Mythology and Folklore 2020

Aklaq's Journey Aklaq did not know what awaited him on the Moon. All he knew was that he felt this pulling force deep within his soul telling him to go there, so one night he snuffed out all the lamps in his house, sat facing away from the freshly-extinguished lights, and waited.  His guardian spirit, a great black bear, appeared and took Aklaq onto its back, carrying him up through the sky and away towards the Moon. There was only one house on the entire surface of the moon, which glowed a pale gray in the darkness of the universe around it. It was small and white, covered in white deerskins that glowed in the light that reflected off the Moon's pale, rocky surface. As Aklaq approached the house, he saw two stone walrus statues facing each other across the doorway, so intricately carved that they looked almost as if they were living, breathing creatures. As he drew closer to the door, the walrus statues snapped their long teeth menacingly, startling Aklaq so that he stumbl...

The Making of Lakes and Mountains This story is focused on one woman's escape from a family of bears, and she uses various objects to help in her escape. For these notes, I thought I would list those objects, and their purpose, because they have a lot to do with the goal of the story, which is to explain how lakes and mountains were made. Items: Hair oil A whetstone (a "grinder's stone" meant for sharpening metal tools) Hair combings  Red ochre Uses: Hair oil - The hair oil, when poured out, turns into a lake. Though the bears can swim, by putting a lake between herself and her pursuers, the woman hopes to slow them down. Whetstone - When the woman breaks off a part of the whetstone and throws it on the ground, it becomes a mountain, offering another obstacle to slow down the bears' pursuit. Hair combings - The woman throws down the hair combings, and they become a mass of fallen trees. Again, bears can climb, but it does manage to slow them d...

The Man in the Moon Central Eskimo I think the setting in this one is actually the star, because it's literally set on the moon. The way the story is told, you get this very unearthly (obviously), magical, kind of feel.  I imagine this small, desolate house surrounded by the grayish, rocky plains of the moon, covered in white deerskins so that it almost blends in with the surroundings. Instead of actual halves of walruses guarding the door, I imagine two statues of the upper bodies and heads of the walrus on either side of the door, facing each other,  and they come to life just as you pass between them and try to snap and bite at you. You enter the house and see a red-and-white dog sitting in the entryway. It's the only dog on the moon, and I imagine it to be kind of stately and observant, watching you as you enter the house. The story talks about an inner room and an outer room, and in the inner room sits  the Moon's wife, the Sun. I imagine that the eskimo can...