A seal-hunter near Igluluaxssuin cursed noisy children playing in a rock cleft, which then closed and trapped them. Despite efforts to rescue them, the children perished, receiving only water through a small opening. The grieving fathers vowed revenge, pursuing the hunter. Fleeing on foot, he ascended into the sky and transformed into the star Naulaxssaqton, marking his eternal escape.
Source:
Tales of the Smith Sound Eskimo
by Alfred L. Kroeber
[The American Folklore Society]
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.12, No.46, pp.166-182
July-September, 1899
► Themes of the story
Divine Punishment: The seal-hunter’s curse upon the noisy children leads to their tragic entrapment and death, suggesting a supernatural retribution for their disturbance.
Transformation: As the hunter flees from the vengeful fathers, he ascends into the sky and becomes the star Naulaxssaqton, symbolizing a metamorphosis from human to celestial being.
Tragic Flaw: The hunter’s impatience and quickness to curse the children result in unintended consequences, highlighting how personal shortcomings can lead to tragedy.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
A seal-hunter was watching for a seal at its blow-hole near Igluluaxssuin. He was not far from the land, and on shore some children were playing at a cliff, in a large crack in the rocks. The seal-hunter, fearing their noise would frighten his seal, said to them, “Make less noise.” They did not hear him and continued. Then he called out, “Close on them, you up there,” and the cleft closed up, imprisoning the children. The people tried to chop through the rock, to get at the children, but could not rescue them, nor even make a hole large enough to pass food down. They did, however, succeed in making a small hole, through which they heard the children crying for water. They poured water down through this hole until the children starved to death.
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The place is still to be seen in Akpalearqssuk, though the hole is now altogether closed up.
The fathers of the dead children then said of the hunter, “We will kill him.” They prepared and made ready, putting on their boots, and left, going after him with dogs and sleighs. The hunter fled, running on foot, they pursuing him. As he ran he gradually rose from the ground, and finally reached the sky, where he was turned into a star. This is the star Naulaxssaqton.
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