To-bé-se-ne, the Kingfisher Uncle

Overview

To-bé-se-ne is the old uncle in the story that Smith titles Kingfisher and His Nephew. He and his nephew live comfortably beside a river. He warns the younger man to hunt east rather than west, but the nephew secretly follows him westward and sees him use two sharp sticks in his nose before diving for fish. Attempting to copy him while the uncle is away, the nephew injures himself. To-bé-se-ne finds him suffering, questions him, removes the sticks with pincers and rebukes his disobedience. The nephew recovers and promises to obey. Although the title associates the uncle with Kingfisher, this telling presents him as an old man and does not explicitly describe a change into a bird.

The nephew later goes west again and meets boys who lend him wings and fly with him to an island. They take the wings away while he swims, abandoning him as prey for their own two-faced uncle and his dogs. He confuses the dogs by climbing several trees and survives the night in the last tree. When the boys return to swim, he seizes their wings, puts on a pair and escapes, answering their appeals with a reminder that they showed him no mercy. He reaches To-bé-se-ne’s home, recounts his experiences and thereafter lives peacefully with his good uncle. Smith attributes the story to Zachariah Jamieson on the Seneca Reservation, who said his grandfather Chief Warrior had told it repeatedly.

Origins & earliest records

Zachariah Jamieson, recalling his grandfather Chief Warrior; recorded by Erminnie A. Smith on the Seneca Reservation, published in 1883.

Records & interpretation

Complete selected tale and its narrator attribution in Smith’s original English report.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Myths of the Iroquois

   Erminnie A. Smith · 1883

   Bureau of Ethnology report, selected pp. 108–110.

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 collected narrativeMyths of the Iroquois: To-bé-se-ne, the Kingfisher UncleResearch access: 2026-10-18

Image credits

To-bé-se-ne interpretation; human appearance, clothing and setting imagined.

Original narrative illustration; details interpreted, not an authenticated ethnographic record.