Quileute Legends | Twilight | New Moon

Although these legends have existed for years, their usage in the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer has made them popular once more. Like many other Native systems of mythology, those of the Quileute are very fauna-oriented, with lots of animal-like beings in their folklore. The Wolves, for instance, are said to be the ancestors of the Quileute tribe. The Raven, another important figure in Quileute mythology, is said to be the Trickster of the Quileute legends, with many stories centering around him. According to these legends, when these beings were alive, they were all human, with the characteristics of the animals that descended from them. The ways that certain things happened, like why the Raven has curled, black feet, or how the Quileute came to be descended from wolves, all have their own legends. These aren’t the only major figures in Quileute mythology either. Q’wati the Transformer, Thunderbird, and Dask’iya the Basket Ogress all have legends dedicated to them also.

Q’wati the Transformer is a sort of God for the Quileute tribe, although they only acknowledge him as a sort of protector and teacher. He is also credited with creating the Quileute tribe, by changing two wolves that he found into people. The Deer and the Beaver also have places in the Quileute creation myth. They were said to have been sharpening their knives in order to kill Q’wati, and when he discovered their plans, he stuck their weapons into their tails and ears, thus giving the Deer and Beaver their antlers and tails, respectively. Besides creating the Quileute, he was said to have created the Queet people, the Hoh people, the Makah people, and the Neah people.

The Raven, the Quileute trickster, is a beloved figure in Quileute legends, but most stories center on his learning from mistakes made during the run of the legends. He was said to be greedy, lazy, arrogant, deceitful, and rude, all flaws which were taught against to children using his mistakes made in the legends. One of his stories, Raven and the Mole, is one in which he exhibits greed and deceitfulness, by trying to trick his wife so that he could eat all of the food given to them by the Moles. In another tale, Raven and the Skatefish, which is another name for the stingray, Raven shows his arrogance by bragging that he could easily hit the skatefish. Of course, he missed due to the Skatefish only showing the thinnest part of his body. These tales might seem to give one a less than savory image of Raven’s personality, but these stories taught children essential behaviors, and which behaviors weren’t okay.

The Thunderbird does not hold the same status as Q’wati in Quileute legends, but he is recognized as another important figure. In the tale Thunderbird and the Whale, during a time when the Quileute were dying from starvation, the Thunderbird came to their rescue. The tribe wasn’t able to fish due to horrible weather, and had already eaten the plants and all on their land, so the chief went to the Great Spirit and spoke with him for what it seems was one hundred years. The Spirit did not speak to the tribe, but it seemed that the Thunderbird was a manifestation of both the prayers of the chief and tribe, and the will of the Great Spirit. So suddenly a giant bird appeared, with a live whale in its claws. The Thunderbird, a name given to the bird by the Quileute tribe, put the whale on the ground carefully, and returned to wherever it had come from. This legend is the reason why the Quileute people respect the Thunderbird so much. Every major figure in Quileute mythology has either protected, saved, or taught the Quileutes; this is common with most systems of mythology, but the figures of Quileute tales are especially admirable.