Inuit Tales and Legends

Written by Coyaud Maurice
Illustrated by Strassmann Susanne

  • Novel with illustrations
  • Tales and Legends
  • Age group: 10 and up
  • Pages: 240
  • Format: 12,5 x 22,5 cm
  • RP: 20 euros

This collection assembles over sixty folktales gathered from Inuits in Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. Inured to extremely harsh living conditions, the Inuits found poetry and even joy in this ungiving landscape covered in snow and ice much of the year. The Inuit language, in fact, contains more than dozen different words for snow. As a people, they never tire of wondering about their own origin, or that of the animals around them, on whom they depend. These tales take place at a time when humans and animals spoke magic words that had the power to bring things into being. So itw as that the rabbit created day by repeating its name, and the eagles taught humans to sing, dance, and celebrate to make life on the ice more bearable. Readers will also encounter mysterious shamans who can fly, speak to animals and spirits, resurrect the dead, and control the weather.
A new edition of a work from the Beginnings of the World imprint, to which new titles will soon be added. Backmatter, including an afterward from the author and a glossary provide valuable information and insight into the Inuit people. Includes stories never before translated into French. Readers will return from their travels on the ice transformed!
These tales were selected and translated by Maurice Coyaud (1934-2015), head of research at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), a specialist in Far Eastern folk literatures and languages, and author of over forty works, including nine published in the Beginnings of the World imprint: Contes et légendes du Japon [Tales and Legends from Japan, 4 editions], Contes des peuples de la Chine [Popular Chinese Folktales], Contes et mythes de Birmanie [Tales and Myths from Burma], Contes et légendes de Corée [Tales and Legends from Korea], Contes et légendes des pays de l’Inde [Tales and Legends from India], Contes et légendes du Vietnam [Tales and Legends from Vietnam], Contes et légendes des Philippines [Tales and Legends from the Philippines], and Contes et légendes de Thaïlande [Tales and Legends from Thailand].


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