Story: This story is about an old woman who lives
near a shore. The house was nearest to the shore, meaning she was a little bit
out of town. When the towns people from the town above had been out hunting,
they would always bring the old woman meat and blubber. She had always longed
for a son and one day, she finally got her wish. Well, sort of. Occasionally,
when the townspeople would hunt. they would kill and bring back its meat. One
day, they killed a bear that had a cub. The towns people, knowing the old woman
was lonely asked her if she wanted a bear cub and she said yes, and she went to
get it. When she got the bear he was very cold, so she took him into her home
and began to nurse him back to health. The old woman began to care for the
little cub as if it was her own child, so much that the bear even slept with
her.
The bear began to grow and as it did, the woman would talk to it and
overtime the bear grew the mind of a human being. She even taught the bear to
sniff at her when he was hungry. The children of the town would sometimes come
to the old woman's house and want the little bear to play with them, and of
course he did. Before he left, the old woman would always remind him to sheath
his claws, and so he did. As the bear grew, he outgrew the children he was
playing with and soon he began to play with adults, but as soon as he grew
more, it was no time before he was even too strong for the adults to play with.
The adults, knowing how strong he was, decided to start taking him hunting, as
he would be an asset.
Eventually, northern people came across the bear and almost
killed him, but the townspeople managed to save him. The townspeople told the
old woman that she needed to make some type of marker for the bear, so that
other people, from other villages would know him and know that he was tame. The
old woman made him a collar of plaited sinews to wear as a marker. After that,
the bear continued to hunt and be the best hunter there was, and people of
other villages would always let him go when they saw his collar.
A group of
people for a town called Angmagssalik heard of that bear that was not caught
and they said that if they saw it, they would kill it. The people advised
against this, as the foster mother was old, and they did not know how she would
manage without the little bear. The bear had always leaned from the old woman,
not to harm a human and treat them as kin. One time during a storm, the bear
was away hunting, he did not return until evening and when he did, he nudged at
the foster mother’s hand as usual to tell her he was hungry. When the foster
mother went outside, she saw the body of a man whom she did not know. She
then began calling to the townspeople. After this, the foster mother realized
that the bear better not stay with her, as it was not safe. She regretted this,
as he was the son she never had. On the morning the bear was set to leave as
she hugged him, she rubbed oil and soot on his side without him knowing. That was
the end of the story, but it did say, that people to north saw a large bear
with a black mark on its side.
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Polar
Bear: Wikipedia
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My Ideas: I really liked this story, but it was really
sad at the end. I understand why the bear had to leave, but why could the old
lady not have just gone with him and let him protect her as she had? I would
like to change the ending and let the bear stay with the old lady. Maybe they
could move together and take care of one another. They could even go visit the
people of the other villages and explain the situation. I also think it would
be cool to make the bear talk and put this story in his perspective. It would be
a unique to hear his point of view on things. The old lady was the mother to
him, as he was the son to her, their bond to each other is so loving, but I
want to what the bear thinks. How does he feel about the people since they
killed his mother? What about his instinct? Was it not there since he grew up
with humans? Why did he not run off? I am almost positive you will be hearing a
story from the Bear's perspective. Also, this story did not have very many
descriptions. I would like to add descriptions and make it more detailed so
people can paint a picture of what is happening and what things look like.
Research:
· Inuit Myth and Legend: Inuit people throughout
the ages have employed oral traditions over time and have known their
importance. They started by telling their stories through illustrations and
carvings. They have also used songs and dances to better convey the meanings of
theses legends and myths. The early tales, as described above, were how the early
Inuit’s preserved their history (Houston). The article also said, that the old stories as
I described, were sometimes liked to Inuit shamanism. Shamanism is a religious or
mystical expert who functioned as a mystical expert, healer, prophecy and
custodian of cultural tradition (Smith). Being the native American unit, it makes sense.
Most native American’s had tribes and each person had their own role, so it
would make sense that there would be a designated person in charge of keeping
the cultural going and to keep passing these stories told. Most Inuit myths and
legends are about the creation, heavens, birth, love, hunting and sharing food,
respect for elders, polygamy, murder, infanticide, incest, death and afterlife. According the article, many Inuit myths have complex meaning that can
only be understood by those living in that culture. This article was really neat.
Bibliography:
Rasmussen, Knud. Eskimo Folk-Tales. Eskimo Folktale Unit. The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son. 1921.
Houston, James. Inuit Myth and Legend. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Smith, Derek G. Shaman. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
