Reading Notes: Eskimo Folk Tales, Part A

(Makite the eskimo. Source)

• Makite, a married man, had trouble catching seal but his brothers were catching lots of them
• His wife said she would leave him because he can't catch seal like his brothers, so Makite left for the hills to live there all alone
• Once they knew Makite was trying to leave, his brothers went after him. Once they got closer to Makite, he walked faster and faster until they lost sight and stopped pursuing him
• He came upon a house. Its walls were covered with reindeer and foxes' skins but he went in anyway
• The owner of the house heard him come in and asked if he wanted something to eat. Makite declined the offer, saying he wouldn't eat until the owner told him what were the things that looked like candles in front of the window
• The owner said he cannot tell Makite because Makite isn't a lone-dweller
• Makite said he would kill him if he didn't tell him
• The owner tells him that if a person climbs the furthest of the great hills in the blue to the south and reaches the top, they will find those candle like things there. But that person has to be a lone-dweller
• After hearing all of this Makite finally ate
• When they went to sleep, the lone-dweller prepared his bow and was about to kill Makite but Makite, aware of what the lone-dweller was doing, pretended to wake up and the lone-dweller put his bow down
• Near dawn, the lone-dweller finally fell asleep. Makite tried to leave but the front door made another strange sound and woke up the lone-dweller
• Makite, now outside of the house, ran to where he put his spear with the lone-dweller in pursuit. He got his spear and ran until he got to a big rock. He ran around the rock 3 times then threw the spear behind him, hitting the lone-dweller and killing him
• Makite wandered on again and came upon another house with dwarfs. They were constantly coming in and out of the house so much he struggled to get in the door
• When he finally got in someone inside told him inland-dwellers are coming. Makite looked and saw a large group of fighters approaching
• The dwarfs went outside to fight
• The dog with the inland-dwellers gave a great bark. It created a huge wave of water at the dwarves, but when the wave got close to them, it shrinked and became very small
• Then the dog with the dwarves gave a great bark. It grew into a huge wave of water and drowned the inland-dwellers
• Makite built a house by the dwarves, retrieved the candle like things from the far hill, and hung them up in his house. He lived there until he died.

Bibliography
Makite by Knud Rasmussen