The origin of the narwhal

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

Source:
Tales of the Smith Sound Eskimo
by Alfred L. Kroeber
[The American Folklore Society]
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.12, No.46, pp.166-182
July-September, 1899

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

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

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

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

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

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

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The orphan boy and the Moon Man

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

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

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

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

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

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

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

Story of the narwhal

A snow-blind young man, cruelly neglected by his mother, survives thanks to his sister’s secret help. Tricked into believing he missed killing a bear, he discovers his mother’s deceit and plots revenge. When his sight returns, he hunts a whale and ties the line to his mother, dragging her into the sea. Her cries echo among the whales, believed to linger eternally.

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

Family Dynamics: The narrative delves into complex familial relationships, highlighting the mother’s cruelty towards her son and the sister’s secretive support, showcasing both betrayal and loyalty within a family unit.

Revenge and Justice: The son’s calculated retribution against his mother for her deceit and mistreatment underscores the pursuit of justice and the consequences of betrayal.

Supernatural Beings: The transformation of the mother into a being whose cries are eternally echoed among the whales introduces an element of the supernatural, blending human actions with mystical outcomes.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There was once a young man who lived with his mother and sister. He was snow-blind, and for some reason his mother wished to get rid of him. She tried to starve him. But his sister on the sly, used to bring him bits of meat. He could not hunt because he was snow-blind. But one day a bear came to the snow-house, and his mother guided his bow so that he could shoot the bear through the window. He shot the bear, and killed him. But his mother did not want him to know that he had killed the bear, so she told him that he had missed it, and that his arrow had stuck into the hard ice on the side of the snow-house. So she was living on the meat of the bear, she and her daughter, while her son was starving.

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But his sister managed to feed him something on the sly. At first she would not tell him where the meat came from, but he kept questioning her, and at last she told him that he had killed the bear. Then he knew that his mother was trying to starve him, and he planned to be revenged on her. So in the spring, after the ice had broken up, when he had got his sight back, he used to hunt for white whales along the shore.

One day he and his mother and sister were all standing on the beach, and he was waiting with his harpoon to strike a whale.

He struck one with his whale harpoon, which had a long line attached. He tied the end around his mother’s waist; as the whale swam out to sea, it dragged her down the beach and into the water. As she went, she kept crying, innialuma, “My son did it.” When the whale went down, she would go down too, and when it came up, she would come up too, crying, innialuma, “My son did it,” over and over again. Finally she disappeared.

She still lives with the white whales, and in the spring, when they are going along the shore, the people can hear her crying, luma, luma, innialuma, and say that she is still alive among them.

An Adlit Tale

An Eskimo hunter adopted a starving Adlit girl named Ivaranax after finding her alone. One day, her request for reindeer fat angered him, leading her to seek it from the Adlit. She returned with reindeer fat, but the Adlit followed her and attacked the village, killing most inhabitants. Seeking revenge, the men hunted and killed the Adlit, sparing Ivaranax only to punish her before her eventual death.

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

Trickster: Ivaranax deceives her foster father by seeking reindeer fat from the Adlit, leading to dire consequences.

Revenge and Justice: The men avenge the attack on their village by hunting down the Adlit and punishing Ivaranax.

Trials and Tribulations:– The villagers face significant challenges in dealing with the betrayal and the resulting attack.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Once an Eskimo found an Adlit girl by the side of a river when he was out hunting. She was starving. All her relatives were dead. So he took her home and adopted her as his daughter. Her name was Ivaranax.

One day she asked her foster-father for some reindeer fat. She said she was tired of seal meat, and wanted something nice to eat. That made her foster-father angry. So he told her to go to the Adlit and get some reindeer fat. She went out. He could not find her that evening. The next morning she returned, dressed in a reindeer-skin coat and eating reindeer fat.

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The same day all the men went hunting. Then the Adlit, who had followed her, attacked the village. They killed all the women and children but three, who hid under a pile of skins. When the men returned, they found their women and children kilted. So they made many arrows and followed the trail of the Adlit. When they came up to their tents, they looked in. The Adlit were eating and laughing. The girl was among them. Then they killed them all but the girl. Her they kept for punishment. They led her out and cut off both her arms. She ran off with the blood streaming from her arms. She had not gone far before she fell dead.

Tungujuluk and Saunikoq

Tungujuluk and Saunikoq, rival wizards from the same village, could transform into a walrus and a bear, respectively. Saunikoq’s jealousy over Tungujuluk teaching his son kayaking led to a failed attempt to harm the boy in bear form. Tungujuluk later outwitted Saunikoq by turning into a walrus, tricking him during a hunt, and exposing his deeds at a feast. Humiliated, Saunikoq fled and was never seen again.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Both protagonists possess the ability to metamorphose into animals—Tungujuluk into a walrus and Saunikoq into a bear—highlighting themes of physical change and the fluidity between human and animal forms.

Cunning and Deception: The narrative showcases acts of trickery, particularly when Tungujuluk, disguised as a walrus, deceives Saunikoq during a hunt, turning the latter’s schemes against him.

Revenge and Justice: Saunikoq’s jealousy leads him to attempt harm against Tungujuluk’s son, but ultimately, Tungujuluk’s clever retaliation exposes Saunikoq’s malicious intent, resulting in Saunikoq’s humiliation and exile, serving as a form of poetic justice.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Tungujuluk and Saunikoq were men from one village. And both were wizards. When they heard a spirit calling, one would change into a bear, and the other into a walrus.

Tungujuluk had a son, but Saunikoq had no children.

As soon as his son was old enough, Tungujuluk taught him to paddle a kayak. At this the other, Saunikoq, grew jealous, and began planning evil.

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One morning when he awoke, he went out hunting seal as usual. He had been out some time, when he went up to an island, and called for his bearskin. When it came, he got into it, and moved off towards Tungujuluk’s house. He landed a little way off, and then stole up to kill Tungujuluk’s son. And when he came near, he saw him playing with the other children. But he did not know that his father had already come home, and was sitting busily at work on the kayak he was making for his son. He was just about to go up to them, when the boy went weeping home to his father, and when his father looked round, there was a big bear already close to them. He took a knife and ran towards it, and was just about to stab that bear, when it began to laugh. And then suddenly Tungujuluk remembered that his neighbour Saunikoq was able to take the shape of a bear. And he was now so angry that he had nearly stabbed him in spite of all, and it was a hard matter for him to hold back his knife.

But he did not forget that happening. He waited until a long time had passed, and at last, many days later, when he awoke in the morning, he went out in his kayak. On the way he came to an island. And going up on to that island, he called his other shape to him. When it came, he crawled into it, and became a walrus. And when he had thus become a walrus, he went to that place where it was the custom for kayaks to hunt seal. And when he came near, he looked round, and sighted Saunikoq, who lay there waiting for seal.

Now he rose to the surface quite near him, and when Saunikoq saw him, he came over that way. And Saunikoq lifted his harpoon to throw it, and the stroke could not fail. Therefore he made himself small, and crept over to one side of the skin. And when he was struck, he floundered about a little, but not too violently, lest he should break the line. Then he swam away under water with the bladder float, and folded it up under his arm, and took out the air from it, and swam in towards land, and swam and swam until he came to the land near by where his kayak was lying. Then he went to it, and having taken out the point of the harpoon, he went out hunting.

He struck a black seal, and rowed home at once. And when he had come home, he said to his wife: “Make haste and cook the breast piece.”

And when that breast piece was cooked, and the other kayaks had come home, he made a meat feast, and Saunikoq, thinking nothing of any matter, came in with the others. When he came in, Tungujuluk made no sign of knowing anything, but went and took out the bladder and line from his kayak. And then all sat down to eat together. And they ate and were satisfied. And then each man began telling of his day’s hunting.

At last Saunikoq said: “Today, when I struck a walrus, I did not think at all that it should cause me to lose my bladder float. Where that came up again is a thing we do not know. That bladder float of mine was lost.”

And when Saunikoq had said this, Tungujuluk took that bladder and line and laid them beside the meat dish, and said: “Whose can this bladder be, now, I wonder? Aha, at last I have paid you for the time when you came in the shape of a bear, and mocked us.”

And when these words were said, the many who sat there laughed greatly. But Saunikoq got up and went away. And then next morning very early, he set out and rowed northward in his umiak. And since then he has not been seen. So great a shame did he feel.

Atarssuaq

Atarssuaq’s son, trained as a skilled swimmer by his father, outwits and defeats his father’s killers. Wearing a seal-skin suit, he lures enemies from the north into open waters, then onto an iceberg, where he uses its ice to eliminate many. Pursuing survivors, he overturns their kayaks and drowns them, sparing only one man to deliver a warning. From then on, his enemies never return.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The son undergoes a significant transformation from a child into a skilled swimmer and strategist, capable of avenging his father’s death.

Revenge and Justice: The narrative focuses on the son’s quest to avenge his father’s murder, delivering justice to those responsible.

Guardian Figures: Atarssuaq serves as a mentor and protector, imparting essential skills to his son that prepare him for future challenges.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Atarssuaq had many enemies. But his many enemies tried in vain to hurt him, and they could not kill him. Then it happened that his wife bore him a son. Atarssuaq came back from his hunting one day, and found that he had a son.

Then he took that son of his and bore him down to the water and threw him in. And waited until he began to kick out violently, and then took him up again. And so he did with him every day for long after, while the child was growing. And thus the boy became a very clever swimmer.

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And one day Atarssuaq caught a fjord seal, and took off the skin all in one piece, and dried it like a bladder, and made his son put it on when he went swimming.

One day he felt a wish to see how clever the boy had become. And said to him therefore: “Go out now and swim, and I will follow after you.”

And the father brought down his kayak and set it in the water, and his son watched him. And then he said: “Now you swim out.” And he made his father follow him out to sea, while he swam more and more under water. As soon as he came to the surface, his father rowed to where he was, but every time he took his throwing stick to cast a small harpoon, he disappeared.

And when his father thought they had done this long enough, he said: “Now swim back to land, but keep under water as much as you can.”

The son dived down, but it was a long time before he came up again. And now his father was greatly afraid. But at last the boy came up, a long way off. And then he rowed up to where he was, and laid one hand on his head, and said: “Clever diver, clever diver, dear little clever one.” And then he sniffed.

And a second time he said to him: “Now swim under water a very long way this time.”

So he dived down, and his father rowed forward all the time, to come to the place where he should rise, and feeling already afraid. His face moved as if he were beginning to cry, and he said: “If only the sharks have not found him!” And he had just begun to cry when his son came up again. And then they went in to land, and the boy did not dive any more that day. So clever had he now become.

And one day his father did not come back from his hunting. This was because of his enemies, who had killed him. Evening came, and next morning there was a kayak from the north. When it came in to the shore, the boy went down and said: “Tomorrow the many brothers will come to kill you all.”

And the kayak turned at once and went back without coming on shore. Night passed and morning came. And in the morning when the boy awoke, he went to look out, and again, and many times. Once when he came out he saw many kayaks appearing from the northward. Then he went in and said to his mother: “Now many kayaks are coming, to kill us all.”

“Then put on your swimming dress,” said his mother.

And he did so, and went down to the shore, and did not stop until he was quite close to the water. When the kayaks then saw him, they all rowed towards him, and said: “He has fallen into the water.”

When they came to the place where he had fallen in, they all began looking about for him, and while they were doing this, he came up just in front of the bone shoeing on the nose of one of the kayaks which lay quite away from the rest. When they spied him, each tried to outdo the others, and cried: “Here he is!”

But then he dived down again. And this he continued to do. And in this manner he led all those kayaks out to the open sea, and when they had come a great way out, they sighted an iceberg which had run aground. When Atarssuaq’s son came to this, he climbed up, by sticking his hands into the ice. And up above were two large pieces. And when he came close to the iceberg, he heard those in the kayaks saying among themselves: “We can cut steps in the ice, and climb up to him.”

And they began cutting steps in the iceberg, and at last the ice pick of the foremost came up over the edge. But now the boy took one of the great pieces of ice and threw it down upon them as they crawled up, so that it sent them all down again as it fell. And again he heard them say: “It would be very foolish not to kill him. Let us climb up, and try to reach him this time.”

And then they began crawling up one after another. But now the boy began as before, shifting the great piece of ice. And he waited until the head of the foremost one came up, and then he let it fall. And this time he also killed all those who had climbed on to the iceberg, after he had so lured them on to follow him.

But the others now turned back, and said: “He will kill us all if we do not go.”

And now the boy jumped down from the iceberg and swam to the kayaks and began tugging at their paddles, so that they turned over. But the men righted themselves again with their throwing sticks. And at last he was forced to hold them down himself under water till they drowned. And soon there were left no more of all those many kayaks, save only one. And when he looked closer, he saw that the man had no weapon but a stick for killing fish. And he rowed weeping in towards land, that man with no weapon but a stick. Then the boy pulled the paddle away from him, and he cried very much at that. Then he began paddling with his hands. But the boy gripped his hands from below, and then the man began crying furiously, and dared no longer put his hands in the water at all. And weeping very greatly he said: “It is ill for me that ever I came out on this errand, for it is plain that I am to be killed.”

The boy looked at him a little. And then said: “You I will not kill. You may go home again.” And he gave him back his paddle, and said to him as he was rowing away: “Tell those of your place never to come out again thinking to kill us. For if they do not one of them will return alive.”

Then Atarssuaq’s son went home. And for some time he waited, thinking that more enemies might come. But none ever came against them after that time.

Kagssagssuk, the homeless boy who became a strong man

Kagssagssuk, a mistreated orphan, warns children of a “Great Fire,” which consumes them when they ignore him. Though shunned, Kagssagssuk gains supernatural strength through encounters with a giant. He later triumphs over bears, avenges his suffering by punishing tormentors, and spares those kind to him. Despite his rise to power, his growing cruelty leads to his downfall, as villagers ultimately kill him to end his tyranny.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: Kagssagssuk evolves from a mistreated orphan into a figure of immense strength, highlighting a profound physical and social metamorphosis.

Revenge and Justice: After enduring cruelty, Kagssagssuk seeks retribution against his tormentors, reflecting the pursuit of justice and the consequences of vengeance.

Supernatural Beings: His encounters with a giant, which grant him extraordinary strength, introduce elements of the supernatural influencing human affairs.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

One day, it is said, when the men and women in the place had gone to a spirit calling, the children were left behind, all in one big house, where they played, making a great noise. A homeless boy named Kagssagssuk was walking about alone outside, and he called to those who were playing inside the house, and said: “You must not make so much noise, or the Great Fire will come.”

The children, who would not believe him, went on with their noisy play, and at last the Great Fire appeared.

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Little Kagssagssuk fled into the house, and cried: “Lift me up. I must have my gloves, and they are up there!”

So they lifted him up to the drying frame under the roof.

And then they heard the Great Fire come hurrying into the house from without. He had a great live ribbon seal for a whip, and that whip had long claws. And then he began dragging the children out through the passage with his great whip, and each time he drew one out, that one was frizzled up. And at last there were no more. But before going away, the Great Fire reached up and touched with his finger a skin which was hanging on the drying frame.

As soon as the Great Fire had gone away, little Kagssagssuk crawled down from the drying frame and went over to the people who were gathered in the wizard’s house, and told them what had happened. But none believed what he said.

“You have killed them yourself,” they declared.

“Very well, then,” he said, “if you think so, try to make a noise yourselves, like the children did.”

And now they began cooking blubber above the entrance to the house, and when the oil was boiling and bubbling as hard as it could, they began making a mighty noise. And true enough, up came the Great Fire outside.

But little Kagssagssuk was not allowed to come into the house, and therefore he hid himself in the store shed. The Great Fire came into the house, and brought with it the live ribbon seal for a whip. They heard it coming in through the passage, and then they poured boiling oil over it, and his whip being thus destroyed, the Great Fire went away.

But from that time onward, all the people of the village were unkind to little Kagssagssuk, and that although he had told the truth. Up to that time he had lived in the house of Umerdlugtoq, who was a great man, but now he was forced to stay outside always, and they would not let him come in. If he ventured to step in, though it were for no more than to dry his boots, Umerdlugtoq, that great man, would lift him up by the nostrils, and cast him over the high threshold again.

And little Kagssagssuk had two grandmothers; the one of these beat him as often as she could, even if he only lay out in the passage. But his other grandmother took pity on him, because he was the son of her daughter, who had been a woman like herself, and therefore she dried his clothes for him.

When, once in a while, that unfortunate boy did come in, Umerdlugtoq’s folk would give him some tough walrus hide to eat, wishing only to give him something which they knew was too tough for him. And when they did so, he would take a little piece of stone and put it between his teeth, to help him, and when he had finished, put it back in his breeches, where he always kept it. When he was hungry, he would sometimes eat of the dogs’ leavings on the ground outside, finding there walrus hide which even the dogs refused to eat.

He slept among the dogs, and warmed himself up on the roof, in the warm air from the smoke hole. But whenever Umerdlugtoq saw him warming himself there, he would haul him down by the nostrils.

Thus a long time passed, and it had been dark in the winter, and was beginning to grow light near the coming of spring. And now little Kagssagssuk began to go wandering about the country. Once when he was out, he met a big man, a giant, who was cutting up his catch, and on seeing him, Kagssagssuk cried out in a loud voice: “Ho, you man there, give me a piece of that meat!”

But although he shouted as loudly as he could, that giant could not hear him. At last a little sound reached the big man’s ears, and then he said: “Bring me luck, bring me luck!”

And he threw down a little piece of meat on the ground, believing it was one of the dead who thus asked.

But little Kagssagssuk, who, young as he was, had already some helping spirits, made that little piece of meat to be a big piece, just as the dead can do, and ate as much as he could, and when he could eat no more, there was still so much left that he could hardly drag it away to hide it.

Some time after this, little Kagssagssuk said to his mother’s mother: “I have by chance become possessed of much meat, and my thoughts will not leave it. I will therefore go out and look to it.”

So he went off to the place where he had hidden it, and lo! it was not there. And he fell to weeping, and while he stood there weeping, the giant came up.

“What are you weeping for?”

“I cannot find the meat which I had hidden in a store-place here.”

“Ho,” said the giant, “I took that meat. I thought it had belonged to another one.”

And then he said again: “Now let us play together.” For he felt kindly towards that boy, and had pity on him.

And they two went off together. When they came to a big stone, the giant said: “Now let us push this stone.” And they began pushing at the big stone until they twirled it round. At first, when little Kagssagssuk tried, he simply fell backwards.

“Now once more. Make haste, make haste, once more. And there again, there is a bigger one.”

And at last little Kagssagssuk ceased to fall over backwards, and was able instead to move the stones and twirl them round. And each time he tried with a larger stone than before, and when he had succeeded with that, a larger one still. And so he kept on. And at last he could make even the biggest stones twirl round in the air, and the stone said “leu-leu-leu-leu” in the air.

Then said the giant at last, seeing that they were equal in strength: “Now you have become a strong man. But since it was by my fault that you lost that piece of meat, I will by magic means cause bears to come down to your village. Three bears there will be, and they will come right down to the village.”

Then little Kagssagssuk went home, and having returned home, went up to warm himself as usual at the smoke hole. Then came the master of that house, as usual, and hauled him down by the nostrils. And afterwards, when he went to lie down among the dogs, his wicked grandmother beat him and them together, as was her custom. Altogether as if there were no strong man in the village at all.

But in the night, when all were asleep, he went down to one of the umiaks, which was frozen fast, and hauled it free.

Next morning when the men awoke, there was a great to-do.

“Hau! That umiak has been hauled out of the ice!”

“Hau! There must be a strong man among us!”

“Who can it be that is so strong?”

“Here is the mighty one, without a doubt,” said Umerdlugtoq, pointing to little Kagssagssuk. But this he said only in mockery.

And a little time after this, the people about the village began to call out that three bears were in sight — exactly as the giant had said. Kagssagssuk was inside, drying his boots. And while all the others were shouting eagerly about the place, he said humbly: “If only I could borrow a pair of indoor boots from some one.”

And at last, as he could get no others, he was obliged to take his grandmother’s boots and put them on.

Then he went out, and ran off over the hard-trodden snow outside the houses, treading with such force that it seemed as if the footmarks were made in soft snow. And thus he went off to meet the bears.

“Hau! Look at Kagssagssuk. Did you ever see….”

“What is come to Kagssagssuk; what can it be?”

Umerdlugtoq was greatly excited, and so astonished that his eyes would not leave the boy. But little Kagssagssuk grasped the biggest of the bears — a mother with two half-grown cubs — grasped that bear with his naked fists, and wrung its neck, so that it fell down dead. Then he took those cubs by the back of the neck and hammered their skulls together until they too were dead.

Then little Kagssagssuk went back homeward with the biggest bear over his shoulders, and one cub under each arm, as if they had been no more than hares. Thus he brought them up to the house, and skinned them; then he set about building a fireplace large enough to put a man in. For he was now going to cook bears’ meat for his grandmother, on a big flat stone.

Umerdlugtoq, that great man, now made haste to get away, taking his wives with him.

And Kagssagssuk took that old grandmother who was wont to beat him, and cast her on the fire, and she burned all up till only her stomach was left. His other grandmother was about to run away, but he held her back, and said: “I shall now be kind to you, for you always used to dry my boots.”

Now when Kagssagssuk had made a meal of the bears’ meat, he set off in chase of those who had fled away. Umerdlugtoq had halted upon the top of a high hill, just on the edge of a precipice, and had pitched their tent close to the edge.

Up came Kagssagssuk behind him, caught him by the nostrils and held him out over the edge, and shook him so violently that his nostrils burst. And there stood Umerdlugtoq holding his nose. But Kagssagssuk said to him: “Do not fear; I am not going to kill you. For you never used to kill me.”

And then little Kagssagssuk went into the tent, and called out to him: “Hi, come and look! I am in here with your wives!” For in the old days, Umerdlugtoq had dared him even to look at them.

And having thus taken due vengeance, Kagssagssuk went back to his village, and took vengeance there on all those who had ever ill-treated him. And some time after, he went away to the southward, and lived with the people there.

It is also told that he got himself a kayak there, and went out hunting with the other men. But being so strong, he soon became filled with the desire to be feared, and began catching hold of children and crushing them. And therefore his fellow-villagers harpooned him one day when he was out in his kayak.

All this we have heard tell of Kagssagssuk.

The wife who lied

Navaranapaluk, from a tribe of man-eaters, married into a peaceful tribe. Deceiving her husband’s people, she incited her kin to slaughter his village’s women. Survivors spurred vengeance, slaying the attackers and reclaiming widows. Navaranapaluk, captured by two men, met a grim fate as her arms were severed, and she died for her deceit. This tale underscores the severe consequences of betrayal and dishonesty.

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

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: Navaranapaluk’s marriage is a foundation for her betrayal, showcasing the fragility of trust within personal relationships.

Revenge and Justice: The villagers’ retaliation against Navaranapaluk demonstrates the pursuit of retribution to restore balance after her deceit.

Conflict with Authority: Her actions bring about a challenge to the established order within her husband’s community, leading to devastating consequences.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Navaranapaluk, men say, came of a tribe of man-eaters, but when she grew up, she was taken to wife by one of a tribe that did not eat men. Once when she was going off on a visit to her own people, she put mittens on her feet instead of boots. And this she did in order to make it appear that her husband’s people had dealt ill by her.

It was midwinter, and her kinsfolk pitied her greatly when they saw her come to them thus. And they agreed to make war against the tribe to which her husband belonged.

► Continue reading…

So they set out, and came to that village at a time when all the men were away, and only the women at home; these they took and slew, and only three escaped. One of them had covered herself with the skin which she was dressing when they came, the second had hidden herself in a box used for dog’s meat, and the third had crept into a store shed.

When the men came home, they found all their womenfolk killed, and at once they thought of Navaranapaluk, who had fled away. And they were the more angered, that the slayers had hoisted the bodies of the women on long poles, with the points stuck through them.

They fell to at once making ready for war against those enemies, and prepared arrows in great numbers. The three women who were left alive plaited sinew thread to fix the points of the arrows; and so eagerly did they work that at last no more flesh was left on their fingers, and the naked bone showed through.

When all things were ready, they set out, and coming up behind the houses of their enemies, they hid themselves among great rocks.

The slayers had kept watch since their return, believing that the avengers would not fail to come, and the women took turns at the watching.

And now it is said that one old woman among them had a strange dream. She dreamed that two creatures were fighting above her head. And when she told the others of this, they all agreed that the avengers must be near. They gathered together in one house to ask counsel of the spirits, and when the spirit calling had commenced, then suddenly a dog upon the roof of the house began to bark.

The men dashed out, but their enemies had already surrounded the house, and now set about to take their full revenge, shooting down every man with arrows. At last, when there were no more left, they chose themselves wives from among the widows, and bore them off to their own place.

But two of them took Navaranapaluk and hurried off with her.

And she, thinking that both wished to have her to wife, cried out: “Which is it to be? Which is it to be?”

The men laughed, and made no answer, but ran on with her.

Then suddenly they cut through both her arms with their knives. And soon she fell, and the blood went from her, and she died.

This fate they meted out to her because she lied.

The men who changed wives

Talilarssuaq and Navssarssuaq, two men who exchanged wives, faced a dark fate when Talilarssuaq’s reckless pranks led to his murder by Navssarssuaq. Haunted by Talilarssuaq’s avenging spirit, Navssarssuaq struggled with guilt and illness. Though many in their community fell ill, Navssarssuaq succumbed to sickness, evading the spirit’s vengeance but sealing his grim fate, leaving behind a somber tale of mischief, retribution, and mortality.

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

► Themes of the story

Love and Betrayal: The story centers on two men, Talilarssuaq and Navssarssuaq, who exchange wives. Talilarssuaq’s reckless behavior leads to betrayal and ultimately his death.

Revenge and Justice: After Talilarssuaq’s murder, his avenging spirit haunts Navssarssuaq, symbolizing the pursuit of retribution and the consequences of one’s actions.

Supernatural Beings: The presence of Talilarssuaq’s spirit haunting Navssarssuaq introduces a supernatural element, highlighting the belief in spirits influencing the mortal realm.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There were once two men, Talilarssuaq and Navssarssuaq, and they changed wives. Talilarssuaq was a mischievous fellow, who was given to frightening people.

One evening, sitting in the house with the other’s wife, whom he had borrowed, he thrust his knife suddenly through the skins of the bench.

Then the woman ran away to her husband and said: “Go in and kill Talilarssuaq; he is playing very dangerous tricks.”

► Continue reading…

Then Navssarssuaq rose up without a word, and put on his best clothes, and took his knife, and went out. He went straight up to Talilarssuaq, who was now lying on the bench talking to himself, and pulled him out on the floor and stabbed him.

“You might at least have waited till I had dressed,” said Talilarssuaq. But Navssarssuaq hauled him out through the passage way, cast him on the rubbish heap and went his way, saying nothing.

On the way he met his wife.

“Are you not going to murder me, too?” she asked.

“No,” he answered in a deep voice. “For Pualuna is not yet grown big enough to be without you.” Pualuna was their youngest son.

But some time after that deed he began to perceive that he was haunted by a spirit.

“There is some invisible thing which now and again catches hold of me,” he said to his comrades. And that was the avenging spirit, watching him.

But about this time, many in the place fell sick. And among them was Navssarssuaq. The sickness killed him, and thus the avenging spirit was not able to tear him in pieces.

Patussorssuaq, who killed his uncle

In a tale of vengeance and moral justice, Patussorssuaq murders his uncle, Alataq, out of forbidden desire for his wife. His own wife flees to safety, while Patussorssuaq seizes Alataq’s widow, who soon dies. Haunted by Alataq’s spirit, first in the form of a fox and later a bear, Patussorssuaq is torn apart. The story underscores the inevitability of retribution for wrongdoing.

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

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: Patussorssuaq’s heinous act leads to his demise, as Alataq’s spirit returns to exact vengeance, highlighting the inevitability of retribution for wrongdoing.

Forbidden Love: Patussorssuaq’s illicit desire for his uncle’s wife drives him to murder, underscoring the destructive consequences of pursuing forbidden relationships.

Divine Punishment: The supernatural retribution by Alataq’s spirit, manifesting as a fox and later a bear, reflects the theme of higher powers enacting punishment for moral transgressions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There lived a woman at Kugkat, and she was very beautiful, and Alataq was he who had her to wife. And at the same place lived Patussorssuaq, and Alataq was his uncle. He also had a wife, but was yet fonder of his uncle’s wife than of his own.

But one day in the spring, Alataq was going out on a long hunting journey, and made up his mind to take his wife with him. They were standing at the edge of the ice, ready to start, when Patussorssuaq came down to them.

► Continue reading…

“Are you going away?” he asked.

“Yes, both of us,” answered Alataq.

But when Patussorssuaq heard thus, he fell upon his uncle and killed him at once, for he could not bear to see the woman go away.

When Patussorssuaq’s wife saw this, she snatched up her needle and sewing ring, and fled away, following the shadow of the tent, over the hills to the place where her parents lived. She had not even time to put on her skin stockings, and therefore her feet grew sore with treading the hills. On her way up inland she saw people running about with their hoods loose on their heads, as is the manner of the inland folk, but she had no dealings with them, for they fled away.

Then, coming near at last to her own place, she saw an old man, and running up, she found it was her father, who was out in search of birds. And the two went gladly back to his tent.

Now when Patussorssuaq had killed his uncle, he at once went up to his own tent, thinking to kill his own wife, for he was already weary of her. But she had fled away.

Inside the tent sat a boy, and Patussorssuaq fell upon him, crying: “Where is she? Where is she gone?”

“I have seen nothing, for I was asleep,” cried the boy, speaking falsely because of his great fear. And so Patussorssuaq was forced to desist from seeking out his wife.

And now he went down and took Alataq’s wife and lived with her. But after a little time, she died. And thus he had but little joy of the woman he had won by misdeed. And he himself was soon to suffer in another way.

At the beginning of the summer, many people were gathered at Natsivilik, and among them was Patussorssuaq. One day a strange thing happened to him, while he was out hunting: a fox snapped at the fringe of his coat, and he, thinking it to be but a common fox, struck out at it, but did not hit. And afterwards it was revealed that this was the soul of dead Alataq, playing with him a little before killing him outright. For Alataq’s amulet was a fox.

And a little time after, he was bitten to death by the ghost of Alataq, coming upon him in the shape of a bear. His daughter, who was outside at that time, heard the cries, and went in to tell of what she had heard, but just as she came into the house, behold, she had quite forgotten all that she wished to say. And this was because that vengeful spirit had by magic means called down forgetfulness upon her.

Afterwards she remembered it, but then it was too late. They found Patussorssuaq torn to pieces, torn limb from limb; he had tried to defend himself with great pieces of ice, as they could see, but all in vain.

Thus punishment falls upon the man who kills.