The Eskimo tell of a time when caribou had large, keen eyes, making them savage and difficult to hunt. After seeking help from their Torngak, one thoughtful caribou sewed up the corners of its species’ eyes, using a bone from its foreleg, to appear less fierce. This act made caribou tamer and easier to hunt, providing the Eskimo with sustenance and materials for survival.
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
Origin of Things: The story explains why caribou have smaller eyes, attributing it to a deliberate change to aid human hunters.
Cunning and Deception: The caribou’s act of sewing their eyes to appear less fierce involves a form of self-deception to alter their behavior and relationship with humans.
Harmony with Nature: The tale reflects the interdependence between humans and animals, highlighting how changes in animal behavior can lead to a balanced coexistence.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Inuit peoples
When the caribou were first found by the Eskimo, they had very large eyes. They could see a long distance and were very savage. So the Eskimo found it exceedingly difficult to get near enough to shoot them with their bows and arrows. Consequently they often went hungry. They asked their Torngak to help them, and to make the caribou tamer. One of the caribou grew very thoughtful. He said to the others, “I wish our eyes were not so large, then we should be better looking.” So the other caribou said, “Sew our eyes up then.” So the thoughtful caribou took a little bone out of its foreleg and a piece of sinew and sewed up the corners of their eyes. The caribou became tamer and could not see so quickly, and the Eskimo were able to take them more easily.
► Continue reading…
The Eskimo say that it is because the Torngak of their forefathers helped them that the caribou are not so savage and cannot see so far, and they are able to kill them and eat their meat and wear their skins for clothing. They always show the bone in the foreleg that was used by the caribou that their Torngak made thoughtful, when they tell the story. It is a bone in the ankle that seems to be loose under the skin.
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Dreamtime Whispers 