Kutkh
Encyclopedia
Kutkh is a Raven spirit traditionally revered in various forms by various indigenous peoples of the Russian Far East
. Kutkh appears in many legends: as a key figure in creation, as a fertile ancestor
of mankind, as a mighty shaman
and as a trickster
. He is a popular subject of the animist
stories of the Chukchi people
and plays a central role in the mythology of the Koryaks
and Itelmens
of Kamchatka
. Many of the stories regarding Kutkh are similar to those of the Raven among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
, indicating a long history of indirect cultural contact between Asian and North American peoples.
language family. He is known as Kutq among the Itelmen, KútqI, KútqIy, KúsqIy in the southeastern Koryak language; KúykIy or QúykIy in northwestern Koryak; and Kúrkil
in the Chukchi language
. In Koryak it is employed commonly in its augmentative form, (KutqÍnnaku, KusqÍnnaku, KuyÍnnaku) all meaning "Big Kutkh" and often translated simply as "God".
The bringing of light in the form of the sun and the moon is a common theme. Sometimes, he tricks an evil spirit which has captured the celestial bodies much in the style of analogous legends about the Tlingit and Haida in the Pacific Northwest
. In others, it is he who must be tricked into releasing the sun and the moon from his bill.
Kutkh's virility is emphasized in many legends. Many myths concern his children copulating with other animal spirits and creating the peoples that populate the world.
In the animistic tradition of north-Eurasian peoples, Kutkh has a variety of interactions and altercations with Wolf, Fox, Bear, Wolverine, Mouse
, Owl
, Dog, Seal
, Walrus and a host of other spirits. Many of these interactions involve some sort of trickery in which Kutkh comes out on top about as often as he is made a fool of.
An example of these contradictions is given to the Chukchi legend of Kutkh and the Mice. The great and mighty raven Kutkh was flying through the cosmos. Tired from constant flight, he regurgitated the Earth from his gut, transformed into an old man, and alighted on the empty land to rest. Out of his first footsteps emerged the first Mice. Curious, playful and fearless, they entered the sleeping Kutkh's nose. The fury of the subsequent sneeze buckled the earth and created the mountains and the valleys. Attempts to stamp them out led to the formation of the ocean. Further harassments led to a great battle between the forces of snow and fire which created the seasons. Thus, the variable world recognizable to people emerged out of the dynamic interaction between the mighty Kutkh and the small but numerous Mice.
The early Russian explorer and ethnographer of Kamchatka Stepan Krasheninnikov
(1711 - 1755) summarizes the Itelmen's relationship to Kutkh as follows:
The image of Kutkh remains popular and iconic in Kamchatka, used often in advertising and promotional materials. Stylized carvings of Kutkh by Koryak artisans, often adorned with beads and lined with fur, are sold widely as souvenirs.
The Chukchi creator-deity, roughly analogous to Bai-Ulgan
of the Turkic
pantheon. The Koryaks refer to him as Quikinna'qu ("Big Raven") and in Kamchadal (Itelmens) mythology he is called Kutkhu.
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. Kutkh appears in many legends: as a key figure in creation, as a fertile ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
of mankind, as a mighty shaman
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
and as a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
. He is a popular subject of the animist
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
stories of the Chukchi people
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
and plays a central role in the mythology of the Koryaks
Koryaks
Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
and Itelmens
Itelmens
The Itelmen, sometimes known as Kamchadal, are an ethnic group who are the original inhabitants living on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family, but it is now virtually extinct, the vast...
of Kamchatka
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
. Many of the stories regarding Kutkh are similar to those of the Raven among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
, indicating a long history of indirect cultural contact between Asian and North American peoples.
Names
Kutkh is known among a wide group of people that share a common Chukotko-KamchatkanChukotko-Kamchatkan languages
The Chukotko-Kamchatkan or Chukchi–Kamchatkan languages are a language family of extreme northeastern Siberia. Its speakers are indigenous hunter-gatherers and reindeer-herders....
language family. He is known as Kutq among the Itelmen, KútqI, KútqIy, KúsqIy in the southeastern Koryak language; KúykIy or QúykIy in northwestern Koryak; and Kúrkil
Ku'urkil
The Chukchi creator-deity, roughly analogous to Bai-Ulgan of the Turkic pantheon. The Koryak refer to him as Quikinna'qu and in Kamchadal mythology he is called Kutkhu....
in the Chukchi language
Chukchi language
The Chukchi language is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug...
. In Koryak it is employed commonly in its augmentative form, (KutqÍnnaku, KusqÍnnaku, KuyÍnnaku) all meaning "Big Kutkh" and often translated simply as "God".
Myths
The tales of Kutkh come in many, often contradictory versions. In some tales he is explicitly created by a Creator and lets the dawn onto the earth by chipping away at the stones surrounding her. In others he creates himself (sometimes out of an old fur coat) and takes pride in his independence from the Creator. In some, Kamchatka is created as he drops a feather while flying over the earth. In others, islands and continents are created by his defecation, rivers and lakes out of his waters. The difficult volcanic terrain and swift rivers of Kamchatka are thought to reflect Kutkh's capricious and willful nature.The bringing of light in the form of the sun and the moon is a common theme. Sometimes, he tricks an evil spirit which has captured the celestial bodies much in the style of analogous legends about the Tlingit and Haida in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. In others, it is he who must be tricked into releasing the sun and the moon from his bill.
Kutkh's virility is emphasized in many legends. Many myths concern his children copulating with other animal spirits and creating the peoples that populate the world.
In the animistic tradition of north-Eurasian peoples, Kutkh has a variety of interactions and altercations with Wolf, Fox, Bear, Wolverine, Mouse
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
, Owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
, Dog, Seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
, Walrus and a host of other spirits. Many of these interactions involve some sort of trickery in which Kutkh comes out on top about as often as he is made a fool of.
An example of these contradictions is given to the Chukchi legend of Kutkh and the Mice. The great and mighty raven Kutkh was flying through the cosmos. Tired from constant flight, he regurgitated the Earth from his gut, transformed into an old man, and alighted on the empty land to rest. Out of his first footsteps emerged the first Mice. Curious, playful and fearless, they entered the sleeping Kutkh's nose. The fury of the subsequent sneeze buckled the earth and created the mountains and the valleys. Attempts to stamp them out led to the formation of the ocean. Further harassments led to a great battle between the forces of snow and fire which created the seasons. Thus, the variable world recognizable to people emerged out of the dynamic interaction between the mighty Kutkh and the small but numerous Mice.
Attitudes
Although Kutkh is supposed to have given mankind variously light, fire, language, fresh water and skills such as net-weaving and copulation, he is also often portrayed as a laughing-stock, hungry, thieving and selfish. In its contradictions, his character is similar that of other trickster gods, such as Coyote.The early Russian explorer and ethnographer of Kamchatka Stepan Krasheninnikov
Stepan Krasheninnikov
Stepan Petrovich Krasheninnikov was a Russian explorer of Siberia, naturalist and geographer who gave the first full description of Kamchatka in the early 18th century. He was elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1745...
(1711 - 1755) summarizes the Itelmen's relationship to Kutkh as follows:
The image of Kutkh remains popular and iconic in Kamchatka, used often in advertising and promotional materials. Stylized carvings of Kutkh by Koryak artisans, often adorned with beads and lined with fur, are sold widely as souvenirs.
The Chukchi creator-deity, roughly analogous to Bai-Ulgan
Bai-Ulgan
Bai-Ülgen or Ülgen is a Turkic and Mongolian creator-deity, usually distinct from Tengri but sometimes identified with him in the same manner as Helios and Apollo. His name is from Old Turkic bey, "rich", and ülgen, "magnificent"...
of the Turkic
Turkish folklore
The tradition of folklore—folktales, jokes, legends, and the like—in the Turkish language is very rich, and is incorporated into everyday life and events.-Nasreddin Hoca:...
pantheon. The Koryaks refer to him as Quikinna'qu ("Big Raven") and in Kamchadal (Itelmens) mythology he is called Kutkhu.