Qw'atma (Raven and Octopus) by Tim Paul

Silkscreen Print

21" x 21"

1989

Edition of 140

One morning, as the tide went out, the old people came to sit and watch the ocean.

As they sat there, they saw a woman walking along the beach.

Her hair was long and strung into eight braids. Her name was Octopus.

There was a digging stick in her hand. She was going to look for clams.

She sat down on a rock at the edge of the water and began to dig.

Soon, another person came along the beach. That person was tall with glossy black hair.

"Look," one of the old people said, "Here comes Raven. He is going to bother Octopus."

Raven walked down to the rock where Octopus sat.

"Octopus," Raven said in a loud voice, "What are you doing?"

Octopus just continued to dig with her stick. Raven stepped closer.

"Are you digging for clams?" he said in a louder voice.

Octopus kept digging.

Now Raven came very close. "Are you digging for clams?" he shouted.

Suddenly, Octopus stood up. She dropped her digging stick. Her eight braids turned into long arms. Four of the arms grabbed Raven and four held onto the rock.

"Raven," she said, "Yes, I am digging for clams."

Raven struggled to get free. The tide had turned and the water was rising. "Thank you for answering my question. Now let me go."

But Octopus only held him tighter. "Raven," she said, "It is clams that I am digging for."

The water was growing deeper around them. Again Raven begged her to let him go but Octopus held him tight. The water came over their heads.

"Octopus can hold her breath longer than Raven," one of the old people said as they watched. After a long time, Raven drowned.

"Don't worry about him," the old people said. "He will come back to life again. His cousin, Crow, will help."

The next day, just as the old people had said, Raven came back to life. However, it was a long time before he bothered Octopus again.