The insects that wooed a wifeless man

A wifeless man, scorned by his village, gains exceptional hunting prowess after saving a supernatural Noseless One. He prospers, winning a wife, but loses it all after revealing his secret. His wife abandons him, leading to surreal encounters with creatures in her refuge. Reuniting briefly, he sleeps under her spell, awakening seasons later to decay and solitude, returning to his bleak existence.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The protagonist evolves from a scorned, wifeless man to a successful hunter with a wife, highlighting significant personal change.

Supernatural Beings: The man’s encounter with a Noseless One, a creature from beneath the earth, introduces elements of the supernatural influencing mortal life.

Forbidden Knowledge: The man is warned not to reveal the source of his newfound success. Disregarding this caution leads to his downfall, emphasizing the perils of uncovering or disclosing forbidden truths.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There was once a wifeless man. Yes, that is the way a story always begins. And it was his custom to run down to the girls whenever he saw them out playing. And the young girls always ran away from him into their houses.

And when the time of great hunting set in, and the kayak men lived in plenty, it always happened that he shamefully overslept himself every time he had made up his mind to go out hunting. He did not wake until the sun had gone down, and the hunters began to come in with their catch in tow.

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One day when he awoke as usual about sunset, he got into his kayak all the same, and rowed off. Hardly had he passed out of sight of the houses, when he heard a man crying: “My kayak has upset, help me.”

And he rowed over and righted him again, and then he saw that it was one of the Noseless Ones, the people from beneath the earth.

“Now I will give you all my hide thongs with ornaments of walrus tusk,” said the man who had upset.

“No,” said the wifeless man; “such things I am not fit to receive; the only thing I cannot overcome is my miserable sleepiness.”

“First come in with me to land,” said the Fire Man. And they went in together.

When they reached the place, the Noseless One said: “This is the man who saved my life when I was near to death.”

“I happened to save you because my course lay athwart your own,” said the wifeless man. “It is the first time for many days that I have been out at all in my kayak.”

“One beast and one only you may choose when you are on your homeward way. And be careful never to tell what you have seen, or it will go ill with your hunting hereafter.”

Those were the Fire Man’s words. And then the wifeless man rowed home.

But when the time for his expected return had come, he was nowhere to be seen, and the young girls began to rejoice at the misfortune which must have befallen him. For they could not bear the sight of that man.

But then suddenly he came in sight round the point, and at once all cried: “Here comes one who looks like the wifeless man.”

And then all the young unmarried girls ran into their houses.

“And the wifeless man has made a catch,” one cried.

And hardly had the evening begun to fall when the wifeless man went to rest, and hardly had the light appeared when the wifeless man went out hunting, long before his fellows. Hardly had the sun appeared in the sky, when the wifeless man came home with three seals. And his fellow-hunters were then but just preparing to set out.

Thus the days passed for that wifeless man. Early in the morning he would go out, and when the sun had only just begun to climb the sky, he would come home with his catch.

Then the unmarried girls began talking together.

“What has come to our wifeless man,” they said, and began to vie with one another in seeking his favour.

“Let me, let me,” they cried all together.

And the wifeless man turned towards them, and laughingly chose out the best in the flock.

And now they lived together, the wifeless man and the girl, and every day there was freshly caught seal meat to be cut up. At last she grew weary, and cried: “Why ever do you catch such a terrible lot?”

“H’m,” said he. “The seals come of themselves, and I catch them — that is all.”

But she kept on asking him, and so he said at last: “It was in this way. Once….” But having said thus much, he ceased, and went to rest. But it was long before he could sleep. And the sun was just over the houses of the village before he awoke and set out next day.

That day he caught but one seal.

In the evening, his wife began again asking and asking, and seeing that she would not desist, at last he said: “It was in this way. Once… well, I woke up in the evening, and rowed out, and heard a man crying for help, because his kayak had upset. And I rowed up to him and righted him again, and when I looked at him, it was one of the Noseless Ones.”

“’It was a good thing you were not idling about by the houses,’ said the Noseless One to me.

“’I had but just got into my kayak,’” said I.

And thus he told all that had happened to him that day, and from that time forward he lost his power of hunting, for now his old sleepiness came over him once more, and he lost all.

At last he had not even skins enough to give his wife for her clothes, and so she ran away and left him. He set off in chase, but she escaped through a crevice in the rocks, a narrow place whereby he could just pass.

Now he lay in wait there, and soon he heard a whispering inside: “You go out to him.”

And out crawled a blowfly, and said: “Take me.” — “I will not take you,” said the wifeless man, “for you pick your food from the muck-heaps.” The blowfly laughed and crawled back again, and he could hear it say: “He will not take me, because I pick my food from the muck-heaps.”

Then there was more whispering inside.

“Now you go out.”

And out came a fly.

“You may have me,” it said. “Thanks,” said the wifeless man, “but I do not care for you at all. You lay your eggs about anyhow, and your eyes are quite abominably big.” At this the fly laughed, and went inside with the same message as before.

Again there was a whispering inside.

“Take me,” said the cranefly. “No, your legs are too long,” said the wifeless man. And the cranefly went in again, laughing.

Then out came a centipede.

“Take me.” — “I will not take you,” said the wifeless man, “for you have far too many legs. Your body clings to the ground with all those legs, and your eyes are simply nasty.”

And the centipede laughed a cackling laugh and went in again.

They whispered together again in there, and out came a gnat.

“Take me,” said the gnat. “No thanks, you bite,” said the wifeless man. And the gnat went in again, laughing.

And then at last his wife bade him come in to her, since he would have none of the others, and at last he just managed to squeeze his body in through the crack, and then he took her to wife again.

“Comb my hair,” said the wifeless man, now very happy once more.

And his wife began, and said words above him thus: “Do not wake until the fulmar begins to cry: sleep until we hear a sound of young birds.”

And he fell asleep.

And when at last he awoke, he was all alone. The earth was blue with summer, and the fulmar cried noisily on the bird cliff. And it had been winter when he crawled in through the crack.

When he came down to his kayak, the skin was rotted through with age.

And then I suppose he reached home as usual, and now sits scratching himself at ease.

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Isigaligarssik

Isigaligarssik, a strong but wifeless man, marries a widow’s daughter. A jealous village wizard steals his wife and mocks him repeatedly during spirit-calling ceremonies. Despite warnings, Isigaligarssik confronts the wizard, who attacks him. Using a childhood charm, Isigaligarssik heals and challenges the wizard to a bow duel. Cleverly outmaneuvering the wizard, he fatally shoots him, reclaiming his wife and living happily with her until death.

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

► Themes of the story

Cunning and Deception: Isigaligarssik employs cleverness to outmaneuver the wizard, ultimately reclaiming his wife.

Revenge and Justice: The narrative centers on Isigaligarssik’s quest to avenge the wrongs inflicted upon him by the wizard, culminating in a duel that restores his honor.

Supernatural Beings: The presence of the wizard, with his mystical abilities and spirit-calling ceremonies, introduces elements of the supernatural into the tale.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Isigaligarssik was a wifeless man, and he was very strong. One of the other men in his village was a wizard. Isigaligarssik was taken to live in a house with many brothers, and they were very fond of him.

When the wizard was about to call upon his spirits, it was his custom to call in through the window: “Only the married men may come and hear.” And when they who were to hear the spirit calling went out, a little widow and her daughter and Isigaligarssik always stayed behind together in the house.

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Once, when all had gone out to hear the wizard, as was their custom, these three were thus left alone together. Isigaligarssik sat by the little lamp on the side bench, at work.

Suddenly he heard the widow’s daughter saying something in her mother’s ear, and then her mother turned towards him and said: “This little girl would like to have you.”

Isigaligarssik would also like to have her, and before the others of the house had come back, they were man and wife. Thus when the others of the house had finished and came back, Isigaligarssik had found a wife, and his house-fellows were very glad of this.

Next day, as soon as it was dark, one called, as was the custom: “Let only those who have wives come and hear.” And Isigaligarssik, who had before had no wife, felt now a great desire to go and hear this. But as soon as he had come in, the great wizard said to Isigaligarssik’s wife: “Come here; here.”

When she had sat down, he told her to take off her shoes, and then he put them up on the drying frame. Then they made a spirit calling, and when that was ended, the wizard said to Isigaligarssik: “Go away now; you will never have this dear little wife of yours again.”

And then Isigaligarssik had to go home without a wife. And Isigaligarssik had to live without a wife. And every time there was a spirit calling, and he went in, the wizard would say: “Ho, what are you doing here, you who have no wife?”

But now anger grew up slowly in him at this, and once when he came home, he said: “That wizard in there has mocked me well, but next time he asks me, I shall know what to answer.”

But the others of the village warned him, and said: “No, no; you must not answer him. For if you answer him, then he will kill you.”

But one evening when the bad wizard mocked him as usual Isigaligarssik said: “Ho, and what of you who took my wife away?”

Now the wizard stood up at once, and when Isigaligarssik bent down towards the entrance to creep out, the wizard took a knife, and stabbed him with a great wound.

Isigaligarssik ran quickly home to his house, and said to his wife’s mother: “Go quickly now and take the dress I wore when I was little. [The first dress worn by a child is supposed to act as a charm against wounds if the former wearer can put it on when a grown man.] It is in the chest there.”

And when she took it out, it was so small that it did not look like a dress at all, but it was very pretty. And he ordered her then to dip it in the water bucket. When it was wet, he was able to put it on, and when the lacing thong at the bottom touched the wound, it was healed.

Now when his house-fellows came out after the spirit-calling they thought to find him lying dead outside the entrance. They followed the blood spoor, and at last he had gone into the house. When they came in, he had not a single wound, and all were very glad for that he was healed again. And now he said: “Tomorrow I will go bow-shooting with him.”

Then they slept, and awakened, and Isigaligarssik opened his little chest and searched it, and took out a bow that was so small it could hardly be seen in his hands. He strung that bow, and went out, and said: “Come out now and see.”

Then they went out, and he went down to the wizard’s house, and called through the window: “Big man in there; come out now and let us shoot with the bow!” And when he had said this, he went and stood by a little river. When he turned to look round, the wizard was already by the passage of his house, aiming with his bow.

He said: “Come here.” And then Isigaligarssik drew up spittle in his mouth and spat straight down beside his feet.

“Come here,” he said then, to the great wizard. Then he went over to him, and came nearer and nearer, and stopped just before him. Now the wizard aimed with his bow towards him, and when he did this, the house-fellows cried to Isigaligarssik: “Make yourself small!” And he made himself so small that only his head could be seen moving backwards and forwards. The wizard shot and missed. And a second time he shot and missed.

Then Isigaligarssik stood up, and took the arrow, and broke it across and said: “Go home; you cannot hit.” And then the wizard went off, turning many times to look round. At last, when he bent down to get into his house through the passage way, Isigaligarssik aimed and shot at him. And they heard only the sound of his fall. The arrow was very little, and yet for all that it sent him all doubled up through the entrance, so that he fell down in the passage.

In this way Isigaligarssik won his wife again, and he lived with her afterwards until death.

Qalaganguase, who passed to the land of ghosts

Qalaganguase, a disabled boy, is left alone after his family dies. Haunted by ghosts, including his sister, he gains fleeting strength and solace from their visits. However, when he reveals their presence, his newfound vitality wanes. Abandoned during a village singing contest, his deceased parents appear and lead him to the ghostly realm, where he transforms into a ghost, reportedly becoming a woman, never to return to the village.

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

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: Qalaganguase’s transition from the mortal world to the realm of ghosts signifies a journey into the underworld, a common motif representing exploration of the afterlife or unknown realms.

Transformation: Throughout the narrative, Qalaganguase undergoes significant changes—gaining strength from ghostly visits and ultimately transforming into a ghost himself, reportedly becoming a woman. This highlights themes of physical and spiritual metamorphosis.

Supernatural Beings: The interactions with ghosts, including his deceased sister and parents, underscore the influence of supernatural entities in the story, reflecting the connection between the living and the spirit world in Inuit culture.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There was once a boy whose name was Qalaganguase; his parents lived at a place where the tides were strong. And one day they ate seaweed, and died of it. Then there was only one sister to look after Qalaganguase, but it was not long before she also died, and then there were only strangers to look after him.

Qalaganguase was without strength, the lower part of his body was dead, and one day when the others had gone out hunting, he was left alone in the house. He was sitting there quite alone, when suddenly he heard a sound.

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Now he was afraid, and with great pains he managed to drag himself out of the house into the one beside it, and here he found a hiding-place behind the skin hangings. And while he was in hiding there, he heard a noise again, and in walked a ghost.

“Ai! There are people here!”

The ghost went over to the water tub and drank, emptying the dipper twice.

“Thanks for the drink which I thirsty one received,” said the ghost. “Thus I was wont to drink when I lived on earth.” And then it went out.

Now the boy heard his fellow-villagers coming up and gathering outside the house, and then they began to crawl in through the passage way.

“Qalaganguase is not here,” they said, when they came inside.

“Yes, he is,” said the boy. “I hid in here because a ghost came in. It drank from the water tub there.”

And when they went to look at the water tub, they saw that something had been drinking from it.

Then some time after, it happened again that the people were all out hunting, and Qalaganguase alone in the place. And there he sat in the house all alone, when suddenly the walls and frame of the house began to shake, and next moment a crowd of ghosts came tumbling into the house, one after the other, and the last was one whom he knew, for it was his sister, who had died but a little time before.

And now the ghosts sat about on the floor and began playing; they wrestled, and told stories, and laughed all the time.

At first Qalaganguase was afraid of them, but at last he found it a pleasant thing to make the night pass. And not until the villagers could be heard returning did they hasten away.

“Now mind you do not tell tales,” said the ghost, “for if you do as we say, then you will gain strength again, and there will be nothing you cannot do.” And one by one they tumbled out of the passage way. Only Qalaganguase’s sister could hardly get out, and that was because her brother had been minding her little child, and his touch stayed her. And the hunters were coming back, and quite close, when she slipped out. One could just see the shadow of a pair of feet.

“What was that?” said one. “It looked like a pair of feet vanishing away.”

“Listen, and I will tell you,” said Qalaganguase, who already felt his strength returning. “The house has been full of people, and they made the night pass pleasantly for me, and now, they say, I am to grow strong again.”

But hardly had the boy said these words, when the strength slowly began to leave him.

“Qalaganguase is to be challenged to a singing contest,” he heard them say, as he lay there. And then they tied the boy to the frame post and let him swing backwards and forwards, as he tried to beat the drum. After that, they all made ready, and set out for their singing contest, and left the lame boy behind in the house all alone. And there he lay all alone, when his mother, who had died long since, came in with his father.

“Why are you here alone?” they asked.

“I am lame,” said the boy, “and when the others went off to a singing contest, they left me behind.”

“Come away with us,” said his father and mother.

“It is better so, perhaps,” said the boy.

And so they led him out, and bore him away to the land of ghosts, and so Qalaganguase became a ghost.

And it is said that Qalaganguase became a woman when they changed him to a ghost. But his fellow-villagers never saw him again.

The woman who had a bear as a foster-son

An old woman adopts a bear cub gifted by a hunter’s wife. Raising it with care, she teaches it human ways, earning its loyalty. The bear grows strong, aiding hunters and becoming renowned for its unique sinew collar. After a deadly encounter with a man, the foster-mother urges the bear to leave for safety. Legend says it roams the north, marked by a black spot on its side.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The bear undergoes a significant change, adopting human behaviors and understanding through the nurturing care of its foster mother.

Supernatural Beings: The bear, though an animal, exhibits human-like intelligence and emotions, blurring the line between the natural and supernatural realms.

Family Dynamics: The relationship between the old woman and the bear highlights themes of adoption, caregiving, and the bonds that form between individuals, regardless of species.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

There was once an old woman living in a place where others lived. She lived nearest the shore, and when those who lived in houses up above had been out hunting, they gave her both meat and blubber. And once they were out hunting as usual, and now and again they got a bear, so that they frequently ate bear’s meat. And they came home with a whole bear. The old woman received a piece from the ribs as her share, and took it home to her house. After she had come home to her house, the wife of the man who had killed the bear came to the window and said: “Dear little old woman in there, would you like to have a bear’s cub?”

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And the old woman went and fetched it, and brought it into her house, shifted her lamp, and placed the cub, because it was frozen, up on to the drying frame to thaw. Suddenly she noticed that it moved a little, and took it down to warm it. Then she roasted some blubber, for she had heard that bears lived on blubber, and in this way she fed it from that time onwards, giving it greaves to eat and melted blubber to drink, and it lay beside her at night.

And after it had begun to lie beside her at night it grew very fast, and she began to talk to it in human speech, and thus it gained the mind of a human being, and when it wished to ask its foster-mother for food, it would sniff.

The old woman now no longer suffered want, and those living near brought her food for the cub. The children came sometimes to play with it, but then the old woman would say: “Little bear, remember to sheathe your claws when you play with them.”

In the morning, the children would come to the window and call in: “Little bear, come out and play with us, for now we are going to play.”

And when they went out to play together, it would break the children’s toy harpoons to pieces, but whenever it wanted to give any one of the children a push, it would always sheathe its claws. But at last it grew so strong, that it nearly always made the children cry. And when it had grown so strong the grown-up people began to play with it, and they helped the old woman in this way, in making the bear grow stronger. But after a time not even grown men dared play with it, so great was its strength, and then they said to one another: “Let us take it with us when we go out hunting. It may help us to find seal.”

And so one day in the dawn, they came to the old woman’s window and cried: “Little bear, come and earn a share of our catch; come out hunting with us, bear.”

But before the bear went out, it sniffed at the old woman. And then it went out with the men.

On the way, one of the men said: “Little bear, you must keep down wind, for if you do not so, the game will scent you, and take fright.”

One day when they had been out hunting and were returning home, they called in to the old woman: “It was very nearly killed by the hunters from the northward; we hardly managed to save it alive. Give therefore some mark by which it may be known; a broad collar of plaited sinews about its neck.”

And so the old foster-mother made a mark for it to wear; a collar of plaited sinews, as broad as a harpoon line.

And after that it never failed to catch seal, and was stronger even than the strongest of hunters, and never stayed at home even in the worst of all weather. Also it was not bigger than an ordinary bear. All the people in the other villages knew it now, and although they sometimes came near to catching it, they would always let it go as soon as they saw its collar.

But now the people from beyond Angmagssalik heard that there was a bear which could not be caught, and then one of them said: “If ever I see it, I will kill it.”

But the others said: “You must not do that; the bear’s foster-mother could ill manage without its help. If you see it, do not harm it, but leave it alone, as soon as you see its mark.”

One day when the bear came home as usual from hunting, the old foster-mother said: “Whenever you meet with men, treat them as if you were of one kin with them; never seek to harm them unless they first attack.”

And it heard the foster-mother’s words and did as she had said.

And thus the old foster-mother kept the bear with her. In the summer it went out hunting in the sea, and in winter on the ice, and the other hunters now learned to know its ways, and received shares of its catch.

Once during a storm the bear was away hunting as usual, and did not come home until evening. Then it sniffed at its foster-mother and sprang up on to the bench, where its place was on the southern side. Then the old foster-mother went out of the house, and found outside the body of a dead man, which the bear had hauled home. Then without going in again, the old woman went hurrying to the nearest house, and cried at the window: “Are you all at home?” — “Why?” — “The little bear has come home with a dead man, one whom I do not know.”

When it grew light, they went out and saw that it was the man from the north, and they could see he had been running fast, for he had drawn off his furs, and was in his underbreeches. Afterwards they heard that it was his comrades who had urged the bear to resistance, because he would not leave it alone.

A long time after this had happened, the old foster-mother said to the bear: “You had better not stay with me here always; you will be killed if you do, and that would be a pity. You had better leave me.”

And she wept as she said this. But the bear thrust its muzzle right down to the floor and wept, so greatly did it grieve to go away from her.

After this, the foster-mother went out every morning as soon as dawn appeared, to look at the weather, and if there were but a cloud as big as one’s hand in the sky, she said nothing.

But one morning when she went out, there was not even a cloud as big as a hand, and so she came in and said: “Little bear, now you had better go; you have your own kin far away out there.”

But when the bear was ready to set out, the old foster-mother, weeping very much, dipped her hands in oil and smeared them with soot, and stroked the bear’s side as it took leave of her, but in such manner that it could not see what she was doing. The bear sniffed at her and went away. But the old foster-mother wept all through that day, and her fellows in the place mourned also for the loss of their bear.

But men say that far to the north, when many bears are abroad, there will sometimes come a bear as big as an iceberg, with a black spot on its side.

Here ends this story.

Nukunguasik, who escaped from the Tupilak

Nukunguasik, a man without a wife, discovers a sinister plot on an unfamiliar island when he encounters a brother crafting a Tupilak, a magical creature instructed to kill him. Startled, Nukunguasik confronts the brother, who dies from fright. Later, Nukunguasik helps the remaining brothers find the body of their sibling, killed by the Tupilak. Afterward, Nukunguasik lives peacefully and dies years later.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The tale features a Tupilak, a magical creature brought to life through dark rituals, embodying the interaction with supernatural entities.

Cunning and Deception: Nukunguasik’s stealthy approach and unexpected confrontation with the brother highlight the use of wit to navigate dangerous situations.

Divine Punishment: The brother’s sudden death upon being discovered suggests a form of immediate retribution for his malevolent actions, reflecting the theme of divine or supernatural punishment.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about Inuit peoples

Nukunguasik, it is said, had land in a place with many brothers. When the brothers made a catch, they gave him meat for the pot; he himself had no wife.

One day he rowed northward in his kayak, and suddenly he took it into his head to row over to a big island which he had never visited before, and now wished to see.

He landed, and went up to look at the land, and it was very beautiful there.

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And here he came upon the middle one of many brothers, busy with something or other down in a hollow, and whispering all the time. So he crawled stealthily towards him, and when he had come closer, he heard him whispering these words: “You are to bite Nukunguasik to death; you are to bite Nukunguasik to death.”

And then it was clear that he was making a Tupilak, and stood there now telling it what to do. But suddenly Nukunguasik slapped him on the side and said: “But where is this Nukunguasik?”

And the man was so frightened at this that he fell down dead.

And then Nukunguasik saw that the man had been letting the Tupilak sniff at his body. And the Tupilak was now alive, and lay there sniffing. But Nukunguasik, being afraid of the Tupilak, went away without trying to harm it.

Now he rowed home, and there the many brothers were waiting in vain for the middle one to return. At last the day dawned, and still he had not come. And daylight came, and then as they were preparing to go out in search of him, the eldest of them said to Nukunguasik: “Nukunguasik, come with us; we must search for him.”

And so Nukunguasik went with them, but as they found nothing, he said: “Would it not be well to go and make search over on that island, where no one ever goes?”

And having gone on to the island, Nukunguasik said: “Now you can go and look on the southern side.”

When the brothers reached the place, he heard them cry out, and the eldest said: “O wretched one! Why did you ever meddle with such a thing as this!”

And they could be heard weeping all together about the dead man.

And now Nukunguasik went up to them, and there lay the Tupilak, still alive, and nibbling at the body of the dead man. But the brothers buried him there, making a mound of stones above him. And then they went home.

Nukunguasik lived there as the oldest in the place, and died at last after many years.

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

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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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Katigagse

Katigagse, skeptical of the angakut, often disrupted their conjurations. During one ceremony, he tore down the curtain and fled outside, only to encounter a terrifying flame rushing through the air. Shaken, he returned to the hut, clinging to the rafters until exhaustion overcame him. After the ritual ended, Katigagse was found filthy and humiliated, vowing never to attend another angakok ceremony.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: Katigagse’s encounter with the mysterious flame during the angakok (shaman) ceremony highlights interactions with otherworldly forces.

Cunning and Deception: His initial skepticism and disruptive actions during the ritual suggest themes of trickery and the consequences of deceit.

Divine Punishment: The terrifying experience serves as retribution for his irreverence toward sacred practices, leading to his vow never to attend such ceremonies again.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

Learn more about the Inuit peoples

Abridged version of the story.

Katigagse had no faith in the angakut, and sometimes, when attending their conjurations, he tore away the window-curtain, and thereby dispelled all their doings.

But once when an angakok had begun his conjuration, and announced his tornak to be approaching in the shape of a fire, Katigagse tore away the curtain which covered the entrance, and ran outside.

Suddenly he discovered a great flame rushing through the air, which struck him with terror, and made him re-enter the house, and trembling from head to foot cling to the rafters of the hut, from whence fatigue soon made him fall to the ground.

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When the conjuration had been finished, and the fire kept off, Katigagse was missed. At length they brought him forth from underneath the ledge, all covered with filth, in which state he left the house, never to attend angakok service any more.

This and the following tale are only interesting as showing the deeply-seated fear of, and belief in, the angakut.

A woman who was mated with a dog

A woman mated with a dog and bore ten children. As they grew, she commanded them to devour her father. Dividing them into two groups, she sent five inland, where they became erkileks, while the other five received an old boot. Placed in the sea, it transformed into a ship, leading them away, where they became kavdlunaks (Europeans).

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The woman’s offspring undergo significant changes, with some becoming erkileks and others transforming into Europeans (kavdlunaks).

Origin of Things: This narrative offers an explanation for the emergence of different groups, such as Europeans, within Inuit mythology.

Supernatural Beings: The story features elements beyond the natural world, including the woman’s union with a dog and the subsequent birth of extraordinary children.

► 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 woman who was mated with a dog got ten children.

When they had grown larger, she ordered them to devour her father, whereupon she divided them into two parties and sent them off from home to seek their subsistence henceforth by themselves.

Five of them, who were sent up the country, grew erkileks; and to the other five she gave the sole of an old boot, and put it in the sea, where it rapidly expanded and grew a ship, in which they went off, turning into kavdlunaks (Europeans).

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The shark as provider

A mother and daughter, abandoned and starving, were saved by a seal that drifted ashore. Later, a shark appeared, promising to provide for them and staying by their side. When danger approached in the form of inuarutligaks, the shark carried the women to safety on an island, ensuring their survival and protection.

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 shark exhibits extraordinary abilities, communicating with the women and acting as their guardian, embodying the role of a supernatural entity intervening in human affairs.

Guardian Figures: The shark serves as a protector and provider for the mother and daughter, guiding them to safety and ensuring their survival in the face of adversity.

Transformation through Love: The relationship between the shark and the women transforms their dire situation into one of hope and security, highlighting the redemptive power of compassion and care.

► 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 mother with her daughter being abandoned by their relatives, and helpless, were saved from starvation by a dead seal which drifted to the shore.

After a time they found another, and a shark appeared to them, rising out of the sea, and saying that now he would supply all their wants.

He took up his abode with them; and afterwards, when some inuarutligaks were approaching, he took the two women on his back, and brought them away to an island.

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The swimmer, a tale from Labrador

A grieving mother, having lost all her children to enemies, raises her last son to live like a seal in the water. When the enemies return to kill him, she sends him into the sea. The son lures them far out, and the mother summons a storm by whipping the water’s surface, drowning the attackers while her son survives.

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

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The son is raised to adapt to life in the water, embodying a seal’s abilities, which is a significant physical transformation.

Revenge and Justice: The mother’s actions lead to the demise of her enemies, serving as retribution for the loss of her other children.

Supernatural Beings: The mother’s ability to summon a storm by whipping the water’s surface suggests a connection to supernatural powers.

► 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 mother, who lived at a solitary place, successively lost all her children, who were killed by enemies. Finally, she got a son, whom from his babyhood she brought up with the aim of making him fit for dwelling in the water like a seal. The enemies once went to the place with the intention of killing him also. But the mother, seeing the kayakers approach, told him to make his escape through the water. The enemies, who observed him jumping into the water, had no doubt they would get hold of him; but, swimming like a seal, he seduced them far out to sea, when the mother whipped the surface of the water with a string, causing a storm, by which they all perished, her son being the only one saved.

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