok (son of Day Woman and Gull Wing; brother of Chakliux)
Wives and Young Women:
Aqamdax (half-sister of Ghaden; stepsister of Yaa)
Awl (wife of First Eagle)
Bird Caller (wife of Sky Watcher) Dii (niece of Twisted Stalk)
Green Bird (sister of Squirrel and Black Stick)
Gguzaakk (deceased, wife of Chakliux)
Little Mouse
Owl Catcher
Red Leaf (wife of Sok; mother of Cries-loud and Sok’s infant daughter)
Snow-in-her-hair (wife of Sok; mother of Carries Much)
Star (daughter of Cloud Finder and Long Eyes; sister of Night Man; wife of Chakliux)
Children:
Angax (infant son of Aqamdax and Night Man)
Black Stick (brother of Squirrel and Green Bird)
Carries Much (infant son of Sok and Snow-in-her-hair)
Cries-loud (son of Sok and Red Leaf)
Ghaden (brother of Aqamdax; stepbrother of Yaa; adopted son of Chakliux and Star; son of Cen, the trader)
Squirrel (brother of Black Stick and Green Bird)
Yaa (stepsister of Aqamdax and Ghaden; adopted daughter of Chakliux and Star)
Dogs:
Biter (male; Ghaden’s)
Ligige’’s dog (male)
Snow Hawk (female; Sok’s)
PEOPLE OF THE NEAR RIVER VILLAGE
Elders (Men):
Anaay (also called Fox Barking; stepfather of Chakliux and Sok; husband of Dii and Gull Beak; owner of K’os)
Blue-head Duck (deceased; former chief elder)
Giving Meat
Summer Face (deceased; father of Yaa)
Sun Caller (father of Least Weasel) Tsaani (deceased; grandfather of Chakliux and Sok; brother of Ligige’)
Wolf-and-Raven (deceased; former shaman; cousin of Ligige’; husband of Blue Flower)
Elders (Women):
Blue Flower (Wolf-and-Raven’s widow)
Gull Beak (wife of Anaay)
Lazy Snow
No Teeth
Three Baskets
Vole (widow of Blue-head Duck)
Hunters:
Black Mouth (owner of K’os; husband of Two Fist)
First Eagle (husband of Awl)
Gull Wing (deceased; f
ather of Sok and Chakliux, brother to Anaay)
Least Weasel (son of Sun Caller)
Many Words (husband of Owl Catcher)
Muskrat Singer
River Ice Dancer (son of Wolf Head)
Third Tree
Wolf Head (father of River Ice Dancer)
Wives and Young Women:
Awl (Cousin River captive; wife of First Eagle)
Cut Ear (Cousin River captive)
Daes (deceased; mother of Ghaden and Aqamdax; originally from the First Men Village)
Dii (Cousin River captive; wife of Anaay)
Green Bird (Cousin River captive) Happy Mouth (deceased; mother of Yaa)
K’os (Cousin River captive; adoptive mother of Chakliux; slave of Black Mouth and later of Anaay)
Light Hair Owl Catcher (Cousin River captive; wife of Many Words)
Red Leggings
Stay Small (Cousin River captive)
Talks-all-night
Two Fist (wife of Black Mouth) Willow Leaf (Cousin River captive)
Children:
Best Fist (girl)
Blue Necklace (girl) Daughter of Red Leggings
PEOPLE OF THE FOUR RIVERS VILLAGE
Elders (Men):
Brown Foot
Tree Climber (husband of Sand Fly)
Elders (Women):
Near Mouse
Sand Fly (wife of Tree Climber)
Hunters:
Brown Eye
Cen (a trader; husband of Gheli)
Eagle Catcher
Fat Mink
First Spear (chief hunter)
Gives-dogs
Jumps-too-far
Willow Stick
Wives and Young Women:
Fern
Gheli (also known as Red Leaf; wife of Cen)
K’os (adoptive mother of Chakliux)
White Lake
Children:
Daes (Gheli’s infant daughter)
Dogs:
Tracker (male; Cen’s)
Glossary of Native American Words
AA, AAA (Aleut Athabascan) Interjection used to express surprise: “Oh!” (The double or triple a carries a long a sound.)
ANAAY (Ahtna Athabascan) That which moves, caribou or caribou herd. (The Athabascan vowel a is pronounced like the u in the English word but. The n is similar to the English n, and the aa takes on an aw sound. The y is like the y in the English word you. The accent falls on the naay.)
ANGAX (Aleut) Power. Anga is the root used in the Aleut word for “elder brother.” (The a’s are short; because it falls before the letter n, the first a takes on more of a short e sound. The Aleut n is quite nasal; the g is a voiced velar fricative, quite guttural; and the final x is a voiceless velar fricative.)
AQAMDAX (Aleut) Cloudberry, Rubus chamaemorus. (See Pharmacognosia.) (The a’s are short. The Aleut q is like a harsh English k, the m like an English m and d much like the English th. The Aleut x is a voiceless velar fricative.)
BABICHE (English—probably anglicized from the Cree word assababish, a diminutive of assabab, “thread”) Lacing made from rawhide.
CEN (Ahtna Athabascan) Tundra. (The c sounds like an English k. The e carries a short sound like the e in the English word set. The Ahtna n sounds like the English n.)
CET’AENI (Ahtna Athabascan) Creatures of ancient Ahtna legend. They are tailed and live in trees and caves. (The c sounds like an English k. The e carries a short sound like the e in the English word set. The t’ is much like an English t followed by a glottal release. The diphthong ae is pronounced like the a in the English word cat. The n is much like the English n, and the final i has a short i sound as in the English word sit. The t’aen is accented.)
CHAKLIUX (Ahtna Athabascan, as recorded by Pinart in 1872) Sea otter. (The word is pronounced as it would be in English, with the final x a voiceless velar fricative.)
CHIGDAX (Aleut) A waterproof, watertight parka made of sea lion or bear intestines, esophagus of seal or sea lion, or the tongue skin of a whale. The hood had a drawstring, and the sleeves were tied at the wrists for sea travel. These knee-length garments were often decorated with feathers and bits of colored esophagus. (The Aleut ch is much like the English ch, the g like a guttural English g, and the d carries almost a th sound. The vowels are short. The x should be properly written as x, and is a voiceless uvular fricative.)
CILT’OGHO (Ahtna Athabascan) A container hollowed out of birch and used to carry water. (The c sounds like an English k. The i has a short i sound as in the English word sit. The l is properly written Ł and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue. The t’ is much like an English t followed by a glottal release. The Ahtna o is like the o in the English word for. The Ahtna gh has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French r. The t’ogh carries the accent.)
DAES (Ahtna Athabascan) Shallow, a shallow portion of a lake or stream. (The d is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a t sound. The diphthong ae has an a sound similar to that in the English word hat. The final s has almost an sh sound.)
DII (Ahtna Athabascan) One alone, on one’s own. (The d is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a t sound. The double i carries a long e sound as in the English word free.)
DILK’AHOO (Koyukon Athabascan) Raven. (The d is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a t sound. The i has a short i sound as in the English word sir. The l is pronounced like the l’s in the English word call. The k’ has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut x and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The Athabascan vowel a is pronounced like the u in the English word but. The h is similar to the h in the English word help, and the oo takes on the long o sound as in the English word rove.)
DZUUGGI (Ahtna Athabascan) A favored child who receives special training, especially in oral traditions, from infancy. (The dz takes the sound of the final ds in the English word leads. The uu sounds like the ui in the English word fruit. The Ahtna double gg has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The i has a short i sound as in the English word sir. The accent is on the first syllable.)
GGUZAAKK (Koyukon Athabascan) A thrush, Hylocichla minima, H. ustulata and H. guttata. These birds sing an intricately beautiful song that the Koyukon people traditionally believe to indicate the presence of an unknown person or spirit. (The double gg has no English equivalent. It is very guttural and pronounced with the back of the tongue held against the soft palate. The u sounds similar to the oo in the English word book. The z is similar in sound to zh, or like the s in treasure. The aa carries an aw sound. The kk is a very hard c sound.)
GHADEN (Ahtna Athabascan) Another person. (The Ahtna gh has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French r. The a sounds like the English vowel u in the word but. The Ahtna d is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a t sound. The e carries a short sound like the e in the English word set. The Ahtna n sounds like the English n.)
GHELI (Ahtna Athabascan) True, good. (The Ahtna gh has no English equivalent. It closely resembles the French r. The e carries a short sound like the e in the English word set. The Ahtna l sounds like the l’s in the English word call. The i is like the i in the English word sit.)
’IH (Ahtna Athabascan) Exclamation of amazement made by a listener. (The apostrophe denotes an initial glottal stop. When a word begins with a vowel preceded by a glottal stop, it takes on a quick, crisp beginning with a burst of air forced quickly through the vocal cords to produce the vowel sound. The i takes on a short i sound as in the English word sit. The h is a voiceless glottal fricative.
IITIKAALUX (Atkan Aleut) Cow p
arsnip, wild celery. See the pharmacognosia. (The ii is pronounced like a long e. The t and l are much like their corresponding English letters. The single i and u are short, and the aa carries a long a sound. The k is a guttural English k. The x is properly written as x, and is a voiceless uvular fricative. Accent on the penult.)
IQYAX (Aleut) A skin-covered, wooden-framed boat. A kayak. (The two vowels are short. The q is like a harsh English k, the y much like an English y, and the final x a voiceless velar fricative. Accent the first syllable.)
KOLDZE’ NIHWDELNEN (Ahtna Athabascan) Nothing remained. (The k has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut x and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The o carries a short sound similar to the o in the English word for. The l’s are pronounced like the l’s in the English word call. The Ahtna dz is pronounced like the ds in the English word lads. The e’s in both words carry a short sound like the e in the English word set, and the apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The Athabascan n is similar to the English n. The i carries a short sound like the i in the English word sit. The hw is a voiceless labialized glottal fricative like the Athabascan h, but the lips should be rounded as in pronouncing the English word hoe. The d is pronounced with the tongue tip touching the backs of the top front teeth. It carries almost a t sound.)
K’OS (Ahtna Athabascan) Cloud. (The Ahtna k has no English equivalent. It is similar to the Aleut x and is pronounced in the back of the throat with a very harsh, guttural sound. The apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. The o carries a short sound similar to the o in the English word for. The Ahtna s is pronounced almost like an English sh.)
LIGIGE’ (Ahtna Athabascan) The soapberry or dog berry, Shepherdia canadensis. (See Pharmacognosia.) (The L is properly written Ł, is voiceless, and has no corresponding sound in English. The tip of the tongue is held on the palate just behind the front teeth and breath released so as to push air off both sides of the tongue. The i has a short i sound like in the English word sit. The single g corresponds most closely to the English k and is pronounced in the back of the throat, with the final e pronounced like the e in set. The final apostrophe denotes a glottal stop. Accent on the final syllable.)
NAAX (Ahtna Athabascan) Command given to a dog—“Go!” or “Proceed!” (The Ahtna n sounds like the English n. The aa carries an aw sound. The Athabascan x is a voiceless velular fricative.)