Raven the Transformer
Chukchi · demigod · primordial · Recorded classification
Culture-hero / transformer tier (classed as demigod). The Raven creator-trickster (Chukchi Kurkil; Koryak Quikinnaqu/Kutkinnaku; Itelmen/Kamchadal Kutkh) is the central Beringian demiurge. Frequently identified with or acting for the Creator Tenanto'mwan.
Domains
- creation transformer
- trickery
- light and daylight
Powers
- releases the daylight into the world
- forms the land, the first people and the animals
- disrupts and rearranges the world through trickery
- Bring fire, water and the useful arts to mankind
Epithets
- Kurkil The Raven; creator-trickster who made the land, light, and the first peopleWaldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee (secondary)
Relations
- companion: CreatorRaven carries out the Creator's commissions in Chukchi creation tales, shaping land and bringing light.Waldemar Bogoras, The Chukchee (Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1904-1909) (secondary)
Sources
- Among the Chukchi the Raven Kurkil (Ku'urkil) is the demiurge-trickster: creator and transformer, fertile ancestor of mankind, mighty shaman and bringer of light.: Waldemar Bogoras, Chukchee Mythology, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VIII, 1910–1913 (secondary); Waldemar Jochelson, The Koryak, Jesup North Pacific Expedition VI, on the parallel Big-Raven (Quikinnaqu) cycle (secondary)