Inuit Creation Story

Raven made the world and waters with beats of his wings. He had the powers of both a man and a bird and could change from one to another simply by pulling his beak over his head as one lifts a mask. His earth was dark and silent. He had created water and mountains, and had filled the earth with growing pea-pod plants. After 5 days, one of the pea-pods burst open: out popped a fully grown man, the first to walk on raven’s earth. At first the man was dizzy and confused. He drank from a poll at his feet which made him feel a little better. Raven had been soaring above the earth when he caught sight of the movement below. For a long time, the raven and the man stared at each other without saying a word. Finally, raven spoke “who are you and where did you come from?”

“I was born from that peapod” replied the man pointing at the plant. The raven was astonished as he had made the pea-plant himself without any idea that something like this would happen. However, he was pleased that his earth would now have inhabitants. “Have you eaten” asked Raven.

“ive had a drink of water…” replied the man.

“Wait here for me” said raven who lowered his beak and took the form of a bird. With a flurry of dark feathers, he flew off into the night sky. The man waited for raven for four days. Finally raven returned carrying 2 raspberries and 2 health berries. “These are for you; they shall grow all over the earth to feed you.” Man devoured the berries in one gulp: Raven realised that berries alone wouldn’t be enough to feed the hungry creation. Raven then began working clay to form fat mountain sheep. When he waved his wings over them, the sheep sprang into life and bounded into the hills. Raven mad more and more sheep. Man looked at them so hungrily that raven carefully placed them up in the mountain so that man wouldn’t eat them all at once. Raven continued making fish, birds and other animals and waved his wings over them to bring them to life. Each one he put somewhere out of man’s...