Gyhldeptis Other names: Lady Hanging Hair Location:  Northwest America Notes from Hrana Goddesses & Heroines text

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Hrana's Notes

Lady hanging hair" was a kindly forest spirit of the Tlingit and Haida in southeastern Alaska; they saw her in the long, hanging mossy branches of the great cedars of the rain forest.

A protector of Indians and other humans, Gyhldeptis was disturbed by the activities of Kaegyihl Depgeesk ("upside-down place"), a tremendous whirlpool that devoured entire ships of travelers. To break this power, Gyhldeptis staged a huge feast and invited all the coastal powers: the ice, the forest fire, the wind, and others. Magically feeding them in her underwater Festival House, Gyhldeptis convinced the forces that human beings needed more protection from Kaegyihl Depgeesk. Thereupon, all the well-fed natural powers set to work rearranging the coast so that the whirlpool was smoothed into a gentle river.