Week 10 Essay

This week I chose to read the Eskimo Folk-Tales reading unit from the un-textbook. I enjoyed the readings particularly because they were strange and fun to read. However, they did seem to end pretty abruptly and in ways that were almost unsavory, like there had to be more to the story than what I read. My favorite stories were definitely The Insects Who Wooed a Wifeless Man and Nukúnguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak. The insects story was so bizarre, but humorous almost and definitely an interesting read. I even used it for my storytelling. The story of the Tupilak was interesting because it discussed a demon-like creature that is created by a human in order to do harm to someone for them. Many cultures have creatures like this in their mythology, and I wished the story told more about the Tupilak itself, but enjoyed it none-the-less. The ending to this story was like I mentioned before; strangely abrupt. It seemed like there was more to it, but there wasn't. It just ends with the brothers going home and the main character living for many years before dying. I would have liked to learn more about the Tupilak or see some cool pictures of it in the story, but I think the background information provided was good, and was motivated to search for more information on my own.

Carving of a tupilak (spirit), Eskimo, collected in Angmagssalik, E. Greenland, 1931-2. National Museum of Denmark, Department of Ethnography

Found on Crushevil

This reading doesn't really have a whole lot to do with my storybook, but as for my overall goals in this class, it fits in well. I took this class because I love learning about mythology and all the weird and cool stories associated with that, including odd creatures of all sorts. These stories had magic, elementals, revenge, and all sorts of other good stuff that kept me intrigued. I learned that Eskimo folk tales have similarities in cultural points (such as the importance of having a wife and being a provider), but definite differences to many other cultures i've read about and an importance of connection with nature. I like stories that focus on our spiritual or energy-based connection with the Earth and everyone around us, because I like to think we are all connected to each other and to the world around us in some sort of weird, beautiful way.

Week 10 Storytelling

Day Dreaming about Bug Beauties 

Once upon a time there was a very lonely man who lived by himself and could not find a wife because he was not a very good hunter and he almost never woke up before noon. The women in his village ignored him and would hide away in their homes when he walked through the streets. He didn't mind the bachelor life at first, but after a while he grew bored and sad. He longed for a wife more than anything, and found himself drifting off in day dreams often, imagining a life for himself with a beautiful woman by his side. 

On one occasion, while he rested under a tree, the man found himself caught up in a dream that he'd had many times before. Women were throwing themselves at him, offering to be his wife and he was overjoyed because he could have his pick. However, this time, the women were a little... different. 

In his dream, the man sat in his home on his comfortable little chair and waited patiently for the women he heard whispering on the other side of the tapestry that separated his living room area from the kitchen. His anticipation and excitement grew as his dream self imagined what beauty hid behind the cloth. Then he heard a small, feminine voice ask, "Are you ready dear?" He clapped his hands and eagerly replied, "YES! YES! Please come talk to me my beauties!" 

The first prospective wife was a crane fly. She flew up to his shoulder and talked into his ear, " will you have me as your wife? I'd love to be yours forever!" He tried not to shudder and calmly replied, " I'm sorry, but your legs are just too long and your eyes are so far apart! I don't think I can take you as my wife." With that, she flew off, disappearing behind the tapestry. 

Crane Fly

found on FCPS

Next, a centipede crawled out from the kitchen. Its legs worked furiously and it quickly spiraled up the man's leg and sat up on his lap. "Take me as your wife!" the centipede exclaimed. The man was disgusted, and said, "Oh, gosh no! I'm sorry, but you have just too many legs and your coloring just doesn't suit me." The centipede looked disappointed as she scurried back behind the curtain and out of sight. 

Centipede

photo by ALAMY, found on telegraph

"Surely," thought the man, "this must be a joke. Why are all of these women bugs?!" The man scratched his head and shook it back and forth. When he looked up, he was surprised to see a snail had slowly made its way to his lap. Slowly, she scooted up and came to a stop on his hand. He held her up to his face and she smiled and said, "Please take me as your wife. I would be sweet to you always." The man almost felt bad, but replied, "I'm sorry. I just can't. You are too slimy and slow. You just wouldn't make a good wife for me." She looked to the ground and he lowered her there gently so she could slink away. 

Snail

by Mad Max, found on Wikipedia

Before the snail had made her way back to the doorway, something blue began running quickly toward the man. He couldn't make it out, but felt very nervous as it approached. Suddenly, it jumped with great speed and landed on the man's lap. He looked down and saw a great blue tarantula gesturing with its front legs, apparently trying to get his attention. "Hey! Hey! Take me! Let me be your wife!" she shouted excitedly, her front legs waving wildly in the air. The man grimaced, he hated spiders. "Ew! No!" he yelled, "You are so gross and hairy! I could never be with someone so hairy! You would never make a suitable wife!" The spider was offended and quickly ran off. 

Cobalt Blue Tarantula

found on SVSU

The man was stunned and couldn't believe these insects really thought they could be his wife! What was going on? Then, something fell and startled the man, waking him up. "Whew," he said with relief, "Thank God that was only a dream!" With that, he got up and shook the bugs that had crawled on him in his sleep off. Feeling curious and uncomfortable, the man looked at the ground where he'd been laying, and there, in the shade of the tree was a crane fly buzzing around, a centipede scuttling up the tree, a snail in the grass, and a big blue tarantula looking back at him. He made a strange, fearful noise and wiggled, trying to get the feeling of the bugs off of his skin. From that day on, he no longer day-dreamed under that tree and he promised he would be better. He began getting up early and practicing hunting in the hopes of finding a human woman that he could be worthy of. 

Author's Note:

My inspiration for this story came from the story of The Insects That Wooed a Wifeless Man which was taken from  Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knud Rasmussen with illustrations by native Eskimo artists (1921) and included in the Eskimo Folk Tales Reading Unit in the un-textbook. I liked the story because it was really strange and fun to think of a bunch of bugs offering to be someone's wife. I used a couple of different bugs for fun and because I thought they were pretty. Who doesn't want a pretty wife? Beauty is, after all, in the eyes of the beholder. I also changed the setting and a few other small things about the story, but over all I stuck with the original. Also, I tried to give the bugs some personality which wasn't done in the original, and I didn't make them laugh after he denied them, like they did in the original. I hope you liked it! 

Week 10 Reading Diary B

This week I chose to read the Eskimo Folk-Tales reading unit from the un-textbook. Here are my two favorite stories from the second half of the unit.

The Eagle and The Whale 

Whale and Eagle

by Joe Wilson, found on Antiques2Jewelry

• There are two daughters who don't want to marry, so they are given an eagle and a whale to marry. The eagle swooped down and scooped its prize up. Each day it would bring her a narwhal or a walrus and each day she would work on a rope to lower herself down from the perch. 
• Soon, the brothers of these girls began to miss them and set about making crossbows. A young homeless boy accompanied them when they set off to retrieve their sister. She lowered herself down and when the Eagle tried to come get her, they shot at it with arrows. None could hit it until the little boy released his arrow and killed it. 
• The other sister lived with the whale who was very fond of her, but she grew homesick. She longed to see her brothers and they missed her too so they made a boat and set out. However, they realized their boat was weak and had to break it down and start over. The wife of the whale meanwhile asked to go outside, but he would not let her and had tied a string around her to keep her in his grasp. The wife somehow made it just outside the cave and tied her string to a rock. The whale wanted her back in so he pulled the string, bringing not his wife, but a big rock. He was furious and came after her. Her brothers picked her up in their bigger, better boat and as they ran off she left a trail of clothing to which the whale pounced on and caused much commotion. However, the last piece he jumped on was in shallow water and the whale ended up beaching himself. 

Ángángŭjuk

• I'm going to call the main character Ang. 
• One day Ang went missing and his father blamed his mother. She asked him to wait and not kill her until they talked to someone who could consult with spirits. He had many wizards try to find his son, but none did. Then, a spirit came and told him that Ang was between 2 great cliffs and being taken care of by 2 inland people. Ang's father and his wizard buds went to find his son. They found him and a wizard put the people to sleep and rescued Ang. The end. 

Week 10 Reading Diary A

This week I chose to read the Eskimo Folk-Tales reading unit from the un-textbook. Here are my two favorite stories from the first half of the unit.

Nukúnguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak

• I'm going to refer to the main character, "Nukunguasik" as Nuk from now on.
• Okay, so Nuk goes to an island he hasn't explored before and happens upon one of his brothers. He goes to see what's going on and hears the brother telling something to bite Nuk to death! Nuk now knows his brother is creating a demon-type creature called a Tupilak to kill him and slaps him, asking, "Yeah, but where's Nuk?" This scares the bejeezus out of his brother and he falls over dead. After this, Nuk sees the Tupilak sniffing his brother's dead body, but instead of taking care of it, he runs off scared. He returns home to his other brothers and as time goes on the brothers wonder where their other bro is. They search for days, and finally find him being nibbled on by the Tupilak. They bury their brother and go home. Nuk lives on as the oldest brother for many years and that is where the story ends. 

The Insects that Wooed a Wifeless Man

Insect Army

by John Scalzi, found on Planet Books

• There once was a scrub who didn't have a wife, harassed the local women, and overslept during hunting season. One day he was kayaking and came upon one of the noseless ones.. people who lived beneath the earth. The great man offered him much, but he felt inapt to accept it. They told him how to quit being a scrub and turn his life around. The next day he got up early and went hunting. This became a daily habit and soon the women of the town began talking to him. 
• One day, a blowfly romantically said, "Take me!" and the wifeless man said he would not because the blowfly gets food from the muck heaps. The fly left and more whispering was heard before another fly came out. The fly offered itself to him, but he said no because it had big weird eyes and laid eggs all willy-nilly. Next, a cranefly offered to be his wife, but he denied her because her legs were too long. Next came a centipede and she too was denied by the man, this time because she has too many legs, her body clings to the ground, and her eyes are ugly. A gnat came next and was met with, "no thanks, you bite." 
• He then sees his wife and she brushes his hair until he falls asleep. When he wakes up, he realizes he's been in a cave the whole time and is now rotten with age.