Raven (Part 11)

Raven visited Cold-town and invited the boys to go shooting with bows and arrows. As they set out in his canoe, it capsized, and the boys drowned. Raven told them, “You will stay here,” transforming them into ikaga’xe, sea birds known for their far-carrying voices, forever echoing across the waters.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The boys are transformed into sea birds by Raven after their drowning.

Divine Intervention: Raven, a deity figure in Tlingit mythology, directly influences the mortal realm by causing the canoe to capsize and subsequently transforming the boys.

Supernatural Beings: The presence and actions of Raven, a supernatural entity, play a central role in the story.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Wrangell, Alaska, in January-April 1904

One time Raven came to a place called Cold-town and said to the boys there, “Let us go shooting with bow and arrows.”

He took down his own canoe and they started out, but presently the canoe upset and the boys were all drowned.

Then he said to them, “You will stay here.”

They are the ikaga’xe, sea birds whose voices can be heard at a long distance.

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How Protestant Christianity was first heard of at Sitka

A man returned to Sitka after two months, claiming God had descended to aid them. Following his instructions, women adorned themselves with beadwork and danced, falling backward during rituals. Saltwater was used to revive them, believed to ward off smallpox. This practice continued for an entire year, blending faith, community, and healing traditions into a prolonged ceremonial response.

Source:
Tlingit Myths and Texts
by John R. Swanton
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Bulletin 39
Washington, 1909

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The man’s claim that a deity has descended to help the people signifies the influence of divine forces in human affairs.

Ritual and Initiation: The introduction of new dances and the use of saltwater as protective measures highlight the role of ceremonial rites in marking transitions and seeking protection.

Transformation: The community’s adoption of new spiritual practices represents a shift in cultural and religious identity, indicating a significant change in their belief system.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Tlingit Lore

Learn more about the Tlingit people

Myth recorded in English at Sitka, Alaska
January-April 1904

[It is possible, however, that this was the result of Jesuit teaching on the upper Skeena.]

A man went south from Sitka and returned after two months. When he came ashore he called all the people to a dance and told them that God (Deki’-anqa’wo, Distant-chief) had come down from heaven to help them.

Then all the women made beadwork for their hair and ears. One evening, when they were through with that, they again began dancing. While the women danced they would fall flat on their backs. When this happened, in accordance with directions the man had received below, they brought up salt water, wet part of each woman’s blanket and flapped it against her breast to make her come to. This prevented the smallpox from having any effect upon her. They kept on dancing a whole year.

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The Shaman in the Moon

A Malemut shaman shared a fascinating cosmology where a moon-dwelling chief governs earthly animal abundance, granting animals to shamans who visit him in pairs with offerings. The sky is imagined as an inverted land, its grass releasing snow during storms. Stars are seen as shining lakes in this sky-land, while the winds are attributed to a northern giant and a southern woman shaping their environments.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The moon-dwelling chief, a divine figure, influences earthly animal abundance by granting animals to shamans who visit him with offerings.

Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves interactions with supernatural entities, such as the chief in the moon and the personifications of the north and south winds.

Sacred Spaces: The sky and the moon are depicted as sacred realms that shamans can access, with the sky imagined as an inverted land and the moon as the dwelling place of a powerful chief.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from Kotzebue Sound

A Malemut shaman from Kotzebue sound near Selawik lake told me that a great chief lives in the moon who is visited now and then by shamans, who always go to him two at a time, as one man is ashamed to go alone. In the moon live all kinds of animals that are on the earth, and when any animal becomes scarce here the shamans go up to the chief in the moon and, if he is pleased with the offerings that have been made to him, he gives them one of the animals that they wish for, and they bring it down to the earth and turn it loose, after which its kind becomes numerous again.

The shaman who told me the foregoing said he had never been to the moon himself, but he knew a shaman who had been there.

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He had been up only as high as the sky, and went up that high by flying like a bird and found that the sky was a land like the earth, only that the grass grew hanging downward and was filled with snow. When the wind blows up there it rustles the grass stems, loosening particles of snow which fall down to the earth as a snowstorm.

When he was up near the sky he saw a great many small, round lakes in the grass, and these shine at night to make the stars. The Malemut of Kotzebue sound also say that the north wind is the breath of a giant, and when the snow falls it is because he is building himself a snow house and the particles are flying from his snow shovel. The south wind is the breath of a woman living in the warm southland.

The One-who-finds-nothing

A small, unlucky man, unable to find success in hunting, fishing, or daily tasks, grows despondent and decides to die outside his village. As he lies awaiting death, two ravens argue over his fate. One offers a knife in his beak, which the man seizes. Refusing to return it despite the raven’s warnings, he attempts to return to the village but suddenly ages and dies, cursed by his decision.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The protagonist undergoes a sudden physical change—rapid aging leading to death—after taking the raven’s knife, symbolizing the consequences of his actions.

Divine Intervention: The ravens, often seen as spiritual or supernatural beings in Inuit culture, influence the man’s fate by offering the knife and cursing him upon his refusal to return it.

Tragic Flaw: The man’s inability to succeed in his tasks and his subsequent despair lead him to make fatal decisions, highlighting personal weaknesses that result in his downfall.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

from St. Michael

Once there was a small, ugly-face young man who could never find anything that he looked for. Whenever he went out with his sled for wood, he returned without any, because he could never succeed in finding any, not the least piece. Then he entered the kashim and sat down in his place over the entrance way. When he sat down there he would remain quiet for a long time. The one sitting beside him sometimes gave him water, which he would drink and then become quite still again. If forced to go out, he would put on his boots and go, but would return again very soon and sit as before. Once when thirsty he went out to the water hole for a drink, but when he came to the place he could not find the water hole, as it seemed not to be there. Then he returned to the kashim again without drinking and sat down in his place, the one beside him giving him water.

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At night in bed, not being able to sleep and being thirsty, he went out to find his elder brother’s house. After much searching he could not find the place, so went back to the kashim and lay down. Awaking in the morning, he took some fishing tackle and went fishing. When he came to the water he could not find it, and after looking for it unsuccessfully he returned without fishing. Thus he came back once more without anything and was hungry also when he sat in his place as usual.

Then he thought, “If I go to pick berries I suppose I will not be able to find any.” Taking a wooden bucket he went for berries. After looking, but failing to find any, he returned to his place in the kashim. The next morning, becoming hungry, he took his arrows and went hunting for wild geese. Not finding any, and seeing nothing else, he returned again. Other men brought back hair seals they had killed. The One-who-finds-nothing took his kaiak and putting it into the water went out seal hunting. He hunted long for the seals, but there seemed to be none; and seeing nothing, he came back to his place in the kashim.

Winter came, and he thought, “I do not know what to do with myself.” The next day he took his miserable bed and rolled it up with his poor tool bag, put the bundle on his back, and went out to the land ward side of the village, beyond the houses, and sat down. Being seated, he took his bundle from his back and, opening it, untied his tool bag. This being done, he scattered the tools about him and threw away the bag. Then he spread down his bed and, sitting upon it, lay back, saying, “Here will I die.”

There he lay all night without moving. When the sun came up he heard a Raven croaking, and then its mate. He remained quiet and the Raven came, alighting near him with its mate just beyond. The nearest Raven spoke, saying, “Look! here is something to eat. We have not eaten, and we had better not wait. Let us have his eyes.” The farthest Raven answered, “No, he is not dead.” “Why does he lie there, then, as if he were dead?” said the first Raven. “No, he is not dead; for look there, there is no smoke 1 by him,” replied the second one.

Then the first Raven became enraged and cast himself about, saying, “Why is he thrown out, then? Look at his things scattered about him.” “I do not wish any of it,” said the mate, “there is no smoke by him. I will leave you.” And he flew away. “All right: you can fly off,” said the first Raven; “I will have his eyes.”

Then the man opened his eyes very slightly and looked sidewise at the Raven. This one, coming toward the small, ugly-face young man, stood there holding up his beak, which became a fine knife. He went nearer, and between his eyelashes the man saw, raised by the hilt, a fine knife. He thought, “I have no knife.” Then the point came close to him. He thought again, “I have no knife.” He suddenly caught it and snatched it away from the Raven.

Back sprang Raven, and the man sat up. “Give me my knife,” said Raven. The man answered, saying, “I have no knife, and this shall be my knife. The Raven replied, “I will pay you for it with all kinds of game.” “No,” said the man, “I will not give it back. I always go out hunting and can get nothing.” “Then,” said the Raven, “if you wish to go back to the village you will not reach there when you try.” “I have no knife,” replied the man. Here the Raven coughed and fell down, saying, “Thus will you do. Keep my knife, if you prize it,” said he, and flew away.

The man sat up, still keeping the knife. Then he started to go back to the village. As he was going his throat contracted, his back bent over in front, and he rested his hands on his knees. Suddenly he became an old man. He could not walk. He lay on his face. He did not stir. He was dead.

The Raven, The Whale, and the Mink

Raven, a cunning trickster, encounters a whale and enters its body, discovering a magical, self-sustaining interior with a young woman, the whale’s inua (spirit). Disobeying her warnings, Raven’s greed causes the whale’s death, leading to his escape and subsequent feast on its remains. With Mink, Raven tricks seals into a deadly feast, ensuring plentiful oil and food, establishing a lifelong bond between ravens and minks.

Source:
The Eskimo about Bering Strait
by Edward William Nelson
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eighteenth Annual Report
Washington, 1900

► Themes of the story

Trickster: Raven exemplifies the trickster archetype, using cunning and deceit to achieve his goals, such as entering the whale’s body and later deceiving the seals.

Divine Intervention: The presence of the whale’s inua (spirit) signifies the influence of supernatural beings in the narrative, guiding events and interactions.

Cunning and Deception: Raven’s actions, including his manipulation of the whale and the seals, highlight themes of wit and deceit employed to secure sustenance and survival.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

This tale is related either separately or in conjunction with the preceding one, of which it forms a part.

After Raven had dried his clothing at the fire he chanced to look toward the sea and saw a large whale passing close along the shore, and he cried out, “When you come up again shut your eyes and open your mouth wide.” Quickly putting on his raven coat, he drew down his mask, then, carrying his fire-drill under his wings, flew out over the water. The whale soon came up again and did as it was told, and when Raven saw the open mouth he flew straight down the whale’s throat. The whale closed its mouth and went down again, while Raven stood looking about, finding himself at the entrance of a fine room, at one end of which burned a lamp. He went in and was surprised to see a very beautiful young woman sitting there. The place was clean and dry, the roof being supported by the whale’s spine, while its ribs formed the walls. From a tube that extended along the whale’s back bone, oil was dropping slowly into the lamp.

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When Raven stepped in the woman started up and cried out, “How came you here? You are the first man who ever came in here.” Raven told how he came there, and she asked him to be seated on the other side of the room. This woman was the shade or inua of the whale, which was a female. Then she prepared him food, giving him some berries and oil, at the same time telling him that she had gathered the berries the year before.

For four days Raven stayed there as the guest of the inua, and continually wondered what the tube was that ran along the roof of the house. Each time the woman left the room she told him that he must not touch it. At last, when she left the room again, he went to the lamp, and holding out his claw caught a large drop of the oil and licked it with his tongue. It tasted so sweet that he began to catch and eat other drops as fast as they fell. This soon became too slow for him, so he reached up and tore a piece from the side of the tube and ate it. As soon as this was done a great rush of oil poured into the room, extinguishing the light, while the room itself began to roll wildly about. This continued for four days and Raven was nearly dead from weariness and the bruises which he had received. Then the room became still and the whale was dead, for Raven had torn off a part of one of the heart vessels. The inua never came back to the room, and the whale drifted upon the shore.

Raven now found himself a prisoner, and while trying to think of a plan for escaping, heard two men talking on top of the whale, and pro posing to bring all of their village mates to the place. This was done very quickly, and the people soon had a hole made through the upper side of the whale’s body. This hole was enlarged until, watching his chance while everybody was carrying a load of meat to the shore, Raven flew out and alighted on the top of a hill close by without being noticed.

Then he remembered that he had left his fire-drill behind, and exclaimed, “Ah, my good fire drill; I have forgotten it.” He quickly removed his raven mask and coat, becoming a young man again, and started along the shore toward the whale. The people on the carcass soon saw a small, dark colored man in a strangely made deerskin coat coming toward them, and they looked at him curiously. Raven drew near and said, “Ho, you have found a fine, large whale. Well, I will help you cut him up.” He rolled up his sleeves and set to work. Very soon a man working inside the whale’s body cried out, “Ah, see what I have found. A fire drill inside the whale.” At once Raven began to roll down his sleeves, saying, “That is bad, for my daughter has told me that if a fire-drill is found in a whale and people try to cut up that whale many of them will die. I shall run away.” And away he ran.

When Raven had gone the people looked at one another and said, “Perhaps he is right;” and away they all ran, every one trying to rub the oil off his hands as he went. From his hiding place nearby Raven looked on and laughed as the people ran away, and then he went for his mask and coat. After procuring them he returned to the whale and began cutting it up and carrying the flesh back from the shore. As he thought of the feast in store for him he even said, “Thanks” to the shades.

When he had stored away enough meat he wished to save some oil, but had no bag to put it in, so he walked along the shore trying to find a seal. He had gone only a short distance when he saw a mink run swiftly by, and he called out, “What are you running after so fast? Are you going for something to eat?”

Mink stopped, and pushing up his nose like a mask, as Raven had done with his beak, became a small, dark-colored man. Then Raven cried, “Ah, you will be my friend? I have plenty of food, but I am lonely, for I have no one with me.” To this Mink agreed, and both walked back to the whale and went to work, but Mink did the most for Raven was very lazy.

They made grass bags and mats for the meat and blubber, storing great quantities of it in holes in the ground. After this was done they built a fine kashim. When it was finished Raven said, “It is lonely; let us make a feast.” And he told Mink to go out and invite the sea people to join them.

To this Mink agreed, so next morning he started out, while Raven made a short, round, slender rod, at one end of which he painted two rings with charcoal paint. When he had finished this, he gathered a large ball of sticky spruce gum, which he placed with the rod in the kashim.

Mink soon returned and told Raven that on the morrow plenty of sea people would come to the feast. To this Raven answered, “Thanks.” Early the next morning Mink called Raven outside and pointed toward the sea, the surface of which was covered with different kinds of seals coming to the feast. Raven went back into the kashim, while Mink went down to the water to meet the guests and escort them to the house.

As each seal came on shore he pushed up his mask and became a small man, and all entered the house until it was full. Raven looked about at the guests and exclaimed, “What a number of people. How shall I be able to make a feast for all of you? But never mind; let me first rub the eyes of some of you with this stuff, in order that you may be able to see better; it is dark in here.”

With his ball of gum Raven then fastened shut the eyes of every seal, except a small one near the door, which he overlooked. The last seal whose eyes were shut was also a small one, and as soon as its eyes were made fast it tried to get them open, and began to cry. The little one by the door cried out to the others, “Raven has stuck your eyes shut, and you can not open them.” Then every seal tried to open his eyes, but could not. With the stick he had made the day before Raven now killed all the guests by striking them on the head, each seal man changing back to a seal as it was killed. As soon as the little one by the door saw Raven killing his companions, it ran out and escaped alone into the sea.

When he had finished, Raven turned to Mink and said, See what a lot of seals I have killed. We will have plenty of oil bags now.” Then they made bags of the sealskins and filled them with oil for the winter. Ever since that time Raven and Mink have been friends, and even to this day ravens will not eat the flesh of a mink, be they ever so hungry; and the mink and the raven are often found very close together on the tundras.

Story of the orphan boy

A mistreated orphan boy, subjected to cruelty by his caretakers, finds solace in the kindness of a young girl. Desperate for freedom, he pleads to the man in the moon for help. Granted immense strength after a beating, he exacts revenge on his tormentors, sparing only the girl who aided him. Restored to normal size, he marries her and lives peacefully.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eleventh Annual Report, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The boy undergoes a significant change, gaining immense strength after his encounter with the man in the moon.

Divine Intervention: The man in the moon responds to the boy’s plea for help, directly influencing the events that follow.

Revenge and Justice: The boy exacts revenge on his tormentors, bringing justice for the mistreatment he endured.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

This story was obtained from a man from Labrador. The Eskimo assert that this occurred near Ohak (or Okak), now a missionary station. They show the rock, which a little imagination gives the appearance of having dried blood and brains still upon it.

A small boy, who had neither father, mother, nor any living relatives, was dwelling with some people who maltreated him in every way their fancy could suggest. He was kept in the entry way to the hut, like a dog, and was permitted to eat only of the skin of walrus when they had it to give him. At other times they would throw to him what they themselves would not eat. They forbade him to have a knife with which to cut his food, and he was compelled to gnaw the bones like a dog. A little girl, the daughter of the head of the family with whom he lived, would secretly take to him a knife with which to divide the tough skin of the walrus. She also carried food of better quality to him when she could do so clandestinely. These kind attentions pleased him very much, and made him long for an opportunity to escape. But how was he to better his condition when the hand of everybody was raised against him on account of his treatment at home? The little girl who had so often befriended him could not assist him to escape from such a life. He endeavored to lay a plan, but it came to naught. There seemed no help for him. One night he abandoned all hope and threw himself on the ground in despair.

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While there he gazed at the bright moon, and the more intently his gaze was fixed upon it the more he thought he discerned the face of a man in it, and at last he cried to the man to come and help him escape from his miserable life. The man came down from the moon and gave the poor boy a frightful beating, but the more he was beaten the larger he seemed to grow. After awhile he became so strong that he could handle a large rock as easily as he had hitherto handled a little stone. A large, round bowlder from the beach was no more to him than a bullet held in the hand of a strong man.

The moon man then told the boy that he was large enough to take care of himself and do as he pleased with the people who had treated him so badly. With this the two parted, and the moon man went to his hole in the sky, while the boy walked along the beach picking up rocks and tossing them along the shore until the character of the water’s edge was entirely changed. When the boy arrived at the hut it was daylight, for he had tarried so long on the beach testing his strength that the night had slipped away.

The people were terrified when they saw to what enormous proportions the abused boy had grown. He became frenzied the instant he saw his former persecutors, and seizing first one and then the other in his hands dashed them against the rocks. The blood and brains ran in streams. One of the men, seeing his doom, begged for his life and promised his kaiak, spears, sled, and wife if he should be spared. The enraged boy continued the slaughter until only the little girl who had so often befriended him was left. She became his wife, and in the course of a few hours the man, whose name was Kou je yuk, became of a natural size again and passed his life in comfort.

The Coming of the White People

Facing starvation, the Eskimo were desperate for survival. The greatest Tungaksoak prophesied the arrival of light-haired, white-skinned people in a massive umiak. He sent two puppies adrift on objects; one returned with Indians. Years later, a strange vessel brought the prophesied people. A man, once a puppy, announced their arrival before transforming back into a dog, fulfilling the prophecy.

Source:
Ethnology of the Ungava District,
Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner
[Smithsonian Institution]
Bureau of American Ethnology
Eleventh Annual Report, 1889-1890
Washington, 1894

► Themes of the story

Prophecy and Fate: The tale centers on a prophecy by the Tungaksoak, foretelling the arrival of white-skinned people who would bring salvation to the starving community.

Divine Intervention: The transformation of puppies into messengers and the fulfillment of the prophecy suggest a supernatural influence guiding the events to ensure the community’s survival.

Cultural Heroes: The Tungaksoak, as a spiritual leader, plays a pivotal role in guiding and protecting the community through his prophetic vision, embodying the qualities of a cultural hero.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

The Eskimo were on the verge of starvation and had eaten nearly all their food. They saw that in a few more days death would come. The greatest Tungaksoak or great Tungak determined to bring relief and prophesied that people having light hair and white skins would come in an immense umiak. He placed a young puppy on a chip and another on an old sealskin boot, and set them adrift on the water. The puppies drifted in different directions, and in the course of time the one on the chip returned and brought with it the Indians. A long time after that, when the people had nearly forgotten the other puppy, a strange white object like an iceberg came directly toward the shore. In a few moments the puppy, now a man, announced that the people had come with many curious things in their vessel. The man immediately became a dog.

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Qaudjaqdjuq

This tale recounts the transformation of Qaudjaqdjuq, a mistreated orphan boy, into the mighty Qaudjaqdjuaq. Tormented by villagers and denied even basic kindness, his fortunes change when the man in the moon, a protector of orphans, intervenes. Through trials of strength and endurance, Qaudjaqdjuq gains incredible power. He returns to confront his tormentors, punishing the cruel and sparing the kind, ultimately becoming a renowned hunter and hero.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Qaudjaqdjuq evolves from a mistreated orphan into a powerful figure, highlighting themes of personal growth and change.

Divine Intervention: The man in the moon, acting as a protector of orphans, intervenes to empower Qaudjaqdjuq, showcasing the influence of supernatural forces in human affairs.

Revenge and Justice: Upon gaining strength, Qaudjaqdjuq returns to his village to confront his tormentors, punishing the cruel and sparing the kind, reflecting themes of retribution and the restoration of moral order.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

A long time ago there was a poor little orphan boy who had no protector and was maltreated by all the inhabitants of the village. He was not even allowed to sleep in the hut, but lay outside in the cold passage among the dogs, who were his pillows and his quilt. Neither did they give him any meat, but flung old, tough walrus hide at him, which he was compelled to eat without a knife. A young girl was the only one who pitied him. She gave him a very small piece of iron for a knife, but bade him conceal it well or the men would take it from him. He did so, putting it into his urethra. Thus he led a miserable life and did not grow at all, but remained poor little Qaudjaqdjuq.

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He did not even dare to join the plays of the other children, as they also maltreated and abused him on account of his weakness.

When the inhabitants assembled in the singing house Qaudjaqdjuq used to lie in the passage and peep over the threshold. Now and then a man would lift him by the nostrils into the hut and give him the large urine vessel to carry out. It was so large and heavy that he was obliged to take hold of it with both hands and his teeth. As he was frequently lifted by the nostrils they grew to be very large, though he remained small and weak.

At last the man in the moon, [the protector of orphans] who had seen how badly the men behaved towards Qaudjaqdjuq, came down to help him. He harnessed his dog. Tirie’tiang to his sledge and drove down.

When near the hut he stopped and cried, “Qaudjaqdjuq, come out.” Qaudjaqdjuq answered, “I will not come out. Go away!” But when he had asked him a second and a third time to come out, he complied, though he was very much frightened. Then the man in the moon went with him to a place where some large boulders were lying about and, having whipped him, asked, “Do you feel stronger now?” Qaudjaqdjuq answered: “Yes, I feel stronger.” “Then lift yon boulder,” said he. As Qaudjaqdjuq was not yet able to lift it, he gave him another whipping, and now all of a sudden he began to grow, the feet first becoming of an extraordinary size. Again the man in the moon asked him: “Do you feel stronger now?” Qaudjaqdjuq answered: “Yes, I feel stronger;” but as he could not yet lift the stone he was whipped once more, after which he had attained a very great strength and lifted the boulder as if it were a small pebble. The man in the moon said: “That will do. Tomorrow morning I shall send three bears; then you may show your strength.” He returned to the moon, but Qaudjaqdjuq, who had now become Qaudjaqdjuaq (the big Qaudjaqdjuq) returned home tossing the stones with his feet and making them fly to the right and to the left. At night he lay down again among the dogs to sleep. Next morning he awaited the bears, and. indeed, three large animals soon made their appearance, frightening all the men, who did not dare to leave the huts.

Then Qaudjaqdjuaq put on his boots and ran down to the ice. The men who looked out of the window hole said, “Look here, is not that Qaudjaqdjuq? The bears will soon make way with him.” But he seized the first by its hind legs and smashed its head on an iceberg, near which it happened to stand. The other one fared no better; the third, however, he carried up to the village and slew some of his persecutors with it. Others he pressed to death with his hands or tore off their heads, crying: “That is for abusing me; that is for your maltreating me.” Those whom he did not kill ran away, never to return. Only a few who had been kind to him while he had been poor little Qaudjaqdjuq were spared, among them the girl who had given him the knife. Qaudjuqdjuaq lived to be a great hunter and traveled all over the country, accomplishing many exploits.

The visitor

An old witch living with her grandson plotted to harm a visiting hunter, envious of his success. She cooked a deadly soup of wolf and human brains, sending her grandson to invite the hunter while warning him to conceal its contents. However, the hunter, a powerful angakoq, saw through her plan. Using his magic, he tricked her into eating the poisoned soup herself, causing her swift demise.

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

► Themes of the story

Trickster: The hunter employs cunning and magical prowess to outsmart the witch, turning her own malevolent scheme against her.

Good vs. Evil: The narrative depicts the struggle between the virtuous hunter and the malevolent witch, highlighting the triumph of good over evil.

Divine Intervention: The hunter’s shamanic abilities, possibly granted by spiritual forces, enable him to perceive and thwart the witch’s evil plan.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

An old hag lived in a house with her grandson. She was a very bad woman who thought of nothing but playing mischief. She was a witch and tried to harm everybody by witchcraft. Once upon a time a stranger came to visit some friends who lived in a hut near that of the old woman. As the visitor was a good hunter and procured plenty of food for his hosts, she envied them and resolved to kill the new comer. She made a soup of wolf’s and man’s brains, the most poisonous meal she could prepare, and sent her grandson to invite the stranger. She cautioned him not to say what she had cooked, as she knew that the visitor was a great angakoq, who was by far her superior in wisdom.

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The boy went to the neighboring hut and said: “Stranger, my grandmother invites you to come to her hut and to have there a good feast on a supper she has cooked. She told me not to say that it is a man’s and a wolf’s brains and I do not say it.” Though the angakoq understood the schemes of the old hag he followed the boy and sat down with her. She feigned to be very glad to see him and gave him a dish full of soup, which he began to eat. But by help of his tornaq the food fell right through him into a vessel which he had put between his feet on the floor of the hut. This he gave to the old witch and compelled her to eat it. She died as soon as she had brought the first spoonful to her mouth.

The emigration of the Sagdlirmiut

This Inuit legend recounts the origins of the Sagdlirmiut people. It tells of a feud between two groups near Ussualung, where betrayal and murder forced a family to flee. Guided by an old angakoq, they used magical skills to escape across breaking ice, evading their pursuers. After days adrift, they landed on Sagdlirn Island, establishing a new community and lineage.

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

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: The tale begins with a power struggle between two groups, leading to betrayal and murder, which forces the protagonists to flee.

Divine Intervention: An old angakoq (shaman) uses magical skills to guide the family safely across breaking ice, aiding their escape from pursuers.

Cultural Heroes: The family’s successful journey and establishment of a new community on Sagdlirn Island mark the beginning of a new lineage, highlighting their foundational role in shaping the Sagdlirmiut people’s identity.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

In the beginning all the Inuit lived near Ussualung, in Tiniqdjuarbing (Cumberland Sound). The Igdlumiut, the Nugumiut, and the Talirpingmiut in the south, the Aggomiut in the far north, and the Inuit, who tattoo rings round their eyes, in the far west, all once lived together. There is a tradition concerning the emigration of the Sagdlirmiut who live east of Iglulik. The Akudnirmiut say that the following events did not happen in Tiniqdjuarbing, but in Aggo, a country where nobody lives nowadays. Ikeraping, an Akudnirmio, heard the story related by a Tununirmio, who had seen the place himself, but all the Oqomiut assert that Ussualung is the place where the events in the story happened.

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The sister of Mitiq, the angakoq, told the story as follows:

Near Ussualung there are two places, Qerniqdjuaq and Eraluqdjuaq. In each of these was a large house, in which many families lived together. They used to keep company during the summer when they went deer hunting, but returned to their separate houses in the fall.

Once upon a time it happened that the men of Qerniqdjuaq had been very successful, while those of Eraluqdjuaq had caught scarcely any deer. Therefore the latter got very angry and resolved to kill the other party, but they preferred to wait until the winter. Later in the season many deer were caught and put up in depots. They were to be carried down to the winter settlements by means of sledges. One day both parties agreed upon a journey to these depots and the men of Eraluqdjuaq resolved to kill their enemies on this occasion. They set out with their dogs and sledges, and when they were fairly inland they suddenly attacked their unsuspecting companions and killed them. For fear that the wives and children of the murdered men might be suspicious if the dogs returned without their masters, they killed them too. After a short time they returned and said they had lost the other party and did not know what had happened to them.

A young man of Eraluqdjuaq was the suitor of a girl of Qerniqdjuaq and used to visit her every night. He did not stop his visits now. He was kindly received by the woman and lay down to sleep with his young wife.

Under the snow bench there was a little boy who had seen the young man of Eraluqdjuaq coming. When everybody was sleeping he heard somebody calling and soon recognized the spirits of the murdered men, who told him what had happened and asked him to kill the young man in revenge. The boy crept from his place under the bed, took a knife, and put it into the young man’s breast. As he was a small boy and very weak, the knife glided from the ribs and entered deep into the heart, thus killing the young man.

Then he roused the other inhabitants of the hut and told them that the spirits of the dead men had come to him, that they had told him of their murder, and had ordered him to kill the young man. The women and children got very much frightened and did not know what to do. At last they resolved to follow the advice of an old woman and to flee from their cruel neighbors. As their dogs were killed, the sledges were of no use, but by chance a bitch with pups was in the hut and the old woman, who was a great angakoq, ordered them to go and whip the young dogs, which would thus grow up quickly. They did so and in a short time the pups were large and strong. They harnessed them and set off as quickly as possible. In order to deceive their neighbors they left everything behind and did not even extinguish their lamps, that they might not excite suspicion. The next morning the men of Eraluqdjuaq wondered why their companion had not returned and went to the hut in Qernirtung. They peeped through the spy hole in the window and saw the lamps burning, but nobody inside. At last they discovered the body of the young man, and, finding the tracks of the sledges, they hurriedly put their sledges in order and pursued the fugitives. Though the latter had journeyed rapidly their pursuers followed still more rapidly and seemed likely to overtake them in a short time. They therefore became very much frightened, fearing the revenge of their pursuers.

When the sledge of the men drew near and the women saw that they were unable to escape, a young woman asked the old angakoq: “Don’t you know how to cut the ice?” The matron answered in the affirmative and slowly drew a line over the ice with her first finger across the path of their pursuers. The ice gave a loud crack. Once more she drew the line, when a crack opened and quickly widened as she passed on. The floe began moving and when the men arrived they could not cross over the wide space of water. Thus the party were saved by the art of their angakoq.

For many days they drifted to and fro, but finally they landed on the island of Sagdlirn, where they took up their abode and became the mothers of the Sagdlirmiut.