Waux (Tate’s account)

Overview

Tate’s Waux narrative continues the story of Asdi-wa’l through his only son. The edition glosses Waux as very light and describes him flying away like a spark. He learns hunting from his father and guards his father’s spear, dogs and other equipment. When his maternal uncles abandon Asdi-wa’l, Waux protests, then secretly returns with his mother to search for him. They find him gone and fear an animal has eaten him; that suspicion is not a witnessed account of Asdi-wa’l’s death.

Waux returns to the Skeena, inherits his father’s hunting grounds and weapons, and becomes wealthy through hunting and craftsmanship. He marries as his mother requests and later has twins. Both children die on a dangerous mountain slope called the Valley of Supernatural Beings. Their deaths precede his own final hunt and are not presented as a transformation into animals.

Pursuing mountain sheep, Waux forgets his spear. The last sheep kicks the mountain and presses its head against the rock, signalling the mountain’s anger. The ground shakes, and Waux drives his hunting pole into the rock to support himself and his dog. From above, he repeatedly asks his wife to make an offering, but she misunderstands his shouted words. The resulting exchange ends with her becoming flint at the mountain’s foot.

Waux, his clothing and pole, and his dog also turn to stone. The ending explains why the forgotten spear matters: on earlier shaking mountains he could lay it across rock chasms and obtain a passage. Without it, he has no escape. This locally anchored stone ending limits the otherwise extraordinary hunter’s power. The neighbouring heading for Asdi-wa’l refers readers to a different publication; it is not a complete Asdi-wa’l narrative reproduced here.

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 36, Waux, the Son of Asdi-wa’l, complete pp. 243–246; 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 36, Waux, the Son of Asdi-wa’l, complete pp. 243–246; 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: story 36, Waux, the Son of Asdi-wa’lResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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