This blog would’ve probably been better if I posted it closer to Halloween. But, what can ya do? I’ve discovered life up here is a bit different. They have different superstitions and beliefs up here. Some sound familiar to things I’ve heard about before, others are a little more strange to me.
Hairy Man
We’ve all heard about Big Foot, right? I suppose every place has some sort of large, hairy creature. Down in Colorado, we call it Big Foot. We don’t usually pay any mind to the idea of such a creature. It’s not real, right? Who knows. Apparently there was a special on the Discovery Channel or something about Big Foot eating all the elk in Manitou Springs. Well, I know all those Manitou people are slightly crazy, and usually pretty high...but why it made it on the Discovery Channel, I have no idea. Anyway, up here, they call him “the Hairy Man.” I suppose it falls into the same category as Big Foot. Extra-large, extra-hairy creature that eats the animals. The people up here will swear to you that they’ve seen the hairy man. And, they run away from him, because he’s scary.
Northern Lights
This one is pretty basic I suppose. All the kids have told me that if you whistle at the Northern Lights, the lights will snatch you up. They’ve told me about a kid they knew that disappeared. Good thing I can’t whistle very well! Ha!
“Little People”
This one has a whole day devoted to them. January 18 is “Day of the Little People.” Around here, they call them “Sintheaqs” (I’m not sure if that’s spelled correctly, as it’s a Yup’ik word, and I don’t speak Yup’ik). It’s pronounced “sin-the-ucks.” I’m pretty sure that different areas have different names for them. They’re little, gremlin-like creatures that come out and cause havoc. Everyone’s afraid of them, like they fear the Hairy Man. They don’t talk about them much, other than their devilish creatures and no one likes them. When things go wrong, and no one can explain it, they always blame the “little people.”
Bad Bread
How many of us has tried to bake something and it’s gone terribly wrong and tasted awful? Apparently, when that happens, you should throw it away immediately, otherwise someone in your family will die. eekk!
Spiders
Only males can kill spiders. If females kill spiders, it will rain for days. Females must trap the spiders and put them back outside.
Hunting Customs
When someone gets their first moose up here, it is customary to give it all away to the community. Because subsistence is the way of life up here, almost everyone who is old enough will have a moose tag during moose season. So, when the young kids shoot their first moose and give it away, the older family members will also be able to get moose to stock their freezers for the winter.
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