Thanks to Bree Island for this original image, created following a prompt from Solomon Ratt. It imagines an eclipse above Stanley Mission’s iconic All Saints church, with fiery syllabics spelling out î-kotâwît pîsim – ᐄ ᑯᑖᐑᐟ ᐲᓯᒼ – the th-dialect form for “eclipse”.
To accompany the image, Sol decided to make up a story (in y-dialect) and wait to see if it gets quoted somewhere as “An Elder said…”)
ê-kotâwît pîsim (î-kotâwît pîsim): êkospîhk okanawêskotêwêwak kâ-kiyokâtocik, ê-wîcisânihtocik, ostêsimâw kanawêskotêwêw kîsikâwi-pîsimohk êkwa osînimâw kanawêskotêwêw tipiskâwi-pîsimohk.
ᐁ ᑯᑖᐑᐟ ᐲᓯᒼ (ᐄ ᑯᑖᐑᐟ ᐲᓯᒼ): ᐁᑯᐢᐲᕽ ᐅᑲᓇᐍᐢᑯᑌᐍᐘᐠ ᑳ ᑭᔪᑳᑐᒋᐠ, ᐁ ᐑᒋᓵᓂᐦᑐᒋᐠ, ᐅᐢᑌᓯᒫᐤ ᑲᓇᐍᐢᑯᑌᐍᐤ ᑮᓯᑳᐏ ᐲᓯᒧᕽ ᐁᑿ ᐅᓰᓂᒫᐤ ᑲᓇᐍᐢᑯᑌᐍᐤ ᑎᐱᐢᑳᐏ ᐲᓯᒧᕽ᙮
Eclipse: is the time when the Fire Keepers visit each other, the Eldest brother tends the sun’s fire, and the Youngest sibling tends the moon’s glow.
Source: see the end of the story The Origin of The Moon, as recorded in English by Stan Cuthand, and translated into Cree by Solomon Ratt.