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Nordisk Mytologi - Søens Bjørn og Klipperne
- To grønlandske sagn
Af Helene Tukula

27. marts 2008 udgiver POST Greenland, Filatelia, i fællesskab med de 7 andre nordiske lande, tredje og sidste del af serien ”Nordisk Mytologi”.

Denne gang er emnerne Mytiske steder i landskabet og Mytiske billeder i landskabet. POST Greenland udgiver to Norden-frimærker og et miniark, der også udkommer i en fælles souvenirmappe. Sidstnævnte er tredje og sidste souvenirmappe i serien.
POST Greenlands to frimærker handler om sagnene ”Søens Bjørn” og ”Klipperne”.

Søens Bjørn var en meget stor fantasibjørn. Når den kom ind fra fjorden, havde den sin overkrop oven vandet.  Sagnet har i Grønland flere betegnelser, f.eks. Søens Troldbjørn, Havets Bjørn, Søens hund og Ferskvandets Uhyre, og det varierer lidt fra sted til sted.  Men meningen med sagnet er den samme fra gang til gang, nemlig at kæmpebjørnen er en del af en åndemanerlærlings middel til at opnå synske evner – alverdens viden. Bjørnen er en af de mange prøvelser, en lærling skal igennem for at blive angakkoq (åndemaner).  En angakkoq skulle hjælpe stammen under dårlige tider, bl.a. til at helbrede syge mennesker, eller, som en østgrønlandsk fortæller engang sagde, ”Det er til trøst for dem, der frygter døden og for at helbrede de syge, at vi østgrønlændere lærer os selv op til angakkoq.”  Prøvelserne skulle gøre lærlingen stærk nok til at komme igennem livets svære tider.

Dette sagn er et østgrønlandsk sagn fra Ammassalikdistriktet.  Sagnet om Søens Bjørn går ud på, at lærlingen ved hjælp af sin toornaarsuk/åndernes magt (åndemanerens medhjælper) opsøger sine fremtidige hjælpeånder, bl.a. også en spørgeånd. Hver hjælpeånd skulle tilkaldes tre gange. Én af dem var Nilersoq/æderen - Søens bjørn.
Lærlingen gned to sten mod hinanden, med solens retning, for at få den store fantasibjørn frem.  Under gnidning af stenene kom han i trance, og kæmpebjørnen steg op af vandet og åd lærlingen. Bjørnen spiste dog kun kødet og lod knoglerne ligge. Da der kom kød på lærlingens knogler igen, vågnede han nøgen. Lidt senere kom hans tøj flyvende til ham, mens klæderne skreg – kia ka ka ka. Det samme råb ville i fremtiden tilkalde hjælpeånderne, når åndemaneren under en seance var i fare eller skulle kaldes tilbage til livet.
Det at han bliver spist af bjørnen og kastet op igen var en prøvelse, så åndemaneren blev i stand til i trance at rejse ind til Jordens indre for at spørge ånderne til råds for at helbrede et sygt menneske. At møde de forskellig ånder var en prøvelse til hjælp for åndemaneren til at kunne komme i helbredelsesseancer og seancer til at kunne udrydde tupilakker/onde ånder.

Klipperne er et mindre kendt sagn om en kajakroers møde med ånden i klipperne. Det handler om en af de mange oplevelser, en rejsende kommer ud for på sine somme tider farefulde og lange rejser. I sagnet gjaldt det for kajakroeren om at kunne ro igennem to klipper, inden de klappede sammen om ham.
Kajakken var i ældre dage en af de vigtigste ejendele for en fanger, så han kunne tage på fangst eller rejse langt. Det var meget vigtigt, at den rejsende var god til at padle i kajak, og selv kunne komme oven vande hurtigt, hvis han kæntrede med kajakken. Hvis han først var kommet under vand, var det om at vende hurtigt med kajakken. Ellers druknede han.  Derfor gjaldt det for fangerne om at være så gode til at padle, at de kunne klare enhver fare. Når en fanger var ude at sejle i kajak, var han som regel alene, og havde derfor ingen til at hjælpe sig, når først der var fare på færde.

Grønland har mange myter og sagn. Alle beretter om ånder og fantasidyr, som inuitterne virkelig troede på eksisterede, og som mange i Østgrønland stadig tror på den dag i dag.  Beretningerne blev fortalt i de lange vinteraftener. Dengang havde man to slags fortællinger: Livsberetninger og sagn. Fortællingerne blev fortalt mest for underholdningens skyld, og for børnenes vedkommende faldt de i søvn under disse historier. Nogle voksne i dag kan stadig huske, hvor meget de glædede sig til disse fortællinger, da de var børn.

Du kan købe miniarket på: http://www.stamps.gl/dk/Index.htm

01100401 og 01100402
Norden-Mytologi III/1-2 – Mytiske steder i landskabet
Valør: DKK 7,00
Udgivelsesdag: 27.03.2008
50 mærker pr. ark
Format: B-liggende
Trykmetode: Offset
Papir: TR8 Stamp Paper PVA
Hvidt papir
Kunstner: Naja Abelsen
Typografi : Dorit Olsen
Ydre mål: 31,08 X 23,60 mm

01106401
Miniark, Norden-Mytologi III
Valør: DKK 15,00
Udgivelsesdag: 27.03.2008

Norse Mythology – The Bear of the Lake and The Rocks
- Two Greenlandic legends
by Helene Tukula

On 27th March 2008 POST Greenland, Filatelia, together with the 7 other Nordic countries, issues the third and last part of the series “Norse Mythology”.

This time the topics are Mythical places in the landscape and Mythical images in the landscape.  POST Greenland issues two of the Norden-stamps and a Souvenir Sheet, which is also issued in a joint Souvenir Folder. The latter is the third and last Souvenir Folder in the series.
POST Greenland’s two stamps are about the legends ”The Bear of the Lake” and “The rocks”.

The Bear of the Lake was a very big fantasy-bear, when it came in from the fiord it had its upper part of the body above the water. This legend has in Greenland several different titles, for example ‘The troll bear of the Lake’, ‘The bear of the Ocean’, ‘The dog of the Lake’ and ‘The monster of the fresh water’ – it varies from place to place. But the meaning with the legend remains the same, namely that the giant bear is a part of a shaman-trainee’s medium to achieve clairvoyant powers – all the knowledge in the world. The bear was one of many tests a trainee had to go through in order to become an angakkoq (shaman).  An angakkoq should help the trial in bad times, among other things to cure ill persons, or, as an East Greenlandic storyteller once said; “It is to comfort those, who fears death and to cure illness, that we East Greenlanders learn to become angakkut (one angakkoq, two angakkut)”.  The tests should make the trainee strong enough to survive through tough times in life.

This legend is an East Greenlandic legend from the district of Ammassalik. The legend of The Bear of the Lake is telling about, how the trainee with the help of his toornaarsuk/the power of the spirits (the shaman-trainee’s assistant) seeks his future spirit assistants, among which is also a questioning spirit.
Each spirit-assistant had to be called three times. One of those was Nilersoq/The heavy eater – The Bear of the Lake.  The trainee rubbed two stones against each other, in the sun’s direction, to make the big fantasy-bear appear.  The trainee got into a trance during the rubbing of the stones, and the giant-bear appeared from the water and ate the trainee.
The bear, however, only ate his flesh and left the bones.  When the flesh reappeared on the bones, he woke up naked.  A while later the clothes came flying back to him, as the clothes cried – kia ka ka ka.  The same cry would in the future send for the spirit assistant, when the shaman during a séance was in danger, or had to get help to come back to real life from his séance.
The fact that the bear ate him and threw him up again was a test, so the shaman was capable of travelling into the centre of The Earth, while in trance, to ask the spirits of advice to heal an ill person.  Meeting the different spirits was a test to help the shaman get into healing-trances and trances to exterminate tupilakker/evil spirits.

The Rocks is a less well known legend about a kayaker’s meeting with the spirit in the rocks.  The legend tells about the many adventures a traveller meets during his some times dangerous and long travels.  In the legend it was urgent for the kayaker to row through two rocks before they collapsed around him.
In the old days, the kayak was a very important property for a sealer in Greenland, so he could go catching or travel far.  It was very important that the traveller was good at paddling and make turns with the kayak alone in order to get above water very quickly if he capsized.  If he came under water, it was of vital importance to get above water as quickly as possible.  Otherwise he would drown.  Therefore it was urgent for the kayakers to be such good kayakers that they could deal with any dangers they might meet.  When a sealer was out kayaking, he was usually alone, and therefore had nobody to help him when the danger was in sight.

Greenland has several myths and legends. All of them are telling about spirits and fantasy animals, which the Inuit’s really believed existed, and as many people in East Greenland still believes in today.  The legends were told in the long winter nights.  In those days they had two types of tales:  Tales of life and legends.  The stories were told mostly for the sake of entertainment, and the children would fall asleep during these stories.  Some adults still remember today, how much they looked forward to hearing these stories, when they were kids.

You can buy the souvenir sheet on: http://www.stamps.gl/uk/Index.htm

01100401 - 01100402
Norden Mythology III/1 - 2 – Mythical places in the landscape
Value: DKK 7.00
Issue Date: 27.03.2008
50 stamps per sheet
Format: B-horizontal
Printing Method: Offset
Paper: TR8 Stamp Paper PVA
White Paper
Artist: Naja Abelsen
Typography: Dorit Olsen
Outside measurements: 31.08 X 23.60 mm

01106401
Souvenir Sheet, Norden-Mythology III
Value: DKK 15.00
Issue Date: 27.03.2008