Raven (Rasmussen’s Greenland tales)

Overview

In a southeastern Greenland tale, Raven and Goose agree to paint one another. Raven decorates Goose in black with a white pattern, but rejects a matching design for himself. The offended Goose covers him completely in black. A second southeastern tale says ravens formerly spoke with meanings opposite to their words: thanks sounded like abuse. An older man removes their speech by magic, leaving their cries. These are separate explanations rather than consecutive events in a narrated biography.

A northern Upernivik story gives a lovesick raven a different problem. A widowed sparrow rejects his offer of shelter beneath his wings and meals of offal. He then joins two wild geese as their husband, disregarding their warning that the migration offers neither icebergs nor other resting places for a bird unable to float. Exhausted and sleepless, he rests on their backs. When the geese fall behind their companions, they abandon him in the sea.

The raven drowns, breaks into pieces and its soul becomes small sea ravens. The English edition’s note identifies these as a small black mollusc; it does not supply a scientific species. The drowned husband, the painted bird and the former talking ravens belong to different locally attributed tales. They are not merged with Haida Raven or treated as one universal Arctic creator figure.

Origins & earliest records

The volume’s final source list assigns this narrative to Southeastern Greenland and Upernivik, northern Greenland Inuit. Knud Rasmussen collected the material; W. Worster edited and translated the 1921 English selection. No individual storyteller is named here. Worster states that he selected and edited versions, including omissions; this is not an unabridged performance transcript.

Records & interpretation

The complete The Raven and the Goose; When the Ravens Could Speak; The Raven Who Wanted a Wife narrative and final regional source list were inspected. The story begins on printed p. 66.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Eskimo Folk-Tales

   Knud Rasmussen, collector; W. Worster, editor and English translator · 1921

   The Raven and the Goose p.66 and When the Ravens Could Speak p.67: southeastern Greenland; The Raven Who Wanted a Wife p.77: Upernivik, northern Greenland; note8.

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 textRasmussen/Worster 1921: The Raven and the Goose; When the Ravens Could Speak; The Raven Who Wanted a WifeResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.