Chapter  ??, Obscure Mythology: Qivittoq

I had to put question marks for my header because I realized I have messed up the Chapter titles. I looked back at the posts before this and noticed a couple of chapter 15’s and such. I will have to go back and edit the headers one of these days when I have an extra minute. I don’t like seeing such blatant mistakes on my posts but I also have so much happening that I may have to let those slight errors slide for now. I have four computers in this house, two older laptops, an ancient desktop and a newer desktop and all four of them have an issue right now! I spent three hours yesterday trying to print a single piece of paper and between all four computers it didn’t even happen. I have a feeling it has something to do with Windows 10 or the printer which is fairly old is kaput, whatever the reasons this is the stuff I have been dealing with lately and that’s just the minor stuff! Anyhow, I’m trying to work through these technical and personal problems to get my posts out a little more frequently since I still have about ten chapters of the Obscure Mtyhs to post before I can get back to my other stuff. I am really excited for post on the Voynich manuscript, I’ve been doing a lot of research and I believe my theory may have some validity! I would imagine I should have it posted sometime next year at the p[ace I’ve been working. So the technical problems get worse when it seems like I have the slowest and most unreliable internet in the entire universe as well! You know for a long time I always believed I was cursed, either myself directly or my family was the target of a curse years back and it is in full swing right now. My favorite season (Summer) has all but passed and I have gotten almost zero accomplished. I suppose it didn’t help that it rained about three quarters of the season and all these damn solar flares may have something to do with my spotty internet. Anyway, I am rambling like usual but I also wanted to make today’s entry seem more relevant. It comes from the Inuit people of Greenland and it is called qivittoq (great scrabble word!) and with the summer I’ve been having it seems pretty okay with me. I will let you read for yourself what it is then we can discuss a little about it.

Qivittoq: a wandering spirit in Greenland, Inuit

A person who leaves the community to live alone in the wild who soon develops the physical attributes of an animal such as claws, fur, etc. He depends on his own efforts but sometimes steals food from the community he left to become a qivittoq.

Sounds pretty good, run away into the wild and become a hermit that develops certain animal parts to help you survive! I suppose the stories started from old disheveled hermits being seen by their old community members scavenging, wearing furs and other accruements associated with the flora and fauna that they escaped into. What better way to keep kids away from the creepy hermits than to make them afraid of them. I suppose there are other reasons for the stories but that one is probably the one used the most. I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve wanted to just grab a backpack of essentials and move out into the woods, no electronics, no distractions just the wide open spaces of nature and me. I was lucky to be born in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and to have a Grandfather who grew up surviving in the woods so I learned a great deal about the natural world that surrounded me and how to coexist with it. I have a deep respect and understanding of nature and would make a pretty decent hermit, at least I think. The guy from the Into the Wild book had absolutely no knowledge of the wilderness and did a decent job by himself for a while, he died making careless mistakes when his hunger got the best of him, but had he been even just a little more trained or knowledgeable he could have made it a long time. As awesome as running away and becoming a Wildman sounds like fun, I know I could never leave my responsibilities behind just to save my own sanity. Perhaps that’s why these intuits made up these stories in the hopes that it would frighten people away from the idea of running and keep them in the community as a valued member instead of a selfish exile. Sure someday when the crap really hits the fan I will disappear into the wild but I will bring my family along and it will be for survival not self exile. So when I got to Q in the Mythology dictionary and came across this I had to use it because even as crappy as my summer has been and even though I’ve fantasized about just slipping into the woods and disappearing I know my place is here with my loved ones, my readers and this blog. I can escape into my writing whenever I want without worries of starving or turning into a half rabbit half man. Well, I hope you enjoyed this entry and I hope you come back next time, until then stay safe and as always: PEACE!!!!!!

PS: these last two images are just showing the beauty of Greenland, no real connection to the entry. The bottom image is of a statue of the Goddess of the sea, such a powerful and beautiful sculpture!