Of Fox and Others

I need a fox mask; the one I have is hopeless (if you know anyone who could make a wearable bearable fox mask, do let me know) so I was searching the web when I came across the site below. It is dedicated to the Yup'iq culture of Alaska, and explains the masks, stories and shamanic beliefs of the people. There were several things that impressed me about it; the first was that all the animal masks have people's faces on them somewhere, as part of the belief that every animal has 'personhood' within them, and should be respected.

The second is the way each page is set up. First there is the mask, followed by the story, then as the page goes down, basic biological information about the animal and then, underneath, one or two thoughtful questions: On the fox page it asks

Are there any similarities between a fox's community and your community? If so, what?

On the wolf page it asks:

What in your community would be improved if you or other members of your community could call on the power of the wolf?

On the bear page, after talking about the respect that must be paid to bears it asks:

What person or animal in your community do your elders tell you to treat with respect and never criticize? Why?

Good questions. There's something about this approach I really like. Here's the link:
http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/yupik_backup/lessons/ecology/foxes.html

Anger

I am thinking too much this morning, and I find myself growing very angry. A couple of friends of mine have mentioned their thoughts on animal testing, and they have a right to - no problems there. The trouble is when one begins to see people correlating the utterly wrong actions of certain extreme animal liberation groups with the point itself as to whether animal testing is right or wrong. And as ever, when I feel myself sinking into terrible anger, I fall back upon old stories and books.

So help me now, Mr Blake, show me that Man is not a thing of horror and torture, teach me something to elevate me and make me smile and remind me that I am a lucky daughter of the diamond age.

( From the Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake )

Yes, they will harm each other, and many more besides.

Oh, what a piece of work is Man.