Uncommon Folk
The world of folklore is a diverse, thriving mix of ancient traditions, old gods, strange beasts and curious tales.
Every land has their own folk traditions, and while some themes are universal, each has something special about them that makes them unique.
Join stand-up comedian, writer, and folklore PhD candidate Dan Mitchell as he dives into the dark oceans of folk, hoping to find a never before found denizen of the deep. Featuring exclusive interviews with academics, folklorists, scientists, poets, magical practitioners, and many more special guests from around the world, Uncommon Folk hopes to unearth the bones of folklore and resurrect them with incantations long forgotten.
From deep dives to short nuggets, Uncommon Folk will enlighten, enthuse, and entertain the folk community.
Uncommon Folk
Uncommon Folk 31 Days of Winter- Ijiraq
Thanks for listening!
Visit https://uncommonfolk.buzzsprout.com and subscribe for updates, events and news as it comes.
You can also write to us to suggest local myths, traditions and stories for us to discuss in future micro episodes, or just provide us with feedback.
Now, the Iraq was a shapeshifter. That's what his name means, its name means and, uh, it's very similar to a tiriak suk, which is a half man, half caribou monster. But it can change into any shape and um. The one thing that would always stay the same is it's red, red eyes, no matter what they shape shift. They are a winter sort of creature. They're most prominent in winter. Their real form is just like a human, but the eyes are sideways sideways.
Speaker 1:Now, this is a very interesting story. This is from sort of Native American sort of legends, and the Dutch writer Floris Zwigtman says that only the shaman would really know the real form of the Iraq. So when you're hunting somewhere where these creatures inhabit, you might only see them from the corner of your eye for a fleeting moment. You might see a strange caribou in the corner of your eye instead of a normal shadow. If you try to observe them directly, they are completely elusive. They're sometimes helpful, but often fatally deceptive.
Speaker 1:So there are places that they have been spotted. They're spotted in the Arctic. So this is the Inuit version of them the Arctic for sightings of these shapeshifters, and the Tiriakshuk, which is the Caribou version of it. They've been spotted around there. They're said to inhabit a place between two worlds. They're not of this world and they're not of the other one. So they are part of our world but they can shift back and forth. Some people have claimed that the Inuit sort of went too far north to chase game and they became trapped partly in the world of the dead and partly in the living world. And they became these Eiracht and according to a small handful of surviving elders in the South Baffin region actually, who knew about the beliefs, they were shadow shapeshifters and shadow people. Because they went north and they avoid some people actually avoid being in the presence of these extremely northern Inuit because they believe that they are evil versions of the Iraq. Okay, so that's the Iraq from Inuit legend.
