Raven Brings the Light

 

RAVEN
Brings the
LIGHT

 

Many people know
Gwaii Haanas
on the north coast of British Columbia as the Queen Charlotte Islands. However, for centuries before Europeans came to this land, these islands were known to the Haida people who lived there as
Gwaii Haanas
, the Beautiful Islands. Today, they are officially known as
Haida Gwaii
, which means the islands of the Haida.

This book is dedicated to all of the storytellers from Gwaii Haanas and the northwest coast who have passed this story down from generation to generation, all the way back to when light first came to the world.

 

Illustrations copyright © 2013 Roy Henry Vickers

Text copyright © 2013 Roy Henry Vickers and Robert Budd

 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright,
www.accesscopyright.ca
, 1-800-893-5777,
[email protected]
.

 

Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd.

P.O. Box 219, Madeira Park, BC, V0N 2H0

www.harbourpublishing.com

 

Print edition design by Anna Comfort O'Keeffe

 

ISBN 978-1-55017-593-6 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-55017-661-2 (ebook)

 

 

Harbour Publishing acknowledges financial support from the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and from the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many years ago the world lived in darkness.

In this darkness a young couple on Gwaii Haanas became parents to a baby boy. It did not take them long to realize there was something very different and very special about their son. They called him Weget.

We
means big.
Get
means man.
Weget
means big man.

This boy got the name Weget because he was growing so fast that it frightened his mother and father.

They brought him to the old people and said, “Something is wrong with our child, Weget. We don't know what's wrong. He is just a baby, yet he's already walking. How can this be possible?”

The Elders took one look at the child and they nodded their heads and they smiled.

They told the parents, “For many years we have been told that this child was coming to be with us. We will get all the Chiefs together and you will learn what this child will be.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so the Chiefs got together to meet with this couple. They brought a big treasure chest made of cedar, known as a
guloonich
.

The Chiefs told the parents, “Our leaders have known for generations that one day a boy would come to this place, a boy who would change the whole world. This child may have been born to you, but he belongs to everybody. Right now we live in darkness. This boy is going to bring the light. We have some things passed down from generation to generation in this guloonich to give to this boy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the box they pulled a magic raven skin made from the feathers, beak and claws of a real raven, but much, much larger than any normal raven.

They explained, “When Weget grows big enough, he can put on this raven skin. When he wears it, he will be able to fly. He will also be able to change himself into anything he wants.”