The revenging animals

An angakok, craving eggs, stole a merganser’s nest and harpooned a seal. On his return, he encountered seals plotting revenge as umiarissat, disguised as a boat. He repelled them with filth, exposing their illusion as ice. Later, the merganser confronted him, demanding its eggs, which it had made him forget in his kayak through a charm, sparing his life. Another angakok lost his powers for similar theft.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The merganser employs supernatural means to influence the angakok’s actions, reflecting the theme of higher powers affecting mortal affairs.

Revenge and Justice: The animals’ actions serve as retribution for the angakok’s thefts, highlighting the consequences of wrongdoing and the restoration of moral balance.

Moral Lessons: The story imparts ethical teachings about respect for nature and the repercussions of greed, emphasizing the importance of harmonious coexistence with the natural world.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

A great angakok, while kayaking about at midsummer, suddenly took a longing for eggs; and landing upon an island, he found a merganser’s nest with plenty of eggs, all of which be carried away. On his way home be met with a flock of seals, of which be harpooned one; but after having taken it, he heard voices from among the rest encouraging each other to go and get hold of a piece of ice, and return as umiarissat. On getting home he walked up to his house, forgetting the eggs in his kayak; but he ordered his housemates to throw down on the beach all manner of filthy stuff to frighten away the umiarissat. In the evening a boat was seen to arrive manned with seals, but as soon as they scented the filth they all jumped into the water, and the boat appeared as a piece of ice.

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Later in the evening a voice was heard outside, and the head of the gooseander emerged from the entrance with dreadfully enlarged eyes. Addressing itself to the angakok, it scolded him for having robbed it of its descendants, but now it had come to fetch its eggs back, having by help of a charm caused him to forget them and leave them in his kayak. If he had not left them it certainly would have frightened them all to death. Another angakok in a similar case was bereft of his angakok power by the merganser.

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An old man, anxious to outdo other people

Two friends wagered on whose wife would bear a son first and whose son would become the greatest angakok. Ajagutarsuk gained his wisdom in a cave, while Ularpana acquired his in a dried-up lake. During a mystical encounter, Ajagutarsuk summoned tornaks of the inlanders, but Ularpana’s upper ingnersuit spirits overpowered them, demonstrating his superior spiritual prowess.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The story begins with two friends who wager on whose wife would bear a son first and whose son would become the greatest angakok (shaman), highlighting familial competition and aspirations.

Trials and Tribulations: Both sons, Ajagutarsuk and Ularpana, undergo significant challenges to acquire their spiritual wisdom—one in a cave and the other in a dried-up lake—demonstrating the trials faced in their quests for knowledge.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves mystical encounters where both protagonists summon tornaks (spirits) and ingnersuit (upper spirits), emphasizing interactions with supernatural entities.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

An old man, who was always anxious to outdo other people, had laid a bet with his friend as to whose wife should first get a son; and afterwards, as to which of their sons should in course of time become the greatest angakok.

One of them, Ajagutarsuk, attained angakok wisdom in a cave; and the other, named Ularpana, acquired it in a dried-up lake. The latter went on an angakok flight to the first, and while staying with him Ajagutarsuk called forth his tornaks, which belonged to the inlanders, and instantly appeared. But Ularpana invoked his tornaks, being the upper ingnersuit, who totally defeated the inlanders.

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The Kuinasarinook

Uvnek, one of the last angakut of Godthaab, narrowly escaped an amarsiniook during a spirit-flight. Later, he conjured the creature, summoning a voice from above that revealed Uvnek’s survival owed to his angakok status. The voice also admitted to killing another monster, the kuinasarinook, which had recently mutilated a man. Uvnek’s conjuration explained a previously unsolved death.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The story features interactions with entities like the amarsiniook and kuinasarinook, highlighting the Inuit belief in spirits and monsters influencing the mortal realm.

Divine Intervention: The amarsiniook’s admission that Uvnek’s survival was due to his angakok status suggests a higher power’s influence in protecting him.

Forbidden Knowledge: Uvnek’s conjuration uncovers hidden truths about the mysterious death, shedding light on events beyond ordinary understanding.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Uvnek, one of the last angakut at the firth of Godthaab, on one of his spirit-flights narrowly escaped being taken by an amarsiniook. After his return he once performed a conjuration and summoned the amarsiniook. A brightness was observed, and a voice was heard from above the house saying, “If thou hadst not happened to be an angakok thou wouldst never have escaped; it was I who killed the kuinasarinook (another monster, dwelling in certain mountains), because it had torn a man to pieces.” The auditors then remembered how some time ago a man had been found dead, and his body terribly mutilated; but nobody had been able to make out how the murder was committed, till it was thus explained by Uvnek.

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Kakortuliak

Kakortuliak, during a reindeer hunt, pursued a deer into a lake and secured it, but later encountered strange events. He saw raven-like beings with human features, lost the deer tallow mysteriously, and was carried through the air. Using a small tallow piece, he descended but returned home senseless and near lifeless. Afterward, he abandoned hunting, becoming a clairvoyant whose soul roamed and recounted distant lands and people.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Kakortuliak’s journey from a hunter to a clairvoyant signifies a profound personal metamorphosis, highlighting themes of change and adaptation.

Supernatural Beings: His encounters with raven-like entities possessing human features introduce elements of the supernatural, emphasizing the mystical aspects of the narrative.

Underworld Journey: Kakortuliak’s experience of being lifted into the air and returning home in a near-lifeless state parallels a metaphorical journey to the underworld, symbolizing a venture into realms beyond the ordinary.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Kakortuliak was at a reindeer-hunt, when they only succeeded in hitting one large deer, which made its escape by jumping into a lake. Kakortuliak, however, pursued it by swimming, and fastened a line to its antlers, by which it was hauled on land. He got a large piece of the tallow, and leaving the party, went off by himself in search of further game. He saw two ravens pursuing one another; but on viewing them more closely they had the features of man.

At the same moment a reindeer suddenly bounded forth, apparently from his own bag; and he found the tallow at the same time had disappeared, a little morsel only remaining.

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He then felt himself lifted off his feet and carried away through the air; but by rubbing his skin with the bit of tallow he again quickly descended towards the earth; yet without touching it he gained his home. On arriving, however, he had lost the use of his senses, and lay down almost lifeless, though unable to die. Such was, as has been told, the condition of the heathen when the ruler of the moon had taken the souls out of their body. From this time Kakortuliak gave up hunting, and turned a clairvoyant. His soul used to leave the body and roam about the inland and along the east coast; and on returning he related what he had seen, and how he had lived with the inlanders.

The land of the Isarukitsok bird

Two young men and an elder companion became lost while kayaking in fog. After drifting, they reached a steep promontory inhabited by isarukitsoks. Following the coast, they found a landing spot, rested, and replenished with birds. Continuing their journey, they narrowly avoided a monstrous gull that preys on kayakers. Safely home, they noted these creatures were once abundant near Nook (Godthaab) before the land sank.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The protagonists face natural challenges, including foggy weather that leads them astray and encounters with formidable creatures like the isarukitsoks and a monstrous gull.

Trials and Tribulations: The journey presents a series of challenges, testing the endurance and resilience of the kayakers as they navigate through dangerous and unfamiliar territories.

Supernatural Beings: The isarukitsoks and the monstrous gull represent encounters with creatures beyond the ordinary, adding a supernatural element to their adventure.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

A story from South Greenland.

Two young men with one elder companion lost their way when kayaking in foggy weather, and having roamed about without being able to sight any land, they came to a high promontory, showing one continuous steep and inaccessible cliff, inhabited by crowds of isarukitsoks. By following the coast they at last came to a landing-place, and found a nice situation, where they rested themselves, and had their strength restored by eating birds. Having also filled their kayaks with them, they put off to sea again, and happened to pass by one of the monstrous gulls which are in the habit of picking up the kayakers and giving them as food to their young ones; but they reached their home in safety. It is told that before the land of the isarukitsok sank there were plenty of these birds about Nook (Godthaab).

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Manik

Manik, a skilled seal-hunter, resisted marriage until he abruptly decided to leave home. He abducted the chief hunter’s daughter and other women from villages to form a rowing crew. After wintering in the far north and encountering supernatural events, he returned home the next year, restoring the women to their families—except for the first, whom he made his wife.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: Manik’s actions in taking the chief hunter’s daughter and other women against their will represent a clear defiance of social and familial authority. His choices disrupt the established order, leading to tension and a struggle to restore balance within the community.

Supernatural Beings: As Manik ventures further into the northern lands, he encounters ghosts and witnesses magical feats. These supernatural elements reflect the Inuit belief in spirits and the spiritual dimensions of their world, adding depth to the story and emphasizing the mystery of the unknown.

Rebirth: The tale concludes with Manik returning the women to their families and integrating the first woman into his own life. This act symbolizes a renewal of social order and relationships, embodying the theme of rebirth through the restoration of balance and harmony after a period of upheaval.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Manik was a great seal-hunter, but his mother in vain urged him to take a wife. He continued a bachelor, till one day he suddenly ordered his mother to make ready the boat for removing from the place. As soon as she had made all ready, he hastened up to the house of the chief hunter, who at the time was absent, and carried away his daughter, crying and struggling in vain to be released. Having placed her on the boat he at once pushed off, and made for the north with all speed. At the first inhabited place they came past he again carried away a woman; and this continued until he had got a complete boat’s crew of rowing girls. He continued his voyage the whole season, till at length, having reached the far north, the frost set in, and for the time obliged him to take up his quarters there.

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While wintering here, and making excursions into the country, he once came to a solitary house, where he had an adventurous meeting with the ghost of a deceased woman; and from there he came to another, where he found the people feasting upon various meats, which they kept hauling from the ground by help of magic lays. The next year he set out for his own country, returning to their relatives all the women, excepting only the first one, whom he kept for his wife.

The cousins

Giviok, mourning his wife’s death, struggles to leave his young son but eventually flees. Facing perilous sea challenges, he survives encounters with sea creatures, icebergs, and malevolent beings. After aiding kind strangers, memories of his son draw him back. Overcoming the same dangers, he returns to find his child transformed into a skilled hunter, symbolizing resilience and growth despite tragedy and separation.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The protagonist’s journey leads to personal growth and change, reflecting the theme of transformation.

Underworld Journey: The perilous sea challenges and encounters with malevolent beings symbolize a metaphorical journey into the underworld.

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationship between Giviok and his son, highlighting the complexities of familial bonds.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

This tale is somewhat similar to Giviok, but in the present version the revenge is brought on by an angakok, who assisted the cousins on a flight, and while staying with them invoked his tornak, the toolik, who carried a red-hot weapon, and destroyed the house and all its inhabitants by fire, while the angakok flew homewards. After his return to his house, while narrating the deed to his people, a laughing voice was heard from without, recognised as that of his erkungasok (the ingenious and cunning adviser, but rather powerless and boasting dweller among the tornaks), who came to give notice of his having also assisted at the destruction of his enemies.

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Singajuk and his descendants

Mangilak, born frail and swaddled in an eider-duck skin, overcame early struggles to become a legendary Greenlandic figure. A skilled hunter and kayaker, he learned a calming spell from a gull and married twice, losing his first wife but gaining wisdom from her spirit. Though baptized, Mangilak retained his angakok powers. His lineage included Akajarok, whose descendants shared his remarkable story.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Mangilak’s journey from a frail infant to a powerful hunter and angakok (shaman) embodies significant physical and spiritual transformation.

Supernatural Beings: His interactions with his deceased first wife, who provides him with wisdom from beyond the grave, highlight encounters with the supernatural.

Ancestral Spirits: The narrative emphasizes the influence of ancestors and the continuation of spiritual wisdom through generations, as seen in Mangilak’s lineage and the transmission of his story.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Singajuk was a celebrated hunter living in Kangek (near Godthaab). His wife miscarried, and brought forth a poor little wretch of a child, that was swaddled in the skin of an eider-duck, and had to be fostered with the utmost care to keep it alive. This child was called Mangilak, and became one of the most powerful of men. His first deed was killing an ingnersuak. Afterwards he was once caught in a gale of wind at sea, but espying a solitary spot of smooth water and a gull swimming in it, by dint of listening to its voice he learned a spell for procuring a calm; and from that time he was not to be equalled in kayaking. His mother then persuaded him to marry, and he took a wife, who, however, shortly afterwards died.

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Being almost an angakok, he used to visit her grave and talk with the deceased, and on one occasion she gave him a mussel-shell containing a drink to endow him with angakok wisdom. Mangilak married a second wife, and got a son, called Akajarok, whose daughter became the grandmother of the man who related this story. Akajarok died a Christian. Mangilak also was baptised, but was too full of angakok wisdom to become more than a nominal Christian.

An angakok on Kekertarsuak

An angakok on Kekertarsuak encountered a terrifying scene when visiting his sister: lifeless villagers with staring eyes and his sister creeping toward him with a devouring expression. Fleeing, he escaped with his dogs and later performed a conjuration. His vision revealed the villagers had been scared to death by a kayak skin used in a funeral—a chilling tale blending supernatural and cultural beliefs.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The angakok’s conjuration and the eerie, lifeless villagers suggest interactions with supernatural elements.

Forbidden Knowledge: The revelation that a funeral object caused the villagers’ deaths implies the existence of hidden or dangerous knowledge.

Transformation: The villagers’ sudden shift from life to death, possibly due to supernatural fear, indicates a profound change.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

An angakok on Kekertarsuak set off in his sledge to visit his married sister. On approaching the house his dogs suddenly stopped. After in vain trying to urge them on with his whip, he alighted and went up to the house on foot. But seeing no people about, he looked in at the window, and was horror-struck at seeing all the people lying or sitting about lifeless, their eyes open and staring. His sister alone showed signs of life, and seeing her brother, began to move her mouth as if chewing, and crept towards the entrance. At sight of this he was struck with terror, and fled to his dogs, but was again unable to make them stir. Not until the sister had come quite close, her mouth widely opened as if to devour him, did they suddenly start; and thus he escaped to his home.

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Afterwards he performed a conjuration, and undertook an angakok flight to examine the place. On his return he reported that those people had been frightened to death by the sight of a skin-cover from a kayak (viz., which had been used at a funeral to carry the corpse upon).

Kuanak, an angakok in South Greenland

Kuanak, a South Greenland angakok, faced mystical and perilous adventures during his spiritual journeys. Surviving attacks by supernatural beings and near-death encounters, he escaped through the sea and earth, emerging at home. On another flight, his drum moved on its own, signaling his distress after falling unconscious outside. He later endured an undersea ordeal, aided by his grandmother’s magic, eventually returning to life with the help of chanting elders.

Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: Kuanak’s ventures beneath the sea and earth, encountering supernatural beings and challenges, align with the motif of a journey into realms beyond the ordinary world.

Supernatural Beings: Throughout his adventures, Kuanak interacts with various mystical entities, including an amarsiniook and his grandmother’s spirit, highlighting the theme of engagement with supernatural beings.

Transformation: Kuanak undergoes significant physical and spiritual changes during his ordeals, especially when he is revived from a near-death state through magical means, embodying the theme of transformation.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Kuanak, an angakok in South Greenland, started for a flight, having previously had his feet and his head tied together. While passing along between two high rocks, an amarsiniook rushed out from the mountain-side and wanted to take him into his hood. He made his escape by dropping into the sea, and proceeding onwards beneath the surface of the sea and the earth, finally emerged from the floor of his own house. Another time, when he had gone off on a flight, his drum, which he had left in the house, was lifted up by itself, and soared about in the room till at length it stopped and fell down. At that same moment a voice was heard from without, and hastening to look whence it came, they found him in an almost dying state lying upon the snow, an old skin-cover from a kayak having frightened him and caused his downfall.

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Kuanak was once capsized by a seal he had just harpooned; but being an anghiniartok, his senses again returned, and he found himself at the bottom of the sea, in company with his grandmother. She tied his kayak-jacket close to his body, leaving no part of it uncovered, and then supplying him with a piece of skin by way of kayak, she pushed him upwards. When he emerged from the water he first betook himself far out to sea, and thence made the land again, but happened to touch at an inhabited place, where somebody was emptying out the urine-tub, which scared him away from the shore. He tried to land on another place, but here a woman, dressing her hair on the beach, scared him away. If he had a third time taken fright, he would never have returned to the land of the living. But he happened to land at Pisugfik, where a couple of old men were sitting playing at dice. They at once knew him to be an anghiniartok; and on merely touching his naked body, he dropped down senseless; but on their chanting a magic lay, he revived. They then brought him back to his homestead, where his relatives, who had already finished their days of mourning and nearly forgotten him, were gladly surprised at hearing the crew of the boat that brought him home intuning Kuanak’s song.