Loon
Koyukon · numen · Koyukon traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
The loon appears in Koyukon oral literature most memorably in the widely told tale of the blind man, in which a loon restores the sight of a young hunter who has been betrayed and abandoned, carrying him beneath the water until his eyes are healed. The bird is regarded as spiritually significant, its calls and behavior read as meaningful, and it belongs to the company of the animal-people who were persons in the Distant Time.
Domains
- healing
- spiritual power
Powers
- restore sight by carrying a person beneath the water
Sources
- The loon is a benevolent healer-character of Koyukon oral literature, restoring the sight of an abandoned blind hunter, and is regarded as spiritually significant.: Attla, Catherine, Bakk'aatugh Ts'uhuniy: Stories We Live By (Yukon-Koyukuk School District / ANLC, 1989). (primary); Nelson, Richard K., Make Prayers to the Raven (Chicago, 1983). (secondary)