Chapter 7
The Cave, the Bear, and the Woman

The others had all gone down

From the blackberry brambles, but one girl

Spilled her basket, and was picking up her

Berries in the dark.

A tall man stood in the shadow, took her arm,

Led her to his home. He was a bear.

In a house under the mountain

She gave birth to slick, dark children

With sharp yellow teeth, and lived in the hollow

Mountain many years.

Gary Snyder, Myths & Texts

In both of the previous two Cheyenne und Assiniboine stories, we have the recurring theme of the cave, the bear, and the woman. Again and again, the woman turns out to be the mother of an extraordinary hero who accomplishes fantastic deeds. No one who has an intense interest in myths and tales of different peoples can learn these stories without noticing these themes. To the contrary, one must realize immediately that this theme is old, that it is, in fact, ancient. It goes back as far as the Old Stone Age and back to the very beginnings of human culture.

Is it possible that these stories that were told for thousands and thousands of years while sitting around the fire have lived on until the present day? There is quite a lot of evidence that indicates this must be the case. For instance, the Chippewa tell of huge “buffalo” with thick reddish fur that their ancestors hunted with spears “at a time before bows and arrows existed.” These buffalo were strange looking: a long, enormous nose that moved like a snake grew out of the middle of the face. This snake nose had a hand on the end with which it grabbed grass and leaves and stuffed them into its mouth. Unlike the buffalo we know, its horns did not grow on its head; instead, two pointed horns grew out of its mouth on each side of its nose.

One could shrug this Chippewa story off as the result of a childish, primitive fantasy. But on closer inspection, one realizes that a mammoth is being described, an animal that died out in America some ten thousand years ago. The story has to be a primeval memory that has been passed down until today—and that must also be the case with the stories of the cave women and their bear sons. The theme must have already had considerable importance at a time when the ancestors of the Native Americans still lived in the glacial Old World, a time before they had crossed the Bering Strait (which at that time was still a land bridge) over to North America. Asians and Europeans tell the very same stories. They tell about bears and women from whom strong sons and daughters emerge. They also tell stories about stolen or abandoned children who are raised by bear mothers in caves.

In a Russian tale, we hear of a woman who was surprised by a bear while picking mushrooms and conceived a son with him. The child that is then born is human above the navel and bear below it. She names her son Ivan Medviedko (or John Honeyeater), who turns out to be exceptionally clever and who even outsmarts the devil, wangling a cart full of gold out of him.

In the French Alps, the Pyrenees, and in Valais, Switzerland, the story of a woman who is captured by a bear, held captive in a cave, and gives birth to a hairy son is very common. The child, Jean de l’Ours (or John Bear) is exceptionally courageous, strong, and clever. Even at one year old, he tries to push the stone from the cave opening where he and his mother are held captive. He succeeds when he is only three years old. The woman goes back to her kin, but her son prefers to stay in the forest. In the course of his roaming, he overcomes wicked witches, kills horrible giants, and ultimately frees a young maiden from sure death.

In Berne, Switzerland, the story of a poor girl who is so plagued by her stepmother that she flees into the forest is still told today. The girl preferred the risk of being torn up by wild animals to the relentless torture of her stepmother. Freezing, starving, and without any hope, she strayed through the wilderness when suddenly a bear appeared in front of her. Instead of eating her, it tugged on her dress and grumbled in a friendly way. The bear led her to a cave and brought her dry moss as a cushion for her to sit down. He gave her strawberries, honey, and other delicacies to satisfy her hunger. She understood that the bear wished she would stay with him, so she made herself at home, cleaned and cooked, and slept close to him when the nights were very cold. Over the course of time, she bore a big family of sturdy sons, who resembled her but were as strong and courageous as the bear. When they became adults and went out into the world, they were very popular in the entire region because they were so good-natured. The emperor awarded them generously for their brave deeds as warriors. They always won at the “Schwingfeste”—a festival featuring a special kind of wrestling still practiced in Switzerland today by men nearly the size of sumo wrestlers. They were the primeval ancestors of the Bernese lineage. Folklorist Sergius Golowin, himself half Bernese, claims with a knowing smile that there might be something to this story (Golowin 1986). If scientists claim that humans evolved from animals, then certainly not from ridiculous monkeys—in any case, not the citizens of Berne! (As mentioned earlier, Berne even means “bear.”)

The Strength of Those Raised on Bear’s Milk

All of the stories have one thing in common: anyone who is sired by a bear or raised on bear’s milk will grow up to have a bear’s strength.¹ Ancient Greek legend claims that even Zeus, the Olympian ruler of the gods, has such immense strength because he was nursed by two bears who reared him in a cave in the mountains near Cyzicus.

The Arcadian king’s daughter, Atalante, is another one claimed to have been raised on bear’s milk. After her birth, her father set her out in the woods where a mother bear found and adopted her. She grew up to be a stately and courageous young woman. With her bare hands, she slayed the lustful centaurs that were stalking her, and, with her spear, the courageous young bear maiden wounded the wild Caledonian boar, a monster that had been sent out by the hunting goddess Artemis.

The tale of John Bear, which we do not want to leave out in this context, tells of a typical child raised on bear’s milk.

A poor charcoal burner and his wife lived in a hut deep in the forest and had a son whom they named John. Already as a baby, he was so strong that he strangled three dogs by mistake while playing with them. Of course, his parents scolded him, but they were also secretly proud to have such a strong child.

One day, as little John was playing in front of the hut, a grimly growling female bear lumbered by. Heartless hunters had killed her two cubs, and she wanted to eat a human child in revenge. The child defended himself so bravely that the bear mother was touched. She involuntarily thought about her two lost little rascals. So, she picked up the little fellow and carried him into her cave, just like she would have carried a little bear cub. She gave him as much bear milk as he could drink and played with him until he squeaked for joy. But every time she left the cave, she took the precaution of rolling a huge rock in front of the entrance. As time went by, she grew to love the child ever more, and she even hoped he would stay near her and take care of her when she grew old one day.

John thrived and prospered. One day, he tried his strength on the huge rock in front of the entrance. He pushed and pressed until it rolled away. Now he roamed the forest with eyes wide open. By chance, he happened upon the hut of his parents who recognized him immediately and thanked God that he was still alive. They took him back in and tried to teach him good manners and the necessary skills to survive in the world.

When he was old enough, he set out to find someone he could work for, and soon he was taken in as a farmhand on a big farm. It just happened to be fruit-harvesting time, and many helpful hands were necessary to bring in the harvest. But, unfortunately, every branch that John touched broke under his mighty grip. His angry boss sent him to fetch wood in the forest, thinking there he could let off steam. Sawing and chopping went too slowly for him, though, so he pondered for a moment how it could be done faster. Then he put his conclusion into action and just pulled the trees out of the ground and started to stack them up carefully. The other forest workers got scared when they saw this and started to plot how they could kill him as this was the only way they figured they would be safe from him.

“John,” they called out to him with false friendliness, “go down into the well. There is a treasure down there that only someone as strong as you are can bring back up.” John, who was as good-natured as he was naïve, went right down into the well shaft without a second thought. When he was at the bottom and was looking for the treasure, the others started throwing heavy rocks down on his head. He thought it was just a hailstorm. The others lugged a millstone over and let it fall into the well, which fell right around his neck. Without having found anything below, he climbed back up. When he saw the shocked faces of the others as he came back out, he laughed out loud and said, “With this stiff collar I must look like a preacher!”

When his boss heard about this incident, he was very shocked. “This stupid farmhand is driving the others crazy and it is also possible that he is dangerous to boot,” he thought to himself. He gave him his earnings in gold and sent him on his way to be rid of him.

John went back to roaming the countryside looking for work. He heard all kinds of rumors and stories and one of them made him especially pensive: There was a horrible giant in the land that was intent on marrying the king’s daughter. The poor maiden was beside herself, and her father didn’t know where to turn. Three of the bravest warriors had already been slain by the giant.

John Bear had no doubt that he could deal with the giant. With his earnings in gold, he bought the best sword available and set out to find the giant. When the fiend saw John, he made fun of him and laughed until he shook. But his laughter was quickly stifled. With one felicitous swing, John beheaded the bruiser, and its black blood spouted out as if from a fountain.

In thanks, the king gave John Bear his beautiful daughter to wed. John was very happy, and the princess was also happy because, not only was he incredibly strong, but he was also good looking.

When the old king died shortly afterward, John became his successor. The first thing he did was move his parents from the old charcoal maker’s hut into the palace. Then, with his wife, he went to the cave of the old she-bear. He came just in time as his bear mother was dying. She was already too weak to even get herself berries to eat. When she recognized John, she grumbled contentedly. Then she put her head into the lap of the young queen and died in peace. It had been her last wish to see her foster child once more.

A Bear-Like Mother Hulda, or Mother Goose

European lore also knows of the old grandmother of the Cheyenne (estsheheman) who lives deep down in the earth. In old European lore, she is known as Mother Hulda, Mother Goose, or Mother Holle (the woman of the cave), who is also linked to the medieval goddess, Diana (Dea Ana = the divine ancestor woman, the primeval goddess), or Artemisia, the goddess of the wilderness, or “the devil’s grandmother.” Her realm is the otherworld, where animal and human souls wait to be born again. She is the Paleolithic “lady of the animals,” and the bear is her favorite companion. She herself is somewhat bear-like: she could appear as a beautiful young woman or as an ugly old witch, but she was usually described as having tangled, disheveled hair and very large teeth. In caves, springs, wells, and also in very deep forests are found the portals to her green realm that is full of light, blossoming meadows, and forests.

The fairy tale Mother Holle, which was written down by the Grimm brothers, is ancient. The message about death and rebirth and the reason for individual fate as the old pagan, European forest peoples knew it, is related in this fairy tale. It tells of an industrious young lady who sits near a well, spinning with a spindle. She spins so much that her fingers start to bleed and the spindle slips out of her hands, which is symbolic of losing the thread of life. While looking for the spindle in the deep well, she falls in herself and lands on a sunny, flowering meadow. She begins a journey through the netherworld—the world of the dead. She comes upon a tree full of ripe apples. The tree asks her to pick the apples, and she is glad to do so. Then she comes to an oven full of bread that is finished baking, and the bread asks her to take it out of the oven because otherwise it will burn.² She also gladly helps out here. Next, she meets up with Mother Holle herself, who asks her to help in the house, telling her how especially important it is to shake the featherbeds out each day, as this action causes it to snow on earth. She selflessly does everything Mother Holle asks her to do, and, when the time is up, she is led to the portal back into life. When she crosses the threshold, a shower of gold rains down upon her.

Back on Earth, her lazy stepsister is jealous of her golden fate. The stepsister finds out how it happened and throws a spindle into the deep well and jumps in. But she is lazy and greedy for the shower of gold, so she takes no time to pick the apples or take the bread out of the oven. She works hard for Mother Holle for one day but already on the second day refuses to get up early in the morning. When her time is up, and she is led to the portal, a shower of tar rains down on her as she crosses the threshold. She will have bad luck her entire life.

A similar tale is told by Paleo-Siberians. In this story, the otherworld is a cave deep in the forest and Mother Holle is a bear. Nana Nauwald recorded the story (Nauwald 2002, 87):

A brother would not allow his sister to watch when he whittled the tips of his spears because then they would lose their magic and break. When his curious sister did watch him, after all, he tossed her down from the house that was built on stilts. She ran into the forest, got lost and finally came to a bear cave. A bear girl came out and jumped up and down for joy because now she had a playmate. She bit into the seam of the girl’s dress and tugged at it. The bear mother came out of the cave, too.

“Don’t be so rough with her,” said the bear mother. “See here, you have torn her dress. Let her come into the house.” The girl came in and sat down to sew her dress. The bear mother watched her sewing and thought, “She sews very well; she is very industrious” and then said out loud, “Soon my sons will come back home. You should hide from them because they are rambunctious and they could hurt you.” The girl wasted no time in finding a good place to hide.

Shortly after, five young bears came into the cave. “I say, it smells like human flesh in here,” they grumbled.

“Oh, come on! You stroll around all day sniffing this and that and when you come home you talk about all kinds of smells. Now eat supper and go to bed!” retorted the mother.

After the meal they went to sleep and the bear mother spoke to her guest, “Now go away, otherwise they will find you in the morning.” The girl slipped quietly out of the cave and went on her way.

At midnight the old mother bear woke up her youngest son and said to him, “You really shouldn’t sleep so soundly. While you were sleeping, a pretty girl came into the house and now she is gone again. She would be a good bride for you. Go out and see if you can’t find her and bring her back!”

The young bear went out to search for her but she was already near her village. The people came out to welcome her back, but when they saw a bear behind her, they hurled a spear at it and killed it. The girl skinned the bear but as soon as his hide was off, he turned into a handsome young man, who wooed and then married her.

The girl had a cousin who was worthless and also jealous of her for having found such a handsome young man. She also had a brother, who forbade her to watch him whittle his spears. She watched anyway, but since nothing happened, she grabbed them and broke them herself. Then because her brother did not toss her out of the house, she jumped down from the stilt house herself.

After walking for a long time in the woods, she found the bear cave. Just as before, the bear girl came out and tugged at her dress until it tore. The old mother bear came out, just like with the other girl, and asked her into the cave. When she sat down to sew her dress, the old bear noticed that she was unskilled with the needle. When her sons were to come home, the mother bear told the girl to hide. At first she did not want to, but the bear convinced her. When her sons fell asleep, the mother bear told the girl, “Go now!” To herself, she thought, “This girl is really a bad one.” She did not wake any of her sons when she was gone. A big shaggy dog was lying at the entrance to the cave and the bear told him to follow the girl. When she came back into the village, she called out, “A groom is following me!” The villagers came to look and killed the dog with spears as they had done with the bear. But when the dog was skinned nothing was under the surface—it was and remained a dog.

A bear with a fish in its mouth (carving from the Paleo-Siberian Koryaks; Schlesier 2013)