I enjoyed watching Episode 404 yesterday night via the Amazon Prime application. Of course, we were told in advance that Jamie’s struggle against the bear would be different. The bear was replaced with an insane man wearing the hide of a black bear. This man is referred to as “Tskili Yona,” which means ghost bear. Here are the details that were given by the Cherokee warrior.
- The ghost bear was a great warrior who raped his partner, a serious crime that got him banished
- He went insane and tried to come back (but he is not a Cherokee anymore)
- He began to destroy shelters and to steal food
- The Cherokee are unable to kill him because he is dead (ghost).
First, is rape an offense in which perpetrators were banished in Amerindian societies? Based on the text, it seems to be the case. Myers relates the ways of Native Americans when taking Pollyanna to the Tuscarora:
. . . The Mohawk and the Tuscarora both, their women choose who they bed with, even who they marry. No such thing as rape among ’em. Oh, no. No, sir; she won’t be misused, I can promise that.” (Drums of Autumn, ch. 14).
Cherokee society had a matrilineal structure, which means that women had power and were the equivalent of men. The decision to banish somebody was most likely made by the tribal council. Here is an interesting link for more information: The Power of Cherokee Women.
It seems that the TV adaptation has merged the storylines of the bears from both Drums of Autumn and The Fiery Cross. There are significant parallels between TV Ghost Bear and Book Ghost Bear. In book 5, the Amerindians request the help of “Bear Killer” and “White Raven” to deal with a Ghost Bear. The person responsible for the horrible deeds attributed to the ghost bear (a white bear) was an escaped slave with cannibalistic practices who was stealing crops and killed a hunter. In the Cherokee mindset, their banished member is a ghost (no longer a Cherokee), and they cannot kill something that is dead. I have the impression that the tribe saw their former member as somebody possessed by a mean spirit in the adaptation. In The Fiery Cross, the Cherokee thought the white bear was owned, too, by an evil spirit.
Hope this post clarifies certain changes in the adaptation. Thanks for reading!
Sources
Gabaldon, Diana. Drums of Autumn. New York: Dell Publishing. 1997. Print.