The Rainmaker by Jeremiah Curtin
"The Rainmaker" by Jeremiah Curtin is a short Native American tale centered on two brothers known as the Gáhga, a type of small green heron, and their entanglement with jealousy, betrayal, and supernatural power. The elder Gáhga brother is blind but possesses great medical and visionary ability, capable of seeing events at a distance through the use of his medicines. He is married to an attractive woman and has a young son. When the community organizes a communal deer drive, the blind elder brother stays home by the fire, sending his wife and his younger brother to participate in the hunt. Though physically sightless, he uses his medicine to observe them from afar, and what he witnesses fills him with jealousy: his wife and his younger brother have developed a mutual affection. When the two return home with a fawn as a gift from the other hunters, the elder brother rejects the food they offer him, kicking it away and spitting out what he tastes. He makes a cryptic but pointed remark to his wife and brother as they prepare to leave for the hunt again the following day, telling them he knows what they are doing, that they do not fool him, and that though he no longer cares for the woman, he intends to make them feel sorry. His sister visits and notices something is wrong, but refuses to fetch a straw plate he requests until he explains his purpose, which he will not do. The elder Gáhga eventually receives the plate from an older kinsman named Kāhkaas, a stork, who confirms that the community at the deer hunt is aware of the younger brother's conduct with the wife, though he counsels the blind man to remain calm given his age and infirmity relative to his younger brother. The elder Gáhga refuses to accept this passive counsel. He demands his sister lead him to the site of the hunt, and despite her protests that the woman no longer wants him and that placing himself near the deer snares is dangerous, he insists on going. He sits on the straw plate as the night deepens, remaining awake and still while his sister urges him to sleep. Then, in the middle of the night, he rises and begins to dance on the plate, crying out repeatedly in a rhythmic call. Each cry brings heavier rain. Water rises rapidly across the landscape, threatening to drown the assembled hunters, while the blind elder Gáhga and his sister remain completely dry on and around the plate. The flood reaches the people's arms, and they turn in fury on the younger brother, blaming him for having provoked the elder's wrath by stealing his wife. The younger brother, cold and terrified, denies wanting the woman and declares he is dying of the cold. The people drag the wife through the rising water and throw her down before her husband. The moment she is returned to him, the elder Gáhga stops his dancing and the rain ceases. The people appeal to him to feel compassion for them and dry the land, since they were not responsible for the wrong done to him. Moved by their plea, he dances again on the plate but without his rain-summoning cries, and the floodwaters recede until the ground is as dry as it was before. Everyone departs for home except the elder Gáhga, his wife, and his brother. Even after this display of power and the return of his wife, the elder Gáhga remains withdrawn and silent, refusing to move or speak. His wife grows angry, physically yanks him up, throws him atop the load of meat she carries on her back, and carries him home herself. The younger brother flees into the mountains, shunned by the people and no longer wanted by the woman. The elder Gáhga's jealousy and bitterness do not subside even in reconciliation; he eventually drives his own wife away through his hostility. His sister takes custody of the little boy, and the elder Gáhga ends his days alone. The tale closes with a note on legacy: his fate is uncertain, but his power survives him. Those who carry him as their medicine can call rain at will and possess the ability to see through the human body as through a window, making his story both a moral fable about jealousy and betrayal and an explanatory account of the origin of a specific healing and weather-making power.
By Jeremiah Curtin · First published 1912 · Genre: Folklore, Mythology, Fantasy · 1,404 words
First lines
CHARACTERS / Gáhga Heron (Small Green Heron) / Kāhkaas Stork
Gáhga and his brother lived together. They were so small that people called them "the two little Gáhga brothers. " The elder brother was blind, but he was a great doctor; he could see everything, by the help of his medicines.
What this Textopian page supports
The Rainmaker is listed on Textopian as a short story by Jeremiah Curtin, dated 1912 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Jeremiah Curtin
- Date: 1912 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Folklore, Mythology, Fantasy, Fable, Drama
- Length: 1,404 words
- Structure: 1 section, 30 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Rainmaker by Jeremiah Curtin
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Folklore — This is a traditional Native American tale with characteristic elements of oral storytelling, animal characters with human traits, and moral lessons passed down through generations.
- Mythology — The story contains mythological elements including supernatural powers, magical transformation, and explanations for natural phenomena such as the origin of rainmaking abilities.
- Fantasy — The narrative features magical elements such as a blind man who can see through medicine, supernatural rainmaking abilities, and fantastical events that defy natural laws.
- Fable — The story imparts moral lessons about jealousy, consequences of betrayal, and the dangers of unchecked anger through a narrative involving animal characters and magical consequences.
Tags
fiction · literary fiction · historical literature · 19th-century literature · American literature · narrative prose · traditional culture · folklore · mythology · legend · oral tradition · supernatural themes