36 great consequences that people may get over their actions. Death is the
deserved punishment from nature to the boys who have hurt and shown a great disrespect to the ptarmigan. Therefore, this story generally shows how man
and nature do not interact in a good and harmonious way. However, there is always a lesson for man to get even though the death has to take part.
2. The Squirrel Shaman
Since the point of the analysis is to see the relationships where man and nature interact in stories, The Squirrel Shaman might offer a different
perspective of nature from The Ptarmigan Story. In this story, squirrels are taken as the representative of nature. And a young Tsimshian boy will
experience something big in his life. The story starts with the statement below: In a small village upon the Skenna River
31
, three young brothers would hunt and kill squirrels. They hung the tiny furs to dry and collected the tails.
Together they had killed so many squirrels that they had to go farther and farther
away from
home to
find more.
http:www.theliteraryreview.orgtlrsu-js.htm Slightly, there would seem nothing wrong with the boys. They hunt
squirrels for taking the positive benefits. They use the furs and they collect the tails. However, what becomes a problem in this story is that they hunt
squirrels in an unstoppable way where they have to go farther each day hunting them. From this explanation, we could get a point where man through
these characters reflects a figure of someone who does not care about the
31
According to http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiSkeena_River
; Skenna River is the second longest river located in British Columbia, Canada. It is an important transportation artery,
particularly for the Tsimshian.
37 balance of nature.
Animals as part of the nature probably exist not only because they have their own life process in the world but also exist to sacrifice in fulfilling man’s
needs. Animals are allowed to be killed by man in order to be used as food or clothes. Hunting is the way that man can do. However, this story shows how
these boys do not consider hunting as a sacred thing anymore. While hunting seems believed as something sacred for the ancestors because it is a process
where man takes essential thing from nature, these boys see hunting as something to enjoy. What seems wrong here is because these boys kill
squirrels indiscriminately and automatically destroy the balance of nature for leaving none of squirrels to be alive. It is true that they treat the dead squirrels
in proper way by hanging the furs and collecting the tails, but they are not in food crisis for killing so many squirrels everyday. They turn out to be wasteful
people for killing squirrels in the name of having fun in hunting these poor animals.
Then, the story guides the readers to understand nature’s point of view. There is one day where one of the boys goes hunting by himself and has a
chance to meet the chieftain of squirrel people and his granddaughter: “I have been waiting for you to come. Why have you killed all of my people? All of
my children and grandchildren are gone except for my favorite granddaughter who led you to the Great House
32
. Why have you done this?”. The young man does not know what the chief talks about. He never kills a
32
In the story, the Great House is the place where all squirrels used to live with many beds inside.
38 person, or even people. All he could do is only defending himself towards
chief’s accuses. But, he finally understands what the chief tries to say: “I am the chieftain of the Squirrel people. You and your brothers have killed all of
my children and now theirs skins hang outside your house.” The boy feels in a deep guilt. For all this time, he and the other two boys
never realize how many squirrels they have killed. Even if they kill them for the reason of fulfilling daily needs, they still have killed too many squirrels.
The boy understands then how people have destroyed nature indiscriminately for the sake of their own needs and fun. They do not know how similar nature
and man get through the life on earth. As what the boy states in this statement: “We did not know that you live like people. We did not know that you love
your children and grandchildren. I am sorry…” A negotiation is finally made between the chief and the boy. It is hoped
that the dead squirrels would come back to life and the boy would be a great shaman as the return. However, he has to get through a magical event with full
of pain to his own death in order to pay what the people have done the squirrels; “…The old man began to work his powerful magic. He took the boy
outside and tied his limbs to the tree. Then he pushed sharp needles with string through his skin and pulled them tight in every direction…”.
The boy has to get through this painful ritual done by the chieftain in order to pay for the mistakes that he and the other brothers have committed. The
ritual would eventually bring the dead squirrels into life where the boy would be suffered and be dead. But, he would be back again to life too and then
39 become a great shaman. The role of shaman is truly noble where he is believed
as a healer and spiritual leader. The writer concludes that this painful ritual is done to purify the boy’s soul, so by the time he is brought back to life he
deserves to be a great shaman with no mistakes in the past. The writer sees something different occurs in the story. There is what we
call as forgiveness here. It does not happen on the previous story, because death occurs in The Ptarmigan Story. But in this story, man and nature can
interact to one another in an understandable way. Death does not turn out as the final consequence, there is a better solution found here where man and
nature look for the best of both sides. Therefore, the story ends through this way:
That night, after they arrived with their dead brother, a magic filled the entire village and all of the dead squirrels come back to life…After all of the
squirrels were returned, the spirit of the young man flew back into his dead body and returned him to life. From that time on, he was a great and
powerful shaman and the Tsimshian did not kill squirrels.
In addition, the meaning where the chief changes the boy into a great shaman actually has a sign. The nature tries to teach man how one in life should be a
positive advantage for others. Human beings should understand when one gives a good impact to others should be blessed. The same thing goes to
nature and its sacrifice for the sake of people’s life. The relationship between man and nature in this story is not running harmoniously at first. However, we
could see then how man and nature successfully interact and find what is best for both sides. Man and nature are able to get along very well because the boy
finally realizes how similar the life of nature with the life he has. Nature has
40 its own life where it is described that squirrels have family and children to be
loved. In the end, by putting the boy in a painful ritual, both nature and man get the best result in the story. The chieftain gets back his people and the boy
does not only get lesson about life but also then become a shaman for the good of Tsimshian people.
3. How Selfishness was Rewarded
