As we busily prepare for winter and our first fall storm on the way, I thought about the things I look forward to about the cold, dark months of the year. Warm fires in the woodstove, drinking tea, making hearty soups, reading more books, and on special occasions, storytelling. I have always enjoyed storytelling and folklore, and my favorite tale by far is Raven Steals the Light. This is a story told by many Northwest Coastal Tribal Nations, including the Tsimishian, Haida, Heiltsuk, Tlingit, Kwakwaka’wakw, Coast Salish, Koyukons, and Inuit. There are many variations I have heard and read, like Raven Steals the Sun from the Coast Salish, Raven Steals the Sun, Stars and Moon, a version told by Bill Reid called The Raven Steals the Light, an illustrated children’s book by Gerald McDermott called Raven: A Trickster Tale from the Pacific Northwest, and the Tlingit creation myth, Box of Daylight. These stories inspired my latest needelfelted wall hanging, depicting Raven stealing the sun from the lodge of an old man who was keeping it locked away in a box, and flying through the darkness so that it may be returned to the people of the earth.
I think what always strikes me the most about this story is the reminder that no matter how dark it is, there is always light somewhere, and it will always return. Whether we are in the dead of winter and waiting for the sun to come back, we are looking at bleak times and need a ray of light, or we are in the dark and need some illumination to figure things out, there is comfort in knowing that the light will return. I also love that the light, or power if you will, cannot be selfishly kept by one person in this story, and Raven the trickster finds a way to steal it so that it can be shared by everyone. Furthermore, I always love tales of tricksters. We have a lot of lessons to learn from them.
You can find the wall hanging here in my Etsy shop:
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