Week Nine Storytelling: The Coming Of Men

"Tell us again, mommy! Tell us again!" the children chanted. They were all tucked into bed, ready for sleep and not sleepy at all. So mother sat down and told them again about how the earth was made and stars were put in the sky...

"Long, long ago," she started, folding her hands in her lap. She closed her eyes briefly, as if to remember how the coming of men began.

(Source)

"The earth fell from the sky. And from it hills, stones, valleys and lakes formed. The earth was created from the sky, forming the rocks and dirt we stand on today. After the earth was formed, man came from the earth. The ground beneath you and the plants around you made you. Children came as well. Mothers and fathers, boys and girls, all came from the earth," mother looked around at the children, eyes wide and listening intently.

She continued, "I do not know how man and woman found each other, but they did. Women sewed for children's clothing and men worked the earth. Because back then, there was no light or sun, only darkness. So everyone ate what could be grown from the soil." At this some of the children wrinkled their noses at the idea of not eating meat and only vegetables.

"Eventually there were many men and they wished to have dogs. So man went out and stomped on the ground, shaking a dog leash and so there came a dog from the earth. Since there was no death then, the population grew and grew. There was no light either and only inside their homes did they burn water as a source of light."

"Because there were too many men there came a mighty flood that wiped out much of the population.  Stricken with grief, one old, wise woman said, 'Let us be without light and thus without death as well,' but another, more wise woman said, 'Better to have light and also have death.' So with her words came both."

"And with death came the sun, moon and stars. Man could travel and hunt and no longer needed to just live off the earth. Because of light it is said that when men die they become shining stars and brightly light the night's sky."

By the end of her tale the children were asleep, content with the idea of someday becoming a star. Mother smiled to herself, quietly tucking the children in and closing the door.

Author's Note. This story is based on The Coming of Men from Eskimo Folktales. The original is almost exactly like mine except it is just the story being told, there is no storyteller or audience. I made it into like a children's story that one would hear at bedtime, but kept the original plot. I really enjoyed reading this story and loved the ending so I kept that part.

Bibliography. The Coming of Men from Eskimo Folktales by Knud Rasmussen (1921).

Week Nine Essay: First Memories of Reading

My first memories of reading are probably pretty cliche. My mom used to read Harry Potter to me when I was younger, so I grew up loving the series. I fell in love with the storyline and the characters and as I got older, so did they. So naturally, I went to every book and movie premiere, appropriately dressed, and cried every time a character died (Dobby, why).

That wasn't the only series I grew up with though. I also read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.. And there are a lot. I loved that series. I loved the idea of growing up in the midwest during that time period when there weren't that many people. I got lost in her adventures and sense of excitement whenever they moved. I wanted to live in a log cabin so badly and make my own maple syrup candy poured on snow (which I actually did at home). I wanted to grow up in the town by the Silver Shores and meet Almanzo... The list goes on and on.

(Source)

I think through my experiences of my mom reading to me and finally reading by myself, I found I have always loved reading. You can get lost in books and really live in different places, time periods and through the eyes of someone else. I have always read for pleasure, even through school, and enjoy doing that more than watching TV. I want to read all the classics, including all the books you're supposed to read in high school. I loved To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. In high school I read Love In The Time of Cholera and Crime and Punishment among others. I read many Jane Austen novels and am currently reading Anna Karenina.

I also enjoy some of the more recently published books. From the popular series The Hunger Games and Divergent to others like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. As for genres, I don't have a preference. I love historical fiction though, and have enjoyed reading books by Philipa Gregory, who writes about King Henry VIII and his seven wives. Through her books I have a window into history and how events played out there. I love reading about English court and Henry's long tyrannic reign. I also like the post apocalyptic style that many of the popular series feature, because I think they pose interesting questions about the human nature and that of society. I find it fascinating to read into the idea that if everything we knew fell, how would people in power design society next and why.

Week Nine: Reading Diary

Part A: I noticed a few things as I read through this unit. First, some of the names are insanely difficult to pronounce. This may be a minor detail, but with names like Nukunguasik and Qalaganguase, it really made me wonder about Alaskan traditions with names. I also noticed there were dog sleds involved in many of the stories. Obviously, as a cultural tradition, this is a mode of transportation. However, it does make an interesting comparison to other stories features horses or wagons. Finally, I noticed that a lot of the stories ended pretty graphically. Evil or bad characters faced gruesome deaths, having their bodies ripped to pieces or eaten by ghosts. Gross.

Along with the other stories I've read (Japanese, Tibetan), the Eskimo Folktales also featured morals and themes of good and evil. It revealed how characters were punished for lying or killing someone, implying good and bad morals. Additionally, some of the folktales sought to explain common phenomena, like why inlanders fear dogs (The Giant Dog) or how when men die they go up and become stars (The Coming Of Men).

Part B: The second set of stories featured more morals and themes of good and evil. In Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother, Papik is punished for killing his wife's brother because he was jealous. In the end, the wife comes back as a monster to devour Papik and teaches him a lesson about killing a good fellow. In The Wife Who Lied, a wife lies about being mistreated by her husband and starts a war between the two tribes. As a lesson, the other tribe comes back for revenge and ends up cutting off both of her arms for lying. And finally, in Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle, Patussorssuaq killed his uncle because he wanted his uncle's wife. His uncle's soul came to him in a fox and bit him, punishing him for killing.