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).