In the Tlingit telling of Raven and the box of daylight, the wealthy old man living at the head of the Nass River who keeps the stars, moon, and sun locked in nested boxes, until Raven tricks his way into his household to steal them.
In the Tlingit telling recorded by John R. Swanton, this wealthy old man of the raven lineage owns three boxes, nested one inside another, holding the stars, the moon, and the sun. Raven, wanting light for the world, transforms himself into a hemlock needle and is swallowed by the old man's daughter as she drinks from a stream; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to Raven reborn as the old man's grandson. Doting on this grandson, the old man eventually gives him the box of stars to quiet his crying, and Raven opens it, releasing the stars through the smoke hole; he goes on to obtain the boxes of the moon and finally the sun in the same way, escaping with the sun in his beak.
A name that varies by source
Different recordings and modern retellings give this figure different exact names and spellings, from Swanton's early transliterations to the modern orthography used by Sealaska Heritage Institute and the Dauenhauers. This site uses "Naas Shaak Aankáawu" ("Nobleman at the Head of the Nass River") as a widely used modern rendering while noting the older forms recorded by Swanton.
Source Notes
These records lack edition and translator details. Their wording has not been verified as a direct quotation.
Raven transforms into a hemlock needle to be reborn as the grandson of the wealthy old man at the head of the Nass, who owns the boxes of stars, moon, and sun.
Worship & Cult
How Naas Shaak Aankáawu was venerated in ancient times
Worship Practices
No independent ceremony is recorded for this figure in the public sources this site draws on; he appears only within the Raven and the box of daylight story.
