THE MOON
References:
Plate 1, Figure 4. "The Man in the Moon." Haida.
Plate 3, Figure 5. House Front Painting. Bella Coola.
Plate 4, Figure 1. Mortuary Pole. Haida.

The painting of the Moon as shown in Plate 1, Figure 4, il-
lustrates as follows how the Man came to be in this remarkable
position.

It happened one day in the long ago that Koong, the Moon,
saw Ethlinga, the man, as he set out to fill his bucket with
salal berries. At that moment Ethlinga was preparing to dip
his pail in the nearby brook to wash it before he gathered the
berries. For some reason he had incurred Koon's displeasure.
Neither did this personage approve of Ethlinga's proceeding, so
he sent down his magic rays and grabbed the poor man, who to
save himself seized hold of a big salal bush. But Koong was the
stronger of the two; Ethlinga and his bucket, even the bush with
its great roots, were carried right up into the Moon where they
have had to live ever since. There all the world can see them
on clear nights when the Moon is full.

Now Ethlinga is a friend of T'kul, the Spirit of the Winds,
who from time to time gives him a certain signal. Then Ethlinga
empties his bucket, causing rain to fall and refresh the earth.

The origin of the Moon Crest is associated with the
ancestress of the clan. The maiden, Skawah, is associated with
some of the longest and most characteristic Tsimsyan myths which
describe Skawah's misfortunes after her relatives were slain by
their enemies; her rescue by "Rays of the Sun" (a sky spirit);
the birth to her in the sky of several children; their education
and final return to the earth to avenge the deaths of their
uncles. They established new customs and adopted crests sym-
bolic of their noble origin among the Moon, the Stars, the
Rainbow, etc. Quite frequently, therefore, the Moon Crest is
shown associated with other tribal crests; for example the Moun-
tain Goat and the Owl, each of which in their turn contribute
tales of their origin, though they were of later date than that
recorded above. Neither did their owners possess evidence of
their semi-divine origin as did the children of Skawah. This
consisted of: an earthquake charm which raised and tilted in
their hands causing the village of their enemies to quake, turn
over and be crushed under an avalanche of rock. (See Barbeau
1929, p. 80).

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