Storytelling Week 9: The Wife Who Lied

There once was a man and a woman. The man, much like other men, woke up with the sun and spent his days hunting for food, only returning home when the sun had set for the day. The woman, much like other women, spent her days alone, taking care of the house and preparing food for her man when he returned home.

There was a time when the two lived comfortably with no conflicts. They enjoyed their duties and were very much in love. But as time passes, change is unavoidable. And the man and the women spent so little time together (the man hunting and the woman housekeeping), that the two grew apart. The man, so devoted to the hunt, never noticed that he and his wife were growing apart; however, the woman, who spent much of her time in the day simply waiting for her husband to return home, grew quite lonely and introverted. For a time, she considered taking her own life. She would do it right after her husband left for the day, and then she wouldn’t have to feel so lonely anymore. Many times the man left for the day, but not once could the woman bring herself to this terrible deed. As far apart as the two had grown, she knew the man still depended on her. Without her, the man would be all alone, and she couldn’t bear to leave him like that.

So one day, after the woman had a midday meal, she went out and sat by the shore. Recently, she had found that sitting and watching the tides recede gave her some time to reflect on the good times she shared with her husband. On this day, she sat down, and not more than thirty minutes after she had arrived, she heard a soft purring behind her. She turned around and saw a mangy orange and white cat. The cat walked right up to her and rubbed her cheek against the woman’s leg. The woman knew that the man would never let her keep a pet. Pets were banned by law, and punishable by death.

(Image Information: An orange and white cat; Web
Source: Wikimedia)

“You must go,” The woman whispered to the stray, “You can’t stay here or they’ll kill you.”

The cat looked at her endearingly, and then cocked her head as if to say, “But why? I want to be friends.”

The woman thought this was cute, but she knew that the cats fate was unavoidable if she stayed. “Go! Leave Now!” The woman yelled. This startled the cat, and it backed up a few feet, eyes wide as saucers. The woman felt bad for this, so she stuck her hand out toward the cat, apologizing for her outburst. The cat wearily walked towards the hand, and began to purr as she rubbed her cheek against it. The woman knew she would never let this cat go no matter what. She had to keep it hidden from her husband.

Author's Note: This story is a story that shares only the title with its inspiration. "The Wife Who Lied" was a story about a woman who pits two tribes against one another because of her lie. She pays for her transgression by bleeding to death after two men cut her arms off. In this story, there is also a wife who lies, but it is different because she lies about keeping a cat. And who could turn away a purring cat meow.

"The Wife Who Lied" from Eskimo Folk Tales by Knud Rasmussen, with illustrations by Native Eskimo artists (1929).

Essay: Repercussions in Eskimo Folktales

(Image Information: An Inupiat Family from Noatak, AK,
1929; Web Source: Wikimedia)

The Eskimo Folk Tales were actually very entertaining. Once you get past the impossible-to-pronounce names, the stories are appealing. They have a good combination of men, women, heroes, and magic. One thing they really go overboard with, however, is the punishments and violence in some stories becomes a bit harsh.

In “Papik, Who Killed His Wife’s Brother,” Papik goes on hunts with his wife’s brother, Aliaq. As you can guess from the name of the tale, Papik killed Aliaq because he was jealous of Aliaq’s ability to hunt. Aliaq’s mother, who knew of Papik’s sin, called him out on it and told him that she would make him pay. The woman went down to the shore and let the tide rush upon her, drowning her. After time had passed, Papik, no longer afraid, returned to the hunt, and immediately, the ghost of the mother found him and tore Papik to pieces. This story is a harsh way of saying men should not kill other men. Another story very similar to this is “Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle.” Pâtussorssuaq killed his uncle because his wife was so beautiful, but the uncle came back as a fox and ripped Pâtussorssuaq limb from limb.

In addition to killing, these people found lying to be just as bad. This can be seen in “The Woman Who Lied.” In this story (you guessed it) a woman lied. She lied to her old tribe that her husband’s new tribe was treating her poorly, and so the old tribe attacked the new tribe and slayed all but three of their women. When the new tribe saw what happened, they knew the woman was to blame, so they went back to where the old tribe was, killed the men, and took the women for themselves. But they didn’t forget about the woman who lied. They cut her arms off and let her bleed to death.

I certainly recommend this unit to anyone who is undecided on what Native American unit to do. It was a quick and interesting read. Just be sure to prepare yourself for the extremely violent, eye for an eye repercussions.

Reading Diary B: Eskimo Folk Tales

Here are some notes on Eskimo Folk Tales.

(Image Information: An Eskimo Web
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica)

Papik, Who Killed His Wife’s Brother

This story begins with Papik killing his wife’s brother, Aliaq. Aliaq was the far superior hunter, and after many nights of returning empty-handed, Papik grew jealous and killed him. Aliaq’s mother knew of this and promised to make Papik pay. So the women killed herself, and came back as a monstrous beast who tore Papik to pieces. This is a propaganda story about what will happen if a man kills another man.

Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle

Again, another story with the message “punishment falls upon the man who kills.” The man, P, kills his uncle because he loves the uncle’s beautiful wife. Eventually, the uncle returns as a fox and tears P limb from limb.

The Woman Who Lied

Much like men killing men, it has already been shown that one must not lie. In this story, a woman pits two tribes against one another because of her lie. She pays for her transgression by bleeding to death after two men cut her arms off.

Kánagssuaq

Unlike many of the other stories in this unit, this last story was one of honor and friendship. When times were tough, and food was scarce, Kánagssuaq helped his people by being the only one willing to go retrieve seal. Kilitêraq, another heroic man, also went out for his village. One time, Kánagssuaq saved Kilitêraq from the harsh conditions (and because he saved Kilitêraq, he saved Kilitêraq’s people too). One day, after the storm passed, Kilitêraq came and gave thanks to Kánagssuaq for helping him when he could not help himself.

Reading Diary A: Eskimo Tales

Here are some notes on Eskimo Folk Tales.

The Woman Who Had A Bear As A Foster Son

This is a story of love between a human and an animal. An old woman is blessed with a young bear cub and helps it grow and mature, much like a human. The bear played with other children, never causing harm. Then, it played with the adults, again never causing harm. Finally, the men of the town decided they should use the bear for hunting, and the bear was the greatest hunter they had ever seen. But of course, all good things must come to an end, and others from other villages decided they would try to kill the bear. One night, the bear came home with a corpse of a man. The old woman knew her bear had to leave her then, and so one day, the she sent the bear back to the wild.

(Image Information: A poster for "The Woman
Who Raised A Bear as Her Son"; Web Source:
Rotten Tomatoes)

Qalagánguasê, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts

This young boy, Q, was not only lame, he was on orphan too. His family died when he was young. At night, the rest of the village would leave, and he would be alone. One night, a ghost came and drank water, leaving before other people returned. The boy was frightened at first, but began to enjoy the company of the ghosts. Even his sister came back to see him. Then one day, the boy’s mother and father came, and they took the boy with them.

The Giant Dog

This is a story that is more of an explanation. It tells of a man and his giant dog. The giant dog was a beast that could not be defeated, not even by three big dogs. The giant dog would sometimes make trips and kill inland dwellers, and “ it is from this giant dog that the inland-dwellers got their great fear of all dogs.”