Inuit Mythology

U MYTHOLOGY U
INUIT
MYTHOLOGY
Evelyn Wolfson
I thank Dorothy Tweer and Dacia Callen Wolfson
for their advice, criticism, and comments.
Copyright © 2001 by Evelyn Wolfson
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any means

without the written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wolfson, Evelyn.
Inuit mythology / Evelyn Wolfson.
p. cm. – (Mythology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7660-1559-9
1. Inuit mythology—Juvenile literature. [1. Inuit—Folklore. 2. Eskimos—
Folklore. 3. Folklore—Arctic regions.] I. Title. II. Series: Mythology (Berkeley
Heights, N.J.)
E99.E7 W78 2001
398.2’089’9712—dc21 00-055146
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Cover and Illustrations by William Sauts Bock

CONTENTS
Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1 The Woman Who Adopted a Bear
Polar Inuit of Northern Greenland . . . . . 21
2 The Girl Who Married a Gnome
Inuit of West and East Greenland . . . . . . 42
3 The Adventures of Kivioq
Netsilik of Nunavut, Canada . . . . . . . . . . 55
4 Sedna, Goddess of the Sea
Baffinland Inuit of Nunavut, Canada . . . 67
5 Oogoon’s Adventures on
the Kobuk River
The Inuit of Kotzebue Sound, Alaska . . . 78
6 The Hill Giant
Bering Strait Inuit of Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7 Ol-an-uk the Orphan
Aleuts, or Unangan, of Alaska . . . . . . . . .106
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Chapter Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Internet Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
PREFACE
The homeland of the Inuit (IN-oo-aht) people is a broad
region of frozen land and sea that stretches from Alaska in
the west to Greenland in the east. It is a land where trees
are unable to grow, and only the hardiest animals and
people can survive. Today, people of the North American
Arctic are called Inuit, a term that has replaced the word
Eskimo. Few of today’s modern Inuit live where their
parents or grandparents were born. Instead, they live in
small cities and towns, mostly in southern regions of the
Arctic. Traditional houses have been replaced by imported
wooden ones, dogsleds have been replaced by
snowmobiles, oil lamps have been replaced by electric
lights and central heat, most foodstuffs must be imported,
and television is the most important source of
entertainment.
The Arctic covers the northernmost part of the earth
and includes three continents: North America, Asia, and
Europe. Less than one third of the Arctic is land. The rest is
covered by the Arctic Ocean. The Inuit have lived in the
North American Arctic for thousands of years. Descended
from an early Siberian people, the Inuit arrived later to the
New World than Native Americans. After they crossed the
Bering Strait, they settled in Arctic North America and
developed their own unique culture. Earlier and different
groups of emigrants who came from Siberia and China
beginning twenty-five to thirty thousand years ago
migrated into the interior of North America and southward
1
along the coast to South America.
Due to the tilt of the earth’s axis above the Arctic Circle,
the sun’s rays never shine directly down onto the earth’s
6
Preface
surface, and only a few inches of snow melt each year,

leaving a foundation of permafrost, or land that never
melts. In the southern Arctic, winter takes up six months of
the year; and spring, summer, and fall fill the remaining
months. From November until January the sun remains
below the horizon, cloaking the frozen land and sea of the
Arctic in total darkness. Most regions of the Arctic
experience extremely cold temperatures in winter, and in
January temperatures often average between 30 degrees
below zero to 15 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). As one
travels northward, winter takes up more and more of the
year, until, in the most northerly regions of the Arctic,
winter lasts nine long months—from September until June.
Over a period of several thousand years, the Inuit
spread westward across the frozen tundra, a treeless
stretch of frozen land that began where the northern forest
ended and extended to the Arctic Circle. The people
traveled from Alaska to Greenland following the rhythm of
the seasons, always in search of food. In winter and spring
they hunted seals, whales, and walruses; in summer and
fall they fished and hunted caribou; and all year round they
sought polar bears and musk ox. The Inuit adapted well to
the severely limited resources of the region and met all
their everyday needs using only the animals they hunted,
the rocks that lined the shores, a limited supply of plants,
and a precious offering of driftwood that washed in from
the sea.
Religion and Mythology

At the time of European contact, in the 1500s, the Inuit
people shared basic religious beliefs and exploited the
same natural resources. Life was a constant struggle for
survival, and the threat of starvation was ever-present. The
7
Inuit Mythology
idea of a God, or a group of gods, to be worshiped was

altogether alien to the Inuit. The Inuit believed that it was
the powerful forces of nature that affected their lives. It
was these forces that focused on balancing mankind’s
2
needs with those of the rest of the world.
In Greenland and Canada, the Inuit had no real
creation myth. In Alaska, Raven was creator. Raven stories
from Alaska resemble Native American Raven stories from
the Northwest Coast. In Canada and Greenland there were
a few simple myths about how the world was created but
no myths that resembled the Raven tales. A Netsilik
woman from Canada expressed her view of creation to
Knud Rasmussen, the Danish explorer, in one sentence:
“The earth was as it is at the time when our people began
3
to remember.”
Unlike American Indians, the Inuit of Greenland and
Canada did not have a mythological time period that took
place before the appearance of humans during which
animals behaved like people; thus mythological stories
were scarce. However, one myth, the story about Sedna,
the mother of all sea animals, was so widely distributed
and had so many versions throughout Canada and
Greenland that it made up for the otherwise lacking store
of mythological tales.
Another lesser Greenland/Canada story was told about
the origin of the sun and moon. It was about two siblings
who argued and then chased each other out of their house
carrying torches. The girl carried a brightly lit torch, but the
brother’s torch was dimly lit. The sister and brother rose up
into the sky, and she became sun and he moon.
Unlike the mythologies of American Indians, in stories
throughout the Arctic there was little mention of a
transformer, or a character empowered to change
8
Preface
people’s forms. And the only trickster, or culture hero, was

Raven in Alaska.
The Inuit believed that all living beings had a soul that
defined their strength and character as well as their
appearance. After people died, their souls went up to join
the stars and then became spirits. After animals died, their
spirits went to live in a new generation of their species.
The Inuit observed important rules in their daily life to
insure the well-being of the spirits. Many taboos, or bans,
were associated with hunting and with caring for the
bodies of dead animals. The Inuit conducted ceremonies
and rituals to honor the spirits and observed important
taboos to insure their good will. Taboos prohibited people
from behaving in a way that would bring bad luck. For
example, animal meat that had been taken on land could
not be eaten or stored with meat that had been taken from
the sea. Women could not sew new cloth or repair old
garments after the spring sealing season ended. Instead,
they would have to wait until the end of the caribou season
in fall. In addition, certain rituals had to be carried out prior
to butchering an animal. Before a seal could be butchered,
for instance, its carcass was brought indoors and a lump of
snow was dipped in water and dripped into the seal’s
4
mouth to quench the thirst of its soul.
The Inuit world was filled with powerful spirits capable
of vengeful and hostile acts toward people. But ordinary
people could speak to the spirits and ask for help by using
magical words. Magical words were kept very private and
would lose their power if spoken in the presence of
another person. People would also wear a magical charm,
or amulet, in the form of a piece of fur sewn to clothing, or
an animal tooth, claw, or bone worn as a necklace or on a
belt. Amulets held spirit power and gave the wearer the
9
Inuit Mythology
character and strength of the animal whose object he or

she was wearing.
When people could not appease angry spirits on their
own, they sought help from an angatok, or shaman.
Shamans had very strong contact with spirits and could
see things that were not visible to ordinary men. They had
the power to control ghosts and evil spirits and could cure
illness, end bad weather, and bring animals back to life.
When Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen asked an old
shaman about his view of life, the old man responded,
“Privation and suffering are the only things that can open
the mind of man to those things which are hidden to
5
others.”
Food, Clothing, Shelter, and Transportation

The Inuit lived in winter houses for part of the year and
summer houses the rest of the year. In Greenland and
Canada, the Inuit lived in igloos, or snow houses, built out
on the frozen sea ice during the winter. Or, they lived in
winter stone houses built on land. The Inuit of Alaska lived
most of the year in houses partially dug into the ground.
Throughout the Arctic, house interiors featured
wooden or stone platforms raised above the ground. The
platforms ran along one wall and created a place for sitting
that elevated the family off the cold ground. Thick sealskin
or caribou hides covered the platforms, and each family’s
space on the bench was marked by a cooking lamp.
Outside the house, meat was kept in separate sheds, or on
tall driftwood storage racks built high above the ground
and away from hungry animals. A family might consist of a
mother and father and one or two children, or it might
include grandparents and unmarried brothers and sisters.
After a couple was married, they went to live with the
10
Preface
man’s parents because it was important for men to remain

close to their family’s hunting grounds.
Throughout the Arctic, the Inuit built simple summer
shelters that were framed with driftwood or whalebone
and covered with sealskins or caribou skins.
Men hunted seals in kayaks, a type of long, narrow
single-man boat. They used whalebone or driftwood as a
frame for the boat and covered the frame with sealskins.
Families and supplies were transported in umiaks, large
rounded boats similarly framed but covered with walrus
skins.
Dogsleds carried supplies, and sometimes small
children or the elderly, across the frozen land and sea.
Dogsleds were made with whalebone runners and
caribou-hide seats. Few families owned more than one or
two sled dogs. They could not afford to feed the animals
needed to pull the sleds. Often they had no dogs at all. In
that case, men and women did the pulling.
Throughout the Arctic the Inuit made use of bone,
antler, and the tusks of walrus and musk ox, which they
carved into darts, harpoons, and spears. Inuit women
carved the centers out of blocks of soft stone, called
soapstone, to make durable cooking pots, bowls, and
containers. Blubber, the layer of fat beneath the skins of
seals and walruses, was used as fuel oil in soapstone
lamps. Because blubber-fueled lamps did not give off
smoke while burning, these lamps worked well indoors for
cooking, heating, and lighting.
Clothing made from seal intestines was lightweight
and waterproof. But the warmest clothing, usually anoraks
(parkas) and pants, were made from caribou fur, an
excellent insulating material because the hair, or fur of the
animal, is hollow. Warm durable boots were made from
sealskins. Bird bones made excellent sewing needles, and
11
Inuit Mythology
sinew, the long thin tendons of caribou, was used as

thread.
Inuit men and women were indispensable to each
other, and teamwork in marriage was essential for
survival. Men did the hunting, and women did the cooking,
scraping and sewing of animal hides, and provided the
childcare. Because the survival of a family or community
depended on male hunters, female children were not
considered as valuable as male children and were often
killed shortly after birth. For this reason, the number of
males outnumbered that of females in the Arctic, and
mature women were in great demand. The struggle to
obtain a wife was a constant one, and a man would
sometimes kill another man to take his wife. Women were
often traded, abducted, or exchanged, and their desires
and feelings were largely ignored.
The responsibilities of Inuit women were the same
wherever or with whomever they were living. However, in
spite of the hard work necessary to keep families warm
and well fed, their homes were always filled with laughter.
The Inuit adored their children, cuddling them when they
were very young and playing games with them as they
grew up. Boys began to hunt by their early teens and would
marry before they were twenty years old, or as soon as
they had proven their ability to feed a family. Girls were
often married by the age of fourteen.
Story Sources
The Inuit had no written language until the 1960s, when a
series of standard writing systems was developed for the
people of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. Many people
still speak their native languages, all of which belong to a
subfamily of the Eskimo-Aleut language family. From
12
Preface
eastern Alaska, across the northern Arctic to Greenland,

the Inuit speak Inupiak (called Inuktitut in Nunavut,
Canada, and Kalaallisut in Greenland). In Alaska, people
speak both Inupiak and Yupik, two languages that are as
6
different as French and Italian.
The earliest and largest collections of Inuit stories were
made during the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries by three men: Knud Rasmussen, Henry Rink,
and Franz Boas. They wanted to put the stories down on
paper before the old storytellers were all gone. Rasmussen
and Rink recorded many myths while traveling in
Greenland and Canada, and Boas recorded stories in
eastern Canada. The published works of these men
remain the primary sources for Inuit stories today.
Rasmussen found that the best stories were told by old
Inuit shamans, some of whom were amused by his
notebook and pencil. One shaman said, “From what you
say, it would seem that folk in that far country of yours ‘eat’
7
talk marks just as we eat caribou meat.”
It is easy to imagine Inuit families snuggled together in
their winter houses listening to storytellers fill the long
winter months with dramatic tales of magic and
adventure. Storytellers told two kinds of stories: ancient
ones and recent stories. Ancient stories were about a time
when unbelievable things could happen. They told about
encounters with animals in human form, and about
witches and sea goddesses. Recent tales included the
adventures of hunters on land and sea–stories about
courage, strength, vanity, and conceit.
Storytellers broke up the monotony of long hours spent
indoors in winter darkness by telling and retelling their
favorite adventure stories. These were often long
straightforward sagas that continued on for many nights
and could be picked up and dropped at any point in the
13
Inuit Mythology
telling. Each storyteller made his particular version of a

story as exciting and entertaining as he was able. One
explorer observed, “. . . some [stories] are almost wholly
related in verse or musical form; others are told in prose,
with every sort of appropriate gesture, modulation of the
voice, and facial expression. A number of them are
onomatopoeic in character, imitating the calls and cries of
8
birds and creatures of the wild.”
Inuit children understood they were loved and adored,
and they were secure in that love. Stories, though often
frightening, always had a cultural focus. For example, a
story in which a father schemed to kill his son was not
really about the father’s treachery, but about the power of
an amulet. Likewise, a story in which a father cut off his
daughter’s fingers to save himself from an angry sea was
less about that gruesome act, and more about all the sea
animals that were created from the joints of the young
girl’s fingers. The girl became a goddess who was
worshiped for having provided a bountiful supply of sea
animals.
The Inuit peacefully settled arguments by arranging
singing duels whereby two enemies faced each other
before an audience. Each person took a turn singing songs
about the other’s misdeeds. The duel ended when one of
the opponents ran out of accusations. He became the
loser. Therefore, in the kind of society that arranges
singing duels to avoid violence, it would seem that tales of
violence belonged to the realm of the imagination.
Contact and Change

Beginning in the 1500s, European explorers came to
Greenland and Canada seeking a northwest passage to the
Orient. These explorers tried futilely for hundreds of years
14
Preface
to sail through the frozen waters of the north before they

realized that this was not the route to the Orient. Many of
them stayed and established whaling stations and trading
posts. As one scholar noted, “In the course of the most
magnificent failure in navigational history, Westerners met
9
Eskimos time and again.”
By the early 1700s, Denmark had laid claim to
Greenland in the eastern Arctic, and fifty years later Russia
laid claim to Alaska in the western Arctic.
Long after Native Americans and the Inuit migrated
across the Bering Strait, another and different group of
people, the Aleut, migrated across the strait. I include the
Aleut in this book so that their history and stories will not
be forgotten. Ancestors of the Aleut settled on Unangan
Island, one of the many islands in the Aleutian chain of
islands that extends from the Alaska Peninsula into the
Pacific Ocean. They spoke their own language, Aleut, had
a strict class system that recognized chieftains, and they
owned slaves. In the mid 1700s, the Aleuts welcomed the
arrival of Russian explorers, but soon the strangers
dominated the islands and forced Aleut men to hunt sea
mammals for the Russian fur trade. Before long, extremely
cruel treatment at the hands of the Russians and
epidemics of smallpox and influenza greatly reduced the
10
Aleut population.
In 1867, the United States purchased from Russia the
present-day territory of Alaska, which included the
Aleutian Islands. Thirteen years later, in 1880, Great Britain
transferred ownership of the eastern Arctic Islands to
Canada.
A significant sign of unity among people of the Arctic
was expressed in 1977 at a Circumpolar Conference held
in Great Barrows, Alaska. At that time, all the people of the
15
Inuit Mythology
Arctic, from Alaska in the west to Greenland in the east,

11
agreed to replace the word Eskimo with the term Inuit.
Then, in 1996, the Canadian government established
the territory of Nunavut, which means “our land,” in
Inuktitut. Nunavut was carved out of the central and
eastern areas of Canada’s Northwest Territories where 80
percent of the population is Inuit. The Inuit are now
represented in Canada’s national government affairs, and
in the future they will manage wildlife resources, and have
12
the right to hunt and fish throughout the region.
Although there are seven major dialect groupings of
Inuktitut in the territory of Nunavut, the Inuit who live in
Canada understand each other and can communicate
with their Greenlander neighbors. After a few days or a
week their ears can also pick up the Yupik language
spoken by their Alaskan neighbors. (In Greenland, children
born of parents who were of mixed European and Inuit
13
blood were referred to as “Greenlanders.”)
Stories in this Book

The stories in this book are told as closely as possible to
the original translations. It is difficult to judge their full
meaning because they were created within the framework
of another, very different culture. Yet they resemble myths
the world over in which magic plays a major role and
adventurers are great heroes. The geographic sources for
these stories are roughly divided among the Inuit of
Greenland, Canada, and Alaska. These three Arctic regions
are governed by different nations: Greenland by Denmark;
Nunavut by Canada; and Alaska by the United States.
Because each of these regions includes a wide variety of
environments, I have taken two stories from each country,
plus one from the Aleutian Islands.
16
Preface
Preceding each story is an introduction explaining the

particular environment and lifestyles of the people at the
time the story was being recorded. Throughout this book I
have used the term Inuit. However, quotations cannot be
altered, and the reader must bear in mind that the sections
of Expert Commentary that are included at the end of each
story were written long before the term Inuit had replaced
the word Eskimo.
“The Woman Who Adopted a Bear” is an ancient story
from Polar Greenland. It is a tale of love, anger, and
revenge in which a small polar bear cub develops human
14
qualities.
The west Greenland story, “The Girl Who Married a
Gnome,” is about a dwarf who marries a local girl.
Gnomes are mythological characters who appear as
humans in Inuit stories. They have all the characteristics of
people, but they are only about a foot in height. Gnomes
were seldom seen, except by shamans, and were known
to be strong and quick. They lived on land and sea, and if
15
one chose to capture a man, he might never be released.
“The Adventures of Kivioq” is a long saga about a
young hero who encounters witches, murderers, and
animals in human form. He is rescued by his spirit helper,
Snow Bunting, a small white bird that spends the summer
in the Arctic. There are many versions throughout the
Arctic of Kivioq’s adventures, but I have chosen only a
small part of the saga recorded by Rasmussen during his
16
travels in Canada.
Sedna was a mythological goddess who ruled over the
sea world. Long ago, she was a beautiful young woman,
but her father chopped off her fingers to save himself from
an angry sea god. Often an angatok, or shaman, visited her
at the bottom of the sea and combed her long hair because
17
she had no fingers.
17
Inuit Mythology
The adventures of Oogoon in Alaska are similar to

Kivioq’s adventures in Baffinland, except Oogoon lives in
an inland environment where some Inuit never visit the
sea, hunt sea mammals, or live in snow houses. In
“Oogoon’s Adventures on the Kobuk River,” he is rescued
by his spirit-helper, an ermine, or type of weasel. Oogoon’s
spirit-helper saves him from encounters with a
cannibalistic witch, a bear in human form, and an evil old
18
man.
Many stories have been recorded by Inuit groups along
the coast of Alaska. One of the more popular stories is
about Kinak, the Hill Giant. The Hill Giant lays sprawled
across Alaska’s frozen tundra forming low hills and
breathing bad weather. He befriends a battered woman
and later kills her unworthy son. It is a tale about the
19
banishment of this young man.
The Aleut story “Ol-an-uk the Orphan” is about how a
young boy lived all alone on a wind-blown Aleutian island
after his parents disappeared. It is a story of loss,
20
loneliness, competition, and love.
Today
Now the Inuit live in much the same way as the Danes,
Canadians, Americans, and other foreigners who have
come to live among them, and few vestiges of traditional
life remain.
Sealing, whaling, and walrus-hunting remain important
activities in Greenland (although today, hunting is for meat
and not for skins). The fishing industry is Greenland’s most
important means of support, and in the subarctic regions
of the southernmost part of the island, Greenlanders have
21
also established large sheep farms.
In Alaska, fishing remains an important part of the
18
Inuit Mythology
state’s economy. Tourism and the petroleum and mining

22
industries currently provide many jobs for native people.
While some men still hunt and fish in the old way,
other men, and women, are preserving the old traditions
by illustrating them in blocks of native soapstone.
Soapstone is no longer being used to make bowls and
pots. Instead, it is being carved by gifted artists into
valuable art objects that are collected by people all over
the world. The carvings depict men brandishing harpoons,
hunters in kayaks, and women carrying young children in
the hoods of their anoraks, and they also represent the
native seals, whales, and walruses. Such lifelike images of
the Inuit people and the animals of the Arctic are
reminders of the rich cultural heritage.
Today, Inuit children study their native languages and
customs in schools, and storytelling remains an important
teaching tool. By keeping the old stories alive, we also
keep open the great windows to the Arctic past.
20
1
THE WOMAN WHO
A DOPTED A BEAR
POLAR INUIT OF
NORTHERN GREENLAND
INTRODUCTION
The Inuit who lived closest to the North Pole were called
the Polar Inuit. They lived farther north than any other
humans in the world—on the very tip of Greenland—an
island almost completely buried beneath a permanent
layer of ice and snow. Winter in northern Greenland is
long, cold, and dark. Summer is short and cool. The sea
remains frozen nine months of the year, and for four of
those months, it is also too dark to hunt. Northern
Greenland experiences the harshest weather conditions in
all of the Arctic, yet for the Polar Inuit, the land and sea held
few secrets.
When European explorers first encountered the Polar
Inuit in the early 1800s, there were between two hundred
and two hundred fifty people living in the Arctic’s harshest
environment on the northern tip of Greenland. These
people believed they were the only humans in the world
and looked upon the white explorers as gods from the sky.
In Baffinland, when the Inuit first met John Ross and his
men, they asked, “Who are you? What are you? Where do
1
you come from? Is it from the sun or the moon?”
The Polar Inuit survived by hunting seals in winter,
white whales and narwhals in summer, polar bears in fall,
and walruses year round. During the warm months, they
hunted caribou, fox, and hares on land and fished along
the rocky shores. The Polar Inuit did not fish or hunt from
boats because neither the sea ice nor the ice in the
fjords—the deep, rocky, water-filled canyons along the
coast—completely melted during the short summer
months. However, after the kayak was introduced into the
region by some Canadian Inuit in 1860, the Polar Inuit
learned to hunt by boat and to dodge floating ice.
22
The Woman Who Adopted a Bear
The Polar Inuit lived most of the year in igloos, or snow

houses, out on the frozen sea ice. It took a skilled house-
builder a couple of hours to build an igloo large enough to
accommodate his family.
A long tunnel led from inside the igloo to the outdoors.
It was cut into the snow below the level of the igloo’s
doorway. Since the tunnel was lower than the floor of the
igloo, and because hot air rises, the tunnel kept the warm
air inside the igloo from escaping. When more than one
large family traveled together, they often built similar style
tunnels at ground level to connect their houses so they
could visit back and forth without going out-of-doors.
Inside the igloo, women kept blubber burning in sturdy
soapstone lamps that provided light and warmth, and fire
for cooking. Above the lamp, a thin soapstone roasting pot
filled with meat was hung from a wooden rack. The meat
was cooked slowly over the fire for several hours.
Families often had to move during the winter in search
of seals. Then women would pack the families’ belongings
onto their dogsleds and follow the men in search of a new
hunting territory. A recently abandoned igloo could belong
to the next person or family who claimed it. Igloos
eventually melted during the summer, and families had to
build new ones each winter.
Families who did not hunt seals out on the frozen sea
in winter lived in stone houses built on land. Stones of all
sizes were plentiful along the Arctic coasts, and a group of
men could easily build a long rectangular house in one
day. This type of house could accommodate several
extended families. The stone houses remained empty in
summer and, in winter, could be claimed by the first
family, or group of families, who moved into an empty one.
From May to September, during the warm months,
23
everyone lived along the coast in small tent-like structures

covered with one or two layers of sealskin.
Personal possessions consisted of clothing and
cooking implements; dwellings, hunting grounds, and food
2
belonged to the group.
The Polar Inuit listened to more stories than any other
Arctic people because they experienced the longest period
of darkness. To make the days go more quickly, storytellers
kept people entertained with stories about spring and
summer, warmth and sunshine. These stories always
made people happy because they reminded people of the
many friends they would see again in the summer, when
the rocky coast was free of snow and the sea ice was
breaking up. Favorite stories always revolved around a
struggle to obtain food, whether the struggle was a
competition between two men, or between man and
beast.
The struggle to obtain a wife was nowhere so severe as
it was in Polar Greenland where the population was very
small. In the beginning of the story called “The Woman
Who Adopted a Bear,” one man kills another to take his
wife. Opening a story with a murder was a convenient
beginning for storytellers; it allowed them to create a
variety of serial episodes whereby others in the story
would seek vengeance for the killing. In this story, villagers
are the ones seeking vengeance, not for the murder, but
because the killer had robbed them of a great hunter.
The point of the story, however, was that in Inuit society
laziness would not be tolerated. Laziness could mean the
difference between life and death, and any member of a
group who would not contribute had to be banished or
killed. In this story, all of the men in the village became
lazy; thus they all had to be punished by death.
In this story, the Inuit respect for animals was
25
Inuit Mythology
demonstrated after an old lady adopted a young bear cub

and treated him like a grandson. Likewise, spirit-power
was at work when the spirit of a young boy entered the
body of a dead animal, allowing the animal to keep the
boy’s grandmother well fed.
The form of the story allowed for subsequent episodes:
since the hero killed a man to take his wife, a new, related
episode could have provided the opportunity for the
murdered man’s family to seek revenge. However, instead,
the story ended decisively after the hero and his stolen
bride settled down in the village where the hero had been
born. The hero’s family became the ancestors of a family
3
known throughout the region for their hunting abilities.
26
THE WOMAN WHO
A DOPTED A BEAR
Long ago, there lived a successful hunter with a reputation
for generosity. Hungry strangers came from far and wide to
request meat and skins from Angudluk, the great hunter.
Angudluk packed the strangers’ sleds with seal meat and
skins and sent them away, saying, “I am sorry I have so
little to give. These provisions are from spoiled animals,
and my wife has done a poor job of preparing them. They
are yours if you will accept them.”
Angudluk’s wife watched as her husband’s chest
puffed out with pride when the strangers thanked him for
his generosity. She remembered the long nights she spent
removing blubber from the sealskins to make them soft
and pliable. Angudluk’s wife envied the wives of
unsuccessful hunters who did not have to work so hard,
and she sulked about her own predicament. The more she
sulked, however, the more choice pieces of seal meat she
popped into her mouth. Soon she became very fat, and
people stopped to stare at her as she passed.
“Why should we work so hard for those women whose
husbands cannot bring home seals?” she asked her
mother-in-law.
“My son is a great hunter,” replied the mother-in-law.
27
Inuit Mythology
“And he is a generous man who gets pleasure from sharing

his surpluses.” Angudluk’s wife frowned and walked away.
One day a stranger named Tuku came to their village.
Tuku had recently lost his wife in a sledding accident and
wanted to find another. “I will inquire for you on my
journeys,” Angudluk told Tuku. A man was not allowed to
hunt for one month after he had touched a corpse;
therefore, the stranger was prevented from joining
Angudluk on his upcoming hunting expedition.
One day, while the women of the village played a game
of toss-ball, Tuku stopped in to see Angudluk’s wife. She
was still working, cleaning animals from her husband’s
latest hunt. “I am sorry that you are not playing games with
28
the other women,” Tuku said. “I would so enjoy seeing

your pretty movements jumping and chasing the ball.”
Angudluk’s wife grew sad and told the stranger, “I have
not played ball since I was a girl. Instead, day after day I
must stay indoors scraping blubber off all these sealskins.
My fingers were once long and thin. Now they are stubby
and scarred from so much scraping. I do not play any
more.”
Tuku pretended to be sympathetic. He had learned
what he had set out to know—that Angudluk’s wife was
dissatisfied with her life. They chatted and laughed
together until evening. Then Tuku set out to meet Angudluk
and help him bring home his catch.
Tuku walked until he heard the sounds of the proud
29
Inuit Mythology
hunter’s sled gliding across the snow with its load of seals.
He waited until Angudluk came within close range, then
raised his harpoon and thrust it straight into the hunter’s
chest.
“You make your wife work too hard,” he shouted as
Angudluk fell onto the frozen ice. “You will never do that
again.”
When Tuku returned to the village driving Angudluk’s
sled, the people understood at once what had happened.
But they were afraid of the stranger and said nothing.
At last, the villagers went to Angudluk’s house and
found only his mother and his young son, Ituko. The
stranger, Tuku, had run away with Angudluk’s fat wife.
The villagers, fearing they might go hungry without
Angudluk to feed them, now boldly raided the meat racks
behind his house. Since they could not take all the meat at
once, they returned day after day for more.
One day, the old grandmother greeted one of the
women who came to take meat. “Oh, if only there will be
enough meat left to feed young Ituko until spring when I
can go up into the cliffs and catch young auk birds,” she
sighed.
The woman went home and repeated the
grandmother’s words to her husband. “She is right,” he
said. “Soon there will be no meat for any of us. We must
find that stranger who killed Angudluk and ended our
plentiful supply of meat. We must seek revenge.”
So the woman’s angry husband organized the men of
the village, and together they set out to find the stranger.
Barely had they left home when they found Angudluk’s
frozen body lying on the ice. Nearby, they discovered two
seals that the murderer had thrown from the sled to lighten
his load. Even though it was customary to bury a person on
land under a pile of stones, the men agreed not to bring
30
Angudluk’s body back to the village where seeing it would

renew everyone’s sorrow and anger. So they stuffed the
frozen body down within a large crack in the ice, loaded
the two discarded seals onto the sled, and returned to the
village. The men were ashamed at the untraditional way
they had disposed of Angudluk’s body, but they were
pleased that they had two fat seals to take home.
As the men came into the village, the women ran out
to greet them. “I see there was good luck hunting seals
today,” cried one of the women. The men smiled proudly.
The women had not noticed that the seals their
husbands carried on the sled were frozen. Seals must
come up to breathe at regular intervals during the day. To
do so, they make holes in the ice and keep the holes open
by breaking each new layer of ice that forms on top. It
would have taken several days for a freshly killed seal to
freeze once it had been harpooned and taken out of the
water. If the women had looked, they would have seen
that the seals the hunters brought home had not been
freshly harpooned.
Suddenly, however, a small voice came from the
crowd. “It is not often that the seals come frozen to their
blow holes.” It was Ituko, Angudluk’s young son, who had
spoken. Ituko had the wisdom of a great hunter even
though he was still a young boy.
The “hunter” whose chest was most puffed up by the
delivery of two large seals now became enraged. He took
out his snow knife, rushed over to the boy, and struck him
in the head. Ituko fell dead on the ground.
“You have taken all I have in life,” cried Angudluk’s
mother. “First my son disappears, and now my only
grandson is killed.” The old woman picked up the little
boy’s limp body, carried it home, and sang the boy’s
favorite songs for five long days.
31
Inuit Mythology
Finally, the old woman laid her grandson on the little

sled that he had used to bring home chunks of freshwater
ice from the fjords to be melted for cooking and drinking.
She pulled the little boy’s body far up a nearby fjord where
she buried his small body under a pile of rocks.
The old lady returned home at the same time hunters
arrived with a sled carrying a live polar bear cub and the
carcass of a large adult bear. When the old lady saw the
little cub, she pleaded with the hunters to let her adopt
him. “Please give me the bear cub. He will be my adopted
grandson.”
The hunters mumbled among themselves. “Let’s give
her the cub until he is big and fat. Then we will take him
back,” whispered one of the men, and the others agreed.
The old lady went home, hugging the little cub against her
body. Thereafter, the furry white cub and the old lady were
inseparable. They ate, played, and slept together. In the
evening, Angudluk’s mother sang to the cub the songs her
son and grandson had loved to hear.
Before long, Angudluk’s great store of meat began to
run out, and the old lady worried that she and her cub
would soon have nothing left to eat. Then, one day the old
lady heard the hunters complaining. “That cub eats too
much,” said one of the men. “It is time we added him to
our store of meat before he eats up all the rest.”
After supper that night, the old lady wrapped meat in a
large sealskin pouch and said to the cub. “We must leave
the village right away. We will go far up into the fjord on the
opposite side of the bay where the men cannot find us.”
The old woman and the young bear cub traveled all
night under a bright star-lit sky. Finally, they settled into a
shallow cave high up in the steep rock walls of the fjord.
Each day the young cub went hunting and brought home a
seal. Soon the old woman had so much meat that she took
32
Inuit Mythology
only her favorite parts from the animals: fresh warm livers,
brains, and hearts. And the pile of decaying carcasses grew
higher and higher.
But one day, when men from the village were passing
some distance below the cave, their dogs smelled the
decaying meat and led them up the side of the fjord.
“Well,” said one of the men, spying the pile of dead
animals, “someone eats very well.”
The old lady stood up straight and tall and planted her
thin arms firmly on her hips. “Go away,” she commanded
defiantly. “This is our home now. We want to be left
alone.”
A thin scraggly man, his head hung downward, spoke
in a quiet voice. “We are all very hungry. Angudluk took
such good care of us and fed us so well that we do not
remember how to hunt. Perhaps if you return to the village
the young cub will teach us.”
The old woman could see that the men were starving,
and she felt sorry for them. She also missed her old home.
So she agreed to return.
Shortly after the old lady and her cub settled into their
old home, a man from the village came. He told the bear it
was time for him to go hunting. Dutifully, the young cub
headed off onto the sea ice, but none of the men ever
joined him. That evening he brought home two fat seals.
Every day thereafter men from the village came and told
the cub to go hunting. Each day the little cub went hunting
alone.
Soon the villagers grew fat and lazy. Men played games
and gossiped with the women while the young cub did the
work of feeding the villagers.
Despite all the cub’s work, however, the old lady was
given only a small portion of each day’s catch, and she
missed her favorite foods. One day she asked the young
34
cub to bring her the fin of a narwhal, which she had not
tasted for a long time. The cub returned early that day
dragging a huge narwhal behind him. He lumbered on
past the villagers and went straight home. He dropped the
narwhal in front of his grandmother’s little stone house
and stood guard over it until she came out to claim her
favorite fin.
“He has become too impertinent,” said one of the men.
“And he is so big that he can hurt us if he gets angry. I think
it is time to kill him.”
Forgetting that without the bear they would all starve to
death, the men agreed to kill him. The idea excited them
so much, in fact, that they rushed at the young cub and
hurled spears into his back, head, and chest. The poor
young animal toppled over onto the ground and stopped
breathing.
When the old lady saw what had happened she rushed
out the door and threw herself on top of her precious cub.
“Oh,” she sobbed. “Now I have lost my dear adopted son.
I am too old to live alone. Kill me,” she begged the hunters.
“Kill me, too.”
For a brief moment the hunters felt shame. But the
feeling quickly passed, and they ran home to get their
knives to cut up the carcass of the young bear. The first
hunter drove his knife into the bear’s chest to get his heart,
but quickly jumped backward in horror when he saw Ituko
emerge from inside the bear’s skin.
“I took the shape of a bear to feed my grandmother,”
said Ituko to the hunter. “And I have fed all of you as well.
But you were so greedy you killed me all over again. Have
you no shame?”
Then Ituko grabbed a spear and thrust it clear through
the chest of the man who stood before him. When the
35
Inuit Mythology
others started to run away, he speared them, too, three and

four at a time.
“We were only playing a joke,” said one of the
remaining men. “Please do not kill all of us. We will throw
a big party and welcome you home.”
The man’s whining only made Ituko angrier, and he
raged through the village killing all the inhabitants, even
the dogs who had nipped at his paws when he was a
young cub. Ituko was so furiously filled with anger and
revenge that when his grandmother came out of the house
to greet him, he accidentally killed her, too.
As soon as he realized what he had done, Ituko fell
onto his knees and wept.
The following day Ituko took his grief up into the cave
in the fjord where as a young cub he had lived with his
grandmother. He mourned for many days to dispel his
emotions. Then, he began to hunt.
When peace finally came to Ituko, his cave was filled
with meat. But he realized he needed a wife to scrape and
sew his animal skins. So one day he set out and walked
until he came upon a small settlement. The people were
kind but old, and he did not see a wife among them. As he
prepared to leave, an old man spoke, “My son is coming
home with his new wife tonight,” he said. “They are young
like you. You should stay and meet them.”
Ituko agreed to go out and meet the bride and groom.
Not far from the settlement he saw the couple’s sled
approaching. “Get out of my way, “ cried the proud young
man whose sled was pulled by many dogs. “Can’t you see
I have brought home a new wife?”
Ituko ignored the brash groom’s warning and stared at
the beautiful young girl on the sled. He suddenly wanted
her more than he had ever wanted anyone in his life.
Without warning, Ituko pulled out his knife and, with one
36
powerful jab, drove it into the chest of the arrogant young

groom and killed him. Ituko jumped onto the sled, turned
it around, and headed back to his old village, pulling the
young bride, now a widow, along with him.
After they pulled up in front of the house Ituko had
shared with his parents and grandmother, the young bride
spoke for the first time, “Where have you taken me?” she
asked. “This place is deserted. It is a terrible village.”
Ituko showed the girl the cache of meat and animal
skins he had accumulated while mourning, and she
realized at once that she was in the presence of a great
hunter.
The beautiful young girl and Angudluk’s son raised a
family and lived in the village for many happy years.
37
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: What kind of houses did the Polar Inuit occupy in the

winter?
A: They lived in snow houses, or igloos, out on the frozen
sea ice, and stone houses on the land.
Q: What type of dwelling did they use in summer?

A: They lived in skin-covered tent-style shelters on land.
Q: Why did Angudluk give away his meat surpluses?

A: He was a very successful hunter and wanted to show
off his skills. He also had a generous nature.
Q: How did the stranger, Tuku, kill Angudluk, and why?

A: Tuku went out to meet Angudluk when he returned
from hunting and stabbed him. He wanted to steal
Angudluk’s wife.
Q: What was the burial custom of the people, and why did
Angudluk fail to receive a proper burial?
A: It was customary for people to be buried under a large
pile of stones on the mainland. The hunters in this story
believed the people of the village would be upset by
seeing Angudluk’s body, so they shoved it through a
crack in the ice.
Q: Why did the men of the village kill Angudluk’s son,

Ituko?
A: The boy was smart enough to notice that the hunters
had lied about having killed the seals they brought
back to the village. Therefore, the hunters feared that
Ituko would probably also figure out that they had lied
about the fate of his father.
38
Q: What did Ituko’s grandmother do with her grandson’s

body?
A: After singing his favorites songs for five days, she took
his body up into the fjord and gave him a proper burial
under a pile of stones.
Q: Why did Ituko’s grandmother adopt the polar bear

cub?
A: After her son and grandson were killed, she was left
alone. The cub gave her a reason to live.
Q: Why did Ituko kill everyone in his village?

A: He was filled with so much anger for what had been
done to his father and to himself, not only as a young
boy but also in the form of a bear, that he went crazy.
Q: How did Ituko finally find a wife?

A: He went out to greet a young groom and his bride
returning home to their village and immediately fell in
love with the beautiful young bride. He killed the
groom and took the girl home to his old village.
39
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Knud Rasmussen was born in Greenland. His parents were

of mixed European and Inuit blood, and he was
considered a “Greenlander.” Rasmussen became fluent in
the Inupiak language before his family moved to Denmark
when he was seven years old. Rasmussen returned to
Greenland as part of a scientific expedition in 1902. He
traveled all across the Arctic, recording the myths and
legends of the people, and eventually he married an Inuit
woman. Rasmussen’s heritage and command of the
language enabled him to meet and talk with storytellers
unavailable to outsiders. His published stories remain the
primary source of Inuit myths today. He says about the
people’s struggle for survival:
The harsh conditions of nature which force the Eskimos
into an unending fight for existence, quickly teach him to
take hold of life with a practical grip—i.e., in order to live I
must first of all have food! And as he finds himself in the
happy position that this form of livelihood—hunting—is also
his supreme passion, one is justified in saying that he leads
a happy life, content with the portion that fate has allotted
to him. He is born with the qualities necessary for the
winning of his livelihood, and the skill in handling the tools,
which later on makes a master of him, he acquires through
play while he grows up. On the day when he can measure
his strength with that of the men, he takes a wife and enters
4
the ranks of the hunters.
Rasmussen asked a Polar Inuit man about his religious

beliefs, and the Inuit replied:
‘We do not believe in any God, as you do,’ said he. ‘We do
not all understand the hidden things, but we believe the
people who say they do. We believe our Angakuit
[angotak], our magicians, and we believe them because
40
we wish to live long, and because we do not want to

expose ourselves to the danger of famine and starvation.
We believe, in order to make our lives and our food secure.
If we did not believe the magicians, the animals we hunt
would make themselves invisible to us; if we did not follow
5
their advice, we should fall ill and die.’
Many Inuit groups practiced infanticide, the killing of

babies after birth. They killed the female babies to insure
the survival of families and communities because male
babies were more important to the group as future
hunters. Rasmussen says:
The most glaring consequence of the struggle for existence
is manifested in the way in which they try to breed the
greatest possible number of boys and the fewest possible
girls. For it is solely economy that lies behind the custom
that girls are killed at birth, if they have not already been
promised to a family where there is a son who some day is
to have a wife. These murders of newborn girls are not at
all committed as the outcome of crudeness of mind nor
because they underrate the importance of the female in the
community; they are quite well aware that she is
indispensable. When it happens, it is only because the
struggle for existence is so hard, because the experience of
generations is that the individual provider is unable to feed
more than the most necessary members of the family.
The reasoning that lies behind infanticide is as follows:
a female infant is only a trouble and an expense to the
household as long as she cannot make herself useful. But
the moment she is able to help she is married and leaves
her own family; for it is the rule, that the woman goes with
the family into which she has married. For this reason they
try to regulate births in order to get as many boys as
6
possible.
41
2
THE GIRL WHO
MARRIED A GNOME
INUIT OF WEST AND EAST
GREENLAND
INTRODUCTION
Along Greenland’s west coast, the island’s giant ice cap

rolls all the way down to the sea and separates the Polar
Inuit from their neighbors to the south. Further south along
the coast summers are a little longer and winter has fewer
months of darkness. The snow begins to fall in September,
and by October the sea is frozen solid. The earth does not
come alive again until July or August.
Meltwater released from Greenland’s giant ice cap
carves hundreds of fjords into the land along the coast. The
fjords, which break up the coastline, provide a constant
source of fresh water for the people and a natural nesting
place for migrating birds.
Like their neighbors to the north, many Inuit who
inhabited this portion of Greenland’s west coast lived in
igloos, or winter houses made from blocks of snow, out on
the frozen sea ice. If they remained on the land in winter,
they lived in stone houses built along the shore.
Families looked forward to moving to a summer
campsite in spring. When they sought a new site, they
paddled up to a settlement and sat silently offshore. If the
residents did not come out to greet them, the family
paddled on. But if the residents beckoned them to come
ashore, the family understood they were welcome at the
site. At these summer sites, families set up simple shelters
to use for sleeping and protection against inclement
weather. Women kept busy sewing clothes out of the
many sealskins obtained during the winter.
Men went fishing and hunting in kayaks along the coast
or up into the fjords. Often whole families joined the men
on their trips into the fjords. Then, the family traveled in a
large umiak that held them and their supplies. Kayaks and
43
Inuit Mythology
umiaks were ideally suited for traveling in ice-filled waters

because they were light enough to be pulled quickly out of
the water to avoid floating ice.
Many Inuit families settled along the southwestern
portion of the island where the sea does not freeze over in
winter, yet is filled with floating ice in spring and summer.
Ice that forms along the east coast of Greenland is carried
down the east side of the island by the East Greenland
current, around Cape Farewell on the tip of the island, and
up along the western shores. Families often moved onto
smaller islands off the west coast to hunt seals that rode
the drifting ice masses.
In summer, hunters followed migrating herds of
reindeer across the tundra as they fed on dense clumps of
flowers, mosses, grasses, lichen, and fungi that pushed up
1
through the melting snow.
There were very few settlements along the eastern
coast of Greenland because the island’s ice cap covers
most of the coastline and the huge masses of drifting ice,
which flow down from the north, come close to the land.
Still, some people settled in sheltered coves along the
2
southeastern shore.
In the story “The Girl Who Married a Gnome,” the ever-
present threat of starvation plays a prominent role, as it
does in so many other Inuit stories. In this story, a
disrespectful young man learned that intimidation and
verbal threats would not always get him a wife. A
mythological gnome appeared, married a young girl, and
kept her family well fed. The appearance of a magical
figure proved that sometimes a woman can survive quite
well without being taken by force. The story also reminded
its listeners of how important cooperation and sharing can
be in an environment where the likelihood of starvation
3
was always present.
44
THE GIRL WHO
MARRIED A GNOME
Arouk lived with her aged parents in a small sealskin
summer tent close to the mouth of a great fjord. Many
hunters who traveled up and down the fjord in summer
stopped to visit Arouk, but her father always sent them
away because he believed no man was good enough for
his beautiful daughter. Arouk loved her parents, but she
very much wanted to get married.
One day a young man paddled up to the shore and
called, “Arouk. Arouk. Come out.”
“Listen, father. He knows my name,” said Arouk
pushing aside the caribou-hide door cover of the tent to
peek outside.
“Go away,” yelled her father to the young man. “There
is no one here by that name.”
But the young man persisted. “I have seen Arouk. I
know she is there,” he yelled back. And then the brazen
young man got out of his kayak and walked up to the little
tent. The stranger’s boldness made the old man angry.
“Go away,” he said, and he pushed the young suitor
backwards. But the young man caught himself,
straightened up, and shoved the old man down onto the
ground. Furious that a young man would show such a lack
45
Inuit Mythology
of respect, Arouk’s father picked up a rock and threw it.

The rock struck the young suitor on the head, and he fell to
the ground unconscious.
“Oh, my,” the father muttered. “What have I done?”
The old man suddenly feared for his life. He called to his
wife and daughter and told them to pack up the family’s
belongings and hurry down to the shore. The family
loaded up their little umiak, and left as quickly as possible.
On shore, the young suitor, who had regained
consciousness, jumped up and shouted, “You will be sorry,
old man. Your daughter will never find a husband, and you
will starve before I or any other man gives you food.”
The old man, his wife, and their beautiful daughter
traveled for many hours before they spotted a small island
far away from the mainland and went ashore. Half hidden
behind a giant boulder sat an abandoned stone house that
suited them quite well.
The family lived happily in the little house until one day,
when the old man began to have visions. “This morning I
saw a little man in our house,” he said to his wife and
daughter. Arouk shrugged her shoulders and continued to
cut up seal meat for the evening meal.
Again the next morning, Arouk’s father saw the little
man reaching up toward Arouk’s sealskin lamp to warm
his tiny hands. But when the father got down from the
sleeping platform, the little man was gone. “I am certain
there was a little man standing here just a minute ago,” he
said to Arouk.
At last the daughter spoke: “Father, I have married an
atliarusek [an Inuit word for elf or gnome]. But I feared you
would not like him, so I do not let him stay long in our
house.”
The old man thought this news over. Finally, he said, “I
do not mind. Tell him to come and live with us.”
46
The Girl Who Married a Gnome
The following morning when Arouk’s father woke up

he saw the stout little man sitting on the platform beside
his daughter. He was pleased to have a new son-in-law,
even if he was very small.
That evening Arouk’ s husband brought home a stack
of fresh seals. “My husband has brought us meat,” she told
her father, “but he must take some home to his relatives,
and we will not see him for awhile.”
A long time passed before the atliarusek returned, but
finally one morning when the old man awoke, his elusive
son-in-law was resting comfortably beside his daughter.
The old man smiled and laid back down on his furry
caribou blanket. For many months the stout little man sat
beside Arouk in the morning, but he always disappeared
before the family got up. One morning, however, the
atliarusek did not disappear. He stayed home all day. “I am
resting,” he told his father-in-law. “Tomorrow I must go to
the mainland and visit my people.”
“We will join you,” said the old man.
“No, it is a very long trip,” said the atliarusek staring up
into his father-in-law’s anxious face. “I must travel far up a
long fjord, and it takes many days.”
Arouk stopped mending her father’s caribou-skin
anorak. “We would all like to join you,” she said to her
husband. “We are hardy people.”
Eventually, the atliarusek agreed to let his wife and her
parents follow him in their umiak. They set off the next day,
but the family had to paddle very hard to keep up with the
atliarusek’s little kayak as it skimmed expertly over the
water. That evening when they stopped to rest, a series of
tiny kayaks carrying other atliaruseks joined them. And
each day thereafter, whenever they stopped to rest, more
kayaks filled with the little people got in line behind them.
One afternoon, Arouk’s husband pulled up beside the
47
Inuit Mythology
old man’s boat and said, “We are going to disappear so

that people on land do not see us. Stay in the wake of our
boats.” Then, all of the boats disappeared under the sea.
“This is very frightening,” said the old man to his
daughter. “Perhaps we should not have followed your
atliarusek husband.” But before he could say another
word, their umiak dove underwater and resurfaced at a
place beyond where they could be seen from the shore.
Arouk’s family followed the long line of atliarusek
kayaks up a narrow fjord. When at last they stopped, they
had to tie up their boats onto large boulders sticking up out
of the water. The atliaruseks stopped below a steep cliff
where a progression of natural steps made it easier for
48
them to climb to the top. Even so, the atliarusek had to

reach above their heads, grab the edge of each step above
them, and pull themselves up, one step at a time. Arouk
and her family followed after them.
Arouk and her parents followed the atliaruseks far
inland until they came to the Valley of the Caribou where
thousands of large brown caribou fed on stubby willow
trees and clumps of grey-green grass that grew where the
snow had melted. “You may stay here and I will hunt with
you,” said the atliarusek to his wife and her parents.
The family hunted caribou all summer with the
atliarusek people and filled their umiak with meat and furs
to take home. When it was time to leave, they bade
49
Inuit Mythology
goodbye to their new friends and headed down the fjord

and back out to the sea. Now, even if the seals stayed away
the following winter, the family would not go hungry.
Not long after they arrived home, a hunter from their
old village came to visit. The visitor told Arouk’s family that
his people at home were starving. The old man grew silent
after he heard the news. His family had enjoyed great
prosperity during the summer, and he knew he should
share it with his old friends. So he loaded up his boat with
caribou meat and hides and journeyed back to his old
village. When he pulled up to shore, his boat overflowing
with fresh meat, the men scorned him. “You expect us to
believe you got this yourself?” asked the young man who
had tried to steal Arouk from her family. “You would not
allow your daughter to marry; therefore you cannot have
anyone to secure meat for you. You could not have taken
all this caribou meat by yourself!”
The old man remained silent as he unloaded the meat
on shore for his old friends, got back into his boat, and
paddled home. Before long, Arouk’s husband returned
home and heard the story about the ungrateful friends.
“Invite them to our island. We will show them our
prosperity.”
The old man did as his son-in-law requested—he
returned to his old village and invited the men to his island
for a feast. Soon a long line of kayaks, many carrying his
daughter’s old suitors, pulled up along the shore. Arouk’s
family invited them in and prepared a great feast of caribou
meat and seal blubber. After everyone had eaten, the old
man stood up and spoke.
“Do you remember a long time ago one of you wanted
my daughter for your wife? And do you remember that I
had to flee from our village with my family because that
suitor would not respect an old man and might have killed
50
him? And that same young man prophesied that my

daughter would never find a clever husband? Well, here
sitting among you is my son-in-law who is a very great
hunter,” and the old man pointed to the atliarusek.
The men lowered their heads in shame.
“And does one of you remember that he vowed never
to feed us if we were starving?”
Still, the men sat in silence. Not one of them raised his
head—especially not the young man who was guilty of
having made the threat.
The old man stood proudly before the group. “A father
knows the man his daughter should marry,” he said. “You
see that I have made the right decision.” Then, the old
man’s voice softened, and his words came forth gently.
“Help yourself,” he said. “Eat as much as you like.”
51
Q: The Polar Inuit lived on the northern tip of Greenland.

Identify the main regions of Greenland south of that
where there were other Inuit settlements.
A: Some Inuit settled along the central portion of the west
coast, but the largest settlements were along the
southwestern coast. On the east side of Greenland,
most Inuit lived up small inlets along the southeastern
shores.
Q: What causes great ice masses to fill the waters along

the southwestern portion of Greenland?
A: The East Greenland current brings ice down along the
eastern side of the island, around Cape Farewell at the
tip of the island, and up along the west coast.
Q: Explain why Arouk and her family left their home on

the mainland.
A: Arouk’s father had struck one of his daughter’s suitors
on the head with a rock and feared the young man
might try to kill him.
Q: What made Arouk’s atliarusek husband different from

other suitors?
A: He was a gnome.
Q: Why did Arouk and her family follow the atliarusek to

the mainland?
A: They wanted to hunt with him. And they may have
been curious about where he lived.
52
Q: How did the family learn that the people in their old
village were starving?
A: A passerby stopped at their island and reported the bad
news.
Q: Why did Arouk’s father offer to feed the ungrateful

villagers whom the family had left behind?
A: Like all Inuit, Arouk’s father understood the threat of
starvation and felt sorry for them. But he also wanted
to teach the young men of the village that they must
respect their elders. And that no matter how angry a
man might become, he should always remain
generous.
Q: What other lessons did the father wish to teach Arouk’s

old suitor and his villagers?
A: The father can best choose his daughter’s husband.
And, finally, one should not curse another person with
the threat of starvation; the curse might backfire and
fall on the person who uttered it.
53
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Dr. Asen Balikci, a professor at the University of Montreal

and a former staff member of the National Museum of
Canada, has done extensive field work among the Inuit. He
has completed nine films that record the seasonal camps
of the Netsilik [who live in present-day Nunavut in Canada]
during the 1950s and 1960s. About the atliarusek, he says:
Inuarugligarsuit [atliarusek] are dwarfs living high up in the
mountains. They have human figures and live exactly as
Eskimos. The game they hunt is also tiny, their bears no
bigger than lemmings. When seen by Eskimos, these
dwarfs have the peculiar ability to grow in size up to the
4
height of ordinary human beings.
More than a half century ago, Norwegian historian

Helge Ingstad lived among the Arctic Inuit and recorded
many of their tales and traditions in her book Nunamiut.
Ms. Ingstad describes their stories about dwarfs:
Not infrequently, the Eskimos offer precise confirmation of
what is told in a story. For example, they can tell of dwarfs
so small that they sewed themselves anoraks from the skin
of caribou ears, and they tell where the ruins of their
habitations can be found. It looks as if many of the stories
must contain a kernel of truth, but often imagination has
5
spun a web round it that it is no longer visible.
54
3
THE A DVENTURES
OF K IVIOQ
NETSILIK OF NUNAVUT, CANADA
INTRODUCTION
The Netsilik lived in a vast area within the Canadian Arctic

that extends from Committee Bay in the east to Victoria
Strait in the west, and from Hudson Strait in the south to
Bellot Strait in the north. Today the region is part of
Nunavut, or “our land,” a separate territory that was carved
out of Canada’s Northwest Territories in April 1999. It is a
region of large land masses, with coastlines worn jagged
by numerous ocean inlets, beyond which lie hundreds of
small islands. Most of the region is very cold in winter, and
cool and misty in summer.
The Netsilik say that long ago the Tunrit, a big and
strong ancient people, first made their land habitable. The
Tunrit built stone paths to lure caribou to water crossings
where they could be easily trapped. The Tunrit also built
stone weirs, arrangements of stones that resembled nets,
along rivers and streams to catch migrating salmon. But
the people were too timid and good-natured to defend
their land from invasion, and they left after the Netsilik
arrived.
In fall, when seals first begin to make breathing holes
in the forming sea ice, the Netsilik set up large seal-hunting
communities in the bays and inlets of the region. Some of
the men guarded certain breathing holes, which forced the
seals back into the water until they could resurface at
breathing holes where hunters waited. Then the hunters
would harpoon the emerging seals. During winter, families
lived in igloos out on the sea ice or in stone houses on the
land.
Families hunted caribou in July and August when herds
of the huge animals headed south across the melting
tundra, feeding on fresh moss and lichen. Women and
56
The Adventures of Kivioq
children drove the herds into lakes; then men in kayaks

speared them with long sharp lances. Durable caribou fur
clothing kept the Netsilik warm in winter, and a successful
hunt was important because it took six to eight hides to
make one adult outfit. During summer, families lived in
1
simple shelters covered with caribou skins.
The Netsilik believed that the tundra was inhabited by
dangerous and evil spirits, especially during the dark
winter months when storytellers were concocting scary
stories. There were many versions of the long saga about a
young hero named Kivioq who helped his mother avenge
the death of his father, and then narrowly escaped death at
the hands of evil witches. The individual episodes that
made up Kivioq’s adventures, which appear to be
unrelated, taught important lessons bound to the beliefs,
traditions, and customs of the Netsilik. For example,
listeners learned the value and origin of their magical
amulets. Listeners also learned that witches had spirit-
helpers that made them doubly dangerous, and they
learned the origins of their terrain and traditions. The
Netsilik credited an angry old witch who threw her knife
across the water at Kivioq with having created the first
icebergs, and they believed that their ancestors taught the
wolves to hunt.
Kivioq’s story ends after his wife is killed by her jealous
mother. Kivioq paddles away and leaves his mother-in-law
alone. Men in the Arctic might have gotten away with
killing another man to get his wife, but prized and rare
though they were, women were not strong enough to force
a man to join them. Alone, Kivioq’s mother-in-law would
2
eventually die of starvation.
57
THE A DVENTURES
OF K IVIOQ
Kivioq’s father had been killed by an angry hunter several

months before he was born. His mother vowed to avenge
her husband’s death and plotted to get even. Soon after the
little boy was born, his mother wrapped his tiny body in the
skin of a newborn seal and sewed it together so tightly that
it fit just like his own. Kivioq’s mother taught her young son
how to hold his breath under water. They practiced each
day until Kivioq grew so comfortable under water that his
mother had to wait long periods of time for her young son
to come up for air. One day Kivioq’s mother said, “You are
ready for the sea, my son.” And she took him down to the
shore. Kivioq’s mother rubbed his sleek sealskin suit and
smiled at her young son. “Swim out to sea,” she said. “And
when you see kayaks, show yourself above the water. The
men will quickly paddle toward you. Let them come close,
then duck under the water and hold your breath until you
have led them far out to sea. After they are far enough
away, I will raise a great storm, turn over their kayaks, and
they will all drown.”
Kivioq did as he was told and swam out to sea.
“Look,” cried one hunter from his kayak. “There is a
seal. Let’s follow it.”
Kivioq let the kayaks come close, then he dove down
58
under the water and disappeared. When he resurfaced, he

was far out at sea, and the men’s kayaks were right behind
him. Kivioq quickly dove under the water again, and the
men paddled rapidly after him.
Suddenly, an angry wind sent huge waves over the tops
of the kayaks, and one by one, the little boats disappeared
beneath the water. Only one kayak and hunter remained
and continued to follow Kivioq. But soon this single hunter
grew tired and stopped to rest. No sooner had he laid the
paddle across his kayak than a great wave washed over
him. Kivioq never saw the young hunter again.
Kivioq bobbed up and down in the water looking for
more hunters until he was certain his mother had sought
her complete revenge. Then he swam to the nearest island
and went ashore. He found one small house, which had no
windows or roof. Kivioq climbed up the wall of the house
and looked down inside. An old witch sat on the sleeping
platform tanning a human skin. From the top of the wall
Kivioq blew down on the witch’s head, then drew back so
she could not see him. The witch looked up, but her thick
wrinkled eyelids were so big and heavy that they fell down
over her eyes and shrouded her sight. “Strange, my house
has never leaked before,” muttered the old witch.
Kivioq blew down on the witch again. This time she cut
off her heavy eyelids with her tanning knife and looked up
toward the top of the wall. Kivioq gasped at the sight of her
hideous red-black eyes and let go his grip of the side of the
house. He landed on the ground just in time for the old
witch to greet him at the door. “Please come in,” she said
in a kind voice. “Let me hang up your clothes to dry.”
Kivioq went inside and took off his wet clothing. The
old witch hung the clothing on a long line that stretched
across the room, and Kivioq jumped up onto the sleeping
platform to stay warm.
59
Inuit Mythology
“Wait here,” said the old witch. “I must go out and get
some more fuel for the fire.”
Suddenly Kivioq began to fear that the old witch meant
to cook him. He got down off the sleeping platform and
began to poke around the room. “Oh,” he gasped out loud
as his hand brushed against a pile of human skulls. “What
are these?” One of the skulls spoke up, “You had better get
out of here in a hurry if you do not wish to join us!”
Kivioq reached for his clothing on the line above him.
But each time he grabbed at his anorak, the line flew up
into the air and out of reach. Desperate, Kivioq rubbed the
small white feather that hung around his neck and called
out to the bird who was his helping spirit, “Snow Bunting,
Snow Bunting, where are you? Please help me.”
Snow Bunting flew into the house and brushed her
wings against the line that held Kivioq’s clothing. The
clothing fell to the floor, and Kivioq put it on as quickly as
possible. Then he rushed out of the house, down to the
shore, and jumped into the water.
Soon the old witch came running after him waving her
long pointed knife. Frustrated that she could not reach
him, but eager to show Kivok her great powers, the old
witch gashed open a granite boulder on shore, just as
easily as if she were cutting a piece of fresh meat.
Kivioq quickly responded by throwing his harpoon at
an even larger boulder that jutted up out of the sea. The
great stone split in two and fell into the water. “That is the
way I would have harpooned you,” cried Kivioq.
The old witch smiled gleefully. She was so impressed
with Kivioq’s great strength that she called out, “Please
come back, I want you to be my husband.”
Kivioq swam away as fast as he could go. The angry
old witch hurled her knife after him. It skidded over the
60
Inuit Mythology
water and eventually turned into a great ice floe.

Thereafter, the sea began to freeze over every winter.
After Kivioq had escaped far from the angry witch, he
stole a kayak and began to paddle from shore to shore in
search of a place to settle. At first he stopped on a small
island where two giant caterpillars, helping spirits of the
old witch, tried to steal his kayak. He escaped just in time,
back to the sea. Snow Bunting came to warn him that the
witch had sent a giant clam after him, and Kivioq looked
up just in time to dodge two huge shells that threatened to
swallow him whole.
At last Kivioq returned home, but his mother was gone
and the village was empty. He mourned for many months
before he decided to seek a wife. Kivioq walked until he
came upon a small stone house nestled against low-
growing shrubs by the side of a lake. He called out, “Is
anyone at home?” A sweet-looking old lady with graying
hair came out to greet him. The old lady, who was really a
wolf in human form, invited Kivioq in to meet her
daughter. Kivioq entered the small stone house and was
surprised to see that the daughter had the same graying
hair as the mother, even though she was very young. After
Kivioq had been with the women for two winters and had
taught them how to hunt caribou, he asked the young girl
to be his wife. Kiviok’s young bride had become an
excellent hunter, but her mother was too old to run fast
and seldom brought down an animal.
In the evening Kivioq brought caribou home in his
kayak, and his young wife waded out into the lake to
retrieve the dead animals. Kivioq admired his wife’s
strength and beauty. Her knees never wobbled under a
heavy load, and her shoulders stayed straight back when
she walked.
But the old lady sneered at her robust daughter, “You
62
are so young and strong you can show off for your new
husband. But I am just as strong.” The young girl ignored
the old lady and continued to sew her husband’s caribou-
skin anorak.
One day while the daughter waited for Kivioq to come
home, the old lady sneaked up behind her and hit her on
the head with a rock. Then, the jealous old woman
stripped her daughter of her beautiful young skin and
stepped into it herself. The new young skin covered the old
woman’s wrinkled face, bony arms and hands, and torso,
but it would not stretch all the way down to her feet. Still,
she was pleased with her new appearance, and she
covered up the old skin of her legs with high boots.
Before long, Kivioq called from his kayak, and the old
lady, disguised as his wife, slipped out the door to greet
him. “You forgot to take off your boots,” scolded Kivioq.
But the old lady pretended she did not hear him and kept
walking out toward the kayak. “Take off your boots,” he
protested again. “Boots do not belong in the water.”
Finally the old lady took off the boots and threw them
on the shore. After she reached Kivioq’s kayak she grabbed
hold of the caribou, just as her daughter had always done,
and hoisted it onto her shoulder. But the animal’s weight
made her shoulders bend forward and her knees buckle.
Kivioq thought his wife must be very tired.
He watched closely as his wife struggled to walk
toward shore. Then he looked down in the water and saw
two thin wrinkled legs below the fine young skin of his
wife. Immediately, Kivioq understood his jealous mother-
in-law’s terrible deed.
“You cruel old woman. You have taken my wife from
me,” he shouted. And he turned his kayak around and
paddled off in the opposite direction.
Kivioq never looked behind him. And he never again
saw the old she-wolf who was his mother-in-law.
63
Q: Explain how Kivioq’s mother avenged his father’s

death.
A: She taught Kivioq to resemble a seal who could lure
the hunters out to sea. Then she used her powers to
create a storm and killed them. Because Kivioq’s
mother did not know which hunter had killed her
husband, she killed all of them.
Q: What type of animal was Kivioq’s spirit-protector, and

what amulet did he carry?
A: It was a small white bird called a snow bunting. Kivioq
wore a string around his neck with a snow bunting’s
white feather attached to it.
Q: What are three ways in which Kivioq’s spirit-protector

saved him from danger?
A: Snow Bunting took Kivioq’s clothing down from a line
strung high above his head so he could escape the
witch; he rescued Kivioq’s canoe from two giant
caterpillars who were trying to steal it; and he warned
Kivioq before a huge clam could clasp him between its
shells.
Q: What did Kivioq discover when he finally arrived

home?
A: His mother was gone and his village was empty.
Q: What did he do next?

A: He mourned for his mother and his people, then set
out to find a wife.
64
Q: Who was the wife he found?

A: Kivioq went to live with and finally married a she-wolf
in human form.
Q: What happened to Kivioq’s wife?

A: Her jealous mother killed her. Then the mother tried
to disguise herself as the daughter to win Kivioq’s
affection.
Q: How did Kivioq figure out that his mother-in-law had

disguised herself as his wife?
A: He noticed that the skin of his “wife’s” legs was old and
wrinkled beneath the boots she had taken off, and that
she could not gracefully carry the weight of the caribou
carcass.
Q: What did Kivioq do next?

A: He left his mother-in-law standing in the water.
Eventually, she would die of starvation. He
turned his kayak around and paddled away, never to
return.
65
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Robert F. Spencer conducted ethnographic studies among

the North Alaskan Eskimo in 1952 and 1953 with the
support of the Arctic Institute of North America and the
Office of Naval Research. He spent much of these years
observing child-rearing practices and writes about some of
them. Spencer’s observations confirm the cultural
correctness of Kivioq’s mother’s behavior in seeking
vengeance for her husband’s death and in training her son
for this mission:
There were for boys, however, certain rigors in the social
environment. When the north wind blew, an infant boy
might be placed outdoors for a time naked. This was felt to
make the child hardy and to enable him to take his place as
3
a man at a later time. . . Physical strength was prized.
But above all, defense of one’s blood kin, vengeance
for them, and responsibility for their actions were primary
4
factors which served to affect family integration.
Because the Netsilik world was inhabited by

supernatural beings of many different kinds, amulets, or
spirit-protectors, were carried by men, women, and
children. The amulet either attached to the people’s
clothing or hung around the neck by a cord:
. . . The physical appearance of the amulet was of little
significance. The amulet received its supernatural power
from the resident spirit exclusively and not because of any
physical properties. Practically any small object could serve
5
as an amulet.
66
4
SEDNA,
GODDESS OF
THE SEA
BAFFINLAND INUIT OF
NUNAVUT, CANADA
INTRODUCTION
The Inuit of Baffinland lived mostly on the southern two

thirds of Baffin Island. This island is so large that in the
southern portion, summer lasts longer than it does on the
northern half. There are mountains in the north and along
the southwestern coasts, flanked by low-lying plains, hills,
lakes, plateaus, and valleys.
In winter, the Baffinland Inuit hunted seals, whales,
and walruses, and during the summer and fall, they fished
and hunted caribou. In April, men from several villages
joined together and began a long trek inland over the
mountains to follow the caribou herds. Only the hardiest
men were invited to join the hunt, which required many
days and many miles of walking. Hunters lived in skin-
covered tents and moved with the migrating herds, which
fed on the luxuriant crops of grey-green moss that pushed
up through the melting snow. When hunting was
especially good, men cached excess meat and hides in
rocky caves and retrieved them later.
By early fall, Arctic char, a large type of salmon, began
their annual migration to spawn upriver. Men built stone
weirs along the mouths of rivers to catch as many fish as
possible.
Seal hunting occupied much of the year in Baffinland,
and a successful season depended on the whims of Sedna
the sea goddess. Long ago, Sedna became the mother of
the sea animals after her father cut off the joints of her
fingers to save his life. As a powerful sea goddess, she
could withhold the bounty of her animals whenever
people broke taboos or otherwise made her angry. Then
the local shaman had to be called upon to appease her.
The shaman would go into a trance, and his mind would
68
Sedna, Goddess of the Sea
make a spiritual journey down to the bottom of the sea to

visit the goddess. He would then comb dirt from her long
hair until she was happy and relieved. After the shaman
returned to his regular state of mine, Sedna would set the
1
animals free again.
Animals were so important to the Inuit of Baffinland
that the local shaman could not afford to risk waiting until
the animals became scarce. To appease the animals’ spirit,
he organized annual feasts in their honor. In spring, when
seals could be found sunning themselves on the ice, the
people held a festival to honor the seals. In fall, before the
first caribou hunt, the people held a great festival to honor
them. Full winter darkness marked the end of the yearly
2
celebrations and the beginning of storytelling season.
“Sedna, Goddess of the Sea” tells how sea animals
were created. The story also reminds listeners that
cowardly behavior is never acceptable: not only was
Sedna’s father made to drown for his cowardly act, but
Sedna kept his soul imprisoned down under the sea so that
it would never be free to become a spirit.
69
SEDNA,
GODDESS OF THE SEA
A very long time ago, a young girl named Sedna lived with
her widowed father in a small sealskin tent along the coast
of Baffin Island. Sedna, who was beautiful, smart,
independent, and willful, wanted a husband who was her
equal. In fact, she was so particular that she turned down
every suitor who came to visit. Sedna’s father, Kinuk, did
not mind that his daughter was so fussy because he loved
her dearly and did not want to lose her.
One day, a long, sleek kayak carrying a handsome
young man pulled up along the shore. Sedna asked her
father if he recognized the style of the young man’s
clothing. “I have never seen an anorak with such beautiful
black-and-white stripes,” she said to her father.
“It is most unusual,” he agreed. “And look at the
stranger’s spear. It is made of ivory.” Although Sedna and
her father were very curious about the young man, they
remained hidden from view inside their little tent.
But the stranger cried out to Sedna: “Come to me. You
will never be hungry, and you will live in a tent made of the
most beautiful skins. You will rest on soft bearskins. Your
lamp will always be filled with oil, your pot with meat.”
Sedna pushed aside the thick caribou hide that
70
covered the front entrance of her tent and peeked out.

“Oh,” she gasped. “He is indeed handsome.” But Sedna
had a reputation to protect, and she could not run to the
shore and join the handsome young man while the people
of her village looked on. So she closed the tent flap and
stood quietly.
The young man stepped out of his kayak, and, using
the tip of his ivory spear, drew a picture in the sand. “This
is the land to which I will take you,” he said as he
scratched a scene of rolling hills, fat animals, and large
comfortable houses. “I have many furs to give you,” he
shouted. “And I will place necklaces of ivory around your
neck.”
Sedna stepped out from the door of the tent and in a
shy voice asked, “Am I the only girl in the territory without
a husband? Are there no other women to pursue than one
who does not wish to marry?”
The young man’s smiled broadened. “There are many
women for such a rich man as myself. But I want only
you.”
Sedna was charmed. She had known handsome men
before, but she had never been enchanted by their words.
She went back indoors, filled a small sealskin pouch with
her sewing needles, and walked slowly down to the shore.
Sedna’s father did not protest. He believed he could not
have made a better choice himself. The old man smiled
and waved goodbye to his beautiful daughter.
The handsome young man lifted Sedna gently into his
kayak and turned quickly out to sea. That evening, their
kayak stopped alongside a rocky coast backed by low
rolling hills. There were no houses and no fat animals—
just hundreds of loons.
Sedna stepped hesitantly out of the kayak and turned to
ask her new husband the whereabouts of the beautiful
71
Inuit Mythology
home he had described, but when she turned around, she

was being followed not by her husband, but by an elegant
loon with black on his back and white on his breast and
belly. “Oh,” she cried. “I have run away with the spirit-bird!”
“I used my power to transform myself into a human
after I fell in love with you,” said the young loon.
“Otherwise, you would not have come away with me.”
Sedna cried inconsolably. She could not imagine living
among a flock of loud birds, who waddled around on
webbed feet, let alone marrying one. She begged and
begged to be returned to her home. “Please,” she said. “I
will give you my bag of sewing needles, if you will let me
go home. I will give you anything I own.”
Her loon husband fluffed up the nest of loose plants he
had made for her and ignored her pleas. He brought her
dozens of fresh fish and fed her well. But still she begged
to go home.
When Sedna had failed to return home, even to visit,
her father set out to find her. The old man wandered for
many days from one island to another in search of his
daughter. At last he spotted the long sleek kayak that
belonged to the handsome suitor, and he went ashore. The
father was puzzled: there were no houses on the island,
just hundreds of black and white loons. He called out his
daughter’s name, “Sedna. Sedna. Where are you?”
But he was answered only by the cry of the loons. Then
he looked up and saw his once-beautiful daughter sitting
on a nest sobbing. “Oh, my child. I will take you home.” He
took her in his arms, carried her to his kayak, and they
paddled away as quickly as possible.
When Sedna’s husband came home, he asked the
other birds, “Where is my wife?”
“Her father came and took her away,” they cried.
72
Quickly, Loon-Husband turned back into a human,

jumped into his sleek kayak, and gave chase.
Sedna’s father saw the young husband approaching in
his kayak, and he hid Sedna underneath a pile of furs.
“Where is my wife? I want to see her,” demanded her
husband. The old man ignored him and paddled on.
Sedna’s husband suddenly grew very angry and
whirled his paddle madly in the air. Then he struck the
water with his paddle, first on one side of the boat and
then the other. His head and body gyrated back and forth
in the tight little kayak, and water splashed all around him.
Suddenly, the young man’s handsome anorak turned back
into shiny black and white feathers, and the spirit-bird rose
up out of his kayak. As the great bird flapped its wings, the
strange, wild cry of the loon filled the air.
Within moments, a furious storm rose up out of the
sea, and giant waves smacked against the little kayak
where Sedna still hid under a cover of heavy furs. Although
Sedna’s father wanted to save his beautiful daughter, he
was consumed with fear. The spirit-bird was seeking
revenge, and the old man knew he must appease the
angry spirit. There was only one way to satisfy the spirit-
bird, and that was to throw his daughter overboard. Once
her father had made this horrible sacrifice, Sedna
struggled to keep her head above the water as giant waves
washed over her. When at last she was able to grip the
gunwales of her father’s kayak, he was seized with fear,
and cut away her half-frozen fingers. “I must,” he cried,
steeling himself against his own agony. “The spirit-bird
makes the sea angry and demands your life.”
Sedna’s body slowly disappeared beneath the icy
waters, and her grieving father returned home. The old
man lay down on a thick pile of caribou hides inside the
73
Inuit Mythology
little tent he and Sedna had shared for so many years, and
wept.
During the night, another storm filled the sea with giant
waves. This time, the waves washed far up on shore and
lashed against the little tent where Sedna’s father lay
sleeping. When the last wave returned to the sea that
night, it took the old man with it, down to Sedna’s home at
the bottom of the sea.
Sedna glared at her father with a single large, hollow
eye that shone like a winter moon on her defiant face—the
other eye had been lost in the storm at sea. Her father
recognized the thick black braids that hung down his
74
daughter’s back, but the youthful beauty he had known had

been replaced by the proud face of a great spirit-goddess.
Sea animals had been created from the joints of
Sedna’s severed hands: the first joint of her fingers became
the seals of the sea; the second joint the whales of the sea;
and the third joint the walruses of the sea. When Sedna
was in a good mood, she made the animals plentiful, and
no one went hungry.
Sedna protected the animals she had created from her
dismembered fingers and reigned over a vast region where
human souls, including her father’s, were imprisoned as
punishment after death.
75
Q: What are the two major climate areas on Baffin

Island?
A: Baffin Island is so large that its northern section
displays the harshest Arctic weather, while its southern
section has the mildest Arctic weather.
Q: Explain why Sedna went away with the young man in

the black-and-white anorak.
A: He was handsome and charming, and he promised
her wealth and jewels and life in a beautiful land.
Q: Who did Sedna’s suitor turn out to be?

A: The Inuit spirit-bird, which was a loon.
Q: Why was Sedna unhappy?

A: She cried to be free and return to her people, but the
loon kept her in a nest on the cliffs.
Q: Why did Sedna’s father sacrifice his daughter’s life?

A: He feared the sea god, who demanded the girl’s life, so
he threw her overboard.
Q: What happened to Sedna’s fingers after her father cut

them off?
A: The first joint of her fingers became the seals of the
sea, the second joint the whales of the sea, and the
third joint the walruses of the sea.
Q: What became of Sedna?

A: She became the sea goddess. She went to live at the
bottom of the sea and there commanded all the sea
animals. She reigned over a vast region where souls,
including her father’s, were imprisoned after death.
76
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Julian W. Bilby, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society,

lived among the Inuit in Baffinland for twelve years during
the early part of the twentieth century. In addition to
describing their ways of living and hunting, and their
customs and beliefs, Bilby recorded many of their legends.
About the legend of Sedna, the sea goddess, Bilby said:
The Sedna legend—a religious legend around which turns
a large volume of Eskimo superstition—has its repulsive as
well as its poetic aspects. . . . Belief in this legend, in the
existence and the power of Sedna, a maleficent [evil] sea-
goddess of the underworld, forms a large part of the
Eskimo religion, and the annual autumnal festival arising
3
out of it is the principal celebration in their calendar.
The sea creatures who owe their origin to Sedna
belong to her and she controls them. She protects them,
and causes the storms which bring wreckage and famine to
the kayakers and sealers. Hence she is in Eskimo inimical
[reflecting hostility] to mankind, the source of the worst
evils they know, a spirit who has to be propitiated or
quelled [brought to an end forcibly] by ceremony, as the
4
case may be.
77
5
OOGOON’S
ADVENTURES ON
THE KOBUK R IVER
THE INUIT OF KOTZEBUE
SOUND, AL ASK A
INTRODUCTION
The Kotzebue region of Alaska extends along the northern

coast, from Cape Thompson in the north to Cape
Espenberg in the south, and inland to the headwaters of
three great rivers, the Kobuk, Noatak, and Selic, which
empty into the sea at Kotzebue Sound. Arctic winters are
long and cold in the region, but, for an area this far north,
food sources are rich and varied. High rugged mountains
run between the upper Noatak and Kobuk rivers and are
approached by flat level plains where caribou, mountain
sheep, and bears come to feed on lush crops of moss,
grass, sedge, and lichen. Even in the higher elevations,
willow and alder bushes grow along the rivers and
streams, providing shelter for wolves, white foxes,
wolverines, lynxes, and ermines. Spruce trees grow along
valley floors and river banks.
The Inuit of the region did not build snow houses or
hunt out on the frozen sea ice in winter. Strong water
currents along the coast keep the Arctic waters churning
all year, which make the ice very unstable. They did,
however, hunt whales in open water along the coast
during spring and summer.
Although much of the region suffers from long cold
winters and short cool summers, inland temperatures in
summer often go above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Kotzebue
Sound cuts deep into the land, and families often lived so
far inland they only visited the coast in the summer during
whaling season. This was the time of year when many
different groups gathered to socialize, hold athletic
competitions, play games, and feast.
In winter, families lived in large houses that were dug
three to four feet into the ground. A plentiful supply of
79
Inuit Mythology
wood in the region allowed them to frame the walls that

stood above the ground, and to cover the roofs of the
houses with closely-placed wooden posts. Sod, grass, and
moss were stacked on top of the posts to keep the houses
warm. Most houses had a broad wooden platform running
along the back interior wall of the house that was used for
sleeping and sitting. Men hunted in kayaks and families
1
moved about in large umiaks.
“Oogoon’s Adventures on the Kobuk River” is about a
young man who lived so far inland that he had never seen
the ocean. One day, however he paddled down the Kobuk
River to the sea. During these adventures, Oogoon was
protected by his amulet, an ermine crown that the young
man wore on his head. Oogoon’s parents, like all Inuit,
fought to protect the souls of their children. If a child were
to meet an untimely death far from home, his or her soul
2
might be left to wander.
80
OOGOON’S
A DVENTURES ON THE
KOBUK R IVER
By the time Oogoon was born, his parents were already
old and living all alone far up along the Kobuk River.
Oogoon had many brothers, but they had all left home as
soon as they had reached manhood, and none of them
had ever returned. Oogoon’s parents would never know if
their boys had met untimely deaths and, if they had,
whether their souls might be wandering around lost. They
feared the same fate might befall their youngest son.
So, to avoid such a fate for Oogoon, his parents catered
to their son’s every whim in the hope that he would never
leave them. His mother fed him au-goo-took, an Inuit
version of ice cream, and his father made him a furry
crown of ermine to wear on his head. “This will be your
spirit-protector,” he said to his young son. “Amulets like this
hold magical power and will keep you safe.”
In summer, Oogoon chased squirrels among the thick
spruce trees that grew along the river, and in winter he
hunted for white fox, wolverines, and lynx with his father
out on the frozen tundra.
As the years went by, Oogoon grew tall and strong. But
his father could not tell if he had reached manhood. One
day in early summer, Oogoon’s father gave his son a strong
81
Inuit Mythology
new hunting spear made for a man. “It is time for you to
hunt alone,” said Oogoon’s father.
Oogoon rubbed his fingers along the finely polished
wooden spear-handle and then against the sharp stone
blade his father had attached to the end. “It is a fine
weapon,” said Oogoon to his father. “I will make you
proud.”
Oogoon rose early the next morning and bounded
down the path through the spruce trees in search of game.
Even though he had traveled this way many times before
with his father, it was the first time he had carried a spear
and had been all alone. That evening, Oogoon returned
home wearing a big smile and dragging a bird, a young
ptarmigan.
When Oogoon’s father saw the bird he heaved a sigh
of relief. Oogoon had snared the ptarmigan, but it was
obvious that he had not used his new spear. Even young
children could snare birds, but it took the confidence and
skill of a mature man to use a spear. The old man thanked
the earth that his son was still a boy and would be likely to
remain at home.
Before long, Oogoon’s father inquired if he would like
to go hunting again. “Yes,” said Oogoon, “I had great
success once before.”
That evening Oogoon returned home with a small
rabbit. He had snared the animal again, but had not used
his new spear. Once more, the old man sighed, and
thanked the earth that his son was still a boy.
Winter passed, and in spring Oogoon announced that
it was time for him to go hunting again. When he returned
home that evening, he dragged behind him a large
caribou. This time it was clear that the animal had been
felled by Oogoon’s new spear, and this time his father did
82
Oogoon’s Adventures on the Kobuk River
not give thanks to the earth. Instead, he made plans to kill

his son before he could leave home.
The following morning, after Oogoon had left to go
hunting, his father buried sharp spears beneath the snow
along the trail Oogoon followed home. Then he hid behind
a tall spruce tree and waited. At last, Oogoon came down
the trail dragging two caribou. But when he saw the piles
of disturbed snow along the trail, he swished his feet back
and forth in the snow and uncovered the sharp spears his
father had planted. Oogoon pulled up the spears, threw
them aside, and continued on his way home as if nothing
had happened. He did not mention the incident when the
family ate together that evening.
The next morning Oogoon’s father set a noose, a loop
of rope used to hang people, above the door and waited to
drop it on his son when he entered the house. But
Oogoon’s father did not hear his son approaching, and
when the young man opened the door, the noose fell on
the floor too soon. Oogoon stepped over the noose, and sat
down to eat.
“Have you forgotten, father?” said Oogoon. “You can
never succeed in killing me as long as I wear my ermine
crown.”
The old man hung his head in shame. “You are right,”
he said. “I will stop trying.” So, Oogoon’s parents forgot
their fear of losing their son, and the family lived happily
together for two more winters. Then, one cold spring
morning Oogoon approached his father with a request: “I
would like very much to have a kayak of my own. Will you
make one for me?”
Oogoon’s father knew that if he made his son a kayak,
he would leave. Nevertheless, the old man made Oogoon
a sturdy little craft and a long wooden paddle. When he
had finished, he showed his son the sleek little boat and
83
Inuit Mythology
said, “Many of our people live far away where the river
meets the sea. Perhaps you will find your brothers there.”
When Oogoon was ready to leave, he placed the
ermine crown on his head and tucked a bag of au-goo-
took into the kayak. “Take a taste of au-goo-took whenever
you sense danger,” said his mother. “It will warn you if
there is trouble.”
Oogoon thanked his parents, stepped into his sleek
new kayak, and disappeared down the swift waters of the
Kobuk River. He paddled for many hours, content with the
sound of water splashing softly against his shiny new
paddle. Before long, Oogoon saw an old woman on shore,
but she ran into the house when she saw him
approaching. Oogoon remembered his bag of au-goo-took
and quickly stuck his finger into the bag to take a taste.
“There is danger here,” said a low voice.
Oogoon got out of his kayak, stroked his ermine crown,
and walked toward the old woman’s house. As soon as he
entered the tunnel leading to the house, its entrance sealed
up behind him. It was too dark inside for Oogoon to see, so
he felt around the walls until his finger sank into a small
opening. The opening was just large enough for an ermine
to squeeze through, so Oogoon took off his crown, turned
himself into an ermine, and squirmed through the hole.
Once outside, Oogoon became a man again. He put
the ermine crown back on his head, climbed into his
kayak, and paddled away.
The following evening Oogoon saw another house
along the river. Quickly, he reached into his bag and tasted
the au-goo-took. Again he heard a voice warning, “There is
danger here.”
Prepared for another uncomfortable experience,
Oogoon walked toward the entrance of the house. An old
woman came out and invited him to spend the night in her
84
home. Tired and hungry, Oogoon accepted. The old

woman introduced him to her young daughter who sat
sewing. After they had eaten, the old lady made a place on
the platform for Oogoon to sleep. Oogoon waited until he
heard the old lady and her daughter snoring before he
stepped quietly onto the floor. He crept over to where the
young girl slept, cut off her hair, and replaced it with his
ermine crown. After he had settled back on the platform,
Oogoon piled the girl’s hair on his own head and went to
sleep.
The following morning, Oogoon peeked from under his
caribou-skin blanket and saw the old lady get up and reach
for her carving knife. She crept over to the ermine crown
and cut off the head beneath it, mistaking it for the head of
the stranger. Then she crawled back underneath her warm
caribou-skin blankets and went back to sleep.
Oogoon waited until the old lady was snoring. Then he
got up, took back his ermine crown, and ran out the
passageway. But he had underestimated the old woman:
the entrance was tightly sealed and he could not get out.
Oogoon searched frantically until he found a small hole in
the doorway. Again, he turned into an ermine and
squeezed out through the hole. Once safe outside, he
turned back into Oogoon, and ran toward the river. A huge
black bear came roaring out of the house, calling in the
voice of the old woman, “You have tricked me. I gave you
food and a bed, and you tricked me!”
Oogoon jumped into his kayak and paddled away as
fast as possible.
Oogoon traveled for several more days without seeing
another house. Then early one afternoon he came upon
Kotzebue Sound, where the river meets the sea. He
crossed the bay and paddled until he saw houses. This
time when he tasted his mother’s au-goo-took, he heard
85
Inuit Mythology
no warning, so he went ashore. “Is there anyone here?” he

called.
An old couple came forward from behind the house
and greeted him. “Please,” said the woman, “Come in and
meet our daughter. We seldom have visitors.”
Oogoon followed the couple inside. Standing beside a
small oil lamp was the most beautiful girl Oogoon had ever
seen. When she turned her head, strings of shiny cooper
beads hanging from her ears picked up the light from the
seal oil lamp and threw it like tiny sparks around the room.
Her black hair was twisted into two long shiny braids that
fell far down her back, and three fine black tattoo lines ran
from underneath her lower lip to her chin. Oogoon smiled
for the first time since he had left home.
The family welcomed Oogoon into their lives. The old
man taught him to hunt seals and walruses along the coast
and took him inland to hunt caribou. Before long, Oogoon
married the couple’s beautiful daughter.
But Oogoon and the old couple did not always
understand each other because they spoke different
dialects. Only the daughter understood both her husband
and her parents, so she acted as a translator.
One day, when Oogoon was on his way out of the
house, his father-in-law said something Oogoon did not
understand. He said, “Do not go up on the mountain with
two peaks. There are two ferocious dogs up there who will
attack you!”
Oogoon turned to ask his wife what her father had
said, but she had gone out.
Since he did not understand what his father-in-law had
said, Oogoon went to the mountain with two peaks. That
evening when he returned from hunting, he told the family
about his encounter with two fierce dogs, which he had
killed to save himself.
86
Inuit Mythology
Quickly the old man hung his head in sorrow. “You

have killed my sons! They were my hunters.” The old man
brooded for a long time. Then his sadness turned to anger,
and Oogoon began to fear that the old man would seek
revenge. Over the weeks that passed, Oogoon became
very eager to please. Early one morning when the old man
was leaving the house, he asked his son-in-law to make
him a kayak.
“But there is no wood here,” replied Oogoon. “I cannot
make a kayak frame without wood.”
“Go down to the shore where the waves bring forth
wood from the sea. There you will find what you are
looking for,” answered the old man.
So Oogoon did what his father-in-law instructed and
found a large log lying on the beach. He began to chop it up,
but it was not dead wood, and it sprang back at him and
almost killed him. Angry with his father-in-law for trying to
trick him, Oogoon pounded at the log until it was too weak
to spring back at him. The old man was surprised when
Oogoon came home with enough wood to frame a kayak.
The following day, when Oogoon was resting in a small
hunting shelter, his father-in-law poured oil down a hole in
the roof and set the house on fire. Oogoon fought
desperately to get out of the little house, but his father-in-
law had sealed up the door. At last, Oogoon took off his
ermine crown, turned himself into an ermine, and
escaped through a tiny hole in the wall of the house. Once
outside, he turned back into a man and sat down to rest.
Later, when Oogoon’s father-in-law returned to view
the young man’s ashes, he found his son-in-law sitting
calmly beside the burnt debris of the shelter. Neither man
spoke as they walked home.
By the time summer arrived, Oogoon was a father. He
was eager to take his wife and son to visit his parents far
88
up the Kobuk River. So he packed his family into a small

umiak, bade goodbye to his in-laws, and paddled across
the bay.
However, just as Oogoon and his family approached the
mouth of the river, a ferocious storm began to blow them in
all directions. Their little boat bobbed up and down, rising
and falling with great angry waves. Oogoon tried to turn
back, but he could not steer the little boat. First his supplies
flew overboard, then his baby son flew out of his wife’s
arms, and moments later the kayak tipped sideways and
his beautiful wife disappeared into the water.
Oogoon held himself in the boat and fought
desperately to stay afloat. After many hours, he managed
to make his way back to the home of his in-laws. When he
entered his old house, his beautiful wife sat sewing, and
his young son lay sleeping beside her. Oogoon’s father-in-
law, surprised to see that he still had not succeeded in
killing Oogoon, feared for his life and ran from the house.
The next day, Oogoon found his father-in-law resting in
a hunting shelter. Oogoon sealed up the door with a huge
boulder and poured oil inside through the roof, just as the
old man had done to him. Then he set the shelter on fire.
Later, when Oogoon returned and found the charred
bones of his father-in-law lying in the ashes, he knew he
would not have to worry about his father-in-law’s evil
tricks any longer.
Oogoon took his wife and little son far up the Kobuk
River to live with his parents. Oogoon’s parents were
delighted that at least one of their sons had returned
home, and they would not have to worry that his soul
might become lost. Oogoon’s parents doted on their lovely
daughter-in-law and spoiled their handsome young
grandson, and they never tired of listening to their son’s
exciting adventures on the Kobuk River.
89
Q: How did Inuit houses in the Kotzebue Sound region of

Alaska differ from those in other parts of the Arctic?
A: The Inuit of Kotzebue Sound did not live in igloos or
hunt out on the sea ice in winter because water
currents in the region made the ice too unstable.
Instead, they dug houses three or four feet into the
ground and built a frame and roof above the dugout
portion. A plentiful supply of driftwood in the region
gave them ample supplies for framing and roofing their
houses, which they covered all over with sod.
Q: Did Oogoon and his father hunt sea animals?

A: No. They lived too far from the sea. They hunted
caribou and smaller animals on the frozen tundra.
Q: What was the amulet Oogoon’s father made for him

after he was born?
A: A crown made from ermine fur.
Q: How did Oogoon’s father know when his son had

become a man?
A: The father could tell by the way his son had hunted his
first caribou that Oogoon had used his new spear like
a man.
Q: Why did Oogoon’s father want to kill his son?

A: He feared Oogoon would leave home like his brothers
and never return. If he killed his youngest son before
he had a chance to leave home, Oogoon’s father might
be able to protect the boy’s soul, should he be killed by
an accident.
90
Q: Whom did Oogoon meet first on his journey down the

river?
A: He met an old woman who lived along the shore.
Q: How did Oogoon escape from the entrance to the

woman’s house?
A: Oogoon called on his ermine spirit-helper, turned into
an ermine, and squeezed out a small hole in the wall.
Q: How did Oogoon protect himself in the house of the

second old woman, who invited him to stay the night?
A: When they all went to bed, Oogoon switched his
ermine crown for the long hair of the old lady’s young
daughter, hoping to trick the old lady if she meant any
harm.
Q: What happened to the daughter?

A: In the morning, the old lady crept out of bed and cut off
the head with the ermine crown, believing she was
killing the stranger instead of her daughter.
Q: How did Oogoon find a wife?

A: After he paddled down the Kobuk River he arrived
in Kotzebue Sound where he visited a family along
the shore. The family invited him to stay with them,
and eventually Oogoon married their beautiful
daughter.
Q: Why did Oogoon’s father-in-law try to kill him?

A: The father-in-law had warned Oogoon not to go up
into the mountain with two peaks. But Oogoon ignored
the warning, went up the mountain, and killed two
ferocious dogs there. They turned out to be his father
in-law’s sons.
91
Inuit Mythology
Q: Why did Oogoon ignore his father-in-law’s warning?

A: He did not understand the dialect spoken by his
in-laws. Oogoon’s wife had been his translator, and
she had left the house before her father issued the
warning.
Q: How did Oogoon’s father-in-law try to kill him?

A: The father-in-law instructed Oogoon to make a kayak
from driftwood, and the driftwood sprang up and tried
to kill him. Then the old man tried to burn Oogoon by
pouring hot oil down a hole in the roof of a hunting
shelter in which the young man had stopped to rest.
Q: What happened when Oogoon tried to take his wife

and young son home to visit with his parents?
A: His father-in-law, using magic, tried to have Oogoon
killed in a storm at sea. Oogoon’s son and wife who
were swept overboard were saved and taken home.
Oogoon surprised his father-in-law by surviving the
ordeal and returning to his father-in-law’s home to
seek revenge.
Q: Did Oogoon ever return to his own home?

A: Oogoon killed his wicked father-in-law and returned
home with his family to live with his parents on the
Kobuk River.
92
EXPERT COMMENTARY
The Danish ethnologist Knud Rasmussen observed the use

of amulets among groups in the Arctic and found that only
on occasion were such amulets worn by women:
Women rarely wore amulets on their own accord. The
Eskimo idea is that it is the man and not the woman who
has to fight the battle of life, and consequently, one finds
little girls of five or six years old wearing amulets for
protection of the sons they hope to bear–for the longer an
3
amulet has been worn, the greater its power.
Edward William Nelson, while doing field work for the

Smithsonian Institution in Alaska during the late 1800s,
collected many different types of amulets:
Among the people of Kaviak Peninsula and Kotzebue
Sound, a body of the common weasel [ermine], which is
said to be one of the totem animals of the Eskimo, is very
highly prized as a fetich [fetish: an object believed to
possess magical power]. The body is dried entire and is
worn on the belt or carried in a pouch by boys and young
men. The possession of these weasel mummies is
supposed to endow their owner with agility and prowess as
4
hunters.
Forty years ago, an Inuit author wrote I Am Eskimo:

Aknik my name, in which he described various aspects of
native life, including how to make Inuit ice cream:
Mama Eskimo use reindeer or caribou fat for making ice
cream. She took fat and chop it up fine. After chop it up,
rounded it up again put it in a pan, and heat it a little. After
she heat little she put seal oil and water on fine snow and
start to work with hand and stir it up. Pretty soon that fat
getting white and getting bigger and bigger. Pretty soon she
5
have pan full of Eskimo ice cream.
93
6
THE HILL GIANT
BERING STRAIT INUIT
OF ALASKA
INTRODUCTION
The territory once occupied by the Bering Strait Inuit

included the rocky, treeless islands in the strait. Offshore, it
included most of the Seward Peninsula and the eastern
shores of Norton Sound. The mountains on the mainland
are flanked by miles of flat treeless tundra, and forty-nine
square miles of the region lie north of the Arctic Circle. Sea
ice forms in October and stays until June. Yet, the Inuit did
not live or hunt out on the frozen ice in winter because the
churning waters of the strait made the ice unstable and
unsafe for travel.
Seals, whales, and walruses were hunted in spring and
summer in open water. In June, fisherman caught coho,
chum, and king salmon in local rivers. Women dried the
salmon on driftwood racks at summer campsites. In July
and August, women and children traveled up into the
mountains to gather quantities of salmon berries,
cranberries, and blueberries, which they also dried for
winter.
In October, families returned from their inland summer
fishing camps to their winter homes along the coast. Men
dropped seal nets into the water to catch seals and hauled
the nets in before the sea froze. Later, they put the nets into
blow holes in the ice where the seals come to breathe.
Hunters corralled caribou on the mainland during the
February and March migration season by driving them
between a narrow row of large boulders or between two
lines of men. Hunters waited at the end of the lines of men
or rocks to spear the animals.
The Bering Strait Inuit dug large house foundations
partially into the ground, framed them with tall posts, and
covered them with sod, moss, and skins. In summer, these
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Inuit Mythology
houses were entered by a ladder descending from the

front door, and, in winter, by an underground tunnel
leading up to the front door which was designed to keep
out blowing wind, rain, and snow when entering and
1
exiting the house.
The wind that sweeps along the coast and islands near
the Bering Strait is as fierce and cold as the wind that
blows across the eastern Arctic. The story about “The Hill
Giant,” was a popular tale about the origin of severe
weather. It was also a story about banishment, in which a
young man was banished from his village by his own
mother. In the Arctic, banishment was, in effect, a death
sentence, since no one could survive in the region alone.
The mainland mountains of the region are formed by
Kinak, the giant, who lay across the land covered with
snow. It is undoubtedly Kinak who continues to breathe,
2
sneeze, and cough severe wind and weather.
96
THE HILL GIANT
Darkness covered the frozen tundra the night Taku slipped
out the long underground entrance of the house she had
shared for many years with her cruel young husband. Tired
of being beaten, Taku was leaving and never coming back.
Taku pulled her caribou-skin anorak up around her
face and headed west. She traveled for many days and
nights, going out of her way to avoid houses and villages,
fearing someone might see her and take her home. When
she was sure all signs of human life were behind her, Taku
slowed down.
Then, a cold wind began to whip her face, and she
stopped to look for shelter. A series of large and small hills
off in the distance gave her renewed energy, and she
began to run toward them. At last Taku reached the
smallest hill and made a clearing between two short
ridges. She snuggled into the deep snow and fell sound
asleep.
The following day, Taku continued to trek along the
hills, and in the evening, she nestled down beside two
small round hills. Each day, Taku climbed higher and
higher along the hilly ridges until one morning a great
booming voice awoke her: “Who are you? Humans never
visit me. What are you doing here?”
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Inuit Mythology
Taku trembled with fright. She told the invisible voice

her sad story and how she had been forced to run away
from her husband’s constant beatings.
“You may call me Kinak,” said the voice. “My great
body spreads out over the tundra, and I have allowed you
to sleep between my toes and knees, on my chest, and
now on my face. But you must never again sleep so close
to my mouth or I will be forced to breathe on you and blow
you away.”
Taku trembled. “I did not realize I was traveling on the
body of a giant,” said the young wife. “I will leave right
away.”
The giant heaved a sigh. “You do not have to leave.
Build a house in the thickest part of my beard, far away
from my mouth. But go quickly. I must take a breath and
clear my lungs right now.”
Taku had barely settled in the giant’s beard when a
fierce wind roared out over the hills and heavy snow
swirled across the tundra. While she waited for something
more to happen, a dark cloud appeared in the sky and
moved slowly toward her. When it was directly overhead,
Taku recognized the outline of the giant’s huge fist. The
shadow lingered for a moment, then a freshly killed
caribou dropped down beside her. Taku was so hungry she
thanked the giant out loud. “Thank you. Thank you,” she
yelled into the sky. Taku quickly gathered hairs from the
giant’s beard, built a fire with the hairs, and ate heartily.
She was pleased to be living with a giant who could stretch
his arm toward the land and capture a caribou, or simply
reach toward the sea and bring her seals and walruses.
Taku lived happily with the giant for many years. She
ate well and fashioned fine clothing for herself from the
many animals he brought. She had never been so happy
and content.
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Inuit Mythology
But one day, the giant called out to her. “Taku?” he

asked. “Are you listening to me? I am tired of lying in one
place. I must turn over. It is time for you to go home.”
Taku trembled with fear. Her husband would surely
inflict severe punishment on her for staying away so long.
“I would like very much to go home,” she said, “but I know
my husband will beat me for staying away for so long.”
“Do not worry,” said Kinak. “I will protect you. If you
are ever in danger, just call my name and I will come. But
before you leave, you must cut both ears from each of the
animal skins in storage and put them in a container to take
home.”
Taku did as she was told without asking Kinak for a
reason.
“Now crouch down in front of my mouth and I will
send you home,” said Kinak.
Again, Taku did as she was told. The giant took a deep
breath and WHOOSH, he expelled a powerfully strong
wind that blew the young wife far out over the tundra. And
before long, Taku landed in her old village. She walked
slowly toward the house she had shared with her cruel
husband, placed the container of animal ears in the
storage shed outside the house, and went inside. To Taku’s
surprise, her husband greeted her with great joy. He told
her he had mourned her death and believed he would
never see her again. Taku’s fears disappeared, and she
settled back into her old household routines.
The next day, when Taku’s husband went out to the
storage shed, he found piles of fine well-tanned animal
hides, one for every ear in Taku’s container. The large
quantity of fine furs would make Taku’s husband a very
rich man, and thus one of the village leaders.
Taku’s husband was so pleased with his new status in
the village that he forgot all about beating his wife.
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The Hill Giant
Then one day Taku’s husband told his wife he wanted

a child. “What will become of us if we remain childless
into our old age? Who will take care of us?” he argued. And
that evening Taku’s husband dipped a feather in oil and
drew the form of a baby boy on his wife’s abdomen.
Before long, Taku gave birth to a handsome little boy
whom she named Kinak, in memory of the kind giant.
Little Kinak soon grew up to be handsome and strong. But
while her son was maturing into a fine young man, her
husband was reverting back to his old ways. One day,
Taku’s husband got so angry when his food was not
prepared on time that he picked up his spear and rushed
toward her, intending to strike her.
Taku ran out of the house shouting, “Kinak. Kinak.
Help!” Her husband, who believed she was calling their
son, ignored her cries and chased her out through the long
passageway.
Once outside, a fierce wind blew down from the north,
picked up the angry husband, and whisked him off into the
clear blue summer sky, never to be seen again.
Taku was pleased never to see her husband, and
thrilled to have her young son all to herself. But young
Kinak soon developed a cruel and fierce temper. Every day
he bragged to his mother that he had killed a hunting
companion. Often, the cocky young man boasted of
having killed more than one.
“You are endangering both of our lives,” Taku said to
her son. “The families of your victims will seek revenge.
They will kill both of us,” she warned.
So Kinak behaved properly for some time thereafter,
and nothing more was said about his evil deeds. Then, one
day when he returned home from hunting, he told his
mother he had killed his companion after a quarrel.
Kinak’s mother heaved a heavy sigh. “You are hated and
101
Inuit Mythology
feared in the village,” she said at last. “Soon there will only
be women and children living among us. It will be better
for all of us if you go away and do not return.”
Then Taku turned and walked away.
Some months later, after Kinak had filled his mother’s
storage racks with meat and skins, he said, “I have
provided you with food and hides. Now I will go.”
Kinak traveled north in the direction his mother had
taken many years before. When he came upon the series
of hills where his mother had lived for many years, he
immediately climbed the highest one. No sooner had he
reached the top when he heard the booming voice of the
giant. “Who are you?” the giant asked the young man who
was standing too close to his mouth. When Kinak the giant
learned that the young man was the son of his friend Taku
he smiled. “You may settle down on my face,” said the
giant. “But you must never climb onto my lips. If you do,
evil will befall you.”
Taku’s son thanked the giant and settled down on his
long wiry beard. But he was not accustomed to being told
what to do, and soon he became restless. Finally, the bold
young man decided to find out why the giant was so
protective of his lips. It took a long time for the young man
to make his way through the giant’s thick tangled beard,
but eventually he landed on the cleft of Kinak’s deep chin.
After he had caught his breath, Taku’s son stepped up onto
the giant’s lower lip and looked over the edge. WHOOSH.
A blast of ice-cold air whirled up out of the opening, picked
up the surprised young man, and hurled him into the air.
Round and round he spun until, eventually, he disappeared
off into space.
Taku and her son were the last humans to visit the hill
giant. But Kinak the giant still lives in the north and
breathes out fierce winds and snow in winter to remind
the people of his presence.
102
Q: Describe the winter homes used by the Inuit of the

region.
A: They lived in large houses that were dug partially into
the ground, framed above ground with wood, and
covered with sod, moss, and skins. In summer, houses
were entered by climbing down a ladder from the front
door, and, in winter, through a long passageway dug
below ground that kept blowing snow and wind out of
the house when people entered and exited the
doorway.
Q: Identify five sources of food in the region.

A: Several species of salmon spawned up local rivers in
June and were quite plentiful. Cranberries, salmon
berries and blueberries grew inland in summer, and
seals were plentiful along the coast.
Q: Why did Taku leave her husband?

A: He was cruel and abusive.
Q: In what direction did Taku go when she left home? And

where was she when she met the hill giant?
A: Taku walked north, but she had to seek shelter in the
hills when a storm came upon her. She did not realize
the hills upon which she settled were the toes, knees,
chest, and face of a giant.
Q: How did Taku’s husband respond when she returned

home?
A: He was pleased to see her and welcomed her.
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Inuit Mythology
Q: Why did Taku’s husband become happier still?

A: He discovered Taku’s supply of animal hides. There
were so many that her husband was now a wealthy
man and enjoyed new prestige in his village.
Q: What did Taku name her first young son?

A: She named him Kinak, after her friend, the giant.
Q: Describe the character of Taku’s son.

A: Taku’s son grew up to be quick-tempered.
Q: Why did Taku banish her son from their home

and village?
A: Because her son often murdered his hunting
companions for no reason and Taku feared their
families would seek revenge.
Q: Where did Kinak go after his mother banished him?

A: Kinak, the son, went into the hills where he
unknowingly climbed on Kinak, the giant. Because the
giant had fond memories of Taku, he allowed the
young man to live on the side of his face.
Q: What warning did the hill giant give to Taku’s son?

A: Kinak warned the young man never to climb up onto
his lips.
Q: Why did Kinak disobey the giant?

A: He was not accustomed to being told what to do, and
he was curious.
Q: What happened to Taku’s son?

A: He disobeyed the giant, climbed onto his lower lip, and
peered over the edge. The hill giant let out a great
breath and sent Taku’s son off into the sky forever.
104
EXPERT COMMENTARY
In his book Race, Language and Culture, Franz Boas

includes a chapter on the folklore of the Eskimo. He
describes what the Eskimos spoke of when they spoke of
giants such as Kinak, as well as elves:
There are giants of such size that they scoop up hunters and
their boats in the hollow of their hands. Their boots are so
large that a man can hide in the eyelet through which the
shoe lacing is drawn. In tales of marriages between giants
and man the incongruity of their sizes forms the subjects of
3
coarse jokes.
In the same book, Franz Boas also discusses men like

Taku’s son who kill other men for no apparent reason or
for trivial reasons:
A peculiar trait of Eskimo tales is the sudden springing up of
hatred between men who had been the best of friends,
which results in treacherous attempts on life. The causes
for this sudden change from love to hatred are often most
trifling. In one of the stories quoted here [Race, Language
and Culture] the reason given is the failure of one of the
friends to come back from the interior in season to take his
share of the seals caught by his friend. In the second story
the reason is that one man shoots the dog of another on
being requested to do so. In the third, no reason whatever
4
is given.
105
7
OL-AN-UK
THE ORPHAN
ALEUTS, OR UNANGAN,
OF ALASKA
INTRODUCTION
The Aleut, or Unangan, people of Alaska are most often

grouped with the Inuit of the region, even though their
culture and language are very different.
The Aleut adapted to life on a string of treeless volcanic
islands that stretch and curl like a long finger from the
Alaska peninsula far out into the Pacific Ocean. For
thousands of years they have fished and hunted whales,
sea lions, and otters in one of the windiest regions in the
world, where daily rain and fog are whipped up by icy
winds that come down from the Bering Strait and collide
with warm air moving northward with the Japan Current.
The shallow waters in the straits and the deep waters of
the Aleutian Trench that run between the tip of the islands
and Russia create severe tides, riptides, and very dense
fog. Aleut fishermen learned to navigate by the direction of
the currents, and traveled through fog and darkness by
“feeling” the direction of wind and water.
The Aleut built winter settlements near plentiful
sources of fresh water and driftwood, and near tall cliffs
from which men could look out to the sea for migrating
whales. They dug their house foundations into the ground,
framed them with driftwood posts, and covered the
outsides with grass and sod. The irregular landscape of the
islands made these homes hard to distinguish from the
rest of the land.
Mild year-round temperatures, which range from 30 to
50 degrees Fahrenheit, a lack of permafrost, and rich
volcanic soils nourished the growth of various grasses as
well as cranberries, crowberries, lilies, and cowslip on the
islands.
The Aleut have long been skilled kayakers and have
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Inuit Mythology
hunted whales in the rough waters surrounding the islands

for thousands of years. Unlike other Arctic whale hunters,
the Aleut used harpoons coated with a poison made from
a plant belonging to the buttercup family, called aconite.
After harpooning a whale, the Aleut would wait several
days for the whale to die from the poison; then they would
retrieve the floating carcass. Villagers kept track of the
whereabouts of wounded animals and went out to haul
1
them ashore after they died.
The story of Ol-an-uk may be associated with festivals
held at the beginning and end of the whaling season,
during which the Aleut held competitions and sponsored
contests to test men’s strength and agility. Because Ol-an-
uk was an orphan, he was unfamiliar with the traditional
athletic competitions, but he rose to the challenge and
2
proved himself stronger than a mature village champion.
108
OL-AN-UK
THE ORPHAN
Ol-an-uk lived alone on a small island where the wind

blew day and night all year long. On the day that his
parents did not return home in the evening, Ol-an-uk went
down to the shore. His parents, their tools, and fishing nets
had all been swept out to sea and vanished without a
trace.
Ol-an-uk mourned the loss of his parents throughout
the long winter. In spring, he walked aimlessly along the
rocky shore tossing rocks into the water and calling out to
the whales. “Come,” he called. “It is spring and I am
hungry.” But Ol-an-uk knew that the whales would not
come to him. He would have to muster the courage to go
out into the fog-enshrouded sea and hunt the great beluga,
or white, whales that had already begun to migrate north.
But now, without his father, the excitement of chasing a
pod of beluga whales was gone. He would really have to
force himself to go hunting.
The day Ol-an-uk set out to hunt, the wind blew fog and
mist in circles around his sturdy kayak. He paddled hard
around the tiny island and out into the current. He would
not be able to see the whales through the fog. Instead, he
would have to detect their presence by listening as they
109
Inuit Mythology
splashed rhythmically through the water. At last, Ol-an-uk

heard their sound and paddled quickly in their direction.
He grabbed his harpoon in one hand, and with the other
hand he maneuvered the kayak until he was gliding
silently beside a young beluga. He raised his harpoon into
the air and threw it with all his might. The young whale
stopped just long enough for Ol-an-uk to know he had
made a direct hit. His father would have been proud.
The years passed, and soon Ol-an-uk became a young
man in need of a wife. One day, when the wind slept and
the sea rested, Ol-an-uk filled a small sealskin pouch with
seal oil. He would use it to flavor dried roots and
unpalatable fish in case he had trouble finding fresh food.
Ol-an-uk tucked the pouch of oil into his kayak and left his
island.
Suddenly, a strong current pulled him out into the
swiftly running water. Ol-an-uk paddled furiously to break
the current’s grip: first on one side of the little boat, then on
the other. He held his head high to determine the wind
direction, and sat perfectly still to feel the current. Ol-an-
uk’s strong even paddle strokes kept him balanced and
upright, even though he did not know where the current
would take him.
At last, Ol-an-uk saw the outline of an island through
the fog and paddled hard to break free from the fast-
moving current. He headed toward a large grassy swelling
that appeared to be a dugout house rising above the rocks
at the south end of the island. As he pulled his kayak up
onto the shore, a beautiful young girl came down to greet
him. She had smiling brown eyes and three perfectly
spaced lines tattooed on her chin.
“You are a stranger,” she said smiling. “Why have you
come?”
Ol-an-uk stammered. “I, I, I, was lonely.”
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Ol-an-uk the Orphan
“You will not be lonely here. We have many families on

the island. They are up in the meadow playing games
before it is time to go whale hunting.” The beautiful young
girl turned and walked toward the house, “Come. I will
feed you,” she said.
Before long, the local chieftain, hearing that a stranger
was among them, came to the young girl’s house and
invited Ol-an-uk to compete in the village games. “Samik,
our village champion, is eager for a new challenge,” said
the chief. “Please come.”
The young girl was not fond of Samik and wished to
see him beaten. “You must accept the challenge, Ol-an-
uk,” she said. “It is our custom. Besides, you are stronger
and more clever than he,” she said with a sly smile.
Reluctantly, Ol-an-uk went with the chief to meet the
village champion. Their first contest was to hunt for a
beluga. Ol-an-uk smiled as he stepped confidently into his
long thin kayak. He was already an expert whale hunter.
After he and the village champion had lined up their
kayaks side by side, the chief rested a bow and arrow on
the gunwales between them. “The winner is to use this on
the man who loses,” he said.
Ol-an-uk paddled cautiously behind Samik who
seemed to know in which direction to paddle to find
whales. But the two hunters had barely lost sight of shore
when high waves in the open sea began to toss their
kayaks from side to side. Ol-an-uk tried desperately to
keep his opponent in sight. But the familiar silence of fog
and the strong water current in which Ol-an-uk was used
to hunting whales had been replaced by blowing winds,
wet heavy mist, and tall waves. Ol-an-uk struggled for
many hours to keep himself afloat in the angry sea, but
eventually he had to turn around and go back to the island
defeated. His skin beneath the waterproof anorak turned
111
Inuit Mythology
cold at the thought of facing Samik who would be waiting

for him on shore ready to use the victor’s bow and arrow.
Slowly, Ol-an-uk paddled toward the island. He wanted
only to see the beautiful young girl with brown eyes one
more time before he died.
But when Ol-an-uk arrived on shore, only Samik’s
kayak rested on the rocky shore. Ol-an-uk walked slowly
through the thick silence toward the house of his beautiful
hostess. “Do not be afraid,” she said cheerfully as she
stepped out of the door. “Samik did not harpoon a whale,
either. He has gone inside to sulk.”
Several days later, the village chief asked Ol-an-uk to
compete in a kayak race with Samik. They were to race
their kayaks around a large island just offshore. The first
one around the island and home again would be the
winner. Villagers came down to the shore to watch the two
young men start out. At first the race was very exciting. The
village champion took the lead, and cheers rose up from
his friends on shore. But when Ol-an-uk passed Samik, the
cheering on shore died down. Eventually, Samik paddled
faster and faster until he left Ol-an-uk far behind him.
Villagers clapped and cheered for their kinsman, all except
the beautiful young girl with smiling brown eyes who
wanted Ol-an-uk to win.
Before long, Ol-an-uk fell so far behind Samik that the
villagers lost interest in the race and went home. Ol-an-uk
realized it was time to talk to his little beluga-skin boat.
“Become a beluga whale,” he said to the little boat. “And
swim fast.”
Then the beluga whale dove under the water, passed
beneath Samik’s kayak, and swam swiftly toward shore. As
the whale approached the island, it rose to the surface and
assumed the form of the young man, Ol-an-uk.
In the meantime, Samik paddled leisurely toward
112
Ol-an-uk the Orphan
shore, confident that he had left the young stranger far

behind. But when he finally arrived home, Ol-an-uk was
waiting for him on the shore with his spear raised above
his head. As Samik stepped out of his kayak, Ol-an-uk
hurled the spear at the cocky young man and killed him.
This time, the villagers did not cheer, and the beautiful
young girl covered the broad smile on her face with both
hands. That evening when Ol-an-uk and the young girl
were eating, the chief came to their door. “We cannot
remove your spear from the body of Samik,” he said. “Will
you come down to the shore and remove it?”
Ol-an-uk followed the chief out of the house and down
to the shore. But as soon as Ol-an-uk removed his spear
from Samik’s chest, the village champion smiled, stood up,
and walked away.
The next day, the chief returned once again. “Samik,
our village champion, challenges you to a wrestling
match.”
Ol-an-uk was growing tired of his cocky competitor’s
challenges and regretted having removed his spear from
Samik’s chest. But he did not want to disappoint his
hostess and accepted the challenge.
Ol-an-uk followed the chief to a large house that had
an indoor pit filled with black worms that squirmed among
piles of old bones. “You must wrestle until one of you
throws the other into the pit to be eaten by the worms,”
said the chief.
Ol-an-uk’s arms were strong from paddling against the
tough currents around his small island. This time he was
confident he would compete for the last time with the
cocky village champion. But as they began to wrestle,
Samik caught Ol-an-uk off guard and quickly pinned his
arms behind his back. Ol-an-uk struggled until he got a foot
between Samik’s legs. Then he curled it around one of
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Ol-an-uk the Orphan
Samik’s legs and pried himself loose. Quickly, Ol-an-uk got

behind the village champion and wrapped his strong arms
around Samik’s chest. The village champion tried
desperately to wrench himself free, but Ol-an-uk had
pinned his arms to his sides leaving only his feet free.
Samik twisted first one leg and then the other around and
between Ol-an-uk’s legs but could not throw him off
balance. Slowly, Ol-an-uk began to squeeze the cockiness
out of Samik’s broad chest. He squeezed and squeezed
while Samik gasped for breath and pleaded to be released.
When Ol-an-uk could feel that Samik was totally limp, he
shoved him face-down onto the ground. Before Samik
could catch his breath, Ol-an-uk picked him up by the seat
of his pants and collar, lifted him into the air, and hurled
him into the worm pit.
At last, the villagers cheered for the young stranger.
“You are indeed a true champion,” said the village chief to
Ol-an-uk. “Now you may claim the spoils of your victory:
Samik’s two wives, many fine weapons, and a storage
room filled with meat.”
Ol-an-uk accepted his victory prizes and returned to
the house of the beautiful brown-eyed girl. “Will you come
home with me?” he asked. “I have won two wives who will
do all the work around our home. You shall be my traveling
companion.”
The beautiful young girl had already placed her
belongings in a sealskin pouch and was ready to leave. “I
will go with you,” she said.
Thereafter, the young orphan boy, Ol-an-uk, was never
alone again on his little island.
115
Q: List two major differences between the Inuit and the
Aleut.
A: The Aleut speak a different language from their Inuit
neighbors. Unlike the Inuit, the Aleut once owned
slaves, had a strict class system, and recognized
chieftains. The Inuit did not have an organized system
that included chieftains. Instead, they recognized the
best hunter or most accomplished medicine man as
their leader.
Q: Name the islands on which the Aleut live and the

ocean that surrounds the islands.
A: They live on a long chain of islands that stretch from
the Alaska peninsula out into the Pacific Ocean, called
the Aleutian Islands.
Q: Is the weather on the Aleutian Islands typically Arctic?

A: No. The warm waters of the Japan Current flow close
to the islands and create mild year-round
temperatures.
Q: What happened to Ol-an-uk’s parents?

A: They were swept out to sea while they were repairing
fishing nets on the shore.
Q: What did Ol-an-uk eat to survive?

A: He hunted great beluga whales.
Q: Why did Ol-an-uk finally leave his island?

A: He had grown into a man and wanted to find a wife.
116
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Edward William Nelson held a United States Army Signal
Service post in St. Michael, Alaska in the late 1800s. Nelson,
a naturalist, took the Army post because it included an
arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution that allowed
him to travel and collect data. The Smithsonian honored
Nelson in 1983, on the one hundredth anniversary of his
pioneering fieldwork.
Nelson observed many games and competitions
among the Inuit:
The men, each in his kaiak [kayak], are ranged side by side
near the shore, and then at a signal paddle around a rock or
islet, the winner being he who first touches the shore on
returning to the starting point. . . . I heard of an instance
where a white man visiting the village of the Malemut at
Kotzebue Sound during the winter was repeatedly
challenged to wrestle by one of the villagers. Finally, the
annoyance became so great that the stranger accepted the
challenge, and, being an extremely powerful man, seized
the Eskimo and dashed him to the floor of the kashim
[men’s house], so heavily that he was badly hurt. This was
considered quite legitimate and the stranger was not
3
molested further.
Nelson also collected thousands of artifacts, gathered a

large number of animal specimens, and recorded many of
the myths associated with the flora and fauna of Alaska. He
wrote the following about worms:
Ti’-sikh-puk, the great worm . . . which figures in numerous
tales, was shaped like an enormous worm or caterpillar. It
lived in the days when animals were supposed to have the
power of changing their form at will to that of human
beings, and in the tales it is indifferently a worm or a man.
Among the carvings in ivory representing this creature were
several having the body shaped like a worm with a human
4
face on the head.
117
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GLOSSARY
Aleut (Unganan)—Descendants of a group of Arctic people
who settled on the Aleutian Islands more than four
thousand years ago. These people speak Aleut, a
language different from that of the Inuit people.
amulet—A magical charm—a piece of animal hide, bone,
teeth, or tusks—often worn as a necklace or belt, or sewn
onto clothing to protect the wearer against harm.
Arctic—A huge area of land and water that includes three
continents: North America, Asia, and Europe. The Arctic is
the region of the world where trees cannot grow.
Arctic Circle—The imaginary line around the region of the
North Pole that shows where the sunlight falls upon the
Arctic when the earth is tilted toward the sun, and where
there is no light at all when the earth is tilted away from
the sun.
atliarusek—An Inuit word for elf or gnome.
auk—A black-footed bird with a heavy head, bull neck, and
deep flattened bill with a white mark at its middle. These
species breed from the Gulf of St. Lawrence area
northward. No living great auk has been found since
1844, but the razorbill auk is still found in Greenland.
blubber—The layer of fat that lies beneath the skin of seals,
whales, and walruses. Blubber was an important source
of fuel and light in the Arctic.
breathing hole—Also called a “blow hole,” an opening made
in the ice by seals from underneath to provide breathing
places in winter.
caribou—A large member of the deer family, which migrates
from the northern regions of the Arctic in summer to the
tree line in southern regions of the Arctic in winter (called
reindeer in Europe).
119
Inuit Mythology
ermine—A weasel with a valuable winter coat that is white in

winter.
fjord—A long narrow inlet, or arm of the sea, bordered by
steep rocky cliffs.
floe—A mass of thick ice; in the sea, a large or small single
piece of floating ice.
gunwales—The sides or upper portions of a boat.
harpoon—A weapon with a long wooden handle and a
pointed end made of bone, stone, or antler, used to kill
sea animals.
igloo—A temporary winter house made out of blocks of
snow. The word igloo was taken from the Inuit word for
house, iglu.
Inuit—The people of the Arctic, formerly referred to as
Eskimo. Inuit is also one of the languages of the Arctic
people.
kayak—A long, slim, one-man boat framed with driftwood or
whalebone and covered with sealskin. Hunters wear
sealskin jackets that are attached to the round opening of
the boat where the man sits. These jackets prevent water
from getting into the boat if it rolls over in the water.
lichen—A combined fungus and microscopic green plant
(alga) growing together. Lichen can grow in the absence
of soil.
musk ox—A large animal related to goats and sheep that lives
permanently in the Arctic and does not migrate.
narwhal—A type of whale that has a long tusk that extends
from its lower jaw. In the male, the underside is all white.
permafrost—A permanent layer of frozen earth covered with
ice and snow.
120
CHAPTER NOTES
Preface
1. The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 13, 1998 v44 n27
p22(2) <http://web7.infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/i...RCM_0_
A20421626&dyn=26!ar_fmt?sw_aep=sud> (July 21, 2000).
2. Knud Rasmussen, “The Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik
Eskimos,” Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition—1921–24, vol. 7,
no. 1 (Denmark: Glydensdalske Boghonded, Nordisk Forlog,
1931), p. 62.
3. Knud Rasmussen, “The Netsilik Eskimos: Social Life and
Spiritual Culture,” Report of the Fifth Thule Expedition—1921–24,
vol. 8, no. 1–2 (Denmark: Glydensdalske Boghonded, Nordisk
Forlog, 1931), p. 209.
4. Wendell H. Oswalt, Eskimos and Explorers (Novato, Calif.:
Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc., 1979), p. 184.
5. Knud Rasmussen, Across Arctic America: Narrative of the
Fifth Thule Expedition (Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press,
1999), p. 81.
6. Ann Meekitjuk Hanson, What’s in a Name? n.d.,
<www.nunavut.com/nunavut99/english/our.html> (March 13,
2000).
7. Rasmussen, Across Arctic America: Narrative of the Fifth
Thule Expedition, p. 195.
8. Julian W. Bilby, Among Unknown Eskimo (London: Seeley
Service & Co., Ltd, 1923), p. 185.
9. Oswalt, p. 51.
10. Norman Chance, Arctic Circle n.d., <http://borealis.lib
.uconn.edu/ArcticCircle/HistoryCulture (December 1, 2000).
11. Inunit Circumpolar Conference, President’s Message
<http://www.inusiaat.com> (December 1, 2000).
12. Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
<www.inac.gc.ca.> (November 17, 2000).
13. Ann Meekitjuk Hanson <www.nunavut.com/nunavut99/
english/our.html>
14. Peter Freuchen, Book of the Eskimo (Greenwich, Conn.:
Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1961), pp. 178-189.
15. Hinrich Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimos (Mineola,
N.Y.: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997), p. 183.
121
Inuit Mythology
16. Rasmussen, “The Netsilik Eskimos: Social Life and Spiritual

Culture,” pp. 365–379.
17. Bilby, pp. 187–195.
18. Edward Kiethahn, Igloo Tales (Washington, D.C.:
Department of the Interior, 1944), pp. 48-55.
19. Edward William Nelson, The Eskimo About Bering Strait
(Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), pp.
471–473.
20. Frank Albert Golder, “Eskimo and Aleut Stories from
Alaska,” Journal of American Folklore 22 (1909), pp. 17–18.
21. Randburg, Foreign Relations <http:www.randburg.com/
gr/general/general_17.html>, n.d.
22. The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia (TM) © 1996
World Book, Inc. (Chicago, IL).
Chapter 1. The Woman Who Adopted a Bear

1. John Ross, Voyage of Discovery, Made Under the Orders of
the Admiralty, in his Majesty’s Ships, Isabella and Alexander, for
the Purpose of Exploring Baffin’s Bay, and Inquiring into the
Probability of a North-West Passage (London: J. Murray, 1819),
p. 89.
2. David Damas, ed., Handbook of North American Indians,
vol. 5 (Arctic) (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1984), pp. 577–594.
3. Peter Freuchen, Book of the Eskimos (Greenwich, Conn.:
Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1961), pp. 178–189.
4. Knud Rasmussen, Greenland by the Polar Sea: The Story of
the Thule Expedition from Melville Bay to Cape Morris Jesup
(New York: AMS Press Inc., 1976), p. 12.
5. Knud Rasmussen, The People of the Polar North (New
York: AMS Press, 1976), p. 123.
vol. 8, no. 1–2 (Denmark: Glydensdalske Boghonded, Nordisk
Forlog, 1931), p. 139.
Chapter 2. The Girl Who Married a Gnome

1. David Damas, ed., Handbook of North America Indians, vol.
5 (Arctic) (Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1984), pp. 595–621.
2. Ibid., pp. 622–639.
122
Chapter Notes
3. Hinrich Rink, Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo (Mineola,

N.Y.: Dover Publications, Inc., 1977), pp. 183–186.
4. Asen Balikci, The Netsilik Eskimo (Prospect Heights, Ill.:
Waveland Press, Inc., 1970), p. 205.
5. Helge Ingstad, Nunamiut: Among Alaska’s Inland Eskimos
(New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1954), p. 181.
Chapter 3. The Adventures of Kivioq

1. David Damas, ed., Handbook of North America Indians,
vol. 5 (Arctic) (Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1984), pp. 415–430.
vol. 8, no. 1-2 (Denmark: Glydensdalske Boghonded, Nordisk
Forlog, 1931), pp. 365-379.
3. Robert F. Spencer, The North Alaskan Eskimo (Washington,
D. C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1959), p. 237.
4. Ibid., p. 75.
5. Asen Balikci, The Netsilik Eskimo (Prospect Heights, Ill.:
Waveland Press, Inc., 1970), p. 201.
Chapter 4. Sedna, Goddess of the Sea

1. Julian W. Bilby, Among Unknown Eskimo (London: Seeley
Service & Co. Ltd, 1923), pp. 187–195.
1984), pp. 463–475.
3. Bilby, pp. 184–185.
4. Ibid., p. 193.
Chapter 5. Oogoon’s Adventures on the Kobuk River

1984), pp. 303–319.
2. Edward Kiethahn, Igloo Tales (Washington, D. C.:
Department of the Interior, 1944), pp. 48–55.
3. Knud Rasmussen, Across Arctic America: Narrative of the
Fifth Thule Expedition (Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press,
1999), p. 184.
(Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), p. 437.
123
Inuit Mythology
5. Paul Green, I am Eskimo: Aknik my name (Bothwell,

Wash.: Alaska Northwest Books, 1959), p. 79.
Chapter 6. The Hill Giant

1984), pp. 285–302.
(Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), pp.
471–473.
3. Franz Boas, Race, Language and Culture (Chicago, Ill.: The
University of Chicago Press, 1982), p. 512.
4. Ibid., p. 513.
Chapter 7. Ol-an-uk the Orphan

vol. 5 (Arctic) (Washington,D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1984), pp. 161–184.
2. Frank Albert Golder, “Eskimo and Aleut Stories from
Alaska,” Journal of American Folklore 22 (1909), pp. 10–24.
(Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983), p. 340.
4. Ibid., p. 443.
124
FURTHER READING
Bierhorst, John. The Dancing Fox: Arctic Folktales. New
York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1997.
Bruchac, Joseph, ed. Raven Tells Stories: An Anthology of

Alaskan Native Writing. Greenfield Center, New York:
The Greenfield Review Press, 1991.
Finley, Carol. Art of the Far North: Inuit Sculpture, Drawing,

and Printmaking. Minneapolis, Minn.: Lerner, 1998.
Lowenstein, Tom. Ancient Land, Sacred Whale: The Inuit

Hunt, Its Rituals and Poetry. London, England: The
Harvill Press (UK), 2000.
Oman, Lela K. The Epic of Qayaq: The Longest Story Ever

Told by My People. Seattle, Washington: University of
Washington Press, 1996.
Santella, Andrew. The Inuit. Conn.: Children’s Press, 2001.
Seidelman, Harry and James Turner. The Inuit Imagination:

Arctic Myth and Sculpture. New York: Thames &
Hudson, 1994.
Von Finckenstein, Maria, ed. Celebrating Inuit Art,

1948–1970. Toronto, Ontario: Key Porter Books, 2000.
125
INTERNET
ADDRESSES
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada—Publications
email: InfoPub@inac.gc.ca
Greenland
<http://www.greenland-guide.dk/gt/visit/green-10.htm>
<http://www.randburg.com/gr/general/general_8.html>
<http://www.greatestplaces.org/notes/g_land.htm>
<http://www.geogr.ku.dk/research/projects/articlan2.htm>
Canadian Arctic—Nunavut
<http://www.nunavut.com/home.html>
<http://www.arctic-travel.com/chapters/incultpage.html>
Alaska
<http://www.chevron.com/community/education/alaska/
student_act.html>
<http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/features/croads/aleut.html>
<http://borealis.lib.uconn.edu/ArcticCircle/HistoryCulture/
Aleut/Jones/ch1.html>
126
INDEX
A E
Alaska, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, ermine, 18, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 85,
18, 79, 90, 107, 116, 117 88, 90, 91, 93
Aleutian Islands, 15, 16, 18, 108, Eskimo, the term, 6, 16, 17
116 Europe, 6
Aleut people, 15, 18, 107–108, 116
American Indians, 8 F
amulets. See magic charms. family life, 12
angatoks. See shamans. fjords, 32, 33, 36, 43, 45, 47, 48, 50
Angudluk, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,
34, 38 G
anoraks, 11, 20, 54, 60, 63, 70, 73, gnomes, 17, 44, 46, 47–48, 49, 50,
76, 97, 111 51, 52, 54
Arctic Circle, 6, 7, 95 Greenland, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14,
Arctic Ocean, 6 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 25, 40, 43,
Arouk, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 44, 52
52, 53
Asia, 6 H
atliarusek. See gnomes. Hill Giant, the, 18, 96, 97–98, 100,
au-goo-took, 81, 84, 85 102, 103, 105
B I
Balikci, Asen, 54 igloos, 10, 18, 23, 38, 43, 56
Bering Strait, 6, 15, 95, 96, 107 Ingstad, Helge, 54
Bliby, Julian W., 77 Inuktitut. See Inupiak.
blubber, 11, 23, 27, 29, 50 Ituko, 30, 31, 35, 36–37, 38
Boas, Franz, 13, 105 Inupiak, 13, 16, 40
C K
Canada, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
kayaks, 11, 20, 22, 43–44, 45, 47,
17, 22, 56
48, 50, 58, 59, 62, 63, 65, 70,
caribou, 7, 9, 10, 11, 22, 49, 50, 54,
71, 72, 73, 80, 83, 84, 85, 88,
56–57, 62, 63, 65, 68, 69, 70,
73, 79, 82, 83, 86, 90, 93, 95, 92, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113,
97, 98 117
China, 6 Kinuk. See Sedna.
clothing, 11–12 Kivioq, 17, 18, 57, 58–60, 62, 63,
creation myths, 8 64, 66
culture heroes, 9 Kobuk River, 18, 79, 80, 81, 84, 89,
91, 92
D
dogsleds, 6, 11, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, L
32, 36 loons, 71, 72, 73, 76
127
Inuit Mythology
M shamans, 10, 13, 17, 40, 68–69

magic charms, 9, 14, 57, 64, 66, 80, shelter, 10–11
81, 83, 84, 85, 88, 90, 91, 93 Siberia, 6
magic words, 9 singing duels, 14
moon, 8, 22, 74 Snow Bunting, 17, 60, 62, 64
musk ox, 7, 11 snow houses. See igloos.
souls, 9, 75, 76, 80, 81, 89, 90
N South America, 6
narwhals, 22, 35 Spencer, Robert F., 66
Nelson, Edward William, 93, 117 spirit helpers and protectors, 17,
Netsilik people, 8, 54, 55–56, 66 18, 57, 60, 62, 64, 66, 81, 91
North America, 6 spirits, 9, 10, 25, 57, 69, 72, 73, 75,
North Pole, 22 76, 77
Nunavut, 16, 54, 55 stone houses, 10, 23, 56, 62
O storytellers, 13–14, 25
Ol-an-uk, 18, 108, 109–110, sun, 6, 8, 22
111–112, 113, 115, 116
T
Oogoon, 18, 80, 81–83, 84–86, 88,
taboos, 9, 68
90, 91
Taku, 97–98, 100, 101–102, 103,
P 104
Pacific Ocean, 15, 107, 116 transportation, 11
parkas. See anoraks. Tuku, 28, 29-30, 38
permafrost, 7, 107 tundra, 7, 18, 44, 56, 57, 81, 90, 95,
polar bears, 7, 17, 18, 22, 32, 39 97, 98, 100
Polar Inuit, 22–23, 25, 38, 40, 43, 52 Tunrit, 56
R U
Rasmussen, Knud, 8, 10, 13, 17, umiaks, 11, 43–44, 46, 48, 49, 80,
40–41, 93 89
Raven, 8, 9 Unangan Island, 15
Rink, Henry, 13
Ross, John, 22 W
walruses, 7, 11, 20, 22, 68, 75, 76,
S 86, 95, 98
Samik, 111, 112–113, 115 whales, 7, 11, 20, 22, 68, 75, 76,
seals, 7, 9, 10, 11, 20, 22, 23, 27, 79, 95, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112,
30, 31, 38, 43, 44, 46, 47, 50, 116
56, 58, 64, 68, 69, 75, 76, 86, witches, 17, 18, 57, 59–60, 62, 64
93, 95, 98, 103, 105, 110 wolves, 57, 62, 63, 79
seasons in the Arctic, 7
Sedna, 8, 17, 68–69, 70–72, 73, Y
74–75, 76, 77 Yupik, 13, 16
128

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U MYTHOLOGY U

Copyright © 2001 by Evelyn Wolfson

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Printed in the United States of America

Cover and Illustrations by William Sauts Bock

surface, and only a few inches of snow melt each year,

Religion and Mythology

idea of a God, or a group of gods, to be worshiped was

people’s forms. And the only trickster, or culture hero, was

character and strength of the animal whose object he or

Food, Clothing, Shelter, and Transportation

man’s parents because it was important for men to remain

sinew, the long thin tendons of caribou, was used as

eastern Alaska, across the northern Arctic to Greenland,

telling. Each storyteller made his particular version of a

Contact and Change

to sail through the frozen waters of the north before they

Arctic, from Alaska in the west to Greenland in the east,

Stories in this Book

Preceding each story is an introduction explaining the

The adventures of Oogoon in Alaska are similar to

state’s economy. Tourism and the petroleum and mining

The Polar Inuit lived most of the year in igloos, or snow

everyone lived along the coast in small tent-like structures

demonstrated after an old lady adopted a young bear cub

“And he is a generous man who gets pleasure from sharing

the other women,” Tuku said. “I would so enjoy seeing

Angudluk’s body back to the village where seeing it would

Finally, the old woman laid her grandson on the little

others started to run away, he speared them, too, three and

powerful jab, drove it into the chest of the arrogant young

Q: What kind of houses did the Polar Inuit occupy in the

Q: What type of dwelling did they use in summer?

Q: Why did Angudluk give away his meat surpluses?

Q: How did the stranger, Tuku, kill Angudluk, and why?

Q: Why did the men of the village kill Angudluk’s son,

Q: What did Ituko’s grandmother do with her grandson’s

Q: Why did Ituko’s grandmother adopt the polar bear

Q: Why did Ituko kill everyone in his village?

Q: How did Ituko finally find a wife?

Knud Rasmussen was born in Greenland. His parents were

Rasmussen asked a Polar Inuit man about his religious

we wish to live long, and because we do not want to

Many Inuit groups practiced infanticide, the killing of

Along Greenland’s west coast, the island’s giant ice cap

umiaks were ideally suited for traveling in ice-filled waters

of respect, Arouk’s father picked up a rock and threw it.

The following morning when Arouk’s father woke up

old man’s boat and said, “We are going to disappear so

them to climb to the top. Even so, the atliarusek had to

goodbye to their new friends and headed down the fjord

him? And that same young man prophesied that my

Q: The Polar Inuit lived on the northern tip of Greenland.

Q: What causes great ice masses to fill the waters along

Q: Explain why Arouk and her family left their home on

Q: What made Arouk’s atliarusek husband different from

Q: Why did Arouk and her family follow the atliarusek to

Q: Why did Arouk’s father offer to feed the ungrateful