Ordlavarsuk

Ordlavarsuk, who initially despised the angakut, was captivated by a women’s song during a shamanic ritual and decided to become an angakok himself. Venturing into solitude to summon a tornak, he encountered a giant demon but fled in terror. After rejecting the tornak’s offer, he regretted his decision and tried to recall it, but it never returned, marking the end of his shamanic aspirations.

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

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: Ordlavarsuk’s desire to become an angakok leads him to seek out a tornak (spirit), a pursuit that involves hidden or restricted truths within shamanic practices.

Supernatural Beings: His encounter with the giant-like tornak highlights interactions with spirits, central to the narrative.

Transformation: The tale reflects Ordlavarsuk’s emotional and spiritual journey from skepticism to a desire for deeper understanding, though ultimately unfulfilled.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Ordlavarsuk despised the angakut, and never used to attend their conjurations. But once spending an evening at another place, in a house where an angakok went on performing his art, he became so fond of the women’s song, that suddenly he took a fancy to become an angakok himself. Imitating the angakut’s fashion, he betook himself to lonely places, and called for a tornak. At length a giant-like man appeared, armed with a long staff, with which he would touch him. But Ordlavarsuk got terrified, and turning round to the beach walked through some shallow water to an island, whither the demon was unable to follow him. The tornak having in vain offered himself to his disposal, turned back and disappeared. Ordlavarsuk then repenting his foolishness, called out for him again, but received no answer, and never more succeeded in calling forth a tornak.

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Isigarsigak and his sister

Isigarsigak and his sister fled south for three years due to their mother’s angakok (shamanic) tricks. Stricken by a swelling stomach, he encountered ravens that led him to a house where an old woman removed forgotten hunting bladders causing his condition. Escaping a killer, he returned to his sister and later kayaked to the sky’s edge, discovering holes revealing another sea before retreating.

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

► Themes of the story

Conflict with Authority: Isigarsigak and his sister flee their home due to their mother’s shamanic tricks, indicating a struggle against oppressive familial control.

Supernatural Beings: The story features elements like shamanic practices and mystical experiences, such as the old woman’s intervention to cure Isigarsigak’s ailment.

Forbidden Knowledge: Isigarsigak’s journey to the sky’s edge and his discovery of another sea through the holes in the sky suggest a pursuit of hidden or restricted truths beyond the known world.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Isigarsigak and his sister were frightened from home by the angakok tricks of their mother, and fled to the south, travelling on for three years in order to reach the end (of the land?). Meanwhile, Isigarsigak perceived his stomach to swell up, so as to make him unfit for kayaking. In crossing a frozen firth, he once saw two ravens coming from the interior, which as they came nearer looked like women hurrying towards the sea; and having caught two seals, they took them on their shoulders and hastened back to the inland. Guided by them, Isigarsigak came to a house, where an old woman offered to cure his stomach. She then examined him by head-lifting, and found out that on leaving his mother he had forgotten some hunting-bladders.

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Cutting open his stomach she brought forth the bladders, which would otherwise have made him burst, she said, if they had been allowed to remain much longer. At that instant a woman appeared at the entrance, armed with a knife; and they warned him to make haste if he would escape her, because it was she who had killed the men of the house. Having returned safely to his sister, he took a fancy to trace the passage of the birds in autumn. He travelled in his kayak until the sky became so low that he could reach it with his paddle-oar. It had two large holes, beyond which he discovered a sea, and was obliged to turn back.

The bloody rock

At a wintering place, men vanished one by one when venturing out. Two boys explored and discovered a rotating, blood-stained mountain. One boy attempted the bloody path and perished, while the other waited for a safer moment to ascend. Reaching the summit, he found a hunter living by a lake. After aiding the hunter, he safely returned home.

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

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: The young lads’ curiosity leads them to explore the mysterious, rotating, blood-stained mountain, uncovering hidden dangers.

Trials and Tribulations: The surviving boy faces the perilous challenge of ascending the treacherous mountain, demonstrating resilience and determination.

Supernatural Beings: Upon reaching the summit, the boy encounters a hunter living by a lake, suggesting an encounter with a mystical or otherworldly figure.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

At a certain wintering-place all the men successively disappeared on going out. Two young lads who were still left, while roaming about came to a mountain continually turning round, and on one side all bloody.

One youth tried the bloody path, but fell down and perished. The other waited till the bloody side turned away from him, and climbing gained the summit, when he found a house, and a man who lived by hunting eider-ducks in a lake.

After having stayed some time, and rendered assistance to this man, he returned home safely.

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The amarok

A mourner seeking excitement after a relative’s death encounters the legendary amarok. Accompanied by another relative, he kills the beast’s young but hides when the furious amarok returns. The creature, holding a reindeer, searches for its offspring and pulls a human-like form from the lake. The mourner collapses lifeless, his soul stolen by the supernatural amarok, which sees all.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The amarok is a mythical creature from Inuit folklore, representing the mysterious and often dangerous forces beyond human understanding.

Divine Punishment: The mourner’s actions—killing the amarok’s offspring—lead to his demise, suggesting a moral lesson about the consequences of disturbing the natural or supernatural order.

Forbidden Knowledge: The mourner’s pursuit of the amarok, despite warnings, exposes him to hidden dangers, highlighting the peril of seeking out forbidden or unknown realms.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

A man who mourned the death of a relative went out in hopes of finding some means of excitement; and being told that an amarok had been heard roaring in the firth of Nook (Godthaab), he could not be kept from going off to encounter the beast. Accompanied by a relative, he went up the country, and finding the young ones of the amarok, the mourner instantly killed the whole. But his companion, getting terribly frightened, betook himself to a cave for refuge, accompanied by the mourner. From their retreat the relative soon saw how the old amarok came running, holding a whole reindeer between its jaws; and having looked in vain for its young ones, it rushed down to the lake, where it appeared to be hauling out something of a human shape.

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At the same moment, turning round to his companion, he saw him falling helpless to the ground. The amarok, from which nothing remains concealed, had discovered him and taken the soul out of his body.

The Kuinasarinook

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

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

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

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

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An angakok on Kekertarsuak

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

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

► Themes of the story

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

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

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

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

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

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

Among the last angakut at Kangerdlugsuatsiak

The story recounts the mystical lives of Greenlandic angakut (shamans). Kapiarsuk and Avangnanersuak were said to secretly conjure food from a magical opening in the ground, sharing it with a curious child who later forgot the event. Another shaman, Kuvatsiak, discovered his brother Usuinak was taken by spirits and often saw him struggling to escape their grip. Kuvatsiak later embraced Christianity after a dream-inspired baptism.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves interactions with spirits and mystical forces, such as the ingnersuit who seize Usuinak.

Forbidden Knowledge: The child witnesses the secret ritual of conjuring food but is made to forget, highlighting the pursuit and concealment of hidden truths.

Transformation: Kuvatsiak’s journey from shamanism to Christianity signifies a profound spiritual change influenced by dreams and revelations.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Among the last angakut at Kangerdlugsuatsiak (Greenland) was a man named Kapiarsuk, and a woman called Avangnanersuak, who every day during the whole winter used to go out together to catch partridges, but never brought any home, and never were seen to eat anything at all. At last a child, who was anxious as to their doings, one day asked leave to accompany them, and soon observed that they never looked for any partridges at all; but having come a good way up the country, Kapiarsuak commenced to strike a flat rock with his staff, and murmuring certain words, an opening appeared in the ground, out of which they went on angling and hauling up different kinds of food, allowing the child to partake of the good fare.

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On going home they gave it a small fish to swallow, after which it lost all remembrance of what it had seen. Not until he was full grown, many years after, did he suddenly recollect the event and narrate it.

Another angakok of the same place, named Kuvatsiak, had two brothers, Usuinak and Igpak, of whom the former, having gone out kayaking, did not return, and entirely disappeared. In the evening they saw the clothes of the missing brother moving about by themselves. Kuvatsiak forthwith began to conjure, by means of which he found out that he had been seized by the ingnersuit. Kuvatsiak had a dream somewhat like that of Akamalik; and when he began growing old he often met with his deceased brother out at sea. He observed some black thing lying on the top of his brother’s kayak, who laboured in vain to rid himself of it, saying that that was the only impediment hindering him from leaving the under-world people and returning to the land of the living. When the first missionary came to the country Kuvatsiak had a dream that induced him to get baptised.

The means for getting children

A childless couple desperately sought a way to conceive. The husband traveled far and obtained magical dried fish from an old woman, one for a son and the other for a daughter. Struggling with hunger, he ate the “daughter” fish, which caused him to grow unnaturally large. A skilled old woman helped him, ultimately delivering a baby girl, marking an unusual turn in this folktale.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The story involves an old woman who provides magical dried fish with the power to grant children, introducing a supernatural element.

Forbidden Knowledge: The husband, despite being instructed to give the fish to his wife, consumes one himself out of desperation, leading to unexpected consequences.

Transformation: After eating the fish meant for a daughter, the husband undergoes a physical transformation, growing unnaturally large, which culminates in the birth of a baby girl.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

A married couple had in vain been in hope of getting children. At length the man set out in search of some means to attain their desire. The first summer he travelled as far as he could get to the north, and the next as far as possible to the south, before he succeeded in finding an old woman who promised to help him. From the bottom of her bag she produced two small dried fishes, a male and a female, of which he was to give his wife the former to eat if he wanted a son, and the latter in case they preferred a daughter. He received the fishes, and started on his way home; but having to travel very far, and not always being able to get any victuals, he once in a great strain for something to eat began to consider, “What is the use of keeping this spawner? a son is what we desire;” on which he swallowed the one little fish.

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After a while he began to feel very ill at ease, at the same time growing bigger and bigger, till at length he could hardly manage to slip down in his kayak. A skilful old woman, who lived at a place where he happened to land, soon suspected what was the matter with him, and hit on a charm to deliver him of what was encumbering his inside, which soon proved to be a fine little daughter. (It is doubtful whether the rest of the tale is of genuine Eskimo origin.)

The Anghiak

A sister forbidden to marry by her brothers became pregnant, secretly miscarried, and birthed an anghiak, a vengeful spirit. The creature, using makeshift tools, caused her brothers’ deaths but later repented, retreating north. Discovered by a shaman, it terrified villagers before returning to its mother’s home. When she confessed her actions during a ritual, the anghiak succumbed to pain and died, ending its tragic tale.

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

► Themes of the story

Forbidden Knowledge: The sister’s secret miscarriage and the creation of the anghiak involve hidden actions and their dire consequences.

Divine Punishment: The anghiak’s vengeance upon the brothers and its eventual death following the mother’s confession suggest a form of supernatural retribution.

Family Dynamics: The complex relationships between the sister and her brothers, including their control over her marital prospects and the ensuing tragedy, are central to the narrative.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

For this tale, only the principal parts have been selected, and are given here in a very fragmentary form.

A company of brothers had a single sister, and would not allow her to marry. Nevertheless, having many suitors, she finally came to be with child; and because of her brothers’ reproaches, she secretly had a miscarriage; but the child got intellect, and became an anghiak. It picked up the skull of a dog, using it as a kayak, and the bone of a man’s arm for a paddle. Every night it used to creep into the house and lie down to suckle its mother’s breasts, but during the day-time it was about pursuing her brothers when they were kayaking, and made them capsize and perish one after another. Having accomplished its revenge, it repented its deeds, and fled to the north, where it slipped down in the doorway of a house in which a conjuration was going on. The angakok (by means of his second-sight) at once observed its approach; and when the people of the house had got a light, and went to look for it, they were all frightened to death.

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It then became still more powerful, but went back again to its mother’s abode, and found a refuge in a heap of rubbish. It now happened that the angakok of the place was about to perform a conjuration for the purpose of finding out what had caused the brothers’ destruction. The sister, on being examined, first denied, but finally she confessed her sin, saying, “What I brought forth was no real child.” No sooner had she pronounced these words than the anghiak felt a pain in its head, and while she continued her tale, it lost its senses and died.

Atalianguak

Atalianguak, a skilled seal-hunter, encounters a mysterious woman who becomes his wife. Living with his cousins, he discovers she is not an ordinary woman after noticing her fox-like traits. She flees, and he follows her to a fox-hole where enchanted creatures lull him into a deep sleep. Awakening much later, surrounded by insects, he abandons any further pursuit of marriage or relationships.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: Atalianguak’s wife reveals her true nature as a fox-like creature, highlighting interactions between humans and mystical entities.

Transformation: The story features the wife’s metamorphosis from a human appearance to her true fox form, emphasizing themes of change and revelation.

Forbidden Knowledge: Atalianguak’s pursuit of his wife’s true identity leads him to a mystical fox-hole, where he encounters enchanted creatures that lull him into a deep sleep, suggesting the dangers of uncovering hidden truths.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Atalianguak was an excellent seal-hunter, and lived as a bachelor in a large house, together with several cousins. At spring-time he used to go out all by himself in his boat in order to fish angmagsat (Capelins). One evening when he returned to his tent, having been out kayaking, he was much surprised at seeing a pretty little woman standing outside of it. She wore a pair of white boots, and her hair-tuft was newly dressed. Atalianguak ran quickly up beside her, and taking hold of her hand brought her into the tent, and afterwards married her. When the fishing season came to an end he repaired homewards in his boat, his wife rowing, while he himself took the helm.

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In autumn he again settled down in the house of his cousins. One evening just as his wife had risen from her seat on the ledge to go outside, one of the other people, whom she happened to pass by, remarked, “What a very peculiar smell I perceived;” but his housemates told him to take great care not to offend her, as they had observed that she was not a woman of the common kind. The same thing, however, happened again; this time the little woman hearing them speak of a strange smell rushed quickly out, and the moment she passed the doorway the people observed a fox-tail dangling at her back. Atalianguak pursued her to the border of a lake. In a fox-hole close by he noticed a light, and peeping in he saw his wife sitting on a ledge. He called out, “I feel so cold, let me come in.” “Well, come.” “But in what way am I to enter?” “Thou hast only to breathe upon the entrance and thou wilt easily get in.” Thus be entered, and sitting down beside his wife, he exclaimed, “It is dreadfully cold — do make me warm.” At the same time be saw one of the walls covered with flies, dirt-flies, beetles, and all kinds of reptiles. She now raised up her head and ordered them to lull Atalianguak to sleep, and presently they all began singing, “Atalianguak, sleep, sleep; at spring we will rouse thee again:” and he slept for ever so long. At last he awoke of his own accord, and when he rose and went outside the sun was high in the sky, while the cave itself swarmed with flies and reptiles. He went to make water, and forthwith it turned to a whole river. From that time he gave up all thought of womanhood.