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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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.

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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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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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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.

The story of the lame hunter

A lame hunter, struggling to match others in hunting, spotted a distant bear on drift ice. Desperate to prove himself, he invoked his torngak for help. Miraculously, the bear became blind, allowing the hunter to kill it with ease. His success not only provided much-needed food but also earned him respect and admiration from fellow hunters and the community living in snow-houses.

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

Divine Intervention: The hunter’s plea to his torngak (spirit helper) results in the bear’s blindness, enabling him to make the kill.

Transformation: The hunter’s status evolves from being underestimated due to his lameness to being celebrated for his successful hunt.

Community and Isolation: Initially marginalized because of his physical limitation, the hunter’s achievement leads to his acceptance and admiration within the community.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There was once a hunter who was lame, and, although he was a good hunter, he found it very hard to keep up with the other men, when they went hunting for seals and bears. One day he went up on a hill to spy for seal on the ice. He saw a bear far off on the ice. Now he could not get near the bear, because he could not walk fast enough, and the bear was making for the drift ice.

So he wished his torngak would come to his aid, and he moaned and groaned as if in great pain. He closed his eyes and said, “If I could get to that bear, nobody would be able to say that I was a poor hunter any more. I would be the best hunter, for none of the others are killing anything, and the people are going hungry.”

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When he opened his eyes, he saw that the bear was walking about and stumbling as if it could not see. Then he knew that his torngak had indeed helped him and made the bear blind. He limped out on to the rough ice, and got near enough to kill the bear with his bow and arrows. He gained the good favour of all the other hunters by his deed, and of all the Eskimo living in snow-houses at the hunting ground.

The orphan boy and the Moon Man

Near Okkak, a marked rock is tied to a tale about a poor orphan boy. Abused by his caretakers, he prayed to the man in the moon for help. The moon man descended, whipped him into great strength, and returned to the sky. Fueled by rage, the boy killed his tormentors, sparing only a kind girl who became his wife. He rose as the village leader.

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 orphan boy undergoes a significant change, both physically and in his social status, after his encounter with the Moon Man.

Divine Intervention: The Moon Man descends from the sky to assist the boy, directly influencing his fate.

Revenge and Justice: The boy enacts vengeance upon his abusers, which leads to a restoration of order and his rise to leadership.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Near Okkak there is a rock, curiously marked with what the Eskimo say are the blood and brains of the people in the following story.

A long time ago there lived in a village near Okkak a poor orphan boy. He had no relatives and the people he lived with treated him very badly. They made him sleep in the entrance tunnel with the dogs and flung him only bones to pick. They would not give him a knife, but the little daughter of the house gave him one secretly, and carried him bits of food when she could do so. Her kindness pleased him very much, and made him long to escape and improve his hard condition in life.

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One night he was lying on the ground, outside the passageway, trying to think of a plan for escape, and gazing at the moon. The more he gazed at it, the more he thought he discerned the outlines of the face of a man in it. Finally he was sure it was a man, and cried out to him to come down and help him escape from his hard life.

The man in the moon heard him, and came down. He took the little orphan boy down to the beach and beat him with a big whip. Every time he struck him he grew bigger and stronger. When he had finished, the little orphan boy was so strong, he could throw about big boulders like so many pebbles. Then the moon man went back up into the sky. The boy practised lifting and throwing big rocks all night; then he went home. When the people with whom he lived saw how big and strong he had grown, and remembered how they had abused him, they were very much afraid. But the minute he saw them, he went mad with anger. He seized them by the legs and dashed their brains out on the rocks. The boy killed everyone but the little girl who had been kind to him. He took her for his wife. He took all the possessions of his former housemates, and became the head man of the village.