Igor
is small. He is a member of an Inuit community. One evening, he was playing by
himself not far from the family home. Suddenly he rushed home to talk to his
grandfather.
“Grandpa,
I think the Gods are sending us a message!”
“What
are you saying my little boy? What did you see?”
“I
saw a big spot of color spreading in the sky! What was it grandpa?
“Come
and sit beside me, next to the fire, I'll tell you the story of this mystery.
You are now old enough to understand.”
They
huddle together under the caribou skin.
“There
are a lot of stories about this extraordinary thing you have seen; each country
has its explanation, different from ours, but they are all wrong! Look at our
neighbors, they are real poets! They think that a fox wanders through the
Arctic snow and lights up the sky thanks to its tail sowing sparks of snow,
giving off colors. And the fishermen of the Ice Lakes believe that it is the
reflection of herring scales on the water! For the Inuit from the south of
Alaska, those of the Yukon River, this special light in the sky simply
represents the souls of deer, salmon, seal or beluga dancing. But this light
also represents a threat. That is why they hunt it with their knives. To
discourage their children from playing outside too late, their parents tell
them that this special light will catch them, cut off their heads and play
soccer with their heads! Of course it’s not true, don’t worry, it’s a silly
superstition!”
“So,
what’s the real reason, Grandad?”
“As
you know, the sun is guarded by the God Odor and the moon is protected by
Elanore. They fight each other because they both want to rule the world. That
is why there is a period of darkness followed by a period of light. We have
been in darkness for 4 months now. It’s the same every year. It’s because of a
trick played by Elanore on Odor. She hides Odor’s light. The colored spots that
you saw are stardust from Odor’s torch; he is looking in all the nooks and
crannies for his sun. These spots do not last forever in the sky because the
sun god is careful not to get caught by Elanore. That is why it changes place
quite very often.”
“I
am going out to help Odor find his sun, Grandad!”
“Oh,
no you're not! You go to bed now. You can help him tomorrow find his sun…”
Igor
went to bed, and he dreamt of stars...
