Week 12 Story: Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Blue Jay bird, Source: Pixabay

Blue Jay was a wise bird who lived in a forest with his sister Ioi. Blue Jay and Ioi were both very happy and sang beautiful songs every morning. One day, when Blue Jay returned home for the day, he could not find his sister. As the days passed and Ioi did not return, Blue Jay became more and more worried about her. He asked all of the birds where she had gone, but none answer. At last, the Eaglehawk told him that Death had taken her.

Blue Jay, desperate to find his sister, asked all the birds, "Where do people go when they die?" They did not answer. At last, Blue Jay asked the Wind, who told him to ask the Night. Night said, "Oh Blue Jay, I have heard from the Wind that you have a beautiful voice. There are no birds that sing for me though. If you sing for me, I will tell you."

Blue Jay sang for her and Night took him on a journey. They arrived at a large village, and there Blue Jay found Ioi. However, she was surrounded by skeletons. The bones were alive, going around and tending to chores. People spoke in very low tones and he did not understand them. As he flew away, he saw the ghosts fishing in the river. Their canoes were full of holes and covered in moss, and caught sticks and branches in their nets.

Full of terror and flying very fast, Blue Jay made it back home. From that moment on he became very afraid of dying. He did not want to return to the land of the dead. Blue Jay spent his days at home fearing that something might happen to him and mourning his sister. He was so miserable that he did not sing anymore.

One day, while sleeping, his sister came to him. Ioi asked Blue Jay, "Oh brother, what has happened to your beautiful singing?"

Blue Jay replied, "Ever since you went away, and I realized that I would never hear your song again, my song ended."

"There are worst things than death brother, and living without your song is one them. You should not fear death, because it is natural. The fear of death is the fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of what will happen. However, there is only one thing that is certain in life, and that is why you must keep singing. Besides, who told you that you would never hear my song again?" At that moment Ioi burst into song. It was the most beautiful song Blue Jay had ever heard.

Years later, Blue Jay departed for the land of the dead and embraced death like an old friend. He returned to the ghost land and found out that all the bones were real men. Their canoes were new, and the leaves and branches were real salmon and trout. He found Ioi and heard her beautiful song once again.

Author's Notes:

The story is base on the Chinook Ghost story from the Native American Pacific Northwest Unit. In the original story, the ghosts wanted to buy a wife and they bought Blue Jay's sister Ioi. I don't really get the whole buying a wife part of the story so I left that part out. After asking around about where people go when they die, Blue Jay goes to the land of the dead. In the land of the dead, he sees Ioi along with a bunch of skeletons that come alive in the night. The descriptions I made are accurate with the original story. 

In the original story, Blue Jay stays in the land of the dead and instigates the ghosts. At one point, he swaps the skulls of grown people and children so the ghosts ask Ioi to send him back. It does sound very annoying if you ask me. At the end, Blue Jay dies and the land of death transforms, like it did at the end of my story.

Bibliography:

Chinook Ghosts: Myths and Legends of the Pacific Northwest, especially of Washington and Oregon, by Katharine Berry Judson (1910).