Anningan and Malina are brother and sister. Their sibling relationship is central to the Inuit origin myth of the moon and sun.
Anningan pursued his sister Malina after assaulting her in darkness. When she fled into the sky and became the sun, Anningan became the moon, eternally chasing her across the heavens but never catching her.
Anningan's moon watches over the world of the living while Adlivun holds the dead below. His cyclical waning and disappearance mirrors the soul's descent into the underworld before rebirth.
Kadlu's thunder dominates summer skies while Anningan's moon rules winter darkness. Their seasonal opposition marks the two halves of the Arctic year — the thunder goddess active in light, the moon god in the long night.
Anningan's monthly lunar cycle governs fertility, and Pinga watches over the souls of all living beings. Both deities are concerned with the continuation of life — Anningan through conception, Pinga through the care of souls.
Anningan's moon illuminates the sky near Qudlivun, the celestial paradise. The dead playing games in the aurora do so beneath the moon's light as Anningan chases Malina endlessly overhead.
Anningan the moon god controls the ocean tides that wash over Sedna's undersea realm. The moon's phases affect the rhythms of sea animal behavior, connecting Anningan's celestial movements to Sedna's marine domain.
Anningan the moon chases Malina across Sila's sky. His waxing and waning influence Sila's tides and darkness, and hunters read the moon within Sila's atmosphere to time their expeditions.
Anningan's moonlit polar nights are when shamanic activity under Torngarsuk intensifies. The moon god's dim light during winter darkness sets the stage for spirit journeys and communion with the tuurngait.
When Tulugaak released the stolen light, both sun and moon appeared in the sky. Anningan the moon spirit emerged alongside the sun, his eternal chase of Malina beginning with the raven's gift of celestial light.
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