The last of the Tunnit

This tale recounts the demise of a giant, the last of the Tunnit, who terrorized hunters near Hebron on the Labrador coast. Exploiting their fear, he stole their food until a harsh winter left everyone starving. Joining a hunt, he fell for a ruse, agreeing to follow customs that led to his binding. The hunters attacked him in his sleep, ultimately killing him, though not without losses. His grave remains visible near Saglek Bay.

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

Conflict with Nature: The giant, representing a formidable force of nature, poses a significant threat to the hunters, who must confront and overcome him to ensure their survival.

Cunning and Deception: The hunters employ cleverness and deceit, convincing the giant to adhere to fabricated customs, leading to his eventual capture and death.

Sacrifice: The hunters risk their lives to eliminate the giant, and during the struggle, some lose their lives, highlighting the theme of sacrifice for the greater good of the community.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

A big, overgrown giant, the last of the Tunnit left on the Labrador coast, lived a long time ago near Hebron. He would not hunt nor do any work. Whenever he wanted food he took it away from the hunters. He would watch when they brought in their seals at the end of the day’s hunt, and go up to them and take his choice. They were all afraid of him on account of his size and strength and did not dare resist him.

Finally a hard winter came when the hunters could get no seal. Then he had to starve with the rest of them. When they were nearly dead with hunger, the people decided to send out six of their best hunters to see if they could not get some food.

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They were all surprised when the giant asked to go along too. Then they saw a chance to get rid of him. So they asked him to promise to obey all the customs of the hunters, which he did readily enough, suspecting nothing.

The first night out, after they had erected a snow-house, they told him that it was the custom for every young hunter to be bound the first evening on the hunt. So he allowed himself to be bound, having promised to obey all their customs. They tied his hands and feet with heavy lashing from their komatiks. They did not dare trust ordinary line. When he was sound asleep, in the middle of the night, they set on him and killed him with their lances; but bound as he was, he managed to break the heavy line, and kill one of them before he was finally killed.

When the hunters returned home without him, his wife asked where he was, but the hunters would not tell her. Finally she understood. She went out and got his body and buried it. The grave can still be seen on the north side of Saglek bay.

Another version, which gives the additional detail that the hunters cut through the side of the snow-house to get at the giant, is as follows:

Once on a time there lived a giant near Hebron, who was so heavy that he could not walk on new ice. He was the tyrant of the village. Whatever he wanted he took, and no one dared dispute him.

One year he expressed a wish that he would like to see how seals were killed and how the men went hunting. (He never hunted himself but stole from others). The hunters thought it a fine chance to get him in their power. They wanted to get rid of him because they were afraid of him and he was always bullying them. So they told him that if he wanted to go seal hunting with them, he would have to do exactly as they told him. He promised that he would, and they let him go with them.

So the first night they were out on the ice, they built a snowhouse, and told him that it was their custom to be lashed with skin line and left alone in the snow-house all night. So he let them tie him up, and lay down to sleep. Now the other Eskimo outside waited until they thought he was sound asleep. Then they cut a big hole in the side of the house and three men went in, while eight stood outside waiting. The three men inside jumped on the giant, and the eight men came in and joined in the fight. The giant broke the lines he was fastened with, and killed three men before the others overpowered him and killed him with their knives. So that was the last of the giant. His grave is to be seen to this day. It is a very large and long stone grave in Saglek bay.

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Kanagssuaq

Kanagssuaq, a resilient hunter, faced dire hunger with his companions during an icy winter. Defying treacherous weather, he hunted tirelessly, sustaining his group with seals. He encountered Kiliteraq, another skilled hunter, aiding him during a perilous hunt. Later, Kiliteraq gifted Kanagssuaq a finely crafted tow-line and bearskin as gratitude. Their bond highlighted mutual respect and survival amid harsh Arctic conditions.

Source:
Eskimo Folk-Tales
collected by Knud Rasmussen
[Copenhagen, Christiania], 1921

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: Kanagssuaq’s relentless battle against severe cold, treacherous ice, and dangerous seas highlights humanity’s struggle against natural forces.

Sacrifice: His willingness to risk his life by venturing into perilous weather to hunt seals demonstrates selflessness for the survival of his group.

Community and Isolation: The narrative underscores the importance of communal bonds and mutual support in overcoming adversity, as seen in Kanagssuaq’s interactions with his companions and fellow hunter Kiliteraq.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Kanagssuaq, men say, went out from his own place to live on a little island, and there took to wife the only sister of many brothers. And while he lived there with her, it happened once that the cold became so great that the sea between the islands was icebound, and they could no longer go out hunting.

At last they had used up their store of food, and when that store of food was used up, and none of them could go out hunting, they all remained lying down from hunger and weakness.

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Once, when there was open water to the south, where they often caught seal, Kanagssuaq took his kayak on his head and went out hunting. He rowed out in a northerly wind, with snow falling, and a heavy sea. And soon he came upon a number of black seal. He rowed towards them, to get within striking distance, but struck only a little fjord seal, which came up between him and the others. This one was easier to cut up, he said.

Now when he had got this seal, he took his kayak on his head again and went home across the ice. And his house-fellows shouted for joy when they saw the little creature he sent sliding in. Next day he went out again, and caught two black seal, and after that, he never went out without bringing home something.

The north wind continued, and the snow and the cold continued. When he lay out waiting for seal, as was now his custom, he often wished that he might meet with Kiliteraq, the great hunter from another place, who was the only one that would venture out in such weather. But this did not come about.

But now there was great dearth of food also in the place where Kiliteraq lived. And therefore Kiliteraq took his kayak on his head and went out across the ice to hunt seal. And coming some way, he sighted Kanagssuaq, who had already made his catch, and was just getting his tow-line out. As soon as he came up, Kanagssuaq cut away the whole of the belly skin and gave to him. And Kiliteraq felt now a great desire for blubber, and took some good big pieces to chew.

And while he lay there, some black seal came up, and Kanagssuaq said: “Row in to where they are.”

And he rowed in to them and harpooned one, and killed it on the spot with that one stroke. He took his bladder float, to make a tow-line fast, and wound up the harpoon line, but before he had come to the middle, a breaking wave came rolling down on him. And it broke over him, and it seemed indeed as if there were no kayak there at all, so utterly was it hidden by that breaking wave. Then at last the bladder showed up behind the kayak, and a little after, the kayak itself came up, with the paddles held in a balancing position. Now for the second time he took his bladder and line, and just as he came to the place where the tow-line is made fast, there came another wave and washed over him so that he disappeared. And then he came up a second time, and as he came up, he said: “I am now so far out that I cannot make my tow-line fast. Will you do this for me?”

And then Kanagssuaq made his tow-line fast, and as soon as he had taken the seal in tow, he rowed away in the thickly falling snow, and was soon lost to sight. When he came home, his many comrades in the village were filled with great thankfulness towards him. And thereafter it was as before; that he never came home without some catch.

A few days later, they awoke and saw that the snow was not falling near them now, but only far away on the horizon. And after that the weather became fine again. And when the spring came, they began hunting guillemots; driving them together in flocks and killing them so. This they did at that time.

And now one day they had sent their bird arrows showering down among the birds, and were busy placing the killed ones together in the kayaks. And then suddenly a kayak came in sight on the sunny side. And when that stranger came nearer, they looked eagerly to see who it might be. And when Kiliteraq came nearer — for it was Kiliteraq who came — he looked round among the kayaks, and when he saw that Kanagssuaq was among them, he thrust his way through and came close up to him, and stuck his paddle in between the thongs on Kanagssuaq’s kayak, and then loosened the skin over the opening of his own kayak, and put his hand in behind, and drew out a splendid tow-line made of walrus hide and beautifully worked with many beads of walrus tooth. And a second time he put in his hand, and took out now a piece of bearskin fashioned to the seat of a kayak. And these things he gave to Kanagssuaq, and said: “Once in the spring, when I could not make my tow-line fast to a seal, you helped me, and made it fast. Here is that which shall thank you for that service.”

And then he rowed away.

Nerrivik

A bird, eager to marry a woman, disguised himself as a man with a sealskin coat and walrus-tusk spectacles. After marrying, his wife discovered his true form and fled with her brothers. The bird, a powerful wizard, created a deadly storm in pursuit. Cast into the sea, the woman drowned and became Nerrivik, ruler of marine life, who provides food to humans in exchange for respect.

Source:
Eskimo Folk-Tales
collected by Knud Rasmussen
[Copenhagen, Christiania], 1921

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Nerrivik’s metamorphosis from a human woman into the ruler of marine life illustrates a profound physical and spiritual change, a common motif in mythological narratives.

Divine Intervention: The bird husband’s ability to conjure a storm through his supernatural powers highlights the influence of otherworldly forces in human affairs, a testament to the belief in divine or magical beings affecting mortal lives.

Sacrifice: The woman’s tragic fate—being cast into the sea and losing her hand—underscores the theme of sacrifice. Her transformation into Nerrivik, who provides sustenance to humanity, suggests that her personal loss leads to a greater good for her community.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

A bird once wished to marry a woman. He got himself a fine sealskin coat, and having weak eyes, made spectacles out of a walrus tusk, for he was greatly set upon looking as nice as possible. Then he set off, in the shape of a man, and coming to a village, took a wife, and brought her home.

Now he began to go out catching fish, which he called seal, and brought home to his wife. Once it happened that he lost his spectacles, and his wife, seeing his bad eyes, burst out weeping, because he was so ugly.

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But her husband only laughed. “Oho, so you saw my eyes? Hahaha!” And he put on his spectacles again.

Then her brothers, who longed for their sister, came out one day to visit her. And her husband being out hunting, they took her away with them. The husband was greatly distressed when he came home and found her gone, and thinking someone must have carried her off, he set out in pursuit. He swung his wings with mighty force, and raised a violent storm, for he was a great wizard.

When the storm came up, the boat began to take in water, and the wind grew fiercer, as he doubled the beating of his wings. The waves rose white with foam, and the boat was near turning over. And when those in the boat began to suspect that the woman was the cause of the storm, they took her up and cast her into the sea. She tried to grasp the side of the boat, but then her grandfather sprang up and cut off her hand.

And so she was drowned. But at the bottom of the sea, she became Nerrivik, the ruler over all the creatures in the sea. And when men catch no seal, then the wizards go down to Nerrivik. Having but one hand, she cannot comb her hair, and this they do for her, and she, by way of thanks, sends seal and other creatures forth to men.

That is the story of the ruler of the sea. And men call her Nerrivik [“Meat Dish”] because she gives them food.

Ikardlituarssuk

Ikardlituarssuk and his brother lived in a famine-stricken village. Seeking a reward, Ikardlituarssuk called upon his helping spirits and journeyed beneath the sea, where he met Tornarssuk’s mother. By encouraging her, she released birds and seals, ending the famine. The ice vanished, and hunters prospered, except one who defied her warning. Ikardlituarssuk earned the coveted paddle for his actions.

Source:
Eskimo Folk-Tales
collected by Knud Rasmussen
[Copenhagen, Christiania], 1921

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: Ikardlituarssuk’s descent beneath the sea to meet Tornarssuk’s mother represents a venture into a supernatural realm, a common motif where protagonists seek solutions or knowledge beyond the mortal world.

Divine Intervention: By encouraging Tornarssuk’s mother to release birds and seals, Ikardlituarssuk facilitates the end of the famine, showcasing how interactions with divine or supernatural beings can alter human circumstances.

Sacrifice: The tale highlights the importance of selflessness and adherence to given instructions. The villagers are warned not to overhunt, emphasizing the value of restraint for the greater good. The hunter who defies this warning faces consequences, underscoring the theme of sacrifice and obedience.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Ikardlituarssuk, men say, had a little brother; they lived at a place where there were many other houses. One autumn the sea was frozen right out from the coast, without a speck of open water for a long way out. After this, there was great dearth and famine; at last their fellow-villagers began to offer a new kayak paddle as a reward for the one who should magic it away, but there was no wizard among the people of that village.

Then it came about that Ikardlituarssuk’s little brother began to speak to him thus: “Ikardlituarssuk, how very nice it would be to win that new paddle!”

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And then it was revealed that Ikardlituarssuk had formerly sat on the knee of one of those present when the wizards called up their helping spirits.

Then it came about that Ikardlituarssuk one evening began to call upon his helping spirits. He called them up, and having called them up, went out, and having gone out, went down to the water’s edge, crept in through a crack between the land and the ice, and started off, walking along the bottom of the sea.

He walked along, and when he came to seaweed, it seemed as if there lay dogs in among the weed. But these were sharks. Then on his way he saw a little house, and went towards it. When he came up to the entrance, it was narrow as the edge of a woman’s knife. But he got in all the same, following that way which was narrow as the edge of a woman’s knife. And when he came in, there sat the mother of Tornarssuk, the spirit who lived down there; she was sitting by her lamp and weeping. And picking behind her ears, she threw down many strange things. Inside her lamp were many birds that dived down, and inside the house were many seals that bobbed up.

And now he began tickling the weeping woman as hard as he could, to encourage her; and at last she was encouraged, and after this, she freed a number of the birds, and then made a sign to many of the seals to swim out of the house. And when they swam out, there was one of the fjord seals which she liked so much that she plucked a few of the hairs from its back, that she might have it to make breeches of when it was caught.

And when all this had been done, she went home, and went to rest without saying a word.

When they awoke next morning, the sea was quite dark ahead, and all the ice had gone. But when the villagers came out, she said to them: “Do not kill more than one; if any of you should kill two, he will never kill again.”

And furthermore she said: “If any of you should catch a young fjord seal with a bare patch on its back, you must give it to me to make breeches.”

When they came back, each of the hunters had made a catch; only one of them had caught two. And the man who had caught two seals that day never after caught any seal at all when he rowed out, but all the others always made a catch when they rowed out, and some of them even caught several at a time.

Thus it came about that Ikardlituarssuk with the little brother won the new paddle as a reward.

The orpran boy Iliarsorkik

A neglected orphan, Iliarsorkik, endured hardship after being cast off by numerous families. Adopted by a widow, he grew strong and resourceful, sustaining their starving community through hunting. His resilience brought seals, partridges, and even a bear to feed the villagers. Despite facing dangers like a deadly bear and severe weather, Iliarsorkik’s generosity saved many lives, cementing his role as a selfless provider and protector.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Iliarsorkik evolves from a neglected orphan into a strong and resourceful hunter, showcasing significant personal growth.

Sacrifice: He selflessly endures hardships and risks his life to hunt and provide food for his starving community, demonstrating a willingness to give up his safety for the well-being of others.

Cultural Heroes: Through his actions, Iliarsorkik becomes a foundational figure who shapes and sustains his society, embodying the qualities of a cultural hero.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

In a house which was occupied by a great number of people lived a married couple with only one son; the parents, however, both died while he was quite a baby. Another family adopted him; but on finding that he gave them more trouble than they had expected, they soon grew tired of him, and he became nothing but a bore to them. Others took him up, but in a little time neglected him; and thus it befell that all the families in a house came to take charge of him by turns. His last foster-parents had him for rather a long time; but on a certain day when the man happened to return home without any catch, and was cross and moody, he addressed his wife, saying, “This boy is a mere good-for-nothing; cast him out on the dunghill at once.”

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Meantime a widow, whose son had just commenced to try his hand at seal-hunting, took him in. She brought him up, and he did well, and was well provided for from that time. One autumn the weather turned bad with heavy gales; and snowdrifts coming on earlier than usual, there had hardly been a chance of any catch for the inhabitants. Before the days had begun to lengthen the sea was quite frozen over, and the bad weather still continuing, the many hunters and providers about the place entirely ceased to go out. All their provisions had been spent, and the lamps were not lighted in the evening. The only lamp still burning was that of the widow, and the only person that made any attempt at hunting was her adopted son Iliarsorkik. One of his housemates, a man who did not possess any kayak, used to take him by the hand every morning, and give him a run uphill; and by continuing this exercise he soon got to be very swift and agile. Meanwhile the inmates of the crowded house all remained in bed for hunger and cold; but every evening the widow went to her little store and took out a handful of angmagsat (dried fish, capelins, the chief winter provision), and bestowed a small share upon each of them; her own son got four, her adopted son three, and the others half a one: all had a little morsel of blubber besides. One morning at low tide Iliarsorkik saw some small spots off the rocky-shore free of ice, and coming nearer he saw a great number of little sandpipers there. He at length caught one, which he brought to the house. His foster-mother was just getting anxious about him when she heard him slide down the outer passage; and soon after entering the room, holding up his bird, he exclaimed, “Look here, what I have got!” The men who lay on the ledge cried out, “Oh, he has actually got a sandpiper!” and they reproached each other for having driven him out, saying that he might now have been able to provide for them. The mother cut the little bird through at all its joints, and gave every one their share, but still some one went on crying for more. The next day Iliarsorkik brought two, and every succeeding day one more; and the widow always divided them, and gave their house-fellows something, each in turn. One day he again met the man who used to give him a turn up the hills, who pointed out to him a spot where the partridges were sitting in the snow with their black beaks peeping forth, and he went on directing him how to get at them. He returned bringing one home the first day; but every following day the number increased, and the widow went on distributing what he had caught; but the men were constantly repeating, “What a pity we ever cast him off from us!” One day when he was away among the mountains in search of partridges with his friend, he observed a mist hanging above the waters, at one time growing thicker, and shortly after dissolving; and this his companions hailed as a good sign, informing him that it was a sure token of holes in the ice, kept open by the sea animals that gathered there to breathe. They now climbed a still higher mountain to take a more correct survey, and make sure of the place. In the evening Iliarsorkik said to his brother, “Tomorrow I don’t intend to hunt on shore; I shall just take a walk on the ice, and give a look round to find out the breathing-holes.” His foster-brother answered him: “Yonder beneath the boat thou wilt find my hunting-tools: I shall soon put thee right, and make them smaller for thee; but mind they are put deep down in the snow.” Iliarsorkik dug away for them, and having found them brought them to his brother, who fitted them for him. Early in the morning he was off; after a while he fell in with the frost-haze. He followed the direction of it, and soon arrived at the brim of the aperture, where he saw the seals diving up and down, and playing about in large crowds in the open water. Finding it difficult to get a sure footing on the slippery edge, he lost no time, but at once took aim and fixed his harpoon into one of the smaller seals. Having hauled it up upon the ice, he fastened it to his towing-line, and made the best of his way home. When the starving creatures heard him dragging a seal along through the house-passage a great clamour and strife ensued. The widow first cut very thin slices of blubber and skin together, and handed it to them. Some of them, however, were not able to bide their time, but came creeping along on the floor, stretching out their lean hands; but the widow merely said, “Each of you will get a piece in his or her turn.” She likewise took a piece of flesh of the size of a hand and boiled it, after having lit some lamps; but even this meal did not satisfy them; several of them cried out for more food, while others protested they had got no food at all. In the night some of them even came creeping across the floor to steal the raw flesh, but they were so faint that they were not able to get back and climb the ledge for their couches. Iliarsorkik brought a larger seal on the following day, and the widow was now able to light all the lamps, to warm up the house; but she was still very careful in sharing out the meals, and continued to give them very small rations. From this day forth Iliarsorkik every day brought home seals. One time when he had got two very big ones, and had already got half-way home with them, he was suddenly caught in an easterly gale, with a snowstorm blowing right in his face, so that he was not able to see anything at all. He continued to walk straight against the wind, but as it happened to haul round to the south he, of course, took a wrong direction, and lost his way. Towards evening, however, he concluded that he must have gained the coast-side, by the loose blocks of ice scattered about on all sides. Leaving his seals on the beach, he stepped up on shore, and came across a house. On entering it he saw that only the foremost lamps were burning, and behind this a widow and a young man were sitting, the latter with his chin buried deep in the fur collar of his jacket; but behind, in the more remote corner of the house, the lamps were all extinguished. Iliarsorkik said, “I have not absolutely come here on a visit, but I was not aware that the wind had changed, and thus lost my way in the snow-drift.” The widow replied, “Then thou hadst better stay here till tomorrow; and when the weather alters for the better thou mayst return to thy home.” Iliarsorkik said, “If ye have any fancy at all, ye are very welcome to one of my seals.” No sooner had he uttered these words than a faint sound of wailing was heard from the dark corners of the room. These people were likewise starving, and he had just come in time to save them. The weather being fine on the following day he reached his home, and when he had told his mother how he had solaced the hungry and starving, she answered him, “Always act in that way, and the number of thy captured animals will always increase.” Another time when he was just making ready what he had caught to carry it home, he suddenly heard a tremendous roar, and at the same time the ice seemed to quake beneath his feet. He looked round, and seeing nothing but icebergs right and left, he thought it might have been one of them calving (bursting and moving). When the roaring sound was again heard, and had come much nearer, he again turned round, and saw that what he had taken for an iceberg was a great bear, all covered with ice, and standing erect before him. When he saw the beast preparing to attack him he ran on towards an iceberg at some distance, and kept on running about, always pursued by the bear. Each time he rounded it he managed to hit a blow in the same spot on the iceberg, and in this manner he had soon made a cave, into which he hastened to creep, while the animal still hurried, and followed the scent of his footmarks. Whenever the bear passed him he thrust at it with his tok (tool for making holes in the ice); each time he thus hit it some of the ice-cover dropped down from its back, and at length some bleeding was visible; snorting and roaring, it circled round the iceberg, but at length stopped short and fell down motionless. Iliarsorkik descended, and found it to be dead. He cut out a piece of the flesh, and made the best of his way home; having arrived safely, he gave notice at the dwelling-places in the neighbourhood, that whoever chose might go and fetch away some of the bear’s flesh; he himself went along to the spot with his house-fellows, who had in the meantime fully recovered, to flense and cut it up, on the following day. Having gone on for some time he saw a black spot on the ice, which soon appeared to be the body of a dead man: further on they came across another one; and so on all the way. These were the corpses of people who had been on the point of starvation, and had expired in making their attempt to reach the bear; a few of them had succeeded in reaching it and getting a bite of the flesh, but afterwards dropped on their way home, worn out with hunger and fatigue.

The Sun and the Moon

An elderly woman, left alone while her husband kayaked, encountered a series of visitors: a snow-bunting, a wheat-ear, and a raven, each foreshadowing an extraordinary event. A radiant woman then appeared, recounting her tragic transformation into the sun after a disturbing encounter with her brother. Before leaving, she revealed her skeletal back, symbolizing her sacrifice and celestial ascent. Shortly after, the woman’s husband returned.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The narrative centers on a woman’s metamorphosis into the sun following a traumatic event, highlighting themes of change and rebirth.

Forbidden Knowledge: The woman’s discovery of her brother’s identity during nocturnal games reveals hidden truths, leading to significant consequences.

Sacrifice: In response to her brother’s actions, the woman undergoes self-mutilation, symbolizing a profound personal sacrifice that culminates in her celestial ascent.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

This tale, one of the few already mentioned by other authors on Greenland, has been translated from one of the oldest manuscripts.

An old married couple remained at home while their children travelled about all the summer. One day the wife was left alone as usual while the husband was out kayaking. On hearing something moving about close by, she hastened to hide beneath her coverlet, and after a little while, when she ventured to peep above it, she saw a little snow-bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis) hopping about on the floor and chirping, “Another one will soon enter, who is going to tell thee something.” In a little while she was alarmed by a still greater noise; and looking up again, she beheld a kusagtak (another little bird — the wheat-ear — Saxicola oenanthe), likewise hopping on the floor and singing, “Somebody shall soon enter and tell thee something.” It left the room, and was soon followed by a raven; but soon after it had gone she heard a sound like the steps of people, and this time she saw a very beautiful woman, who entered.

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On asking whence she came, the stranger told, “In bygone days we often used to assemble in my home to divert ourselves at different plays and games, and in the evening, when it was all ended, the young girls generally remained out, and the young men used to pursue and court us; but we could never manage to recognise them in the dark. One night I was curious to know the one who had chosen me, and so I went and daubed my hands with soot before I joined the others. When our play had come to an end, I drew my hands along his back, and left him, and was the first who entered the house. The young people came in, one after another undressed, but for some time I observed no marks. Last of all my brother entered, and I saw at once that the back of his white jacket was all besmeared with soot. I took a knife, and sharpened it, and proceeded to cut off my two breasts, and gave him them, saying, ‘Since my body seems to please thee, pray take these and eat them.’ He now began to speak indecently to me, and courted me more than ever, and while we raced about the room he caught hold of some bad moss and lit it, but I took some that was good, and also lit mine. He ran out, and I ran after him; but suddenly I felt that we were lifted up, and soared high up in the air. When we got more aloft my brother’s light was extinguished, but mine remained burning, and I had become a sun. Now I am on my way higher up the skies, that I may give warmth to the orphans (viz., going to make summer).” Finally she said, “Now close thy eyes.” The woman turned her eyes downwards; but perceiving that she was about to leave the house, she gave her one look, and observed that at her back she was a mere skeleton. Soon after she had left the house the old husband returned.

Among the rare cases which we have of any Eskimo tradition from the west about Behring Straits, the above legend is reported as known at Point Barrow, and was communicated to John Simpson, surgeon on board the Plover. In this the sister says to the brother, “Ta-man’g-ma mam-mang-mang-an’g-ma nigh’-e-ro,” which corresponds to the Greenlandish tamarma mamarmat ama neriuk, “My whole person being delicious, eat this also” — almost the same words as in one of the copies from Greenland.

The Beast Slayer

A poor man sold his three daughters under duress, gaining immense wealth but later facing their loss. Years later, his son sought the sisters, using magical items to find them married to kings of fishes, rams, and pigeons. After reuniting, he defeated a beast threatening his youngest sister and married a giant princess. Transforming into a giant, his legend endured for generations.

Source
Tales of Giants from Brazil
by Elsie Spicer Eells
Dodd, Mead and Co. – New York, 1918

► Themes of the story

Quest: The protagonist embarks on a journey to find his three sisters, demonstrating determination and bravery.

Family Dynamics: The narrative centers on the relationships between the brother and his sisters, highlighting themes of familial loyalty and sacrifice.

Sacrifice: The father initially sacrifices his daughters under duress, and later, the son risks his life to reunite and protect his family.

► From the same Region or People

South America
- Brazil

Learn more about Brazilian peoples

Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who were very poor. The man earned his living making wooden bowls and platters to sell and worked early and late, but wooden bowls and platters were so very cheap that he could barely support his family no matter how hard he worked. The man and his wife were the parents of three lovely daughters. They were all exceedingly beautiful, and the man and his wife often lamented the fact that they did not have money enough to educate them and clothe them fittingly.

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One day there came to the door of the poor man’s house a handsome young man mounted on a beautiful horse. He asked to buy one of the poor man’s daughters. The father was very much shocked at this request. “I may be poor,” said he, “but I am not so poor that I have to sell my children.”

The young man, however, threatened to kill him if he refused to do his bidding; so finally, after a short struggle, the father consented to part with his eldest daughter. He received a great sum of money in return.

The father was now a rich man and did not wish to make bowls and platters any longer. His wife, however, urged him to keep on with his former occupation. Accordingly he went on with his work. The very next day there came to his door another young man, even handsomer than the other, mounted upon even a finer horse. This young man made the same request that the other had done. He wanted to buy one of the daughters.

The father burst into tears and told all the dreadful happenings of the day before. The young man, however, showed no pity and continued to demand one of the daughters. He made fearful threats if the man would not yield to his request, and the father became so frightened that he at length parted with his second daughter. The first young man had paid a great sum of money, but this one paid even more.

Though he was now very rich the father still went on making bowls and platters to please his wife. The next day when he was at work the handsomest young man he had ever seen appeared riding upon a most beautiful steed. This young man demanded the third daughter. The poor father had to yield just as before, though it nearly broke his heart to part with his only remaining child. The price which the young man paid was so very great that the family was now as rich as it had once been poor.

Their home was not childless very long, for soon a baby son came to them. They brought up the boy in great luxury. One day when the child was at school he quarrelled with one of his playmates. This taunt was thrown in his face: “Ah, ha! You think your father was always rich, do you? He is a rich man now, it is true, but it is because he sold your three sisters.” The words made the boy sad, but he said nothing about the matter at home. He hid it away in his mind until he had become a man. Then he went to his father and mother and demanded that they should tell him all about it.

His parents told the young man the whole story of the strange experiences through which they had obtained their wealth. “I am now a man,” said the son. “I feel that it is right that I should go out into the world in search of my sisters. Perhaps I might be able to find them and aid them in some way. Give me your blessing and allow me to go.”

His father and mother gave him their blessing, and the young man started out to make a search through all the world. Soon he came to a house where there were three brothers quarrelling over a boot, a cap, and a key. “What is the matter?” asked the young man. “Why are these things so valuable that you should quarrel over them?”

The brothers replied that if one said to the boot, “O Boot, put me somewhere,” the boot would immediately put him anywhere he wished to go. If one said to the cap, “O Cap, hide me,” immediately the cap would hide him so he could not be seen. The key could unlock any door in the whole world. The young man at once wanted to own these things himself, and he offered so much money for them that at last the three brothers decided to end their quarrel by selling the boot, the cap, and the key and dividing the money.

The young man put the three treasures in his saddle bag and went on his way. As soon as he was out of sight of the house he said to the boot, “O Boot, put me in the house of my eldest sister.”

Immediately the young man found himself in the most magnificent palace he had ever seen in his life. He asked to speak with his sister, but the queen of the palace replied that she had no brother and did not wish to be bothered with the stranger. It took much urging for the young man to gain permission from her to relate his story; but, when she had once heard it, everything sounded so logical that she decided to receive him as her brother. She asked how he had ever found her home, and how he had come through the thicket which surrounded her palace. The young man told her about his magic boot.

In the afternoon the queen suddenly burst into tears. Her brother asked what the trouble was. “O dear! O dear! What shall we do! What shall we do!” sobbed the queen. “My husband is King of the Fishes. When he comes home to dinner tonight he will be very angry to find a human in his palace.” The young man told her about his magic cap and comforted her fears.

Soon the King of Fishes arrived, accompanied by all his retinue. He came into the palace in a very bad temper, giving kicks and blows to everything which came in his way, and saying in a fierce, savage voice, “Lee, low, lee, leer, I smell the blood of a human, here. I smell the blood of a human, here.”

It took much persuasion on the part of the queen to get him to take a bath. After his bath he appeared in the form of a handsome man. He then ate his dinner, and when he had nearly finished the meal his wife said to him, “If you should see my brother here what would you do to him?”

“I would be kind to him, of course, just as I am to you,” responded the King of the Fishes. “If he is here let him appear.”

The young man then took off the magic cap by which he had hidden himself. The king treated him most kindly and courteously. He invited him to live for the rest of his life in the palace. The young man declined the invitation, saying that he had two other sisters to visit. He took his departure soon, and when he went away his brother-in-law gave him a scale with these words: “If you are ever in any danger in which I can help you, take this scale and say, ‘Help me, O King of the Fishes.'”

The young man put the scale in his saddle bag. Then he took out his magic boot and said, “O Boot, put me in the home of my second sister.” He found his second sister queen of even a more wonderful palace than his eldest sister. Her husband was King of Rams and treated the newly found brother of his queen with great consideration. When the young man had finished his visit there the King of Rams gave him a piece of wool saying, “If you are ever in any peril in which I can help you pull this wool and ask help of the King of Rams.”

With the aid of his magic boot the young man went to visit the home of his youngest sister. He found her in the most magnificent palace of them all. Her husband was King of Pigeons. When the young man departed he gave him a feather telling him if he was ever in any danger that all he had to do was to pull the feather and say, “Help me, O King of the Pigeons.”

All three of the young man’s brothers-in-law had admired the power of his magic boot and they had all advised him to visit the land of the King of Giants by means of it. After having left each of his three sisters full of happiness in her costly palace he felt free to act upon this advice, so by means of his magic boot he again found himself in a new country.

He soon heard on the street that the King of the land of Giants had a beautiful giantess daughter whom he wished to give in marriage if she could be persuaded to choose a husband. She was such a famous beauty that no one could pass before her palace without eagerly gazing up in hopes of seeing her lovely face at the window. The giant princess had grown weary of being the object of so much attention, and she had made a vow that she would marry no one except a man who could pass before her without lifting his eyes.

The young man became interested when he heard this and at once rode past the palace with his eyes fixed steadily on the ground. He did not give a single glance upward in the direction of the window where the beautiful giant princess was watching him. The princess was overcome with joy at the sight of the handsome stranger who appeared as if in response to her vow. The king summoned him to the palace at once and ordered that the wedding should be celebrated immediately.

After the wedding the giant princess soon found out that her husband carried his choicest treasures in his saddle bags. She inquired their significance and her husband told her all about them. She was especially interested in the key. She said that there was a room in the palace which was never opened. In this room there was a fierce beast which always came to life again whenever it was killed. The giant princess had always been anxious to see the beast with her own eyes, and she suggested that they should use the key to unlock the door of the forbidden room and take a peep at the beast.

Her husband, however, gave her no encouragement to do this. He decided that it was too risky a bit of amusement; but one day when he had gone hunting with the king and court the princess was overjoyed to find that the magic key had been left behind. She at once picked it up and opened the forbidden door. The beast gave a great leap, roaring out at her, “You are the very one I have sought,” as he seized her with his sharp claws.

When her husband and father returned from their hunting trip they were very much worried to find that the princess had disappeared. No one knew where she was. After searching through the palace and garden all in vain they went to the place where the beast was always kept. The prince recognized his magic key in the door, but the room was empty. The beast had fled with the giant princess.

Once more the young man made use of his magic boot and soon was by the side of the princess. The beast had hidden her in a cave by the sea and had gone away in search of food. The giant princess was delighted to find her husband whom she had never expected to see again and wanted to hasten away from the cave with him at once.

“You have got yourself into this affair,” said her husband. “I can get you out again, I think, but I believe that it is your duty to at least make an effort to take the beast’s life. Perhaps when he comes back to the cave you can extract from him the secret of his charmed life.”

The princess awaited the return of the beast. Then she asked him to tell her the secret of his charmed life. The beast was very much flattered to have the giant princess so interested in him, and he told it to her at once. He never thought of a plot. This is what he said: “My life is in the sea. In the sea there is a chest. In the chest there is a stone. In the stone there is a pigeon. In the pigeon there is an egg. In the egg there is a candle. At the moment when that candle is extinguished I die.”

All this time the prince had remained there, hiding under his magic cap. He heard every word the beast said. As soon as the beast had gone to sleep the prince stood on the seashore and said: “Help me, O King of the Fishes,” as he took out the scale which his brother-in-law had given him. Immediately there appeared a great multitude of fishes asking what he wished them to do. He asked them to get the chest from the depths of the sea. They replied that they had never seen such a chest, but that probably the sword-fish would know about it.

They hastened to call the sword-fish and he came at once. He said that he had seen the chest only a moment before. All the fishes went with him to get it, and they soon brought the chest out of the sea. The prince opened the chest easily with the aid of his magic key, and inside he found a stone.

Then the prince pulled the piece of wool which his second brother-in-law had given him and said, “Help me, O King of the Rams.” Immediately there appeared a great drove of rams, running to the seashore from all directions. They attacked the stone, giving it mighty blows with their hard heads and horns. Soon they broke open the stone, and from out of it there flew a pigeon.

The beast now awoke from his sleep and knew that he was very ill. He remembered all that he had told the princess and accused her of having made a plot against his life. He seized his great ax to kill the princess.

In the meantime the prince had pulled the feather which his third brother-in-law had given him and cried, “Help me, O King of the Pigeons.” Immediately a great flock of pigeons appeared attacking the pigeon and tearing it to pieces.

Just as the beast had caught the princess and was about to slay her, the prince took the egg from within the slain pigeon. He at once broke the egg and blew out the candle. At that moment the beast fell dead, and the princess escaped unharmed.

The prince carried the giant princess home to her father’s kingdom and the king made a great festa which lasted many days. There was rejoicing throughout the whole kingdom because of the death of the beast and because of the safety of the lovely princess. The prince was praised throughout the kingdom and there is talk of him even unto this very day. The prince had cut off the head of the great beast and the tip of its tail. The head he had given to the king, but the tip of the tail he kept for himself. The beast was so enormous that just the tip of its tail made a great ring large enough to encircle the prince’s body. One day, just in fun, he twined the tip of the beast’s tail around his waist. He immediately grew and grew until he became a giant himself, almost as tall as the king of the land of giants, and several leagues taller than the princess. It is not strange that a man who became a giant among giants should be famous even until now.

Yum Chac and the Milpa

When Cocom, a newcomer from Peten, began farming in Socotz, he neglected offerings to the lords of the milpa due to his lack of knowledge. His crops suffered until he dreamt of a naked man who revealed the lords’ anger. Guided by a sorcerer, Cocom performed a primicia offering, which appeased the lords and brought rain, saving his harvest.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Divine Intervention: The lords of the milpa directly influence Cocom’s crop growth and rainfall.

Sacrifice: Cocom’s offering (primicia) to the lords serves as a form of sacrifice to appease them.

Conflict with Nature: Cocom faces a struggle against natural forces, specifically the lack of rain affecting his crops.

► From the same Region or People

Central America
- Maya Lore

Learn more about Maya people

When Cocom first arrived at Socotz from the Peten, he had no knowledge of how to make a primicia, for the Peteneros are a godless lot. Accordingly he set about the making of his milpa without making any offering to the lords of the milpa.

Consequently, the maize on his milpa grew to a certain height, but no higher. It rained all around, but on Cocom’s milpa no rain fell. Cocom could not understand this, for he knew nothing of the lords of the forest. One night he dreamt he came home from his milpa through a downpour of rain. Entering his hut, he saw a naked man lying in his hammock.

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Cocom started to talk to him, pointing out how wet he was and how hard it was raining. “Yes, it is raining,” replied the naked man, “but not on your milpa. The lords of the milpa have sent flames to keep the rain off your milpa. Yum Tsak does the work after God, and he must eat, but you have given him nothing to show your gratitude and assuage his hunger.” Cocom woke from his dream, but such was his fright that for two days he could eat nothing. He consulted a sorcerer, telling him of his strange dream. The sorcerer thereupon advised him to have a primicia made to propitiate the lords of the milpa. He did so, and almost immediately rain fell, converting his crop from a failure into a good return.

The Life of Christ (an Indian Version)

A young man, traveling with twelve others, experienced rejection, miraculous generosity, and hostility in various towns. His miracles caused fields to transform into forests, water, and stones. Accused of sorcery, he was captured, killed, and buried, only to rise again. He punished his betrayer and ascended to heaven, instructing a cock to signal his departure. The man was revealed to be Jesus.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Hero’s Journey: The protagonist embarks on a transformative adventure, performing miracles and facing challenges, leading to his death and resurrection.

Sacrifice: The protagonist is captured, killed, and buried, symbolizing the ultimate sacrifice for a greater cause.

Resurrection: After being executed and buried, the protagonist rises from the dead, demonstrating the theme of returning from death.

► From the same Region or People

Central America
- Maya Lore

Learn more about Maya people

Once there was a young man who went to travel with twelve other men. He arrived in the town and asked for lodging, but the owners of the house only permitted him to sleep in the henhouse. He did not want to sleep there, so he found another man who gave him lodging and who gave him a large mat on which he and the other twelve could sleep. He told the man’s wife to grind corn on the metate, giving her a fistful of maize. The woman did so, and with the handful of maize made sufficient tortillas for all of them. He went away at dawn after leaving money on the mat. The man went on and saw some men sowing. He asked them what they were sowing, but they did not reply.

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Then he told them that trees would come up in the milpa, and it was so. There sprang up trees over a milpa, which it took three days to cross. He saw some more men sowing, who again refused to tell him what they were doing. To these he said that they were sowing water, and a great expanse of water sprang up. Yet other sowers he caused to sow stones. Passing farther on, he again met some sowers, and these he caused to sow cohune palms. Then he passed on and crossed over a river. As he was crossing the river, he stepped on some fresh-water snails. The twelve men who were coming along could not find him, and questioned the fresh-water snails. The snails replied, “Don’t you see that he has trampled on us and turned us over?”

He came to a town where the people cursed him, saying that he was a witch doctor. Then he prepared a big feast, but the chief of the town wanted to kill him because of his sorcery in causing the milpas to grow trees, stones, water, and cohune palms. The man hid himself inside a harp at his feast. All the twelve young men were drunk. The chief did not know the man by sight and he asked the man’s servant to point him out. The servant said, “You will know him because he is the only one who does not eat.”

The chief and his soldiers looked in at the window and noted which one did not eat. They caught him and tied him and left him lying down. Then they called in a blind man and placed a machete in his hand and guided him over to where the sorcerer lay bound, and, placing the point of the machete against the sorcerer’s ribs, they bid the blind man drive it in. He did so, and the blood of the sorcerer, gushing out onto the eyes of the blind man, restored his sight. They took the body of the sorcerer and buried it and made a feast. After the feast they took the bones of the chickens they had eaten and threw them on the spot where the dead man had been buried. The bones instantly became a live turkey and a live cock. They told the birds to crow if the dead man came to life again. At midnight the dead sorcerer came to life again and told the turkey and the cock not to crow. Then he took the servant who had betrayed him and placed him in a big house under the earth and said to him, “You are to be the lord of the earthquakes. You will shake the earth three times.”

The man returned to the house and told the cock that he was going up to heaven at midnight, saying, “If you see me or even a bit of me or even my foot, you can crow and wake up the sleepers.” Then the man went up into heaven. The man’s name was Jesus.

The Drought

A dispute between the sun and clouds caused a severe drought, as the sun refused clouds permission to cross the heavens. Amid famine, a boy, Vicente, encountered a divine messenger who instructed him to lead a special procession to bring rain. Following the ritual, rain returned, and Vicente ascended to heaven as the patron of rain. The sun reconciled with the clouds, acknowledging their power.

Source
Ethnology of the Mayas of
Southern and Central British Honduras
by John Eric Thompson
Field Museum of Natural History
Anthropological Series, Pub.274, Vol.17.2
Chicago, 1930

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Nature: The initial dispute between the sun and the clouds leads to a severe drought, highlighting humanity’s vulnerability to natural forces.

Divine Intervention: A divine messenger guides Vicente to perform a ritual procession, resulting in the return of rain, demonstrating the influence of higher powers in human affairs.

Sacrifice: Vicente’s willingness to be carried in the procession symbolizes a form of personal sacrifice for the greater good, leading to the restoration of balance.

► From the same Region or People

Central America
- Maya Lore

Learn more about Maya people

The sun and the clouds were having a dispute. The clouds maintained that they caused the rain when they formed themselves. The sun denied that they caused the rain, as without his permission they could not cross his face. The sun was so annoyed that he refused permission to the clouds to cross the heavens. As a result there was a terrible drought, and the people began to die of famine. They made processions with the saints, but still there was no rain. There was a small boy, Vicente, who lived with his grandmother. He was very disobedient, and his grandmother decided to thrash him, so Vicente ran away to the top of a high hill to avoid the thrashing.

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He stayed there all day, and when night came, he was afraid to go home. Shortly after sunset a small boy appeared to him, and asked him what he was doing there. Vicente explained that his grandmother wanted to thrash him and that he had fled to the top of the hill to avoid her. The boy said he was the messenger of Mam and told Vicente to tell his grandmother to inform the people that it was useless to make processions like those they had been making. The people must make a new procession and carry Vicente instead of the saint, and then Mam would send the rain. Vicente returned home, and his grandmother was so pleased to see him once again that she forgave him. Vicente began to repeat what the messenger of the Mam had told him. “The people in the village are fools. They will never get rain if they continue to make processions with the saint. They must carry me if they want rain.” The old lady was vexed with him. “How can you cause the rain?” she said. “You aren’t God.”

Someone overheard the conversation, and told the alcalde of the village. The alcalde summoned Vicente to his presence, and asked him if it was true that he could cause rain. Vicente told him what the messenger of the Mam had said to him. The alcalde was impressed, and arranged for a new procession next day, when Vicente would be carried on the litter. Next day Vicente was placed on the litter in the church, and everyone in the village brought a few flowers, till Vicente was entirely buried in their mass. At midday they heard thunder at each of the four corners of the world, and there came a heavy wind, and the sky was full of clouds. The rain poured down unceasingly, until at last they made the procession to stop the rain. When the procession was finished, and they were returning to the church, Vicente and all the flowers that surrounded him were carried up to heaven, where he became the patron of rain.

The sun made his peace with the clouds. “I now see,” he said, “that I am not so powerful as you. In a few minutes your clouds covered the sky, and made it so that I could not see anything. You will be my elder brother.” This is the reason why it always becomes cool when it rains, as the sun cannot shine down on the earth.