A grieving man, mourning his cousin’s death by a sorcerer-created bear, sought danger for distraction, killing an amarok. One evening, a one-footed stranger joined him, sharing similar grief and praising the amarok meat served. However, the guest abruptly vanished, revealing himself as an igdlokok—a half-bodied supernatural being. The man’s discovery of his unusual footprints confirmed the eerie encounter.
Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875
► Themes of the story
Supernatural Beings: The narrative features an igdlokok, a half-bodied supernatural entity from Inuit folklore, who mysteriously visits the protagonist.
Loss and Renewal: The protagonist is driven by grief over his cousin’s death, leading him to seek dangerous encounters, such as killing an amarok, as a means of coping and finding purpose.
Illusion vs. Reality: The unexpected appearance and sudden disappearance of the one-footed stranger blur the lines between the real and the supernatural, challenging the protagonist’s perception of reality.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
Abridged version of the story.
A man had lost his beloved cousin and friend, who in his sight had been torn to pieces by one of those bears that are made by sorcery. In his despair be went out to encounter and brave all kinds of danger by way of excitement; and he first killed an amarok.
One evening, when staying at home, he was surprised in his lonely house by a stranger dropping in, who explained that he also having lost his brother was roaming about for excitement. Being very talkative, he spent the evening there very pleasantly, until the hostess, who had boiled some flesh of the amarok, came and served it before the men.
► Continue reading…
The guest then burst out in loud praises of its delicious flavour and tempting appearance; but before he had taken a morsel he went on, “But I see the dish is all aslope,” and the same instant arose and vanished through the entrance. The host immediately followed him; and on examining his footsteps in the snow, he found them to be made by only one foot, so that the guest must have been an igdlokok (whose body is only the one half of the human body cut in twain).
In another similar story there are two guests, who at their sudden disappearance manifest themselves as certain stars (siagtut or kilugtussat). The mysterious words about the sloping dish are the same.
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Dreamtime Whispers 