Raven and Clam Northwest Myth
A Wood Sculpture by Bill Reid, 1970
qwaxwqx ?astaw s?axu tas?
asutelciba cicaxw tebixw
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam
An Amazing New World then Began
By Michael Peter Garofalo
In the Time Before Everything Changed
the Transformers and Changers
lived in the Ocean's Womb
before the Waters receded.
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam.
An Amazing New World then Began.
Both inside and outside the Magical Clam
Coming Forth, Coming From, Coming, coming—
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
People and new plants were created.
New mosses, mushrooms, camas bulbs,
and huckleberries appeared.
New cedars, spruces, firs,
and salal berries appeared.
The San Juan Islands, Hood Fjord,
Salish Seas and King Salmon appeared.
Enemies, diseases, and famine appeared.
People learned from the Transformers/Changers/Teachers:
Raven, Coyote, Honne, Xwane, Turtle,
Bear and Thunderbird.
How to become Human Beings
in a dangerous World.
How to become heartless at times.
How to gather, hunt, and fish for food.
How to weave and keep a fire.
What plants to eat, what not.
What to Believe and Do
in order for their tribe to survive.
How to deal with surprise.
All kinds of beings emerged-created.
People lived, worked, Spoke and mated.
Coyote howled and cheered!
Thunderbird ordered the rain and thunder.
Shape-Shifters played and plundered.
Xwane saved two girls from blunders.
Xonne stopped a flood.
The Magical Clam: A Singularity Opening,
Beginnings Beyond the Understanding
Of Ordinary Times and Minds.
From Something New Came Something New.
The Raven cawed, gurred, mmmured, croaked
then hid in trees away from folks.
Then They Came, and Everything Changed.
The English speaking people came to Reign.
The Raven Broke Open the Magical Clam
An amazing New World then Began
qwaxwqx ?astaw s?axu tas?
asutelciba cicaxw tebixw
Raven and Clam Northwest Myth
A Wood Sculpture by Bill Reid, 1970
Miscellaneous Additions
Native American Myths and Lore
Coyote lied, then he angrily sat outside
Coyote
bit our leg as we passed outside
Coyote rained piss on us
when we came outside
Coyote stole our dried salmon then snuck outside
Coyote howled at us as we cried outside
Five Times, Five More Times,
Trickster Troublemaker Coyote's Crimes.
At Potlaches hosted by Chiefs,
couples made matches,
villagers ate,
men played games and gambled,
people laughed, enjoyed easy days,
drummers and dancers rested,
babies smiled, people mingled,
they
talked about someone who died.
The Makah Peoples at Neah Bay
For 3,000 years their Ancestors stayed
in cedar planked houses warm and dry.
They fished and gathered and stayed alive,
Carved cedar canoes,
stitched clothing
from hides,
made tools, harpoons, and art with pride,
and totem poles to salute their lives.
They rowed round Cape Flattery
many times.
On the cliffside forest at Patrick's Point
The Yurok Peoples made Sue-meng home.
I sat on the dirt in a Yurok cedar plank house,
and contemplated the Days of Old,
When a campfire was the only
night
light to behold.
Notes, References, Research, Information
"According to Queets and Quinault legend, the Queets River (Washington) was originally called K'witzqu or quitzqu, pronounced "Kw-ā-tz", meaning "out of the dirt of the skin". The legend tells of Kwate, the Changer, or S'qitu, the Great Spirit and Transformer, came to the mouth of the Queets River. After fording the cold river he rubbed his legs to restore circulation, small rolls of dirt formed under his hand. He threw them into the water and from them a man and a woman came forth, who became the ancestors of the Queets people. Kwate told them they would remain on the river and would be known as K'witzqu, because of the dirt from which your skin was made. According to William Bright the river's name comes from the Quinault word /q'ʷícx̣ʷ/, meaning "dirt". - Wikipedia
Bright, William (2004). Native American placenames of the United States. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 403.
The name "Queets River" first appeared on the Surveyor General's map of Washington Territory and was later applied to other features. The word "Queets" was derived from the name of the Quai'tso tribe (Queets). Despite the name Queets River appearing on official maps, settlers called it Big River for many years, in contrast to its tributary the Clearwater River, which was called the Little River."
At the Edges of the West: Highway 101
25 Steps and Beyond: Collected Works
Northwest Native American Lore, Myths
Olympic Peninsula Native American Lore
Mike Garofalo lives in Vancouver, Washington.
He worked for 50 years in city and county
public
libraries, and in elementary
schools.
He graduated with
degrees in
philosophy,
library science, and education. He has been
a web publisher since 1998.
March 18, 2025