User:Karissa fox

Nanuk/ Nanook

Myths and legends tell tales filled with symbols and images that have helped man explain and understand more about the natural world we live in, as well as the supernatural world that lies just beyond our comprehension. (Unknown. "Cherokee Legends of the Black Bear." Cherokee Legends of the Black Bear.) Bears have been admired in many different cultures and Native American tribes. The first culture to admire the bears was the Cherokee nation in North Eastern America. The Cherokee People have a legend of the “The Great Bear” “A monster of a bear called Nyah-gwaheh was stalking and terrorizing the village in a neighboring territory. The people of the village were so afraid that even the children did not play in the woods.” (Unknown. "Cherokee Legends of the Black Bear." Cherokee Legends of the Black Bear.) They chased this Great bear with a small dog by the name of “Four Eyes.” The bear was so large that when he tried to flee he would leave a path of destruction making him very easy to follow. One of the hunters who was very fat and lazy decided to fake an ankle injury in order to get some rest. His two brothers decided instead of wasting time with him sitting down and resting, that they would just carry him and not get lost on the bear’s trail. The dog was on the bear’s trail, nipping at its tail, until the bear decided that he could not go any further and fought back. The Giant Bear killed the small dog up ahead of the hunters. By this time, the fat lazy hunter was rested and had spear in hand and went ahead of his brothers up at the top of the mountain. The hunter had seen Nyah-gwaheh fighting the small dog; he thrust his spear through the heart. The Giant bear was dead, the brothers cut him up and enjoyed his roasted flesh by the campfire. They had defeated the Great Powers of the Great Bear and were celebrating. Legend has it that each autumn the hunters chase the great bear across the sky until it is kill once again, as they cut up the bear for their meal the blood falls down from the heavens coloring the leaves of the maple tree scarlet while the fat drippings from their fire turns the grass to white. Way up north in Canada and Alaska there is small culture of Native peoples who told legends and myths about creatures of the North. These are the Inuit people, and they have many legends about bears, Nanuk in particular. Nanuk was known as the Bear God, He was a great Polar Bear, and the Inuit hunters would worship this great bear because they believed that he decided if the Hunters would be successful or not that day. “In the past, the Inuit ate polar bear meat and used the fur to make warm trousers for men and kamiks (soft boots) for women” (The Inuit and Polar Bears.) Respect was given to Nanuk when a Bear was killed by the hunter hanging the bear’s hide in a special section of his igloo and it would stay there for a few days. They would also offer the bear’s spirit weapons and other hunting tools to the bear if it was a male. If the bear was female however, it would be offered needle cases, scrapers used to scrape the fat off of the hides, and knives. “Native people believed that polar bears allowed themselves to be killed in order to obtain the souls of the tools (tatkoit), which they would take with them into the hereafter.” “Legend says that if a dead polar bear was treated properly by the hunter, it would share the good news with other bears so they would be eager to be killed by him. Bears would stay away from hunters who failed to pay respect.” (The Inuit and Polar Bears) Bears have been symbolic throughout history and legends and myths entertain us. But could they be real or fake, who knows. That is one question we all have to ask ourselves.