Old Indian Legends · Chapter
The Warlike Seven explained
Seven unlikely warriors—Ashes, Fire, Bladder, Grasshopper, Dragonfly, Fish, and Turtle—set out to make war, but one by one they fall to natural mishaps.
What happens
Seven unlikely warriors—Ashes, Fire, Bladder, Grasshopper, Dragonfly, Fish, and Turtle—set out to make war, but one by one they fall to natural mishaps. Only Fish and Turtle reach a village, where they are mocked and threatened. After being thrown into a lake, they escape and anger the villagers, who summon Iya the Eater to swallow the lake. Iktomi, also swallowed, stabs Iya from within, causing the water to flood and drown the village, while Fish and Turtle emerge victorious.
Themes in this chapter
Trickery and Consequence
Iktomi's cunning act of stabbing Iya from within leads to the drowning of the village, showing how trickery can backfire on the trickster's enemies.
Nature and the Spirit World
Natural elements (Ashes, Fire, Bladder) and creatures (Grasshopper, Dragonfly, Fish, Turtle) are personified as warriors, blending the natural and spiritual realms.
Justice and Retribution
The villagers' attempt to kill Fish and Turtle results in their own destruction when Iya's swallowing is undone, serving as a form of retributive justice.
Characters to notice
- Iktomi
Appears as a witty old figure who translates the Fish's mumbled war declaration, and later is swallowed by Iya but escapes by stabbing him from inside.
- The Fish
One of the two surviving warriors; spokesman for the pair, blows water to burn villagers, and later frolics in the lake after being thrown in.
- The Turtle
The other surviving warrior; dives into the lake and taunts the villagers, claiming the lake as his home.
- The Grasshopper
One of the seven warriors; loses his legs in a marsh and weeps, unable to continue.
- The Dragonfly
Cousin of the Grasshopper; weeps so violently that his head falls off, ending his part in the war party.
- Iya
Summoned by the villagers to swallow the lake; drinks all day until his belly is huge, but fails to capture Fish and Turtle.
Key passages
“He struck his knife upward in the Eater's stomach, and the water falling out drowned those people of the village.”
Iktomi cut Iya's stomach from inside, releasing the swallowed lake water and causing a flood that killed the villagers.
Climactic moment where Iktomi's action leads to the villagers' demise.
“The Fish was spokesman. With a peculiar omission of syllables, he said: 'Shu … hi pi!'”
The Fish spoke in a mumbled, abbreviated way, saying only part of the phrase for 'We come to make war.'
Highlights the Fish's unusual speech that confuses the villagers.
“The more he grieved, the louder he cried, till his body shook with great violence. He blew his red swollen nose with a loud noise so that his head came off his slender neck, and he was fallen upon the grass.”
The Dragonfly's intense weeping caused his head to detach from his neck, killing him.
Illustrates the exaggerated, fatal consequences of grief in the story.