A legendary angekok, inspired by nature, crafted the first trout using a willow stick and his torngak’s power. Transforming the stick into a fish, he folded seaweed around it to protect it from the cold water. Naming it exa’lupik, the trout, he blessed it to serve the Eskimos. The trout’s side stripe marks the seam of the seaweed wrap.
Source:
The Labrador Eskimo
by E.W. Hawkes
[Canada, Department of Mines]
Geological Survey, Memoir 91
Anthropological Series no. 14
Ottawa, 1916
► Themes of the story
Creation: The story explains the origin of the trout, detailing how an angekok (a shaman) transformed a willow stick into a living fish, introducing this creature into the world.
Divine Intervention: The angekok, with the assistance of his torngak (spirit helper), uses supernatural powers to create the trout, showcasing the influence of spiritual beings in the natural world.
Transformation: The narrative centers on the metamorphosis of an inanimate object—a willow stick—into a living trout, highlighting themes of change and the infusion of life into the lifeless.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Inuit peoples
Once upon a time a man who was a great angekok went out walking along the shore. He looked at the beautiful calm water and wished that he could make something to live in it out of something that grew on the land. So he looked around and saw some willows growing not far from him. He went over and broke off a little dry stick. Then he told his torngak to make it into something alive, and as he spoke he threw the stick into the water. It sank. After a short time a fish came up and said to him, “I am very wet and cold. I would rather grow on the land again.” So the man took the fish out of the water, and folded a piece of seaweed around it. Then he threw it back into the water and bade it go and be useful to all the Eskimo. He named it exa’lupik, the trout. The stripe that runs along the side of the trout is the seam where the folds of seaweed meet.
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Dreamtime Whispers 