Myth-Folklore 2019

They say a mother's love can heal all wounds, but how can a mother heal her own heart after losing a child? Thirty years ago today, my precious son Ailaq was born, a beautiful and inquisitive boy who made my life a whirlwind of happiness and joy. Ailaq was truly the most loving son a mother could ask for and grew into a brave and kind young man who cared for me and his sister upon the death of my husband. Ailaq stood in sharp contrast to the lazy, no-good man my daughter married against my wishes, a man named Papik. Yet Ailaq tried to guide his brother-in-law, even taking him hunting despite the fact that, while Ailaq himself was a brilliant hunter, Papik was an incompetent one and never caught a single animal. My son's catches sustained us all, including the ungrateful Papik who grew increasingly jealous of Ailaq's skill and popularity in our village. One day, after a long day of hunting, Papik returned without Ailaq. He denied any knowledge of where my son was and furio...

For this week, I chose to read Inuit Folk Tales from  Eskimo Folk-Tales  by Knud Rasmussenwith illustrations by native Inuit artists (1921). My favorite story from this part of the reading was Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother which I though was extremely interesting and intriguing. Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother: Papik and his brother-in-law Ailaq go out hunting together often, with Ailaq always returning with something and Papik returning with nothing. Papik grows jealous of Ailaq and kills him while they are out one day, returning without him. Ailaq's mother accuses Papik of killing her son and swears to take revenge on Papik. She dies after deliberately drowning herself in the tides and Papik lives in fear of her spirit, but cannot escape it in the end. While out with some other men, a thick fog descends and the two other men hear the screams of Papik as the spirit monster of Ailaq's mother attacks, mutilates, and kills him. These men and a large gro...

For this week, I chose to read Inuit Folk Tales from Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussenwith illustrations by native Inuit artists (1921).  My favorite story from this part was The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son  as I found this story touching and engaging. The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son: A mother bear is killed and her cub is given to an old woman to raise. The old woman raises the bear and trains it to understand human speech and to act like a human. He is taught to take care when playing with children (and adults) and to help the hunters catch animals for food. The bear is almost killed by another group of hunters who mistake him for a normal bear, so he is made a collar in order to distinguish him from other bears. Members of other groups vow to kill the bear, but he manages to stay safe, his foster-mother always reminding him to not harm humans unless they attack him. One day, the bear brings home a dead man, presumably because the man attacked him, ...