This week, I am reading tales of the Eskimos of the Bering Straight. At first, it told stories about the creation of man, and I was struck how similar it was to the biblical tales of creation. In this case, God was a Raven which created all the living things out of clay, but took man up to the Skyland (heaven) while the rest of men stayed on the earth. I was a bit dumbfounded how Raven was quite selfish and childish to the things he had created; he stole the sun away because he wanted men to die since there were too many, he often cheated other animals for food, gradually the Raven degraded from omnipotence to foolish carion eaters.
What I enjoyed most were the descriptions of why certain animals live the way they do now. It was almost like explanations for different traits and characteristics of animals. For example, the goats live in the mountains so men do not over-hunt them, reindeers have dull teeth because originally, they had wolf-like teeth to eat men but men were able to protect themselves. They covered their houses in deer fat and sour berries so when the reindeers ate them, they shook their head so hard all their teeth fell out! These kinds of whimsical stories were very fun to read. Men, animals, and nature live cooperatively as one. Every living thing had a mind and personality of its own and interacted with one another. I think this is a great thing to put into my own project (Alexa, play Cicle of Life from The Lion King).
The reading did get a bit dry at times, especially since it followed the Raven the whole time. I personally prefer a smoother, almost lyrical/poetic narrative style. I was struck by how folk-taley all the stories were. It made me imagine them being passed along around a fire, and I think invoking this sense of deeper appreciation is something really amazing as well. I really felt like I learned something and got a small glimpse into the lives of these people. That is the essential for good storytelling and cultural preservation.
Myths and Legends of Alaska. Edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911) Web Source.
What I enjoyed most were the descriptions of why certain animals live the way they do now. It was almost like explanations for different traits and characteristics of animals. For example, the goats live in the mountains so men do not over-hunt them, reindeers have dull teeth because originally, they had wolf-like teeth to eat men but men were able to protect themselves. They covered their houses in deer fat and sour berries so when the reindeers ate them, they shook their head so hard all their teeth fell out! These kinds of whimsical stories were very fun to read. Men, animals, and nature live cooperatively as one. Every living thing had a mind and personality of its own and interacted with one another. I think this is a great thing to put into my own project (Alexa, play Cicle of Life from The Lion King).
The reading did get a bit dry at times, especially since it followed the Raven the whole time. I personally prefer a smoother, almost lyrical/poetic narrative style. I was struck by how folk-taley all the stories were. It made me imagine them being passed along around a fire, and I think invoking this sense of deeper appreciation is something really amazing as well. I really felt like I learned something and got a small glimpse into the lives of these people. That is the essential for good storytelling and cultural preservation.
Myths and Legends of Alaska. Edited by Katharine Berry Judson (1911) Web Source.
Raven. source.
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