Malina
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Malina is a solar deity in Inuit mythology. She is found most commonly in the legends of Greenland. Legends about Malina link her closely with the lunar deity Anningan, her brother. Malina is constantly fleeing from Anningan as the result of strife between the two (legends vary as to the cause). Their constant chase is the traditional explanation for the movement of the sun and moon through the sky.
Story
According to Inuit mythology, Malina and her brother Anningan lived together in a village. They were very close when young, but came to live apart as they grew older, in the lodges for women and for men. One night, as everyone slept, a man crept into the women's dwelling and forced Malina. As it was dark, Malina was unable to tell who it was, but the next night, when the same thing happened, Malina covered her hands with the soot from the lamps and smeared the man's face with it. Afterwards, she took a lamp and looked through the skylight of the men's lodge. She was surprised to find that the man was her own brother. So Malina sharpened her knife and cut off her breasts. She put them in a bowl and carried this to the men's lodge, and presented it to her brother, saying "If you enjoy me so much, then eat these," and ran away out the door, grabbing a torch as she went. Her brother chased after her, likewise taking a torch, and was able to easily follow her path, as her footsteps were marked with great pools of blood. However, he tripped and dropped his torch, and the flame was put out, except for a faint glow. Eventually however, Anningan caught up to his sister, and the two ran so fast that they took off into the sky and became the moon and the sun.
External links
- Malina and Anningan (http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/malina_sun.html&edu=high&frp=/w)
- Sun Sister and Moon Brother (http://groups.msn.com/TalesFromtheSmokehouse/iisunsisterandmoonbrother.msnw?pgmarket=en-ca)
- the Sun and The Moon: An Inuit Sky Tale (http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/alaska/eskimotale2.html)
- When Moon Chases Sun (http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2003-06/jun2_03sun.html)