A young girl lived with her grandmother when Aningana, the moonman, requested to cohabit with her. After her grandmother’s permission, Aningana promised to bring foxes as sustenance but departed after overwhelming the house with them. Separately, Aningana abducted another woman, injuring her to prevent escape. Forbidden from looking into other homes, she disobeyed and suffered burns, later grieving for a lost, ragged boy on Earth.
Source:
Tales of the Smith Sound Eskimo
by Alfred L. Kroeber
[The American Folklore Society]
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.12, No.46, pp.166-182
July-September, 1899
► Themes of the story
Supernatural Beings: Aningan, as the moon man, represents a celestial entity interacting with humans.
Forbidden Knowledge: The woman disobeys Aningan’s prohibition against looking into another house, leading to her punishment.
Love and Betrayal: Aningan’s relationships with the women involve elements of desire, coercion, and betrayal.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
A girl lived with her grandmother. One day, Aningana, the moon man, came down, importuning her to allow him to cohabit with her. She first asked her grandmother for permission, who granted it. Then she went out with Aningana.
When they came in again, they found there was nothing to eat. Aningana, however, did not go out to get food, but said, “For the cohabitation I shall cause to present themselves to you a great number of foxes.”
Having said this, he went away, while the grandmother and grandchild remained in the house.
► Continue reading…
Soon a fox entered the house of his own account, and then another, and still another; and a fourth came into the house, and a fifth, and a great many, so many, in fact, that the house was crowded, and the old woman almost smothered. Thereupon the women said, “Sh!” thus driving out part of the foxes. The rest they killed and ate. The foxes thereafter did not come in again.
* * *
Aningan drove down to earth and brought back a woman, whom he put into his house. He cut or stabbed the soles of her feet, so that she could not leave him. Aqong (his wife) desired Aningan, and panted, “ax, ax.” He, however, did not desire her, and threw her away from him toward the window (that is, off the bed). He forbade the woman he had brought to look into another house. She, however, disobeyed him, and in consequence the side of her face was burnt. She looked down from the sky, and saw a poor little boy in ragged clothes wandering about, unable to find his mother, and she wept to see him. [The whole tale seems mangled.]
Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page
Dreamtime Whispers 