Qautipalung

Qautipalung’s daughter rejected a suitor for being too old, angering him. He warned she would turn to stone and left despite Qautipalung’s pleas. As the daughter chased his departing boat, her feet turned to stone, and she fell, becoming earth. Her spilled bag’s contents transformed into small auks, flying away with cries of tuu, tuu, tuu.

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 daughter’s metamorphosis into stone and earth, along with her bag’s contents turning into small auks, highlights themes of change and the supernatural.

Divine Punishment: The suitor’s curse leading to the daughter’s transformation serves as a consequence for her rejection, reflecting the theme of retribution from higher powers.

Mythical Creatures: The creation of small auks from the spilled bag introduces elements of mythical beings, emphasizing the rich tapestry of Inuit mythology.

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North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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There was a woman named Qautipalung, who had an unmarried daughter. One day some people came in a boat to get this daughter to be wife to one of them. But when the girl saw the suitor, she said to her mother, “He is much too old; don’t let him have me!” When the man heard that his suit was rejected, he said that he would go away, but that the girl would be turned to stone. Qautipalung now was frightened and asked him to stay, but he refused and went on his way. “The boat is going away,” Qautipalung said to her daughter, and the girl made herself ready to go out-doors. When she got out-doors the boat was already some distance away, and she began to run after it over the land to catch up with it.

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But as she ran her feet turned to stone, so that she fell down on her face, and the rest of her body turned to earth. As she fell, the bag she had in her hand was spilled, and the contents, falling out, turned into small auks, that flew away, crying tuu, tuu, tuu.

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The origin of the sea-pigeons

A group of children playing on a cliff overlooking the sea unwittingly scare away seals that the village men hoped to hunt. Angered, a man wishes the cliff would bury the children, and the cliff collapses, fulfilling his curse. The children transform into seapigeons, now dwelling at the base of the cliffs, serving as a cautionary tale about thoughtless words and actions.

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 children undergo a physical change, turning into sea-pigeons as a consequence of their actions and the villager’s curse.

Divine Punishment: The children’s transformation serves as retribution for their inadvertent disruption of the seal hunt, highlighting the theme of supernatural retribution.

Moral Lessons: The story imparts a cautionary message about the consequences of thoughtless actions and words, emphasizing the importance of mindfulness within the community.

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Once upon a time there were some children playing on the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. Below them the sea was covered with ice, but while they were playing, the ice opened, and the crack between the ice and the shore was filled with seals. Then the men of the village ran to get their kayaks to kill the seals. The children paid no attention to the seals, but kept on playing, shouting at the top of their voices. When the men arrived at the crack in the ice, the seals were gone. They had been frightened away by the children’s voices. The men were very angry at the children, and one of them said, “I wish the cliff would fall over and bury those noisy children.” He had no sooner spoken than the cliff toppled over and buried the children in the boulders at its foot. But they were changed into seapigeons. They dwell at the foot of the cliffs to this day.

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Artuk, who did all forbidden things

Artuk defied sacred customs after his wife’s burial, mocking traditional prohibitions by cutting frozen meat with a stone axe, shaking his coat, and drinking iceberg water—acts deemed forbidden. Rejecting his community’s beliefs, he took his son unwillingly on a sledge journey. He perished, torn by spirits as punishment, while his son died of fear. The villagers found his remains, confirming the dire consequences of his irreverence.

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

► Themes of the story

Divine Punishment: Artuk’s deliberate violations of taboos—such as cutting frozen meat with a stone axe, shaking his coat, and drinking iceberg water—led to his demise, torn apart by spirits as retribution for his irreverence.

Forbidden Knowledge: By rejecting and mocking the traditional prohibitions of his community, Artuk sought to challenge and undermine the established beliefs, leading to dire consequences.

Conflict with Authority: Artuk’s actions represent a direct challenge to the cultural and spiritual authority of his community’s customs and traditions, ultimately resulting in his tragic end.

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A man whose name was Artuk had buried his wife, but refused to remain aloof from doings which those who have been busied with the dead are forbidden to share. He said he did not hold by such old customs.

Some of his fellow-villagers were at work cutting up frozen meat for food. After watching them for a while as they worked at the meat with their knives, he took a stone axe and hacked at the meat, saying: “That is the way to cut up meat.”

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And this he did although it was forbidden.

And on the same day he went out on to the ice and took off his inner coat to shake it, and this he did although it was forbidden.

Also he went up on to an iceberg and drank water which the sun had melted there, knowing well that this was likewise forbidden.

And all these things he did in scorn of that which his fellows believed. For he said it was all lies.

But one day when he was starting out with his sledge, fear came upon him, and he dared not go alone. And as his son would not go with him willingly, he took him, and bound him to the uprights of the sledge, and carried him so.

He never returned alive.

Late in the evening, his daughter heard in the air the mocking laughter of two spirits. And she knew at once that they were laughing so that she might know how her father had been punished for his ill-doing.

On the following day, many sledges went out to search for Artuk. And they found him, far out on the ice, torn to pieces, as is the way with those whom the spirits have punished for refusing to observe the customs of their forefathers. And the son, who was bound to the sledge, had not been touched, but he had died of fright.

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

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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.

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“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.

Papik, who killed his wife’s brother

Papik, a hunter envious of his brother-in-law Ailaq’s success, is accused of murdering him by Ailaq’s mother. To avenge her son, the mother drowns herself, transforming into a vengeful spirit. The monster hunts Papik, killing him brutally. The villagers, terrified, eventually defeat the creature, discovering it was the old woman’s spirit. This tale warns against unjust killings, showcasing consequences through supernatural vengeance.

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

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: Papik’s murder of his brother-in-law Ailaq leads to the old woman’s transformation into a vengeful spirit, seeking justice for her son’s death.

Supernatural Beings: The tale features the old woman’s metamorphosis into a monstrous entity, embodying the supernatural elements common in Inuit mythology.

Divine Punishment: Papik faces a dire fate as a consequence of his unjust actions, highlighting the moral lesson that wrongful deeds invite severe repercussions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
  - Inuit/Eskimo Lore

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There was once a man whose name was Papik, and it was his custom to go out hunting with his wife’s brother, whose name was Ailaq. But whenever those two went out hunting together, it was always Ailaq who came home with seal in tow, while Papik returned empty-handed. And day by day his envy grew.

Then one day it happened that Ailaq did not return at all. And Papik was silent at his home-coming.At last, late in the evening, that old woman who was Ailaq’s mother began to speak.

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“You have killed Ailaq.”

“No, I did not kill him,” answered Papik.

Then the old woman rose up and cried:

“You killed him, and said no word. The day shall yet come when I will eat you alive, for you killed Ailaq, you and no other.”

And now the old woman made ready to die, for it was as a ghost she thought to avenge her son. She took her bearskin coverlet over her, and went and sat down on the shore, close to the water, and let the tide come up and cover her.

For a long time after this, Papik did not go out hunting at all, so greatly did he fear the old woman’s threat. But at last he ceased to think of the matter, and began to go out hunting as before.

One day two men stood out on the ice by the breathing holes. Papik had chosen his place a little farther off, and stood there alone. And then it came. They heard the snow creaking, with the sound of a cry, and the sound moved towards Papik, and a fog came down over the ice. And soon they heard shouts as of one in a fury, and the screaming of one in fear; the monster had fallen upon Papik, to devour him.

And now they fled in towards land, swerving wide to keep away from what was happening there. On their way, they met sledges with hunters setting out; they threw down their gear, and urged the others to return to their own place at once, lest they also should be slain by fear.

When they reached their village, all gathered together in one house. But soon they heard the monster coming nearer over the ice, and then all hurried to the entrance, and crowding together, grew yet more greatly stricken with fear. And pressing thus against each other, they struggled so hard that one fatherless boy was thrust aside and fell into a tub full of blood. When he got up, the blood poured from his clothes, and wherever they went, the snow was marked with blood.

“Now we are already made food for that monster,” they cried, “since that wretched boy marks out the way with a trail of blood.”

“Let us kill him, then,” said one. But the others took pity on him, and let him live.

And now the evil spirit came in sight out on the ice; they could see the tips of its ears over the hummocks as it crept along. When it came up to the houses, not a dog barked, and none dared try to surround it, for it was not a real bear. But at last an old woman began crying to the dogs: “See, there is your cousin — bark at him!” And now the dogs were loosed from the magic that bound them, and when the men saw this, they too dashed forward, and harpooned that thing.

But when they came to cut up the bear, they knew its skin for the old woman’s coverlet, and its bones were human bones.

And now the sledges drove out to find the gear they had left behind, and they saw that everything was torn to pieces. And when they found Papik, he was cut about in every part. Eyes, nose and mouth and ears were hacked away, and the scalp torn from his head.

Thus that old woman took vengeance for the killing of her son Ailaq.

And so it was our fathers used to tell: when any man killed his fellow without good cause, a monster would come and strike him dead with fear, and leave no part whole in all his body.

The people of old times thought it an ill thing for men to kill each other.

This story I heard from the men who came to us from the far side of the great sea.

The woman with the iron tail

A woman with an iron tail killed sleeping guests by piercing them, but one man outsmarted her. Feigning sleep, he dodged her attack, breaking her tail on a stone. Fleeing to his kayak, their exchange of words revealed magical power. His words caused her to fall, ending her menace. With her tail destroyed, she could no longer harm anyone.

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

► Themes of the story

Supernatural Beings: The story features a woman with an iron tail who possesses magical abilities, such as killing guests by piercing them and influencing reality with her words.

Cunning and Deception: The protagonist outsmarts the woman by feigning sleep and dodging her attack, leading to the breaking of her iron tail and ultimately her defeat.

Divine Punishment: The woman’s malevolent actions are thwarted, and she is rendered powerless after her tail is broken, suggesting a form of retribution for her evil deeds.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
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There was once a woman who had an iron tail. And more than this, she was also an eater of men. When a stranger came to visit her, she would wait until her guest had fallen asleep, and then she would jump up in the air, and fall down upon the sleeping one, who was thus pierced through by her tail. Once there came a man to her house. And he lay down to sleep. And when she thought he had fallen asleep, she jumped up, and coming over the place where he lay, dropped down upon him. But the man was not asleep at all, and he moved aside so that she fell down on a stone and broke her tail.

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The man fled out to his kayak. And she ran after.

When she reached him, she cried: “Oh, if I could only thrust my knife into him.” And as she cried, the man nearly upset — for even her words had power.

“Oh, if only I could send my harpoon through her,” cried the man in return. And so great was the power of his words that she fell down on the spot.

And then the man rowed away, and the woman never killed anyone after that, for her tail was broken.

The man who became a star

An old man, angered by children disrupting his seal hunting, used magic to close a hillside over them, trapping them inside. The children eventually perished from hunger, and the villagers, outraged, chased the old man. As he fled, he transformed into a bright star, Venus, low on the western horizon, symbolizing “Nalaussartoq,” or “He who stands and listens,” reflecting his watchful hunting days.

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

► Themes of the story

Divine Punishment: The old man’s misuse of magic to harm the children leads to his transformation into a star, symbolizing retribution for his actions.

Transformation: The narrative centers on the old man’s metamorphosis into the star Venus, marking a significant change in his existence.

Supernatural Beings: The story involves magical elements, such as the old man’s ability to command the hillside to entrap the children and his eventual transformation into a celestial body.

► From the same Region or People

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- Arctic Region
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There was once an old man who stood out on the ice waiting for the seal to come up to their breathing holes to breathe. But on the shore, just opposite where he was, a crowd of children were playing in a ravine, and time after time they frightened away a seal just as he was about to harpoon it.

At last the old man grew angry with them for thus spoiling his catch, and cried out: “Close up, Ravine, over those who are spoiling my hunting.”

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And at once the hillside closed over those children at play. One of them, who was carrying a little brother, had her fur coat torn.

Then they all fell to screaming inside the hill, for they could not come out. And none could bring them food, only water that they were able to pour down a crack, and this they licked up from the sides.

At last they all died of hunger.

And now the neighbours fell upon that old man who had shut up the children by magic in the hill. He took to flight, and the others ran after him.

But all at once he became bright, and rose up to heaven as a great star. We can see it now, in the west, when the lights begin to return after the great darkness. But it is low down, and never climbs high in the sky. And we call it Nalaussartoq: he who stands and listens. [The star is that which we know as Venus. “Listening”: perhaps as the old man had stood listening for the breathing of the seal.]

Ukaleq

Ukaleq, a renowned hunter, was killed by a Magic Bear—a creature fashioned by enemies—after a fierce chase. His grieving mother revived him through a mysterious ritual, abstaining from food and drink for five days. Later, during a village spirit calling, an old woman was exposed as the creator of the Magic Bear and died of shame. Ukaleq survived but abandoned bear hunting forever.

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

► Themes of the story

Resurrection: Ukaleq’s return to life through his mother’s mysterious ritual is a literal example of resurrection.

Supernatural Beings: The Magic Bear, a creature fashioned by enemies, represents an encounter with a supernatural being.

Divine Punishment: The old woman who created the Magic Bear dies from shame when exposed, suggesting a form of divine or moral retribution for her actions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
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Ukaleq, men say, was a strong man. Whenever he heard news of game, even if it were a great bear, he had only to go out after it, and he never failed to kill it. Once the winter came, and the ice grew firm, and then men began to go out hunting bears on the ice. One day there was a big bear. Ukaleq set off in chase, but he soon found that it was not to be easily brought down. The bear sighted Ukaleq, and turned to pursue him. Ukaleq fled, but grew tired at length. Now and again he managed to wound the beast, but was killed himself at last, and at the same time the bear fell down dead.

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Now when his comrades came to look at the bear, its teeth began to whisper, and then they knew that Ukaleq had been killed by a Magic Bear [i.e. a creature fashioned by an enemy, after the same manner as a Tupilak]. And as there was no help for it, they took the dead man home with them. And then his mother said: “Lay him in the middle of the floor with a skin beneath him.”

She had kept the dress he had worn as a little child, and now that he was dead, she put it in her carrying bag, and went out with it to the cooking place in the passage. And when she got there, she said: “For five days I will neither eat nor drink.”

Then she began hushing the dress in the bag as if it were a child, and kept on hushing it until at last it began to move in the bag, and just as it had commenced to move, there came some out from the house and said: “Ukaleq is beginning to quiver.”

But she kept on hushing and hushing, and at last that which she had in the bag began trying to crawl out. But then there came one from the house and said: “Ukaleq has begun to breathe; he is sitting up.”

Hardly was this said when that which was in the bag sprang out, making the whole house shake. Then they made up a bed for Ukaleq on the side bench, and placed skins under him and made him sit up. And after five days had passed, and that without eating or drinking, he came to himself again, and commenced to go out hunting once more.

Then the winter came, and the winter was there, and the ice was over the sea, and when the ice had formed, they began to make spirit callings. The villages were close together, and all went visiting in other villages.

And at last Ukaleq set out with his family to a village near by, where there was to be a big spirit calling. The house where it was to be held was so big that there were three windows in it, and yet it was crowded with folk.

In the middle of the spirit calling, there was an old woman who was sitting cross-legged up on the bench, and she turned round towards the others and said:

“We heard last autumn that Ukaleq had been killed by a Magic Bear.” Hardly had she said those words when an old wifeless man turned towards her and said: “Was it by any chance your Magic Bear that killed him?”

Then the old woman turned towards the others and said: “Mine? Now where could I have kept such a thing?”

But after saying that she did not move. She even forgot to breathe, for shame at having been discovered by the wifeless man, and so she died on the spot.

After that Ukaleq went home, and never went out hunting bears again. Here ends this story.

When the ravens could speak

Long ago, ravens could speak but spoke only in opposites, using abusive words to express gratitude. Their deceitful nature angered an old man who, through magic, stripped them of speech, leaving them to shriek instead. Despite losing their voices, the ravens’ character remained unchanged, and they continue to be known as ill-tempered, thieving creatures to this day.

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

► Themes of the story

Trickster: The ravens embody the trickster archetype by speaking in opposites and deceiving others with their words.

Divine Punishment: The old man’s magical intervention to remove the ravens’ ability to speak serves as a form of punishment for their deceitful behavior.

Transformation: The ravens undergo a significant change, losing their power of speech, which alters how they interact with the world.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Arctic Region
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Once, long ago, there was a time when the ravens could talk. But the strange thing about the ravens’ speech was that their words had the opposite meaning. When they wanted to thank any one, they used words of abuse, and thus always said the reverse of what they meant. But as they were thus so full of lies, there came one day an old man, and by magic means took away their power of speech. And since that time the ravens can do no more than shriek. But the ravens’ nature has not changed, and to this day they are an ill-tempered, lying, thieving lot.

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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.

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North America
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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.