Arnarkuak, a woman relentless in scolding her son for his lack of hunting skill, forced her daughter-in-law, Ukuamak, to flee with her under threat of death. Disguising herself as a man, Arnarkuak took Ukuamak as her wife in the interior. However, her son eventually discovered their refuge and killed his contemptible mother in retaliation.
Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875
► Themes of the story
Transformation: Arnarkuak disguises herself as a man, embodying a physical and social transformation to assume a male role.
Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the strained relationship between Arnarkuak and her son, highlighting familial conflicts and their consequences.
Cunning and Deception: Arnarkuak’s deceit in disguising herself and coercing her daughter-in-law into a false marital relationship underscores themes of manipulation and deceit.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
For this tale, only the principal parts have been selected, and are given here in a very fragmentary form.
A woman named Arnarkuak would not give up scolding her son on account of his want of skill in hunting and other manly pursuits.
Once in his absence, when he had gone out kayaking, she forced her daughter-in-law, by threatening her with death, to flee with her to the interior of the country, where she disguised herself like a man, and had her daughter-in-law, Ukuamak, for a wife.
But the son found out their place of refuge, and killed his despicable mother.
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