Chapter 1. Inuit

Cautions

No one watches over us. Wind does not emanate from the mouth of a monster. The sun is not a golden chariot. But consequences persist both before us and after and it is easy to be lazy, easy to make a mistake.

She who had suffered

There was a woman who had been mistreated. She was given power over animals. Some called her Nuliajuk, the Sea Woman. In the long winters when game was scarce, people had to go to her to ask for her kindness, unless they all should starve.

Multiple souls

A person is given more than two souls, a life-soul to govern the breath and beating of the heart, and a personal-soul that keeps the person’s identity. Alone, children’s personal-souls are weak or reckless, so they are given the name-soul of an ancestor, which watches over them and helps them out. Many people, as they get older, are given more name-souls; these are the souls of people whom they love.

Possessors of spirit

Everything borrows spirit from the air; our souls are made of this. The sky, the wind, and the weather share with everything that breathes. This is why we have spirit helpers who can share our concerns with the sea, the weather, and other living creatures.

Rituals

Since we kill animals in order to survive, and since all animals have souls that resent it when we take their lives from them, a great amount of our energy is given to precautions, rituals, and avoiding dangerous conditions to avoid the wrath of those lost souls.

Spirits understand the joke

Kids can pretend to be superstitious, imitating both the healer and the adults who try to do the right things. Kids imitate adults and giggle among themselves, but that’s acceptable, because even if spirits overhear the mockery, they understand the joke.