 
Human Dog Spirits in Slipper The story of Sedna, half seal and half woman, is one of the Arctic's greatest myths. In some dialects, she is called Taleelajuq or Tikanakamsalik. The second part of her myth is told in this way: One night, during a blizzard, the family heard a dog team arrive, and into their igloo came a handsome young man. He wore beautifully fitted skin clothing, and a curious amulet around his neck bore two large white canine teeth. After Sedna's father had shared their food with this bright-eyed stranger, they made space for him in the family bed. In the morning, the stranger was gone, leaving no sign that he had been there. The father went out, but found no sled tracks. Sedna's father was angry. "I believe that was no human who slept here. It was my lead dog. He's just sly enough to try a trick like that." Moons passed, summer came and Sedna was pregnant. "My lead dog did that," said the angry father. "Lie on the back of my kayak, daughter, and I'll paddle you out to that small rock island. You can give birth there. Who knows whether you will produce Inuit children or perhaps a litter of pups?" Sedna would surely have died of hunger, but the lead dog swam to the island, bringing meat to her every second day. When Sedna did give birth, she had four young. Two were humans and the other two had big ears and long snouts, and they whined instead of crying. Sedna had no wood to build a proper kayak, but when the lead dog brought her three sealskins, she sewed these into one large, boat-like slipper. Sadly, she placed her two dog-like children in it and, when the tide was running out, she pushed them southward, crying, "Goodbye". Later, when Inuit first saw kallunait (white people), they cried out, "Welcome, cousins. You return."    |