Igimassuxssuq

Igimassuxssuq, a giant man from Cape Parry, was notorious for killing and eating people. Fearing him, his wife fled to Saunders Island, but he pursued her. Despite his size, he squeezed into a house where villagers confronted him. Denying his deeds, he was bound by his wife, who, urged by the villagers, killed him with a knife, ending his reign of terror.

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

Supernatural Beings: Igimassuxssuq is depicted as a giant, a being of extraordinary size and strength, which sets him apart from ordinary humans and aligns with the theme of encounters with supernatural entities.

Conflict with Nature: The narrative unfolds in the harsh Arctic environment, where survival is a constant challenge. Igimassuxssuq’s journey over the ice to pursue his wife highlights the struggle against natural elements inherent in Inuit life.

Revenge and Justice: The villagers, along with Igimassuxssuq’s wife, take decisive action to end his reign of terror. Their collective effort to bind and kill him serves as a form of communal justice, restoring peace to their society.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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Labrador and Greenland story

Igimassuxssuq, or Igimarassuxssuq, was a very large man, who lived at Oangaxssut (Cape Parry), and killed and ate people. His wife became afraid, and weeping ran away to Akpan (Saunders Island). He followed her, going over the ice, until he also reached the house. “Let me come into the house,” he said. The door of the house was small, and Igimassuxssuq was a large man, but at last he managed to squeeze into the house. When the people asked him where those were whom he had eaten, he said, “Some one else has eaten them.” Then his wife tied his hands with thongs, and the people said: “Let his wife stab him with a knife.” Then his wife stabbed and killed him.

It is also said that another man later strangled her, and slashed her open in front.

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Kiviung

The Inuit myth of Uxssung and Kiviuk tells of a boy who transforms into a groundseal, evading hunters and causing their demise, sparing only the kind-hearted Kiviuk. Kiviuk travels to a distant land, encountering challenges, women, and a foe who fails to harm him. Later, as an angakoq (shaman), Kiviuk follows a woman across the ice, catching narwhals before reuniting with his wife.

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

Transformation: Uxssung’s metamorphosis into a ground seal illustrates physical change.

Divine Intervention: Uxssung’s actions, leading to the demise of hunters and sparing Kiviuk, suggest influence beyond mortal means.

Quest: Kiviuk’s journey to distant lands, facing challenges and encounters, embodies the pursuit of a significant goal.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

A complete tale about Kiviung is found in Greenland and in Baffin Land. The first portion also occurs in Labrador and Angmagsalik.

A woman put a boy on the water, and he floated away, sinking and rising. Each time that he came up he looked more like a groundseal, until the people who were looking for him could not distinguish him from one. His name was Uxssung (ground-seal). The men pursued him in their kayaks, but he caused them all to drown. He saved only one, who had been good to him, whose name was Kiviuk. Kiviuk came to a far distant land, where he met two women, with whom he stayed. A large man tried to shoot him with his bow, but was unable to.

* * *

Kiviung was going far away, paddling in his kayak. He was following a woman traveling on the ice. Far away Kiviung followed her, because he was an angakoq and knew everything.

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Finally, far away at Tinussaving, he caught and cut up many narwhals. Then Kiviung, still paddling after her, at last caught up with her. Then he cohabited with her. Then Kiviung went back to his wife, going in his kayak. When he reached her, Kiviung said: “There! Where is it? I see her in Tinussaving. There she lives and cuts up many narwhals, and lives on them.”

The bear

A woman raised a bear as her child. The bear, initially small, grew large and hunted seals to provide for her. Tragically, the bear was hunted and killed by men. Overcome with grief, the woman wept until she turned to stone. Her stone form remains visible at Ita, serving as a timeless reminder of her sorrow.

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

Transformation: The woman’s profound grief leads to her physical transformation into stone, symbolizing the permanence of her sorrow.

Supernatural Beings: The bear, acting beyond typical animal behavior by hunting seals and providing for the woman, takes on a near-human role, blurring the lines between human and animal realms.

Loss and Renewal: The narrative centers on the woman’s loss of her bear-child and her subsequent transformation, reflecting themes of mourning and the enduring impact of loss.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

A woman had a bear for a child.

At first it was small, but soon it grew very large. It used to go out and hunt seals and bring them home, thus providing for her.

One day, however, he was hunted. First the dogs caught him, and then the men came up and speared him and thus killed him.

When his mother heard this she began to cry, and cried until she was turned to stone. She can be seen even now at Ita.

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The Aglirtoq woman and the bear

A woman fleeing from men found refuge in a snow-house owned by a bear who had transformed into a man. Unseen by her, the bear donned his skin, became a bear again, and hunted a seal. He skinned it and shared the catch with the woman, who later recounted the encounter, marveling at the bear’s generosity and unique snow-house.

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

Transformation: The bear’s ability to change into a human form highlights themes of physical transformation and the fluid boundaries between human and animal realms.

Supernatural Beings: The bear’s shapeshifting nature introduces a supernatural element, emphasizing the presence of extraordinary creatures within Inuit folklore.

Sacred Spaces: The snow-house serves as a sanctuary for the woman, symbolizing a sacred space where she finds refuge and encounters the bear’s generosity.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

A woman ran away from men. She came to a snow-house, owned by a bear. The bear was inside, but he had changed himself to look like a man.

This woman, who was aglirtoq (under restrictions), went into the house. After a while the bear, who was also in the snow-house (but whom she had not seen, as the house was a double one), got up and went into the entrance passage, where he put on his big skin and thus became a bear.

Then he went down to the water and dived. He stayed under a long time, but finally reappeared, carrying a seal in his mouth.

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This bear then skinned it, and brought the seal into the house. Then he cut up the seal he had caught, and gave that aglirtoq woman some of the skin [fat?] to eat. She gave her children some of the skin and then went away, going home. When she arrived, she told her story: “There is a bear who has a snow-house. I went in. He caught a seal and I ate of his catch. He gave me its skin to eat.”

The black bear

Two brothers embarked on a journey across the sea, encountering a mythical black bear-like creature, the agli. After a tense battle in its lair, they killed the beast but fled from its fierce offspring. The brothers then parted ways, with one getting lost while hunting. The other returned home, astonishing his mother so greatly that she reacted with an involuntary outburst of disbelief.

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

Quest: The brothers embark on a journey across the sea, encountering challenges along the way.

Mythical Creatures: They confront the agli, a fabulous black bear-like creature from Inuit lore.

Family Dynamics: The tale concludes with the surviving brother’s return home, eliciting a profound reaction from his mother.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Two brothers left their home, going far away over the sea. Finally they reached land again. Here they saw an agli (black bear) [a fabulous animal also in Baffin Land, where it is called agdlaq], a large animal living in a hole in the ground, and having no claws from digging, but possessing large teeth. They threw stones at him but missed him, and he retreated into his cavern. The brothers entered the cavern, and one of them thrust his spear down the agli’s throat into his vitals. His young ones jumped at the men and bit at them like dogs, and they came out again, leaving the spear in the agli, from which wound he soon died. The two brothers now separated. One went ptarmigan-hunting, and was lost, but the other finally reached his home again. When his mother saw him return (whom she believed dead), she defecated from amazement and surprise.

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The gull

A gull abducts a young girl to be his wife, carrying her to his cliffside home. While he searches for food, the girl escapes using a rope and returns home. The gull, overcome with grief, is shot by a man from her household. Another tale recounts a girl being swallowed by a narwhal, only to be expelled unharmed later.

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

Supernatural Beings: The gull exhibits anthropomorphic qualities, such as abducting the girl to be his wife, indicating interactions with beings beyond the natural world.

Forbidden Knowledge: The girl’s experiences—being taken by the gull and swallowed by the narwhal—expose her to extraordinary events that are beyond common human understanding.

Transformation: The narrative involves the girl’s physical relocation to the gull’s cliffside home and her subsequent escape, symbolizing a journey of change and resilience.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Greenland and Labrador story

High up on a cliff lived a large gull. Once he saw an unmarried girl come cut of a house. “Will you not be my husband a little,” said the girl, who was still wearing a child’s hood. The gull flew down, and, picking her up by the tip of her hood with his bill, carried her to his habitation to be his wife far up on the cliff. But then the gull went away to get something to eat for his wife. He flew far away over the sea to get whale-meat. When he was gone, the girl let herself down from the cliff by a rope, and ran home. The gull, coming back, saw her, but was too late to catch her, and in his grief flew about, crying, kotiuk. Thereupon a man came out from the house, and shot him, hitting him under the wing.

This (or another?) girl is also said to have been swallowed by a narwhal, but to have been puffed out again by it.

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The Raven

These Inuit tales explore themes of trickery, survival, and transformation, often featuring the raven as a central figure. The raven demonstrates arrogance, resourcefulness, and eventual folly—whether stealing a thigh bone, attempting to dominate others, or failing to adapt to challenges. Interactions with other animals and humans reveal moral undertones about respect, cleverness, and the consequences of hubris, culminating in the raven’s ultimate downfall.

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

Trickster: The raven embodies the archetype of the trickster, using cunning and deceit in interactions with other animals and humans.

Transformation: The story features physical transformations, such as geese becoming human and vice versa, highlighting themes of change and adaptability.

Cunning and Deception: The narrative showcases acts of deceit and cleverness, particularly through the raven’s actions and the responses of other characters.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

1. A raven flew above a person, carrying something in his bill. “What have you in your bill, raven?” the person asked. “A man’s thigh-bone,” the raven answered. “I eat it because I like it. I am going to swallow it.”

2. A man, who was an angakoq, went visiting. He entered the raven’s house. The raven at once began to give orders to his son. He said: “Go out and get excrements.” His son went out and soon returned, bringing a large one. The raven told the man to eat of the excrement. The raven said, “Eat!” But the man did not eat it. The gull said to him: “Come over here to me.” The man came and went in its house. The gull went out and brought back trout. The man began to eat the trout. Then he left the house, went away, and arrived home.

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3. A small snowbird was crying because she had lost her husband. While she was crying, the raven, who had no wife, came along. When the raven reached her he said, “Why are you crying?” “I am crying for my husband, because he has been away so long a time,” said the snowbird. “My husband went out to look for food for me, and has not come back.” The raven told her that her husband was dead; that he had been sitting on a rock, when this became loosened and fell through the ice, and that he had fallen with it. “I will marry you,” he said. “You can sleep here under my armpit. Take me for a husband; I have a pretty bill; I have a pretty chin; I have good enough nostrils and eyes; my wings are good and large, and so are my whiskers.” But the little snowbird said, “I don’t want you for my husband.” Then the raven went away, because the snowbird did not want to marry him.

After a while the raven, who was still without a wife, came to some geese who had become persons. The geese were just going away. The raven said, “I too, I who have no wife, I am going.” The geese, because they were about to leave, now became birds again. One of them said, “It is very far away that we are going. You had better not go with us,” meaning the raven. “Don’t come with us.” The raven said, “I am not afraid to go. When I am tired, I shall sleep by whirling up.” Then they started, the raven going with them. They flew a great distance (having now become birds), passing over a large expanse of water, where there was no land to be seen. Finally, when the geese wanted to sleep, they settled and swam on the water, and there they went to sleep. The raven also grew very tired, and wanted to sleep, but of course could not swim.

So he whirled upwards towards the sky. But as soon as he went to sleep, he began to drop from up there. When he fell into the water he woke up and said, “Get together, so that I can climb on your backs and go to sleep there.” The geese did as he’ told them, and he was soon asleep on their backs. Then one of the geese said, “He is not light at all. Let us shake him off, because he is so heavy.” Then they shook him off their backs into the water.

“Get together,” cried the raven. But they did not do so, and thus the raven was drowned.

4. The hawk was busy marking the raven with spots. Meanwhile a man was coming from behind towards them, so that they did not see him (especially as they were absorbed in their occupation). The man came nearer. (An obscure passage follows.) Suddenly the hawk was startled, and spilled the soot over the raven, so that the latter became black, while the raven bespattered him, so that he became marked with small spots.

Naulaxssaqton

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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.

Qautipalung

Qautipalung’s daughter rejected a suitor for being too old, angering him. He warned she would turn to stone and left despite Qautipalung’s pleas. As the daughter chased his departing boat, her feet turned to stone, and she fell, becoming earth. Her spilled bag’s contents transformed into small auks, flying away with cries of tuu, tuu, tuu.

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

Transformation: The daughter’s metamorphosis into stone and earth, along with her bag’s contents turning into small auks, highlights themes of change and the supernatural.

Divine Punishment: The suitor’s curse leading to the daughter’s transformation serves as a consequence for her rejection, reflecting the theme of retribution from higher powers.

Mythical Creatures: The creation of small auks from the spilled bag introduces elements of mythical beings, emphasizing the rich tapestry of Inuit mythology.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

There was a woman named Qautipalung, who had an unmarried daughter. One day some people came in a boat to get this daughter to be wife to one of them. But when the girl saw the suitor, she said to her mother, “He is much too old; don’t let him have me!” When the man heard that his suit was rejected, he said that he would go away, but that the girl would be turned to stone. Qautipalung now was frightened and asked him to stay, but he refused and went on his way. “The boat is going away,” Qautipalung said to her daughter, and the girl made herself ready to go out-doors. When she got out-doors the boat was already some distance away, and she began to run after it over the land to catch up with it.

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But as she ran her feet turned to stone, so that she fell down on her face, and the rest of her body turned to earth. As she fell, the bag she had in her hand was spilled, and the contents, falling out, turned into small auks, that flew away, crying tuu, tuu, tuu.

The man who married a goose

A man encounters geese that transform into women and seizes their feather garments. After returning most, he keeps one woman, marries her, and they have two children. Later, she discovers hidden wings, transforms herself and the children back into geese, and flees. The husband pursues them with the help of a mysterious figure but faces disbelief and resistance upon finding them. Ultimately, tragedy unfolds as he kills his wife and the geese, while two 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

Transformation: The geese transform into women by removing their feather garments, and later revert to their avian forms, highlighting themes of change and metamorphosis.

Forbidden Knowledge: The man’s act of hiding his wife’s feather garment to keep her with him involves the concealment of crucial information, leading to eventual consequences when she discovers the hidden wings.

Family Dynamics: The narrative explores complex relationships within the family, including the union between the man and the goose-woman, the birth of their children, and the eventual separation and tragedy that befalls them.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

A man who was walking, once upon a time, came to a pond, where there were a number of geese. These geese had taken off their garments and had become women, and were now swimming in the pond. The man came up to them without being seen, and seized their feather-garments. He gave them all back but two, whereupon the women put them on and flew away.

Finally he gave one of the two remaining ones hers, whereupon she also flew off. The last woman, however, he kept with him, took to his house, and married. Soon she became pregnant and gave birth to two children.

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One day, when her husband had gone away, she found some wings, which she took into the house, and hid behind the skin-coverings of the walls. When her husband again went away, she put these on herself and her two children, whereupon they turned to geese and flew away. When the husband returned, they were already far away. However, he decided to follow them, and set out. He walked along the beach, where the tide was low, and kept traveling in this manner a long time. Finally he came to a large pot (Qolifsiuxssuang), where it was hot, and he had (cooked) codfish to eat. He stepped over this, and went on his way once more. [This obscure incident is made more intelligible by a version of this story from Cumberland Sound in the possession of Dr. Boas. In this the man must pass not only a boiling kettle, but a huge lamp, two bears, and approaching stones. Some of these obstacles are also mentioned in the accounts of Arnarquagssaq, in the tale of Giviok, and that of Atungak from Labrador.] Then he came to a large man, named Qayungayung, or Qayungayuqssuaq, who was chopping with an axe, making seals and walruses. He threw the chipped pieces into the water, saying to them, “Be a qajuvaq,” and they would be hooded seals, or “Be an uxssung,” and they would be ground-seals. Qayungayuq then offered to take him to his wife. He took him into his boat, but told him to keep his eyes closed, and they started off. Soon the husband heard voices of people, and was preparing to look, when Qayungayuq forbade him. This happened several times until they reached the shore.

Meanwhile the two children had seen their father coming, and had gone indoors to inform their mother. She, however, said that they were mistaken, for they had gone entirely too far for him ever to come. The children then told her to come out and look for herself, but she was so certain that she did not even do this. Soon the children came in again, saying that their father was coming, and again she refused to believe them or to look. Then the man himself entered, and now she quickly feigned to be dead. Her husband took her up, carried her away, and buried her, covering her with stones. Then he went back and sat down, pulling his hood down as a sign of mourning. Meanwhile his wife arose again, and began walking about the tent in which her husband was. Then he took his spear and killed her. Thereupon a great many geese came, which he also killed, but two (the two boys?) went away.