Myths and Misconceptions About The Eskimo
There exist some very common erroneous ideas about the Inuit. These include:
- "They have thousands of words for snow." This is a gross exaggeration. See Eskimo words for snow. There are many words for ice, however, that describe its forms, colors, age, relative safety for crossing or traveling over, and other aspects. See Nelson 1969, "Hunters of the Northern Ice"
- "They live in igloos." Igloo simply means house. The snow house we think of was a temporary shelter during hunting seasons in the late winter and spring. It was an important survival skill making use of what materials were available and may still be used today in emergencies or for fun as part of the transfer of traditional knowledge between generations.
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Famous quotes containing the words myths and, myths and/or eskimo:
“The poets were not alone in sanctioning myths, for long before the poets the states and the lawmakers had sanctioned them as a useful expedient.... They needed to control the people by superstitious fears, and these cannot be aroused without myths and marvels.”
—Strabo (c. 58 B.C.–c. 24 A.D., Greek geographer. Geographia, bk. 1, sct. 2, subsct. 8.
“Our basic ideas about how to parent are encrusted with deeply felt emotions and many myths. One of the myths of parenting is that it is always fun and games, joy and delight. Everyone who has been a parent will testify that it is also anxiety, strife, frustration, and even hostility. Thus most major parenting- education formats deal with parental emotions and attitudes and, to a greater or lesser extent, advocate that the emotional component is more important than the knowledge.”
—Bettye M. Caldwell (20th century)
“The man who invented Eskimo Pie made a million dollars, so one is told, but E.E. Cummings, whose verse has been appearing off and on for three years now, and whose experiments should not be more appalling to those interested in poetry than the experiment of surrounding ice-cream with a layer of chocolate was to those interested in soda fountains, has hardly made a dent in the doughy minds of our so-called poetry lovers.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)