the boy, son of the girl who married a star (Tale 15)

Also known as: Old-Woman’s-Boy · Family: Arikara · Role: son and grandson · First appears: Tale 15 · The Girl Who Married a Star · Part 1

After his mother, the girl who married a star (Tale 15), fell to her death, the boy survived beside her body. His grandmother, the cornfield owner, the boy’s grandmother (Tale 15), took him home and raised him. He killed her husband, the serpent, husband of the boy’s grandmother (Tale 15), and later captured a bear for her, though she released it.

In Part 2, the boy agreed to surrender his grandmother to the men (Tale 15) in exchange for their help removing the fœtus; after he delivered her, they taught him eagle-catching and hunting. He then killed the Snakes, but the last Snake (Tale 15) escaped, vowing, “Old-Woman’s-Boy, I will remember all.” When the Snake entered his body as he slept, his father, the girl’s husband, the star (Tale 15), sent wind and rain that helped him drive it out and capture it. The boy flattened the Snake’s head on a rock.