46 clothes. But, nature is not taken or used only for object over peoples need. It
should be treated wisely. Therefore, it is necessary to know that nature does not allow being mistreated. When people treat the nature kindly, it lets to live
side by side with man in full harmony. However, when it is hurt, the previous three stories are already enough for lessons in life.
5. The Meeting of the Wild Animals
While the other stories describe how nature reacts over man’s actions, The Meeting of the Wild Animals serves in a very unique way where nature
represented by animals express their feelings towards the existence of man. The story tries to tell how all animals around the upper of Skeena River in
Prairie Town fear for their life survival over the Tsimshian people who are truly very good hunters.
Man does not have any roles as the story goes, because the main purpose in this case is how to see nature’s perspective over man’s action. It has proven
on previous stories when man treats nature badly, the nature would react in possible different vicious ways. But how does nature actually see man? It is all
answered in this story that man tends to use his power to take over nature. Animals feel threatened here because of hunters. They hope colder winter so
these hunters would stay at their houses and are not strong enough to go hunting. Therefore, the meeting is held and for the first session, all big animals
are invited by Grizzly Bear to gather, “A terrible calamity has come to us with these hunting people, who pursue us even into our dens, he said. I suggest we
47 ask Him Who Made Us to give us more cold winter and keep the hunters in
their own
houses and
out of
our dens.”
http:www.americanfolklore.netfolktalesak1.html These animals try to find a better way to save their life from the hunt of
Tsimshian people. Hiding in their dens is no longer a good idea because the hunters’ even chase into these animals dens while hunting. So, begging for
nature to give colder winter seems a perfect solution. The meeting results in great deal where all big animals agree to the Bear’s suggestion. Then, another
meeting is held to hear what the small animals think about the idea. Porcupine, as the representative delivers his opinion:
“Friends, let me say a word or two in response. Your strategy is very good for you, because you have plenty of warm fur for the most severe cold. But
look at these little insects. They have no fur at all to warm them in winter. Moreover, how can insects and small animals obtain food if winters are
colder? Therefore, I say this: don’t ask for more cold.”
The porcupine thinks in a very objective way for this case. If the big animals insist suggesting colder winter to Him Who Made Us, the benefit will
only go to the big animals while the small animals would suffer. Colder winter will not only make the hunters stay at their houses but also kill the small
animals in freeze. From the porcupine’s opinion above, we could see the conflict starts to emerge and the small animals definitely see something goes
very unfair. Because apparently, the problem in this story is not only coming from human beings as hunters but also coming from their own kind as
animals. As the representative of the nature, both of these different kinds of animals stand in an opposite side to each other.
48 In this case, the story puts the figure of a porcupine as a wisdom animal
that sees everything from positive and negative sides. In this story, animals live in regret for being hunted and consumed by man for food. In this case, big
animals are the ones who mostly concern about the issue because they are the target of the hunters. They think nature has been unfair to them. They do not
accept for this kind of life. Then, porcupine says wisely: “If it’s that cold, the roots of all the wild berries will freeze and die, and all
the plants of the prairie will wither away. How will you get food? You large animals roam the mountains wanting something to eat. When your request
brings more winter frost, you will die of starvation in spring or summer. But we will survive, for we live on the bark of trees, the very small animals eat
the gum of tress, and the smallest insects find their food in the earth.”
His statement makes all the animals realize that whatever the suggestion they would like to say to nature Him Who Made Us will always gives a
negative impact to the other animals. Animals might be the nature representatives on earth, but there is something higher and powerful which
created them. It is the universe; the one who has power in taking control the life of man and animals.
Porcupine sees that nature already puts everything on earth with proper portions. Then, he continues his wisdom statement:
“In winter we will have ice and snow. In spring we will have showers, and the plants will become green. In summer we will have warmer weather, and
all the fishes will go up the rivers. In the fall the leaves will drop, it will rain, and the rivers and brooks will overflow. Then all animals, large and small,
and those that creep on the ground, will go into their dens and hide for six months.”
It is no longer man’s or animal’s decision to control the universe. What is believed as Him Who Made Us in the story has put everything in the right
49 order and portions. Seeing from the statement above, the universe has already
arranged seasons on its perfect place. Each season would affect the life between man and animals. For example, there will be ice and snow in winter.
Big animals have their thick furs to keep being warm, small animals have places inside the trees to hide and protect themselves from the cold weather.
And it is time for hunters to stay in their houses and do not go for hunting. However, there will be also other seasons where animals are being hunted and
plants would be picked for man’s food. Behind all of this process, animals and plants also have their time to breed and grow back for the next generations to
come. So, life has its own cycles where everything on this earth has its purpose to live and reason to die.
The writer could conclude something from this story; that hunting has already meant something more than looking for daily needs. As what
happened in the story of The Squirrel Shaman, man tends to consider hunting as something they like where they feel having more power to nature surrounds
them. And man forgot the basic principle that man’s power could not even be compared to the great ability of nature. Hunting becomes an activity where
man feels arrogant and feels allowed destroying whatever he sees. In short, here is the basic thinking about the relatiosnhips between man
and nature in five Alaska folklores above, “Nature is a monster, perhaps only if you come to it with unreal expectations or fight its conditions rather than
50 accepting them and learning to live with them.”
35
Cruelty may be the law of nature.
36
But this thought is coming from a selfish human point of view. People get consequences from mistreating nature
and they consider it to be a blame for nature. People are never looking back to find out the source of the matter. Because, man is the one who depends his life
on his surroundings. Nature has its own power to live and does not need man to be relied on. The five Alaska folklores above have shown how man is not
aware enough about the essential meaning of nature and its function of its existence on earth. Man should understand in taking nature as something more
than a dead object in life.
B. The Idea behind the Relationships between Man and Nature Based on the Five Analyzed Folklores
