The Man of the Moon: and Other Stories from Greenland

PREFACE

When the winter darkness had settled over Greenland for months on end and the frost had taken hold, people would pass the time on their sleeping benches in their small, low peat houses by telling old legends and myths that had been passed down through generations The children would prick up their ears as they took in the stories, which they would one day tell to their own children.

Greenlandic legends and myths are often brutal, a testament to life on the edge of survival. They don’t take place in a specific time; perhaps a thousand years ago, when people were made from stronger stuff than they are today.

Although children today can access stories from across the world via electronic media, oral tales can still compete with digital ones and capture children’s imaginations.

In my selection I have prioritized stories about children and young people to help young readers identify with the protagonists.

As all myths and legends are based on oral traditions, there are often several versions of the same story, depending on how much the narrator has added or omitted—and, more importantly, remembered I have chosen the versions I found most fascinating and vibrant.

This anthology is mainly based on Myter og sagn fra Grønland (Myths and Legends from Greenland) by Knud Rasmussen, volumes 1 to 4, selected by Jørn Riel (Forlaget Sesam, 2003) Jørn Riel has given permission for the stories to be based upon his version of Knud Rasmussen’s original myths and legends.

I would like to thank Mariane Petersen, who has retranslated the stories into modern Greenlandic and has been an invaluable consultant along the way.

Gunvor Bjerre

Angakkuq

THE WHALE AND THE EAGLE THAT MARRIED TWO LITTLE GIRLS

Once upon a time, two little girls were playing house by the water’s edge.

They built little houses from stones they found on the shore and pretended that small pieces of driftwood were their children.

However, they needed someone to play the father.

Suddenly, a shadow fell across their little stone houses. The girls looked up and saw a big, brown bird in the air. It was a white-tailed eagle.

That can be the father. I’ll marry it, one of the girls said.

The other girl also wanted a husband, so when she spotted a whale skeleton farther along the shore, she said:

That can also be a father. I’ll marry it.

If only they had never said those things.

As if it had heard her, the eagle pounced, sank its talons into the first girl, lifted her high up into the air, and flew off with her. It flew high up to a mountain ledge where it had its nest. There, it put her down.

The other little girl was terrified and started to cry, but before she had time to do anything, the whale skeleton turned into a real, living whale with skin and a body. It grabbed her and swam out to sea, to a small island where it put her in a cave.

Back home at their settlement, no one could understand why the two little girls didn’t come home when it started to grow dark.

Their mothers ran down to the shore, calling out for them, but all they found were the little stone houses and some pieces of driftwood. They grew very worried and searched all over until late into the night, but there was no trace of the two little girls.

The mothers had no choice but to go home, still very upset, and wait for daylight.

They searched high and low for days. Everyone from the settlement joined in. One morning the mother of one of the girls noticed a big whale near a small island not far from the shore. She thought she could see something that looked like the trousers her daughter had been wearing.

A big umiaq boat was launched with the strongest men from the settlement onboard, and off they went, armed with harpoons and knives.

The little girl had cried until she could cry no more. The whale was lying in front of the cave, guarding it so she couldn’t escape. It ordered her to pick lice, mites, and other pests from its skin.

While she was sitting there, staring across the water, she suddenly spotted something in the distance. Could it be true? Was it a boat with the men from her settlement coming to free her?

When the boat came closer, she realized she was right, but she acted as if nothing was happening so the whale wouldn’t notice the boat.

But how would she ever get away from the big whale?

Then she had an idea.

I need to pee, she said.

You can pee into my mouth, the whale said.

It’s more than pee, she said.

You can do that on my flipper, the whale said.

She didn’t want to do that. She didn’t like the thought.

Very well. Off you go, then, and do your business, but be quick about it, the whale said.

The girl heaved a sigh of relief, but as she was about to leave, the whale grabbed her and tied a long strap to her wrist. It was clearly afraid that she would try to escape.

Once the girl was outside the cave, she took off the strap and tied it to a big rock.

What’s taking you so long? the whale shouted impatiently, tugging at the strap.

I’m coming, I’m coming, the girl shouted back. Then she bent down and in a soft voice asked the rock to repeat what she had just said should the whale ask again. The rock promised to do so.

Hurry up, the whale shouted once more.

And this time the rock replied:

I’m coming, I’m coming.

Meanwhile, the boat had reached the shore. The girl ran down to meet it and was helped on board by her father, who was thrilled to see his daughter again.

The men quickly got the boat back in the water and rowed so fast they left foam in their wake.

And then the whale discovered that it had been tricked. It rolled over in the water, creating a giant wave that nearly upended the boat.

The whale could swim faster than the men could row, so when it gained on them, the father called out to the girl:

"Throw your kamiik boots into the water."

The girl quickly pulled off her boots and threw them overboard.

When the whale saw the kamiik floating on the surface, it decided that the girl must have fallen into the water, so it stopped. But it soon discovered that it had been tricked and resumed its chase.

When it had nearly caught up with them again, the girl’s father called out to her:

Throw your fur into the water.

The girl quickly pulled her fur over her head, and even though she was cold, she threw it overboard.

Once again, the whale stopped, and the boat gained a small advantage.

But it was a brief respite, because the whale soon reached the stern of the boat again. The girl could see its eyes, which were bloodshot from rage, and it sent cascades of water over the fragile boat.

Throw your trousers into the water, her father called out to her.

Shivering from cold, she managed to take off her skin trousers and throw them overboard to the whale.

It stopped yet again, and that gave the boat enough time to reach the shore by the settlement.

Kamiik

The girl, her father, and the other men ran as fast as they could up to the houses. Moments later they heard a loud noise.

They turned around and saw that instead of the whale there was now a giant whale skeleton at the water’s edge, exactly where it had been on the day the girls were abducted.

Everyone was delighted that the girl was back safely. Yet there was one problem.

The girl asked where her friend was.

At first no one said anything.

Where is she? the girl said again.

We don’t know, someone said at last.

I saw an eagle take her, the girl told them.

The moment she said it, all the men ran outside and looked up at the mountain where they knew the white-tailed eagle had its nest—and quite right! High up on a narrow ledge, they could see a tiny dot that could be a young child.

But they still couldn’t help her because no one was able to climb up the vertical cliff face.

Her parents were miserable, and the rescued girl couldn’t really enjoy her own freedom because her best friend was still a captive.

While one girl had been with the whale, the other had been sitting on the narrow ledge.

Every day the white-tailed eagle would go hunting, and every night it would bring home prey: lambs, caribou calves, hares, and fish.

Every time the girl got something to eat, she would save the long sinews from the meat, and whenever the eagle was away, she would plait them into a strap. With every passing day the line grew longer and longer, until one day the eagle noticed it.

What are you doing with that? it asked suspiciously.

It’s a hunting strap for you, the girl said, to make it easier for you to catch your prey.

The eagle was reassured by her reply. It decided she had probably settled down and accepted her new life. It was wrong.

Once the strap was long enough, the girl waited for the eagle to fly off. Then she tied the strap to a protruding rock and started lowering herself down the cliff. It was difficult, and her hands hurt.

The strap was barely long enough, and she had to jump the last stretch to the ground.

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her and reached the settlement just as the eagle landed in its nest with a big salmon in its talons.

When it discovered that the girl was gone, it dropped the salmon and dived towards the settlement.

It landed on top of the house where she lived and started pecking a hole in the roof with its sharp beak in order to get inside and pull her out.

The girl sat inside the house listening to the scratching and bashing on the roof, while her brothers picked up their bows and arrows and went outside. They hid their weapons behind their backs.

They greeted the eagle politely and welcomed it.

Seeing as you’re now married to our sister, they said, surely you’re pleased to meet your new brothers-in-law. Why don’t you spread your wings and greet us?

The eagle suspected nothing, so it spread its big wings to greet the young men who were now its relations.

At that point, the brothers produced their bows and aimed their arrows right under the eagle’s wings, so the arrows pierced its heart.

The eagle plummeted from the roof like a heavy lump. Stone dead.

There was joy at the settlement, and they held a feast that lasted several days.

The two little girls were delighted to see each other again, and the next time they played house, they didn’t look for someone to play the father . . . and they were never getting married again.

THE GIRL WHO GOT LOST AND MET A FOX IN HUMAN FORM

Once upon a time, there was a mother and father who had a little daughter. Although there were other girls in the settlement, she nearly always played with the boys.

One day when she was out playing, she went with the boys deep into the mountains to play hide-and-seek. The girl found a good place to hide, but while she was waiting to be found, she began to feel very afraid of something. She didn’t know what she was afraid of, but she climbed out of her hiding place and started wandering around.

She walked farther and farther away from the other children. She just kept on walking.

She ended up crossing the ice cap, and though she encountered many dangers along the way, nothing hurt her. She made it through all of them unscathed—until one day she reached a small settlement on the far eastern side of Greenland.

She was afraid to show herself to these people because she didn’t know if they would welcome her, so she hid until it grew dark.

When everyone was asleep, she crept out and stole some food. She lived like this for a long time: hiding during the day and stealing food at night. For all that time she was on the east coast—and it was a long time—she never showed herself to anyone.

Many people in the settlement wondered who kept stealing their food, but they never found out.

And the strange thing was that during the time she was there, she didn’t grow at all. She stayed a little girl.

One day she began to miss her parents and her old settlement very badly. So she started the long walk back, and just as on her outbound journey, she escaped all dangers.

When she was almost home, she began to feel faint from hunger. She hadn’t eaten for a long time, and she was close to collapsing. Suddenly she saw a person, and when she got closer, she could see it was a woman with her hair gathered at the top of her head in a huge top knot.

When the woman saw her, she said: You look like you could do with something to eat. Why don’t you come with me to that small cave over there? I have lots of capelin.

The small, dried fish were exactly what the little girl needed, and she was delighted to hear there was food nearby.

She followed the woman to the small cave, and lo and behold, at the back of the cave there was a big pile of dried fish. They climbed inside, but as they tried to pick up the pile, they realized that a piece of string was tied to it, and the moment they pulled the fish towards them, a big rock fell down and blocked the entrance. It grew very dark inside the cave. They realized they had climbed inside a fox trap,