*Front cover image reproduced with kind permission from Maria Bach Kreutzmann
OK, seriously, when it comes to scary stories, what the hell is wrong with Greenlanders?
Yes, I knew that Greenlandic ghost stories are some of the scariest you might wish to hear. Even a brief introduction to Qivittoq and Tupilak will convince you of that. And yes, I knew that Greenlandic Halloween is less about the candy and more about scaring the wits out of your family and friends, possibly physically maiming them in the process. But apparently what I knew only scratched the surface.
I’ve been reading this fabulous new anthology of Greenlandic mythical creatures, spirits and animals by Maria Bach Kreutzmann – Bestiarium Groenlandica. Here are a few snippets.
An Anngiaq is a a baby or foetus born in secret and then killed. It’s spirit continues looking for the love of which it was robbed, chasing relatives when they are sailing and trying to pull them under the sea to drown them. It can also crawl into later-born siblings and kill them by causing internal bleeding.
How about Erlaveersinioq, “a hideous and grotesque old crone with a face wider than it is long. She tries to make people laugh and if they do, she will jump at them and gut them, taking their liver or their intestines.”
Or Ikusik? “An Ikusik is a corpse that crawls along on its elbows, dragging its feet behind it. It’s forearms have rotted away and yet it can move at great speed, if it needs to, and catch a grown person running. It hunts humans and eats them alive, usually because they have desecrated its grave.”
But they’re not all bad. There are plenty of helpful spirits too, like Amu. Amu has “a small, almost withered body with two extremely long arms with three fingers on each hand, and a big head with large, shiny eyes. An Amu’s presence is easy to detect as it continually screams “Amuuu! Amuuu!” Sound helpful?
If you think these stories are gruesome, others are far too graphic for a general audience. You’ll have to read the book.
There are reasons, of course, for these stories – stories that are told to children. Greenland’s mythical creatures are linked to taboos or amulets that guide behaviour or protect from harm. Useful, particularly in the days when more Greenlanders lived a traditional life as nomadic hunters and fishers, living in small family groups. In a world where Nature, itself, was a beast, these stories guided their lives, frightened them away from dangerous places or behaviours, or comforted them through difficult times. Nonetheless, the stories of Greenland’s mythical creatures, spirits, and animals are not bed-time reading…
