Tlingit and Haida TraditionCreature
Kóoshdaa Káa
- Shape-changing into familiar people
- Luring the lost and drowned
- Transforming people into land otters
The Land Otter People of Tlingit belief, who take the drowned and the lost and slowly transform them into land otters, often appearing in the shape of a lost person's relatives.
About Kóoshdaa Káa
The Land Otter People
Kóoshdaa Káa, 'land otter man', names the Land Otter People of Tlingit belief. People who drowned or were lost in the forest or at sea were said to be taken by them, and, unless rescued, to become land otters themselves. They could appear to a lost person in the shape of a relative or friend, leading them further away. Swanton's Tlingit Myths and Texts (1909) includes stories such as 'The Land-Otter Sister' and 'The Land-Otter Son', in which people are drawn into the land otters' world.
Protection
Recorded accounts say that shamans could recover people taken by them, and land otters were closely associated with shamanic power. The belief is still widely known in Southeast Alaska, and stories about encounters continue to be told. This entry describes published stories and does not describe shamanic practice.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- John R. Swanton, Tlingit Myths and Texts (Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 39), stories 6 and 7, "The Land-Otter Sister" and "The Land-Otter Son"
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
The danger rating is an editorial shorthand for how the myths portray the creature, not a claim made by the sources.