Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq
Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq Atiq heard the she-bear's roar in the distance. It was the appointed day, Christmas Day. Little by little, the imposing figure of the bear took shape through the thick windowpanes, until her features, now clearly defined, revealed how her eyes searched the interior of the cabin, looking for the motionless body of Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq. This ritual was repeated every Christmas. Atiq sighed deeply. He remembered how, six years earlier, that formidable white bear had saved his life in an extreme situation in which Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq died. That event left such a deep mark on Atiq’s spirit that he swore never to part with anything that might remind him of Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq: he embalmed the body and gave it a place of honor in his cabin. Since then, he no longer spoke of the white bear, but of ᐊᓂᓕᐊᖅᑎᑦᓯᐊᕙᓪᓕᐊᖅ —Aniliaqtitsiavalliaq—, the great savior, the one who gave his life so that Atiq might continue to exist. From then on, he gave up hunting, and all his int...