Herve Paniaq

Inuit elder Herve Paniaq retells the creation story of Takannaaluk in this engrossing picture-book from Inhabit Media, an Inuit-owned publisher based in Nunavut. Known by many names - as Sedna, as Nuliajuk, and as many others - Takannaaluk, as she is known to the people of Igloolik, is "the one down there," the mother of the sea and its mammals. In this story, she is an only daughter, one who never wishes to marry. When she is given in marriage to a man who turns out to be a fulmar (a type of bird) in disguise, her father sets out to rescue her. Then her husband pursues them, creating a terrible storm, and her father throws her out of his qajaq (kayak), chopping off her fingers when she attempts to cling to the side. From these severed appendages come the seals and other warm-blooded creatures of the sea...

I have encountered this story before, in various forms, but Takannaaluk stands out as one of the most vivid retellings I have read, pairing an engrossing narrative from Paniaq with striking artwork from illustrator Germaine Arnaktauyok. This edition is a bilingual one, with the text in both Inuktitut (written in syllabics) and English. The story itself is very sad, something I always feel, when reading a retelling of it. Something about the fact that it is Takannaaluk's father who sacrifices her always speaks to me in a most powerful way. I've always wondered whether she was angry, afterward, and whether this was how the Inuit explained storms at sea. Perhaps I should track down a larger collection of Inuit stories - Inhabit Media have certainly published a few! - and try to find out. I found it interesting that in this version, Takannaaluk's father kills himself, out of remorse for his actions. I also found it interesting that there are so many different versions of this story, and so many names for the central character. The accompanying artwork here has a limited color palette - as is suitable for illustrations depicting the Arctic - but is quite expressive all the same. I thought Arnaktauyok captured the humor of some of Takannaaluk's suitors (many of them animals in disguise) particularly well, and found her cover art simply gorgeous. Recommended to anyone looking for a retelling of the Takannaaluk (or Sedna) myth in particular, or for children's books featuring Inuit folklore in general.… (meer)