Ciissit
Insects hold an important place in the oral tradition of the Yup’ik people of southwest Alaska. While considered undesirable pests in some contexts, these tiny beings both possess and can bestow great power. Some were said to have been in existence from the beginning, while Raven created others when the world was new. According to Yup’ik elders, no animal is more strongly associated with healing than the caterpillar, and none so directly tied to the consumption and destruction of the body – whether animal or human – than the maggot or worm. All insects possess minds, and like other animals their treatment of people depends on how people treat them. To this day, both furry and hairless caterpillars may present themselves to those they consider pure, and then bestow the power to heal on people wise enough to overcome their apparently creepy presence and welcome them.