Чукотская народная сказка. The Vengeance

The Vengeance

A Chukchee folk tale

In a little village of Keevalook there lived a lonely old man and his nephew. They lived on the seashore in a little dugout. In summer the old man went fishing for Arctic cod or hunting for seals and whales. In those days, there lived few people in the North, and many wild reindeer roamed around the village. So in winter the old man used to kill a lot of reindeer. The old hunter and his nephew lived in abundance. The boy finally grew up and then he started to hunt reindeer and big sea animals. The old man stopped hunting and took up housekeeping. One day he told his nephew:

"Hey, boy, how are you going to live when I die? Can be alone forever? Who will clean your house, cook a meal, when you are hunting? There is a village called Kygmik, on the south side of the valley. The neighbours told that the women of this village are very beautiful. Would you go there, look for a wife, while I'm alive?"

After that conversation, the young man began to hunt harder. Meanwhile the days became longer, the spring has come. One day the nephew said:

"Father, we have got enough skins, fat and meat. Perhaps I will go to Kygmik!"

"Well, go, but for a short while. I could die waiting for you!" - replied the old man.

Thus the young hunter went to Kygmik. In the morning he went out, pulling a sledge with gifts behind him. In the evening he arrived in Kygmik. He asked folks for the headman's house. And it turned out that the headman had the only daughter, a very beautiful girl. The master entertained lavishly the young man and then asked him:

"Why did you come here?
"I came in search of a wife." - replied the young man.
"Here, take my daughter."
"I agree."
"Marry her, if you like!" - said the headman.

The young man married his daughter and stayed in his house. He was lucky, living with his young wife, hunting reindeer in the valley and fishing Arctic cod in the sea. But one day the young man became sad about something. The father-in-law asked him:

"Why are you so sad?"

"My old uncle had remained home alone. I don't know, if he is dead or alive and kicking." - answered the hunter.

"If a woman got married, she would have never remained in the house of her father. If you want to go home, you should do it!" - said the master.

The next day the young hunter seated his wife on the sledge and took her home, dragging the sledge with his hands. The night came down and they arrived in Keevalook. The old man was still alive and well.

The young hunter began to work tirelessly together with his wife. He caught a lot of reindeers in the tundra. He even could not carry them all home, and some of them he left in the tundra. Then he and his wife went back to the tundra for reindeer carcasses. Meanwhile the old man was bustling about in the house. Having coped with the work, he left the dugout, squatted down and waited for the young couple.

One day they came home, but there was nobody around the house. The old hunter wasn't sitting on the doorstep as usual.

"Where is the man? Why didn't he meet us?" - said the wife.
"I guess he is doing something in the dugout." - replied the husband.

They climbed all over- there was not the old man. They entered the dugout - he wasn't there. Then the husband said to his wife:

"Where has he vanished? I should go and see, where his footprints will lead."

The young hunter went out and soon found the footprints of his uncle. He realized that the trail was going to the sea, and there were drops of blood on the footprints. There were many traces of other people who were dragging something heavy. The evening was coming and the young man returned home. The next morning he went on these tracks. Footprints led him to the sea. The young man noticed the boats somewhere far in the sea and went in that direction. Soon he came to a large village. He was afraid that somebody would see him and decided to wait for the night.

When the night fell down, the hunter went to the dwellings. It was a moonlit night and everything was clear. There was a big dugout among the houses. Behind the dugout, there was a tall pole. He looked at the top of the column and saw a man, sitting there. He undermined the ground around the pole and overturned it.

He looked at the man tied to a pole, and understood that the Tangee (foreign enemies) killed his uncle. He untied the old man, picked him up and carried home. The next day his wife sewed new clothes for the old hunter. They dressed him and then buried nearby.

The young man became more cautious. When he went hunting, he did not roam far from his home. One day, there was calm weather and he was wandering around the house. He looked towards the sea, and it seemed to him that two black dots flickered in a distance. And it was true: two men were coming to him. He said to his wife:

"There are two people, walking to our house. They must come to us. Perhaps they want to murder me! Listen, honey, when they enter the house, tell them hello and offer them a meal. During the dinner, I will come out to get some fresh air. And you should follow me!"

Here the two men came in with staves in their hands. The hunter said:

"Oho! It's the first time, when the visitors came to me!"

The guests said:
"We have come to invite you to a party!"
The master answered:
"Glad to see you! Enter the house, have a rest and then we will talk!"

The newcomers entered the house. The young woman began to treat them with different meats. During their dinner her husband said:

"I'm sweating, I should get a blow!"
He came out and his wife went after him. The hunter put a large knife in his parka and came back into the house. Then he walked fast to the men and killed them with a sharp knife. He then said to his wife:

"Where will we bury them? It cannot be on the street - the ground is frozen. And besides, if anyone comes looking for them, he will guess about everything because of the loosened soil. Come on, we will hide them under the floor!"

They lifted the floor boards and put the dead men in the pit. Now the man has not left their dugout. In the evening, he walked around the house. A few days later, some people appeared from the seaside. They were five. The hunter said to his wife:
"There are five people coming to us. Now they will kill us, that's for sure! I should do again, like the last time."

Meanwhile the strangers came to the house. The master said:

"Aha! It's the first time, when the visitors came to me! Where do you come from?"

The guests answered:

"The other day, two people had gone in this direction. They never returned in our village, and we have not found them. We came to ask, do you know about them?"

The master said:

"You are my guests, let's have a dinner. Honey, set the table for six! As for the two men, I haven't seen them."

The wife brought a delicious meal. During the meal the hunter said:

"I'm sweating, I should get a blow!"
He came out and his wife went after him. The hunter put the knife in his parka and came back into the house. Then he walked fast to the men and killed them with his knife. They again buried the murdered men underground.

A few days later on a calm day, there appeared a lot of people on the horizon. Then the hunter said to his wife:

"Now too many people are coming to us. Only a miracle can save us! Again, you will offer them a delicious meal. And if I go to prepare gifts for them, you should follow me!"
When the people came closer, the master said to them:

"Wow! It's the first time, when the visitors came to me! Where do you come from? Where are you going?"

The people answered:

"At first, the two men got lost somewhere, then the five men went out looking for the two, and they also have not returned. All of them were gone in this direction. Maybe you know something about these people?"

The master said:

"You are tired of the way, go eat first! No, I have not seen these people!"

New guests came in the dugout. The woman began to treat them with delicious meats. Her husband said:
"For the first time we have such guests! We cannot let them go without gifts! Honey, let's go out! We should prepare some gifts for the guests."

The hunter and his wife went outside. They filled their kayak with wooden chips and covered it with seal oil. Then they locked the door of the house and pelted it with logs. They raised the kayak on the roof and set fire to chips. The hunter opened the vent hole on the roof and shouted to the people sitting in the dugout:

"I'll give your gifts here in this hole, get them!"

And he pushed his kayak through the hole. The guests were about to run away, but the door was locked from the outside and covered with the logs. The fire was burning up inside the house. The hunter threw the firewood and poured the fat through the hole. The house burst into flame, then it was burnt down and collapsed. All the people were burned inside the house - no one got out.

The hunter and his wife installed a temporary tent and spent the night there. The next day, the young man said:

"Now, we'll go back to your father!"

And they set off on a long journey...

So the young hunter took the revenge on the Tangee for the death of his uncle.

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The Vengeance