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Published: February 5th 2010
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In my almost endless research I’m doing lately, to help me gaurantee the most of my time at the Olympics, I kept seeing this weird stone man popping up in pictures. In fact, a cartoon version of this symbol was released in 2005 as the official symbol of the Vancouver games. With this kind of respect directed to this “thing,” I grew curious about it, and decided to look into it’s story.
Inukshuk, pronounced In-ook-shook, was first used by the arctic Inuit people of Canada. It means “likeness of a person” and was built to mark trails, indicate caches of food, locate settlements, and good places to hunt or fish. Most of the Canadian arctic is made up of permafrost, or year round frozen soil, and only has a few natural landmarks which could be used for orientation, thats why Inukshuks are used to communicate directions, also.
The more interesting bits of information I’ve found, in my opinion, are the meanings behind the Inukshuk.
Cooperation
First, these are, or were, massive structures. With any ancient structure, the building of it is a feat in itself. Because of this, they have come to represent the
cooperation needed to construct them, showing us that as good as our individual efforts may be, together we can do even greater, larger things.
Connected
The fact that the human figure is made of separate stones has a larger meaning itself. Each supports, and is supported by, the one above and/or the one below it. No one rock is any more or less important than another. Its strength isn’t the fact that it is made of rock, but that the rocks support eachother. It is not a stretch to see a connection between that and people. As part of a team each of us supports, and is supported by, another. We are united by our common goals, and together we are part of a greater picture.
Balance
The stones which make up the Inukshuk are secured through balance. They are chosen for how well they fit together. Looking at the structure it can be easily seen that the removal of even one stone will destroy the whole thing. That, too, is easy to see in schools, businesses, groups, teams, and friends. Each individual in a team is necessary for the team's purpose.
The removal of even one person will result in the weakening of the structure. How many 4 person basketball teams have been real successful?
As you may already know, the Olympics is more than just a sports event. It brings people together from all over the world. Ideally, the message people should take away from the games is to live a more open, respectful, interconnected life. The selection of the Inukshuk, as the symbol for this event is a good choice. It represents universal goals, strengths, and stands for positivity.
Plus, it kind of looks like a hockey goalie. Now, that's pretty cool!
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anonymous
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hi