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Thursday, 15 August 2013

How Big The World Is And Other Eskimo Legends

By Essie Craft


Most Eskimo legends are dealing with nature, animals and world around them. There are a few versions about the origin of the Sun, Moon and the stars. Once, when everything was still dark, a girl was visited by unknown man every single night. She wanted to find out who he was, so she used oils and soot to mark him. She found out the man was her own brother.

The brother denied that he had come to her bed, and their parents were very angry at both of them. Brother ran away, and the girl grabbed a burning branch from the fire and ran after him. Fleeing from his sister, a young man turned into the Moon. His sister gave birth to a torch and turned into the sun, and the sparks from the torch have become stars. The sun is still trying to catch the moon, surrounded by stars.

There are several legends about Northern Light, or Aurora Borealis. Some Inuit tribes believe that friendly giants they once used to know still live up there, now invisible. They are very good hunters and fishermen. Their large, shiny torches can be seen from afar, as a Northern Light.

Other story trying to explain the origin of Northern Lights say that there is a narrow passage leading to Eskimo heaven. Dead souls have to pass there to get to the place, and Spirits are their guides. Spirits carry shiny torches, traveling across the sky, and you can see this glow. Raven is the only living creature able to go there by himself.

There is also a story about two men who wanted to know how big the world is. Once upon a time, two couples lived in harmony. The men wanted to know how big the world is. Accompanied by his wives, they moved in the opposite directions. They traveled for a long time, years and years. With time, the children came, and then came grandchildren, and they were still traveling through the endless ice.

In time, there were two large tribes traveling across the ice. Both men were very old when they finally met, after so many years. They had just enough time for their last conversation before they both died. The world really is big, that was their conclusion, even bigger than they thought.

A legend about whale and eagle husbands. Playing on the beach one day, two girls found the bones of an eagle and a whale, and decided to marry them. One girl was abducted by an eagle, who took her to the top of the mountain, and the other girl whale captured at the bottom of the sea. They both wanted to return to their homes, but it was hard to escape.

Eagle brought various birds to girl. Of their feathers, she made a long rope, and ran away. The eagle flew after her, but was killed by her brothers. Another girl managed to escape from the bottom of the sea. Whale was trying to catch the girl, but failed, and was finally turned into the small whalebone on the beach. These are very popular Eskimo legends.




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