Unikkaaqtuat: An Introduction to Inuit Myths and Legends

Neil Christopher is an educator, author, and filmmaker. He first moved to the North many years ago to help start a high school program in Resolute Bay, Nunavut. It was those students who first introduced Neil to the mythical inhabitants from Inuit traditional stories. Together with his colleague, Louise Flaherty, and his brother, Danny Christopher, Neil started a small publishing company in Nunavut called Inhabit Media Inc., and has since been working to promote Northern stories and authors.Germaine Arnattaujuq is an award-winning Inuit artist and illustrator, best known for her prints and etchings depicting Inuit myths and traditional ways of life. In 1999, she designed the special edition two-dollar coin commemorating the founding of the territory of Nunavut. She is the co-author, with Gyu Oh, of My Name Is Arnaktauyok: The Life and Art of Germaine Arnaktauyok, and she has illustrated numerous books. Germaine is the recipient of the 2021 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. She lives in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

• Table of ContentsEditor’s Note ....................................................................................................................................................................... 10Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................ 11Chapter OneHow the World Came to Be and Other Creation Stories...................................................................25The Struggle for Day and Night................................................................................................................................... 27Origin of Death................................................................................................................................................................... 29How Children were Formerly Obtained.................................................................................................................. 30Thunder and Lightning................................................................................................................................................... 31The Brother and Sister who Became Thunder and Lightning....................................................................... 33Origin of the Sun and the Moon.................................................................................................................................. 35The Mother of the Sea Mammals................................................................................................................................ 37The Orphan Girl who Became the Mother of the Sea Mammals................................................................... 42The Woman who Married the Dog ............................................................................................................................ 44Origin of the Walrus and of the Caribou ................................................................................................................. 48Origin of the Caribou....................................................................................................................................................... 50Origin of the Narwhal...................................................................................................................................................... 51How the Narwhal Came.................................................................................................................................................. 58Origin of the Agdlaq......................................................................................................................................................... 62The Hunters that Transformed into a Constellation.......................................................................................... 64The Akla that Turned into Fog..................................................................................................................................... 65Origin of Fog........................................................................................................................................................................ 67Origin of the Red Phalarope and of the Web-footed Loon............................................................................... 71The Ptarmigan.................................................................................................................................................................... 73The Ptarmigan and the Snow Bunting..................................................................................................................... 74The Ptarmigan and the Small Bird ............................................................................................................................ 75The Wind .............................................................................................................................................................................. 76The Loon and the Raven................................................................................................................................................. 77Chapter TwoMistreatment and Consequence ..............................................................................................................79Qaudjaqdjuq........................................................................................................................................................................ 81The Boy who Harpooned a Whale ............................................................................................................................. 86The Artificial Skull that Frightened People to Death......................................................................................... 89Papik....................................................................................................................................................................................... 91Pautusôrssuaq, who Murdered his Uncle............................................................................................................... 95The Wife-changers ........................................................................................................................................................... 98The Man who did not Observe Taboos .................................................................................................................... 100The Emigration to the Land Beyond the Sea......................................................................................................... 102Podluksak............................................................................................................................................................................. 106Murdering a Stranger...................................................................................................................................................... 107Tale of an Agdlaq............................................................................................................................................................... 110The Emigration of Women............................................................................................................................................ 112The Woman who Escaped to the Moon................................................................................................................... 114Atanaarjuat.......................................................................................................................................................................... 121Lice.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 128Storm Caused by a Loon................................................................................................................................................. 129Chapter ThreeJourneys and Adventures ...........................................................................................................................131Kiviuq..................................................................................................................................................................................... 133Kiviuq..................................................................................................................................................................................... 140Atungait................................................................................................................................................................................. 150The Soul ................................................................................................................................................................................ 157The Soul that Let itself Be Born Again in all the Animals of the Earth....................................................... 161Chapter FourHardships and Famine ................................................................................................................................165Ijimagasukdjukdjuaq....................................................................................................................................................... 167Igimagajug, the Cannibal ............................................................................................................................................... 170Karnapik, the Cannibal................................................................................................................................................... 174Separated from Camp...................................................................................................................................................... 177Kating Saved his Family in Time of Famine........................................................................................................... 179Taboos and Starvation .................................................................................................................................................... 182An Unsuccessful Whale Hunt....................................................................................................................................... 183The Old Woman and her Grandchild........................................................................................................................ 186The Woman who Could not Be Satiated.................................................................................................................. 189Chapter FiveAnimals in Human Form.............................................................................................................................193The Woman who Heard Bears Speak ....................................................................................................................... 195The Man who Took a Wife from Among the Wild Geese.................................................................................. 198The Man who Took a Fox for a Wife.......................................................................................................................... 202Ititaujang .............................................................................................................................................................................. 205Dialogue between Two Ravens ................................................................................................................................... 210The Man who Married the Fox .................................................................................................................................... 213The Boy who Lived on Ravens..................................................................................................................................... 219The Visitor............................................................................................................................................................................ 222The Woman who Transformed herself into a Bear ............................................................................................ 226The Woman who Became a Bear and Killed her Enemy.................................................................................. 229The Fox .................................................................................................................................................................................. 233The Woman who Became a Raven............................................................................................................................. 234Story of Three Girls .......................................................................................................................................................... 236The Fox and the Wolf....................................................................................................................................................... 240The Bear Country.............................................................................................................................................................. 241The Country of the Bears and Wolves...................................................................................................................... 243The Muskox ......................................................................................................................................................................... 246The Country of the Wolves............................................................................................................................................ 247How Inuit Learned the Proper Taboos for when a Bear is Killed................................................................. 250The Polar Bear and the Boy.......................................................................................................................................... 251The Woman and her Bear Cub..................................................................................................................................... 255Chapter SixAnimal Fables.................................................................................................................................................259The Owl and the Lemming............................................................................................................................................ 261The Owl and the Lemming............................................................................................................................................ 263The Bear and the Caribou.............................................................................................................................................. 264The Owl and the Raven................................................................................................................................................... 265The Foxes.............................................................................................................................................................................. 266The Fox and the Rabbit................................................................................................................................................... 268The Owl and the Two Rabbits...................................................................................................................................... 269The Owl that was Too Greedy...................................................................................................................................... 270The Owl and the Bear...................................................................................................................................................... 272The Race of the Worm and the Louse....................................................................................................................... 273The Raven that was Anxious to be Married........................................................................................................... 274Glossary................................................................................................................................................................................. 277References............................................................................................................................................................................ 285