An old man, anxious to outdo other people

Source: 
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo 
by Henry Rink 
[William Blackwood and Sons] 
Edinburgh and London, 1875

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► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The story begins with two friends who wager on whose wife would bear a son first and whose son would become the greatest angakok (shaman), highlighting familial competition and aspirations.

Trials and Tribulations: Both sons, Ajagutarsuk and Ularpana, undergo significant challenges to acquire their spiritual wisdom—one in a cave and the other in a dried-up lake—demonstrating the trials faced in their quests for knowledge.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves mystical encounters where both protagonists summon tornaks (spirits) and ingnersuit (upper spirits), emphasizing interactions with supernatural entities.

► From the same Region or People

• North America
  • Arctic Region
    • Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

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Abridged version of the story.

An old man, who was always anxious to outdo other people, had laid a bet with his friend as to whose wife should first get a son; and afterwards, as to which of their sons should in course of time become the greatest angakok.

One of them, Ajagutarsuk, attained angakok wisdom in a cave; and the other, named Ularpana, acquired it in a dried-up lake. The latter went on an angakok flight to the first, and while staying with him Ajagutarsuk called forth his tornaks, which belonged to the inlanders, and instantly appeared. But Ularpana invoked his tornaks, being the upper ingnersuit, who totally defeated the inlanders.