Zuni Folktales · Chapter
The Youth and His Eagle explained
The youth, unable to bear separation from his Eagle, insists on following her into the sky despite warnings.
What happens
The youth, unable to bear separation from his Eagle, insists on following her into the sky despite warnings. They journey together, but his faithlessness and fascination with Death lead to tragedy: his Eagle wife strips him of his worn Eagle dress, causing him to fall to his death. The story also recounts his earlier rescue by the Badgers from the ghosts of the dead, and his failed attempts to regain his wife's love.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Trial
The youth's love for his Eagle is tested by his faithlessness and his fascination with Death, leading to tragic consequences.
Death and Mourning
The youth's pursuit of Death and his eventual fall highlight the theme of mortality and the futility of trying to escape it.
Transformation and Identity
The youth's journey with the Eagle and his loss of the Eagle dress symbolize a failed transformation and loss of identity.
Characters to notice
- The Young Man
The youth who loves his Eagle and follows her into the sky, only to perish due to his faithlessness.
- The Eagle
The youth's beloved Eagle wife, who tries to dissuade him from following her and ultimately abandons him after his betrayal.
- The Badgers
The grandparents who rescue the youth from the ghosts of the dead and scold him for his folly.
- The Storks
The youth's other grandparents, who reproach him for forfeiting his wife's love.
- The Eagles
The Eagle's family, who initially reject the youth but later implore the Eagle-maid to take him back.
Key passages
“Thus it was in the times of the ancients; and for this reason by no means whatsoever may a mortal man, by any alliances under the sun, avoid Death.”
This ancient tale teaches that no human can escape death, no matter what bonds they form.
Moral lesson about the inevitability of death.
“Go back! go back to your grandparents. Their love you may not have forfeited; mine you have.”
Return to your grandparents, for you have lost my love even if you still have theirs.
The Eagle-maid rejects the youth after his faithlessness.