The Pacific Northwest: The skies echo with the crashing of
waves, fog clings to the dark and mysterious cedar forests, and heavy rains
fill the rivers that give the people their sustenance. This is the land of the
mighty thunderbird and killer whale, of sky people who guard the sun, where
wolves became men. In this land, the line between reality and mythology was
blurred. Animals that are regarded as “ordinary” by today’s people were thought
to have great spiritual power in this long forgotten time. One such animal was
raven, notorious trickster of the Pacific Northwest.
The common raven, scientific name Corvus corax, is a truly extraordinary animal.
The largest species within its genus, the raven is also arguably the most
intelligent. This large black bird displays the mental capacity to solve
complex problems, possesses an exemplary memory, and can mimic sounds like wolf
howls, cougar snarls, and even human speech. Curious and cautious, ravens enjoy
solving problems and causing mischief, something they are very efficient at
thanks to their unusually large hyperpallium. Ravens are so intelligent in
fact, that they are one of four animals alongside humans, ants, and bees to
demonstrate displacement, the ability to communicate about things that are
distant in space or time. The old tales of raven being a cunning and wise
creature weren’t based off of nothing, that’s for sure.
Ravens, despite their former status as revered creatures in
the pre-Columbian era, are now thought of as pests in many parts of the world.
This is largely due to the raven’s ravenous hunger. Ravens are omnivores and
opportunistic scavengers, a combination that means they’ll eat just about
anything. Unfortunately for humans, this means they won’t be put off by plastic
bags covering all of the yummy trash we threw away, and will make a huge mess
digging through this garbage for tasty morsels here and there. On the plus
side, their opportunistic nature and large size inclines them to eat other
smaller pests. However, there is a negative side to this predation as well,
since they will go after the young of endangered species, which is why they are
considered the critically endangered Californian condor’s biggest natural
threat. Unlike most “pests”, however, the raven is not endangered and actually
thrives with human involvement, with fledglings having a higher success rate
around human settlements, and can live beyond 40 years.
In coastal mythology, raven plays a crucial role in many
stories, often being seen as not just an embodiment of a god, but a deity
himself. In the Haida creation myth, for example, raven runs out of room on
earth’s one original island and flies to the sky, and, after a chain of odd
events, end up being responsible for the creation of earth’s land masses as
well as the first people. In another story, raven is not responsible for the
creation of people, but ends up bringing sunlight to the world for the first
time by stealing it from the sky chief. At other times, raven has become a
celestial being that falls in love with the moon, a trickster god that punishes
cruel people by giving them ironic fates, and even the only creature on earth
to remain over the course of its multiple creations. Though raven’s portrayals
vary from culture to culture, his status as a tangible revered being remains
consistently.
Throughout the ages, the raven has remained. Many
interpretations of the raven have occurred since the time of the first people
to witness it. The raven has been anything from a powerful god to a benevolent
trickster to a mere pest in the eyes of people. Raven’s role in mythology
shaped the cultural impressions that the old time coastal peoples have left,
and it currently plays a role in scientific research. It is a wondrous thing
that we are attempting to see this mysterious and intelligent bird from yet
another perspective, but I’m sure it’s only one of many to come, so long as the
raven remains.
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