Living abalone bow (Tate’s account)

Overview

In Explanation of the Abalone Bow, the Raven-clan chief Ayagansk goes seal hunting with three companions. Bad weather brings them to a steep cliff, where the sea suddenly moves and a living bow appears. It carries a raven carving and costly abalone inlay. Ayagansk grasps one end while his companions paddle away. The bow dies during the removal, but its green shells retain their beauty. The text calls the object alive without describing it speaking, shooting arrows or turning into a raven.

At a subsequent feast, Ayagansk distributes the bow’s red wood and proclaims the crest’s ownership. The account distinguishes belonging to the Raven Clan from permission for every clan member to use it: only one chief in a generation uses it at a time. Its song and the account of its first acquisition accompany chiefly elevation and a new name, with substantial distributions of property.

The ending describes material continuity across generations. Such bows could remain in use for four or five generations; decayed wood was replaced while the abalone shells were retained. That detail separates the living encounter from later inherited objects. The source gives no licence to reproduce or claim the crest, and its ownership rules are presented as part of this named lineage narrative.

Origins & earliest records

Franz Boas, Tsimshian Mythology, based on texts recorded by Henry W. Tate, published in 1916 in the Bureau of American Ethnology’s thirty-first report for 1909–1910. Boas translated Tate’s free interlinear English renderings of his Tsimshian texts. The preface notes Tate’s editorial choices and some influence from published collections; the 1916 volume omits the original-language text.

Records & interpretation

Story 44, Explanation of the Abalone Bow, complete p. 284; preface pp. 31–32.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Tsimshian Mythology

   Henry W. Tate, recorder; Franz Boas, translator and editor · 1916

   Story 44, Explanation of the Abalone Bow, complete p. 284; preface pp. 31–32.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textBoas/Tate 1916: Living abalone bow (Tate’s account)Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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