Woodcutter & Tiger Brother

There is a particular folktale that is close to my heart, about a woodcutter who discovers that a tiger is actually his long lost brother. Like many tales of transformation, this one takes place in a forest where the relationship shifts from one of hunter and prey, to one of intimacy and kinship characterized by interdependence, reciprocity and mutual respect.

Known as the “Land of Tigers” the tiger has been strongly associated with Korean history and culture. The Korean peninsula was once home to a large population of wild tigers who were both feared and respected. Unfortunately, all Korean tigers are now extinct, but the tiger is still seen as the national animal of Korea. Tigers have been portrayed in Korean art, mythology and folktales since the beginning of Korean history and they play an important part in the Legend of Dangun - the birth of the Korean civilization. Many Korean folktales also have a clever way of starting a tale. Instead of using “Once upon a time” they use the phrase “When tigers used to smoke” which means the story took place a long time ago!

I particularly love Nami Rhee’s retelling of this folktale in her children’s book Woodcutter and Tiger Brother, and here is a synopsis of her version:

A poor woodcutter is desperate to heal his ailing mother, so he goes out into the forest in search of food only to come face-to-face with a fierce tiger. Knowing the tiger could easily overpower him, he uses his wit and pretends to recognize the tiger, “Don’t you remember we are bothers? My mother always said I had a brother, but he was lost in the woods and became a tiger! Her only wish has been to see you again, come let me take you to her!” Upon hearing this, the tiger feels terribly embarrassed he does not remember this, and yet somehow it rings true, so he replies, “Dear brother, I am so ashamed I have not been home to see her after all this time, please take good care of mother for me until the time is right for me to return”. So they part. The next day a freshly killed wild boar appears near the woodcutters house, and from that day on everyday, a new animal is brought to the house until one day the mother dies, and the gifts stop. The woodcutter assumes the tiger must have known of his mother’s death. As he goes out into the woods to find food that day he comes across five little tiger cubs playing around their mother’s tomb with black ribbons on their tails. They run to him and say, “Uncle, we have waited for you. Our father died a few days after grandmother died. You know, he used to be a human being as you are!” And the woodcutter understands what has happened. From then on he brings the cubs food everyday until they grow up.

I love how the relationship between the woodcutter and the tiger is forged and strengthened through the act of reciprocity: the tiger brings the woodcutter meal after meal during his time of need, and after a certain time has lapsed, there can be no question that the generosity extended is equal to that of close kin. So when the woodcutter finds the tiger’s cubs without care, he feels compelled to reciprocate such generosity by similarly offering them food. Whether the woodcutter and tiger were actually brothers to begin with is no longer relevant, they become brothers after the act of giving and receiving.

This folktale has many layers of meaning. On the surface, it can easily be understood as a story about contending with the wild, and moving from a place of fearing and mistrusting the wild, to one of loving and caring for the wild. The folktale can be a frame through which we can understand and transform our relationship with all living beings on this planet.

Many who grow up in urban environments harbor a mistrust and fear of the wild. Others may experience, nature-deficit disorder, the high cost of feeling alienated from nature. With the onset of Climate Change and the rapid depletion of forests and extinction of many species, some have also lost hope that there is any chance of recovering a sense of connection to nature. However, what this folktale shows is that the act of extending generosity, caring for wild creatures, recognizing the gifts they offer us and reciprocating with similar care can, over time, forge a relationship with the wild that is deeper and more intimate than we currently have. The folktale seems to suggest that one’s sense of intimacy and kinship with another, whether it is another human, or a plant or creature from the wild, is a conscious act that needs to be cultivated and repeated to create a sense of familial intimacy.

Just the simple act of naming a wild tiger his “brother”, changed the nature of the relationship between the tiger and woodcutter from one of hunter and prey, to kin. Similarly, how might we relate to the wild differently if we also began to think of animals as our brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles? Lyanda Lynn Haupt, naturalist, ecophilosopher and author of Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit (2021), says, “If we are seeking a relationship within the earthen community that is meaningful genuine, and impactful, then the words we use to describe that relationship, and the beings in its purview, must be chosen with intention, with specificity, with intelligence, and with love” (154). Language is the fabric of story which weaves together our psychology and is the frame through which we understand, make sense of and relate to the wild.

Folktales like this one can provide us with a earth-centered lense through which we can rekindle our relationship with the more-than-human worlds. They can teach us how to be stewards of our environment, how to respect and reciprocate with the natural world, they offer a lesson in environmental sustainability uniquely packaged in an enchanted forest, a fierce tiger, and courage and bravery of an ordinary woodcutter.

On a deeper level, the tiger in this folktale can be a symbol of the Other, and perhaps the story is really about recognizing shared similarities among those who may at first appear different from us, those whom we may fear or mistrust. These days it is very common for people to feel a sense of surprise after receiving an ancestral DNA result revealing an ancestral connection to a racial heritage they may have previously “othered”. The story speaks of a deep truth that if we were to look far enough back in history, we all share the same ancestral mother whether or not we identify ourselves as family or not, and this extends to our own ancestral connection with every living species on this planet.

The tiger can also be a symbol of an aspect of the Self that is difficult to accept, perhaps a bad habit, or negative quality or characteristic that one would otherwise wish to hide from public view and perhaps even from oneself. In this way, the folktale is about coming face-to-face with that shadow side, it is about having the courage to change the relationship with that shadow, perhaps befriending it and/or accepting the gift that it offers and developing a renewed sense of identity from this inner transformation.

In many folktales and myths, including this one, the forest is a liminal place of change, where people undergo a rite of passage and reach a new level of awareness, maturation or inner growth. Tigers, similarly, are crepuscular creatures, often associated with twilight, that intermediary time between daytime and nighttime when they are out hunting. Creatures and places that occupy intermediary, liminal places and times are imbued with power, enchantment and mystery. In the case of this folktale, the woodcutter goes into the forest, meets a tiger, and in the end emerges with a renewed sense of identity. By having the courage to overcome his greatest fear, what was once was inconceivable comes into being: a tiger becomes his brother.

Blog Post Cover Photo Credit: Wayne Chan on Unsplash

References:

Haupt, Lyanda Lynn. (2021) Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit. Little, Brown & Company.

Rhee, Nami (2005). Woodcutter and Tiger Brother. Hollym International Corporation.

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