Stories passed from

generation to generation

Stories passed from

generation to generation

The Creation of the Sun and Moon

The people were at a drum dance. A young girl hid herself alone in an igloo. While she was in the igloo, someone entered the igloo, blew out the light, pulled her hair, and ran out again. She wanted to find out who did this, so she put some ashes on her hair and waited.    

The Creation of the Sun and MoonWhen the mysterious

visitor returned, he again pulled her hair and ran out, but this time he got ashes on his hands. The girl went to the dance hall and realized that the marked individual was her brother. Angry, the girl grabbed a torch and ran away. Her brother grabbed his own torch and followed in quick pursuit. They both ran so fast that they took off into the air and the girl became the sun and her brother, whose torch went out, became the moon.

It is a vague term, either referring to stories of ancient heroes, saints, or ordinary men and women which are usually handed down by oral tradition and are accepted as historical. Legends are usually distinguishable from a myth, which deals with gods.

What is a

Legend?

What are the

different types of

What are the

different types of

Legends?Legends?

Legends fall into

4 categories…

Legends fall into

4 categories…

Origin Origin

InstructionalWhich include

“Trickster”

InstructionalWhich include

“Trickster”

Moral or Sacred Moral or Sacred Entertainment Entertainment

Many legends fit into more than one category.

Why do you think this is? Many legends fit into more than one category.

Why do you think this is?

Are usedto explain ancestry

and where Inuit came from

Legends of Origin

ResourcesBooks: Tikkatoo's Journey: An Eskimo Folk Tale

by Amanda Loverseed The Spirit of Canada by Barbara Hehner Eight Inuit Myths by Alex Spalding

The Woman with Long Hair The Loon and the Raven

Internet Sites: Creation, An Inuit Tale The Early Years Crow Brings the Daylight The First Tears The Story of Qisaruatsiaq Origin of Light

Where to find some Legends on Origins

Where to find some Legends on Origins

Instructional Legends Instructional LegendsLegends used to teach the young and remind the old

ResourcesBooks: The White Archer: An Eskimo Legend by James Houston More Tales from the Igloo by Agnes Nanogak

The Boy Who Wouldn’t Listen The Girl Who Sank in Quicksand The Old Couple Who Caught a Baby A Wealthy Man’s Daughter

Internet Sites: Cannibal Basket Woman Defeated by Clever Kids How Selfishness Was Rewarded Being Still at Night

Entertainment

Entertainment

Legends used to amuse

ResourcesBooks:

More Tales from the Igloo by Agnes Nanogak including:

Siksik, the SquirrelAvingalok, the Lemming Sister and BrotherToktovak, the MooseTologalok, the Old CrowToligak, the Sandpiper

The Grandfathers Speak

By Hitakonanu’laxk including: Rainbow Crow

Internet Sites:The Raven Steals the LightRaven’s Great AdventureHow Fox Saved the People

Moral or Scared

Used to teach beliefs of the Spiritual world

Resources

Books: Ytek and the Arctic Orchid

by Garnett Hewitt

The Grandfathers Speak by Hitakonanu’laxk including

The Mastodon The Lenape Creation

Internet Sites: Eskimo Story Of The Northern Lights Spirits of the Sky The Legend of Sedna The Sea Goddess The Artist and the Raven Kajutaijuq, The Evil Spirit That Comes Kiviok, The Most Powerful Shaman Kivioq

More resources containing all the types of legends.

Other Internet Connections:

Inuit Art of CanadaThem Days…Inuit Art ZoneFirst PeopleLibrary & Archives of Canada Canada’s Arctic

The Snow Walker (2003) Directed by Charles Martin Smith

The Fast Runner Directed by Zacharias Kunuk 

Shadow of the Wolf (1993) Directed by Jacques Dorfmann

In the Footsteps of the Inuit: The History of Nunavik. A production of Kativik School Board Educational Television ; Levy Entertainment.

The Savage Innocents Directed by Nicholas Ray

Books:

James Houston’s Treasury of Inuit Legends by James A. Houston

Four Winds Indian Books – a list of many titles

Akavak: An Inuit-Eskimo Legend by James A. Houston

Inuit Myths, Legends and Songs by Bernadette Driscoll

How Kabloonaat Became and Other Inuit Legends by Mark Kalluak

The White Archer By James A. Houston

The Inuit Imagination: Arctic Myth and Sculpture by Harold Seidelman

Legends of the Elders by John Friesen

Movies:

FolkloreFolklore

Myths or MythologyMyths or Mythology TraditionsTraditions

FableFable

TaleTale

Use Inuit or Eskimo

Use Inuit or Eskimo

Key words to help continue your search…

www.metacrawler.comwww.dogpile.com

www.ask.com

www.livesearch.ca

www.lycos.ca

Search Engines to help continue your search…

Inquirers of the Legend Pathfinder

The recent collecting and documenting of these stories in books

and on the internet has made this quest less intense.

Due to the fact that legends are passed between generations orally, researching this topic may be difficult, but it is definitely worth the challenge!

To find other legends, use the various search engines and search words listed here, but

don’t be afraid to use others!

Keep in mind when reading these legends, that many have been translated from various dialects directly to English. This means that some stories may not be in the English format we are used to.

ENJOY YOUR SEARCH!