The Uissuit

Source: 
The Central Eskimo 
by Franz Boas 
[Bureau of American Ethnology] 
Sixth Annual Report 
Washington, 1888

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► Themes of the story

Mythical Creatures: The Uissuit themselves are supernatural beings that interact with humans.

Hidden or Forbidden Realms: The Uissuit inhabit the deep underwater world, a mysterious and inaccessible domain for humans.

Cunning and Deception: The Uissuit’s elusive nature and ability to evade capture highlight themes of wit and the challenges in outsmarting such creatures.

► From the same Region or People

• North America
  • Arctic Region
    • Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

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Besides the Kalopalit there are the Uissuit, a strange people that live in the sea. They are dwarfs and are frequently seen between Iglulik and Netchillik, where the Auganidjen live, an Inuit tribe whose women are in the habit of tattooing rings around their eyes. There are men and women among the Uissuit and they live in deep water, never coming up to the surface. When the Inuit wish to see them, they go in their boats to a place where they cannot see the bottom and try to catch them by hooks which they slowly move up and down. As soon as they get a bite they draw in the line. The Uissuit are thus drawn up; but no sooner do they approach the surface than they dive down headlong again, only their legs having emerged from the water. The Inuit have never succeeded in getting one out of the water.