The Legend of the Raven and the Eternal Cedar Smoke

La légende du corbeau et l'éternelle fumée de cèdre


In the days when the forest was young and the sky still close to the earth, the raven, a cunning and prideful creature, received a great gift. The great spirit showed him the cedar, the tree whose leaves retained a sweet and lingering fragrance, even after being dried. It was a remedy for the spirit, capable of calming discord and banishing bad dreams.

The great spirit said to the raven: "This cedar is a gift for the people. Its fragrance will bring peace to their hearts."

But the cunning raven thought, "If I keep this gift to myself, I alone will possess peace and the power of purification." He flew away, carrying all the cedar branches he could find. He hid them in a secret cave near the top of a high mountain and perched there, jealously guarding his fragrant treasure.

Soon, discord returned among the humans, and the forest was troubled by the sickness of the mind. The raven, though living in the luxury of cedar's fragrance, felt strangely alone and cold. His cave was full of scent, but empty of joy.

Seeing the raven's isolation, the great spirit sent a strong winter wind. The wind howled against the cave, but instead of entering through the door, it entered through a tiny crack, stealing the scent of cedar without the raven noticing.

The wind, carrying the fine cedar dust, blew over the humans' campfires. When the embers touched the dust, a thick, white smoke rose for the first time. It was the scent of warm forest, of calm and remembrance. The humans, enveloped in this smoke, felt peace return to their hearts and spiritual sickness recede.

The raven, realizing that the wind had carried away his treasure through a tiny crack – the forgetfulness of sharing – descended the mountain in shame. He knelt before the great spirit and begged forgiveness for his avarice.

The great spirit replied to him: "The cedar did not belong to you, raven. It is there for sharing." He left the raven with the wisdom to help humans, entrusting him with the mission of bringing small cedar branches to the fires, reminding him that humility and sharing are the true bearers of the sacred smoke .

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Foire aux questions

1. What does the cedar symbolize in this legend?
The cedar symbolizes a remedy for the spirit and purification. Its fragrance is a gift from the Great Spirit intended to dispel discord, soothe hearts, and ward off bad dreams from humans.
2. What flaw in the crow is highlighted, and how is it corrected?
The flaw highlighted is avarice and pride, as the raven tried to keep the gift of the cedar for himself alone. This is corrected when the great spirit uses the wind to reveal the secret of the cedar to humans, forcing the raven to humility and sharing.
3. How was the ritual of the purifying smoke (smudge) revealed to humans?
The purifying smoke was revealed by accident when the winter wind blew stolen cedar dust onto human campfires. This taught that the true power of cedar lies in sharing, not possession.