The story of Nuliajuk came to me through many sources. While the internet satiated my curiosity to some extent, the traditional Inuit versions of Sedna’s story (as she is popularly known, in the Anglophone circles – including myself) unraveled the latent symbologies for me…

Recently, I had the pleasure to host Tapisa Kilabuk for my class on “Death and Afterlife” (see my LinkedIn post here). Conversations with Tapisa reignited my curiosity to read up on Nuliajuk again – this time to further untangle her embeddedness in the Arctic waterscape. And to add to that, a recent CBC series “North of the North” hinted at some references to Nuliajuk’s mythology. Through generations from one Inuk storyteller to many, from the Arctic to the Prairies, and beyond, the narrative continues to travel, and opens a new chapter to converse about stories of women and their connection with the natural environments and creation (among other themes).

In my quest to learn more about stories of water, I dove into two narratives: one from South Asia, and other from the Arctic. This deep-dive is for Sedna 🙂

The story

A short version of the narrative goes something like this: Nuliajuk was a well-cared for daughter in an Inuk home. Her father cared for the wellbeing of the family, and provided food and plenty of fur to battle the Arctic cold. Once she came of age, Nuliajuk had many suitors, but she was initially reluctant to leave her parents’ home and be apart from them. Finally, she agreed to marry an Inuit suitor who promised to care for her and provide food and fur as her father had done all these years.

Nuliajuk and her husband got married, and moved to an island. He would bring her fish to eat – over and over! Later, she discovered that he was in fact a birdman, disguised as a human, so only food he could catch was fish! She felt her heart break because of the deceit. She called her father to rescue her, and to take her home. Nuliajuk’s father arrived on a small boat, equipped with all the hunting gear and a kayak, to take down the birdman.

Nuliajuk saw her father fight for his daughter, and take down the birdman. She was relieved to see this support, and her worries around being ostracized from the community (because of calling off the matrimonial relation) melted away. Her father and her started the journey homeward. The infuriated birdmen (friends, relatives, neighbors of the slain husband) attacked their boat. The father started to fear for his own life, and signaled Nuliajuk to row him in the kayak to safety. Nuliajuk loaded up the essentials from the boat, gave a hand to her father, and they both started a swift journey towards safety, away from the birdmen.

Nuliajuk’s father, still questioning his initial disposition to help her daughter, pushed her out of the kayak. He thought to himself that it is better to let his daughter enter the icy grave, rather than the entire family being hunted by the angry birdmen. Nuliajuk fell into the inky cold water. Her furs, boots, sashes, and her beads, were all weighing her down. She barely managed to swim up to the surface, and grabbed onto the kayak with the tips of her fingers. Her father pulled put his knife (ulu maybe?) and cut her fingers that grasped at the kayak. She let out a cry, and then heard the silence surrounding her. No one was rushing to help her. The bloody digits oozed more blood, and she started sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor.

Nuliajuk’s cut fingers bloomed as new life in the Arctic waters. From her blood and fingers emerged all kinds of sea life : seals, whales, walrus, various types of fish… She sank down and down, and her clothes and beads gradually became the color of the water. The shoes she once wore, became one with the icy water, and her limbs turned into a fin! She glided into the Arctic waters as a master diver. She at once became the creator for all sea life, and the guardian.

(Nuliajuk print is available on Kalemighty Etsy store. Click here)

Nuliajuk and the Inuit

The Inuit revere Nunliajuk as the sea goddess. Her other names are: Arnakuagsak or Arnaqquassaaq, Sassuma Arnaa, Arnapkapfaaluk, Taleelayo, Takánakapsâluk or Takannaaluk, and a few others. The Inuit also believe that combing and braiding her hair keeps her pacified. Freeing the matts in her hair, oiling and braiding her locks is a sign of satiating the sea goddess. In some sense, it is also acknowledging her loss (of fingers) and helping her as a community to ensure that she leads a fulfilled life. Her happiness, in turn, would ensure bountiful fish and marine life around the Arctic. In that sense, Nuliajuk’s health is the health of the sea.

Let us brainstorm some of the implications from this narrative for the Inuit worldview and beyond, in the next post.

Keep reading 🙂