The Raven’s Quest

It took a few seconds to realize I was utterly and completely lost. I’d gone off the beaten path and was now far from it. I tried finding my way back, but it seemed like I was just turning in circles. The forest was enormous and my screams did no good. I trudged along until I couldn’t go any further, then collapsed under a tree. I’d already been warned not to go off the path; there are black bears and timber wolves in the area.

I woke up when someone touched me, and jumped out of my skin at the old, dark, wrinkled and weathered face that stared down at me. It wasn’t just his face though; it was everything about him that made me shudder. A necklace made of animal teeth covered his bare chest and a big hide was draped across his shoulders. From the waist down he was wearing old leggings, a loincloth, and beaded moccasins. The old hide and buckskin clothes reeked of smoke and other odors that my senses had never encountered.

“Come, you mustn’t stay here.” His voice was strong for his age, like that of a man in his prime.

For all response, I just nodded and followed him. I was glad to be with someone, and surely someone who was familiar with these wilds. After quite a long walk we came to his tipi, standing in the middle of a clearing. He bade me to enter with a gesture, and he followed, then he motioned for me to sit on one of the old hides that were strewn on the floor around the fire. He served me some stew in a bowl from a pot that was hanging over the fire, then served himself. We ate in silence.

After we’d finished eating, he brought out a long pipe, filled it with some herbs, and lit it. He drew on it and then handed it to me. I motioned to say “no”, but he insisted. “You must smoke with me.” Seeing that I couldn’t refuse, I drew on the pipe. The sweet aroma of the smoke filled the tipi, making my head light. “My name is Chankoowashtay, ‘The right path’”. I knew you’d come, Kangee. I was waiting for you.” He was staring at me, very calmly but with a look of gravity. “What on earth is he talking about? How could he have been waiting for me? How does he know my name?” I was in a state of shock, and starting to worry about my rescuer. It was obvious that he sensed my unease. “You don’t believe me. I will show you.” He pulled out a small piece of hide that was rolled and tied. Opening it in front of me, he pointed to pictograms as he explained; “This is you, you are Kangee, the black bird. I knew you were under the tree, the red bird told me you were there. I waited a long time for you to come. Many years.” If it hadn’t been for the details on the picture representing me, I wouldn’t have believed a word. But there it was, under my eyes, on a piece of hide that looked as ancient as the old man. My name is Kangee, it means “Raven” in the Lakota language. Right over the head of the man in the picture there was a black bird. Another detail was an object in my hand that is my livelihood. Thunderstruck, I couldn’t say a word. He continued “You were sent by the Great Spirit Wakan Tanka. There is something you must do. You must send Anog-Ite the two headed woman spirit back into the underworld. No one else can do it.” He pointed again to the pictograms, showing me the entrance to a cave and a strange creature, a woman with two heads. “She was here when people first came. She was gone but she returned. She is evil and you must defeat her. But first you must sleep. Tomorrow you must cleanse yourself, your mind and body.”

I thought that I would have trouble sleeping, but to my surprise I was out like a light and the next thing I knew it was morning and the old codger was shaking me. We ate, and he told me to stay in the tipi while he built a sweat lodge. I didn’t know what to do so I did stretching and muscle building exercises. In the afternoon he led me to it, a kind of a dome made with young trees completely covered with canvas. “We will make Inipi, the sweat lodge, together, to purify you.” In the center was a fire, and it was void of light inside. We smoked the pipe again, and then he put rocks on the fireplace and closed the door. I sat, while he chanted. Four times he got up and threw open the door before we had finished in the evening. I sweated profusely. “You are clean now. Tomorrow we will go.” The evening was like the one before, except that he told me exactly what I had to do. “Do not worry. It will be easy for you.” He reassured me, and once again I slept like a rock.

In the morning we set out on a long march in silence. Despite his age, he didn’t seem to tire at all. We ate dried meat and berries that he’d brought, but never stopped walking. It was almost dusk when we arrived in front of a cave. “She is here. Go, Black Bird. Do what must be done.”

Looking back, I can’t believe that I didn’t feel any fear at the moment. I should have been trembling. As I reached the entrance, the creature was coming towards me, and the woman’s visage on the head that was facing me was more beautiful than any I’d ever seen. Her eyes made contact with mine and my heart jumped. Still, I knew that I had to resist her charm. Sensing that I was not beguiled by her beauty, she turned the other face towards me, and it was in all essence the antithesis. It was grotesque, disfigured, and snarling. There was only one way to make this creature go back into the bowels of the earth, and I had the weapon that was needed. I’m a musician, and I play the flute. I always carry one with me. She couldn’t stand the resonance of my instrument and she only had two hands, not enough to cover four ears.