Igaluk

In Inuit mythology, Igaluk is one of the most powerful gods of the pantheon. He is a lunar deity. In Greenland, he is known as Aningan.

Story

According to Inuit mythology, Igaluk and his sister Malina lived together in a village. They were very close when young, but came to live apart as they grew older, in the lodges for women and for men. One day, as Igaluk looked at the women, he found that his sister was the most beautiful. And so that night, as everyone slept, he crept into the women's dwelling and forced her. As it was dark, Malina was unable to tell who her attacker was, but the next night, when the same thing happened, she covered her hands with the soot from the lamps and smeared the Anningan's face with it. Afterwards, she took a lamp and looked through the skylight of the men's lodge. She was surprised to find that the man was Igaluk, her own brother. So Malina sharpened her knife and cut off her breasts. She put them in a bowl and carried this to the men's lodge, and presented it to Igaluk, saying "If you enjoy me so much, then eat these," and ran away out the door, grabbing a torch as she went. Igaluk chased after her, likewise taking a torch, and was able to easily follow her path, as her footsteps were marked with great pools of blood. However, he tripped and dropped his torch, and the flame was put out, except for a faint glow. Eventually however, Igaluk caught up to his sister, and the two ran so fast that they took off into the sky and became the moon and the sun.

External links

* [http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/malina_sun.html&edu=high&frp=/w Malina and Anningan]
* [http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/alaska/eskimotale2.html the Sun and The Moon: An Inuit Sky Tale]
* [http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2003-06/jun2_03sun.html When Moon Chases Sun]