The origin of the narwhal

A blind boy lived with his mother and sister in isolation. Despite his blindness, he killed a bear with his mother’s help, but she deceived him and kept the meat. His sister secretly fed him. A loon later restored his eyesight. Discovering his mother’s treachery, he drowned her during a narwhal hunt, turning her into a narwhal. The siblings later encountered cannibalistic adlit; the sister was devoured but revived by her brother. They eventually found new communities, marrying and starting families

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 mother transforms into a narwhal after being pulled into the water, with her twisted hair becoming the narwhal’s tusk.

Family Dynamics: The story explores complex relationships within the family, highlighting the mother’s deceit, the sister’s loyalty, and the son’s quest for justice.

Revenge and Justice: The son seeks retribution against his mother for her betrayal, leading to her transformation into a narwhal.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Inuit peoples


This tale also is of wide occurrence, being found among the Athabascan tribes, and even among the Heiltsuk on the Pacific coast. It varies remarkably little over this great extent of country.

There was a blind boy (or young man) who lived with his mother and sister. They went to a place where there was no one and lived alone. One day, when they were in their tent, a bear came up to it. Though the boy was blind he had a bow, and the woman aimed it at the bear for him. The arrow struck the bear and killed it. The mother, however, deceived her son and told him he had missed it. She cut it up and then cooked it. The young man now smelled the bear-meat, and asked his mother whether it was not bear he was smelling. She told him he was mistaken. Then she and her daughter ate it, but she would give him nothing. His sister, however, hide half of her food in her dress, to give him later. When her mother asked her why she was eating so much, the girl answered that she was hungry. Later, when her mother was away, she gave the meat to her brother. In this way he discovered that his mother had deceived him. Then he wished for another chance to kill something, when he might not be thus deceived by his mother.

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One day, when he was out of doors, a large loon came down to him and told him to sit on its head. The loon then flew with him toward its nest, and finally brought him to it, on a large cliff. After they had reached this, it began to fly again, and took him to a pond [the ocean?]. The loon then dived with him, in order to make him recover his eyesight. It would dive and ask him whether he was smothering; when he answered that he was, it took him above the surface to regain his breath. Thus they dived, until the blind boy could see again His eyesight was now very strong; he could see as far as the loon, and could even see where his mother was, and what she was doing. Then he returned. When he came back, his mother was afraid, and tried to excuse herself, and treated him with much consideration.

One day he went narwhal-hunting, using his mother to hold the line. “Spear a small narwhal,” his mother said, for she feared a large one would drag her into the water by the line fastened around her. He speared a small one, and she pulled it ashore. Then they ate its blubber. The next time two appeared together, a small white whale and a large narwhal. “Spear the small one again,” she told him. But he speared the large one, and when it began to pull, he let go the line, so that his mother was dragged along, and forced to run, and pulled into the water. “My knife,” she cried, in order to cut the rope. She kept calling for her knife, but he did not throw it to her, and she was drawn away and drowned. She became a narwhal herself, her hair, which she wore twisted to a point, becoming the tusk.

After this, the man who had recovered his sight, and his sister, went away. Finally they came to a house. The brother was thirsty, and wanted water. He asked his sister for some, telling her to go to the house for it. She went up to it, but was at first afraid to go in. “Come in, come in!” cried the people inside, who were murderous adlit. When she entered, they seized her and ate her. She had stayed away a long time, and finally her brother went to look for her. He entered the house, but could not find her. An old man there, after having eaten of her, tried to say he did not have her, and did not know where she was. The brother, however, kept stabbing the inmates of the house with a tusk he had, trying to make them confess, but vainly, and finally killed them. Then her brother put her bones together and went away, carrying them on his back. Then the flesh grew on the bones again, and soon she spoke, “Let me get up!” But he said to her, “Don’t get up!” At last she got up, however. Then they saw a great many people, and soon reached them. By this time his sister had quite recovered; she ate, and went into a house. She married there, and soon had a child. Her brother also married.


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The woman who married a dog

A legend tells of a woman who, after refusing suitors, married a dog at her father’s curse. Exiled, she lived on an island where the dog provided for her. They bore children, both human and canine. She later ordered her children to kill their father and assigned them identities, creating mythical beings like Europeans, dog-men, wolves, giants, and dwarfs, shaping the mythical origins of these groups.

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 transitions from human society to a life with a dog, leading to the birth of offspring that are both human and canine.

Origin of Things: This tale explains the mythical origins of various beings, including Europeans, dog-men, wolves, giants, and dwarfs.

Forbidden Knowledge: The woman’s union with a dog, following her father’s curse, delves into the pursuit of hidden or taboo relationships and their consequences.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Inuit peoples


Near the head of Qangirdluxssuang Bay (on Inglefield Gulf) lived a man and his daughter. The girl, however, refused to marry any one. Finally, when she refused suitor after suitor, her father grew angry and threatened to make her marry a dog. She warned him that if he said this often she might take him at his word. Indeed, one of the dogs just then broke his line and came into the house. She soon married him. When she grew pregnant her father and the other people drove her away, and the dog carried her across the water to an island, named Qemiunaarving, off the mouth of the bay. The dog used to bring her food from her father, floating it over by means of a skin of a ground-seal, which was prepared like an ordinary seal-skin float.

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One day the father, desiring to kill him, filled the skin with stones and tied it to him, hoping thus to drown him. But the dog was so strong that he kept on swimming in spite of the stones (which would have drawn down any other being), and finally, although he almost sank, reached the island in safety.

The woman gave birth to a great many children, both persons and dogs. When they were somewhat older, she one day ordered them to kill their father, the dog, which they did, devouring him. [In all other Eskimo versions the woman’s father is thus killed; there are also only two kinds of beings produced, the Qavdlunat (Europeans), and the Adlet, Timerset, or Erqigdlit (dog-men), generally five of each. The tornit (giants) and the inuaudligat (dwarfs) are well-known fabulous Eskimo tribes, though ordinarily not connected with this tale. What the nakassungnaitut are I could not ascertain. The introduction of wolves is curious.] Then she called her children in pairs, a male and a female together. “You two be qablunat (Europeans), and go away from here, and dress in clean clothes, and do not inspire fear.” “You two be nakassungnaitut, and be savage, and also go away,” she said to the next two. “You two be wolves,” she went on to another pair; “do not pursue people nor frighten dogs, and go away.” “And you two be tornit,” she said, “and go away from here; but you shall have no dogs, and shall fear them, but you shall not make people afraid.” “And you be inugaudligat,” she added to the last pair. Thus she sent them all away. The qablunat sailed away in the sole of a boot. And then she went back to live with her father.


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The Tornit and the Adlit

Two tornit lived among savage adlit, known for their murderous and cannibalistic behavior. Fearing for their lives, one night, the tornit prepared a sledge, harnessed dogs, and silently called his companion. They sabotaged the adlit sledges by cutting their thongs. As they fled, barking dogs alerted the adlit, but their sledges broke down, allowing the tornit to escape unharmed.

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

Conflict with Authority: The Tornit challenge the oppressive and dangerous dominance of the Adlit by orchestrating their escape.

Cunning and Deception: The Tornit use cleverness to outwit the Adlit, cutting the thongs of their sledges to prevent pursuit.

Trials and Tribulations: The Tornit’s struggle to survive among the Adlit and their daring escape highlight their resilience.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Inuit peoples


Among some savage and murderous adlit, who were even cannibals, were two tornit, who were in consequence much afraid. One night, when his companions had all gone to sleep, one of them got up and went out. Then he prepared a sledge and harnessed the dogs, and softly called his companion, the other tornit. Then they cut the thongs that held the crossbars to the runners of the other sledges, and, getting on their own sledge, started off. Just then, however, the dogs barked, and the adlit, awakened by the noise, came out of the house. They immediately prepared to pursue, but when they started, their sledges of course broke down, and the tornit escaped.

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The woman who married a Tuneq

A tuneq marries an old woman and provides for them by hunting a ground-seal. Once the food is gone, they travel to a house with many people, where the tuneq departs. Sea-gulls then enter the house, are caught and cooked by the people. This echoes Greenlandic folklore of Avarunguak and a giant catching auks in a similar way.

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 tale involves a ‘tuneq,’ a supernatural entity from Inuit folklore, who marries a human woman.

Transformation: The narrative depicts a shift in the woman’s life as she transitions from her previous existence to living with the tuneq, adapting to new circumstances and experiences.

Sacred Spaces: The couple’s journey to different dwellings, including the tuneq’s house and another inhabited by multiple people, signifies transitions into spaces that hold particular significance within the story.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Inuit peoples


A tuneq married an old woman. After he had married her, they walked away and entered his house. The tuneq then went away to the sea, and soon returned, carrying a ground-seal on his back. This they cut up and lived upon, until they had eaten it all.

Then they went away until they came to a house where there were a number of people. They entered this, went to bed, and slept. Next day the tuneq went away. Thereupon a number of sea-gulls came to the house and went in. [In Greenland, Avarunguak visits a giant who catches auks in the same manner.] The people caught them, picked their feathers, cut them in pieces, put them in a pot over the fire, and ate them.

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Inukpan

Inukpan, also known as Inukpakssua, is a mythical giant in Inuit folklore. Stories depict him as so massive that people could walk on his toe or use his boot-string as a kayak cover. He mistook bears for foxes and crushed them effortlessly. In one tale, he captured five kayakers in his hand, but they escaped his giant home while he slept.

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

Mythical Creatures: Inukpan himself is a colossal being, so immense that humans could walk on his toe or use his boot-string as a kayak cover. His interactions, such as mistaking bears for foxes and effortlessly crushing them, highlight the presence of extraordinary beings within the narrative.

Supernatural Beings: Inukpan’s existence and actions transcend the natural world, showcasing the influence of supernatural entities in Inuit mythology. His ability to capture five kayakers in his hand and his enormous dwelling further emphasize this theme.

Cunning and Deception: The captured kayakers exhibit resourcefulness by escaping from Inukpan’s giant home while he sleeps, demonstrating human ingenuity and the use of wit to overcome formidable challenges.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about the Inuit peoples


The same tale is found among the central tribes. The Greenlanders also tell of Inugpait, giants that live across the sea.

Inukpan, also called Inukpakssua, was a very large man, who did not really exist, but whom stories tell about. It is said that he was so large that people could stand on his big toe, and walk about on it, and that the flat skin-thong of his boot-string could be used as a kayak-covering by ordinary men. It is also said that, seeing several bears, he called them only foxes, and, picking them up between his fingers, crushed them dead.

At one time, when he was out in his kayak, he saw five kayakers some distance away. He went after them, soon reached them, and then scooped up all five, kayaks and all, in the hollow of his hand. He took them to his house, which was enormously large, and put them over the lamp. Then, however, he fell asleep, and the men climbed down, went out, and ran home before he awoke.

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How the caribou lost their large eyes

The Eskimo tell of a time when caribou had large, keen eyes, making them savage and difficult to hunt. After seeking help from their Torngak, one thoughtful caribou sewed up the corners of its species’ eyes, using a bone from its foreleg, to appear less fierce. This act made caribou tamer and easier to hunt, providing the Eskimo with sustenance and materials for survival.

Source: 
The Labrador Eskimo 
by E.W. Hawkes 
[Canada, Department of Mines] 
Geological Survey, Memoir 91 
Anthropological Series no. 14 
Ottawa, 1916


► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The story explains why caribou have smaller eyes, attributing it to a deliberate change to aid human hunters.

Cunning and Deception: The caribou’s act of sewing their eyes to appear less fierce involves a form of self-deception to alter their behavior and relationship with humans.

Harmony with Nature: The tale reflects the interdependence between humans and animals, highlighting how changes in animal behavior can lead to a balanced coexistence.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Inuit peoples


When the caribou were first found by the Eskimo, they had very large eyes. They could see a long distance and were very savage. So the Eskimo found it exceedingly difficult to get near enough to shoot them with their bows and arrows. Consequently they often went hungry. They asked their Torngak to help them, and to make the caribou tamer. One of the caribou grew very thoughtful. He said to the others, “I wish our eyes were not so large, then we should be better looking.” So the other caribou said, “Sew our eyes up then.” So the thoughtful caribou took a little bone out of its foreleg and a piece of sinew and sewed up the corners of their eyes. The caribou became tamer and could not see so quickly, and the Eskimo were able to take them more easily.

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The Eskimo say that it is because the Torngak of their forefathers helped them that the caribou are not so savage and cannot see so far, and they are able to kill them and eat their meat and wear their skins for clothing. They always show the bone in the foreleg that was used by the caribou that their Torngak made thoughtful, when they tell the story. It is a bone in the ankle that seems to be loose under the skin.


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The origin of the sea-pigeons

A group of children playing on a cliff overlooking the sea unwittingly scare away seals that the village men hoped to hunt. Angered, a man wishes the cliff would bury the children, and the cliff collapses, fulfilling his curse. The children transform into seapigeons, now dwelling at the base of the cliffs, serving as a cautionary tale about thoughtless words and actions.

Source: 
The Labrador Eskimo 
by E.W. Hawkes 
[Canada, Department of Mines] 
Geological Survey, Memoir 91 
Anthropological Series no. 14 
Ottawa, 1916


► Themes of the story

Transformation: The children undergo a physical change, turning into sea-pigeons as a consequence of their actions and the villager’s curse.

Divine Punishment: The children’s transformation serves as retribution for their inadvertent disruption of the seal hunt, highlighting the theme of supernatural retribution.

Moral Lessons: The story imparts a cautionary message about the consequences of thoughtless actions and words, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness within the community.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Inuit peoples


Once upon a time there were some children playing on the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. Below them the sea was covered with ice, but while they were playing, the ice opened, and the crack between the ice and the shore was filled with seals. Then the men of the village ran to get their kayaks to kill the seals. The children paid no attention to the seals, but kept on playing, shouting at the top of their voices. When the men arrived at the crack in the ice, the seals were gone. They had been frightened away by the children’s voices. The men were very angry at the children, and one of them said, “I wish the cliff would fall over and bury those noisy children.” He had no sooner spoken than the cliff toppled over and buried the children in the boulders at its foot. But they were changed into seapigeons. They dwell at the foot of the cliffs to this day.

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The owl and the raven

The owl and the raven quarreled, leading to the owl tipping a lamp over the raven, covering him in soot. Ashamed, the raven flew away, crying “kaq, kaq.” This explains why ravens are black in this tale.

Source: 
The Labrador Eskimo 
by E.W. Hawkes 
[Canada, Department of Mines] 
Geological Survey, Memoir 91 
Anthropological Series no. 14 
Ottawa, 1916


► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The tale provides an explanation for the raven’s black coloration.

Conflict with Nature: The quarrel between the owl and the raven represents a struggle between natural creatures.

Cunning and Deception: The owl’s act of tipping the lamp over the raven involves a deceptive action leading to the raven’s transformation.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Inuit peoples


Once the owl and the raven had a quarrel.

The owl became angry and tipped a lamp over the raven.

He was completely covered with soot.

He was very much ashamed, and flew off, crying, “kaq, kaq.”

That is why he is black.

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Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page

Origin of the walrus and caribou

Superguksoak created the walrus from her boots and the caribou from her breeches, with the deer’s spots mirroring the marks on the fabric. Initially, the walrus had antlers and the caribou tusks, but their destructive behavior led Superguksoak to switch them. She sent the caribou inland, calling “kaite, kaite” when needed, shaping the animals and their roles in the environment.

Source: 
The Labrador Eskimo 
by E.W. Hawkes 
[Canada, Department of Mines] 
Geological Survey, Memoir 91 
Anthropological Series no. 14 
Ottawa, 1916


► Themes of the story

Creation: It explains the origins of the walrus and caribou, detailing how Superguksoak formed them from her garments.

Transformation: The narrative describes the physical changes in the animals, particularly the swapping of antlers and tusks to restore harmony.

Conflict with Nature: The initial assignment of antlers to the walrus and tusks to the caribou led to disruptions, highlighting the challenges and resolutions in human interactions with the natural world.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Inuit peoples


Superguksoak made the walrus from her boots and the caribou from her breeches. The spots on the deer correspond to the marks on her breeches.

When first made, the walrus had antlers on its head and the caribou had tusks. But the walrus upset the kayaks with its antlers and the caribou killed the hunters with its tusks, so Superguksoak changed them.

She told the caribou to go inland and stay there. When she wants the caribou, she calls kaite, kaite, “Come, come.”

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The thinking image

Near the abandoned Hudson’s Bay Company post at Nachvak lies a stone resembling a woman deep in thought. Local Eskimo legend tells of an outcast woman who, exhausted and despairing, wished to become stone. A crow circled her, cawing thrice, and turned her into rock. Today, the figure remains revered, adorned with offerings like beads, needles, and tobacco by passersby.

Source: 
The Labrador Eskimo 
by E.W. Hawkes 
[Canada, Department of Mines] 
Geological Survey, Memoir 91 
Anthropological Series no. 14 
Ottawa, 1916


► Themes of the story

Transformation: The woman’s change from human to stone.

Supernatural Beings: The crow’s mystical role in her transformation.

Sacred Spaces: The stone’s significance as a revered site where offerings are made.

► From the same Region or People

Learn more about Inuit peoples


About half a mile from the old Hudson’s Bay Company post at Nachvak (now abandoned) is a curiously formed stone. It is situated on a point, and in going by in a boat, it appears like a woman seated with her chin on her hand, thinking. The Eskimo of that vicinity relate the following story in connexion with this rock.

Once there was a woman who was an outcast from the village. She had no people nor relatives, and was a slave for everybody. One day she was going along in a boat by this point. She had been rowing in the umiak all day, and was very tired. She went ashore, and sat down on a rock and started thinking.

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First she wished that she were dead and her labour over. Then she wished that she could be changed into a stone, like the one she was sitting on. While she was thinking this, a crow flew over her. He made three circles over her, and as he cawed three times, she was gradually turned into a stone.

She is still seen in the same position with her hand to her chin, thinking. The Eskimo make offerings to her of needles, tobacco, and matches, whenever they pass. Some of the women have put a necklace of beads around her neck.


Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page