Newsletter 09/20/04

Inuit Mythology

Note: As mythology, more than any other topic, perhaps, is open to much debate and interpretation, many of the things I say here may be perceived as, and be, wrong. To give a better chance to discuss the topics covered, to cover new topics, and to debate anything about Inuit myth, I’m going to start a forum on the subject. I’ll be doing the same in subsequent months for each of the mythologies featured in the newsletter.

ID: 890691   (Rated: E) Inuit Mythology Forum  Forum about Inuit mythology by Colin Back on the Ghost Roads

The myths of the Inuit people have many similarities to those of the other native North American people. They are also related to other arctic mythologies, like those of Siberia, Northern Russia, Finland, and the Norse people. While all these cultures live in cold climates, they are spread very far apart, so this does tend to lend credence to the ideas of migration.

Inuit myths tend to be very harsh, which befits the land the people live on. The most important god of these people is generally considered to be Sedna, the goddess of the sea and aquatic life. Since the Inuit rely on sea life for their food, Sedna controls their supply of food. If she becomes angry with a tribe, she may cut them off. If this should happen, then the tribe’s shaman, or angakut, must make a journey to the ocean bottom to petition Sedna. Typically, the angakut must first brush Sedna’s hair. This is because when she was a mortal, Sedna loved her hair and brushing it, but shortly before she became a goddess; her fingers were cut off (giving birth to seals). Now she cannot hold a brush. While brushing Sedna’s hair, the angakut must discover how his tribe has displeased Sedna, and make promises never to do it again.

Not surprisingly, many Inuit gods and goddesses are associated with the sea. The sea is the source of life to the Inuit, but also a constant threat to them. Boats may over turn or sink. Storms may ravage the land. People get lost in the ocean. As with many mythologies, gods are used to explain these events. Animal gods are also common. Like Sedna, these guardian entities protect and can withdraw the services of their animals. Some other examples include Nanook, the Bear guardian, Nerrivik, the guardian of all aquatic animals, and Tekkeitsertok, the guardian of deer. Natural phenomena are also associated with gods.

The Inuit believe that all living things have a soul, called an anua, or inuat. This includes animals, plants, and even some natural formations. On death, all souls go to the underworld, which is called Adlivun. Human souls that go there are purified for one year. After that year, they are either reincarnated, or they pass to the Over world, called Quidlivun. Sedna rules the underworld, and is assisted in her duties there by Tornarsuk.

As previously stated, the myths of the Inuit tend to be very harsh. In one myth, the reason why the moon and sun do not share the sky is explained as the moon chasing the sun, lusting after her. In some versions, the sun is fleeing the moon after being molested. The moon has phases, because in its lust it forgets to eat and begins to waste away. Three days every month it is taken out of the sky to feed. The myth of Sedna involves her being given away to a stranger, and her father cutting her fingers off to save himself from a storm. A third myth, with many variations, involves an old woman who, in her jealousy at her daughter’s marriage, kills her and then wears her face as a mask. Clearly many of these myths are not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.

Inuit myth can be useful in a story if you have a culture that has always lived in a frigid climate. Some of the myths can provide ideas for plot and characters too. There are lots more to these myths that I don’t have the space to cover, so do some research and start writing.