588 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



It turned round at once, but before it could leave she gave it a kick 

 which lopped off its tail. Thus it happened that the deer is deficient 

 as to certain teeth and has scarcely any tail. The woman, however, 

 continued to hate the deer. Afterward she descended to the beach 

 and threw another piece of fat into the water. It was transformed 

 into a walrus, which swam away at once. (According to a com- 

 munication of Captain Spicer.) 



The form of this tradition as related by the Akudnirmiut is some- 

 what different. During a famine a woman (I could not learn whether 

 she was identical with Sedna or not) carried her boots to the hills and 

 transformed them by magic into deer, which spread all over the 

 country. Then she carried her breeches to the sea, where they were 

 changed into walrus. The first deer, however, had large tusks and 

 no horns, while the walrus had horns and no tusks. The Eskimo 

 soon found that this was very dangerous for the hunter, as the deer 

 killed pursuers with their tusks, while the walrus upset the boats. 

 Therefore an old man transferred the horns to the deer and the tusks 

 to the walrus. 



It is very jDrobable that this woman was Sedna, as the Eskimo af- 

 firm that the observances referring to walrus and deer are commanded 

 by Sedna and as the first tradition accounts for her dislike of the 

 deer. 



I could not find any trace of the ti-adition reported by Lyon, that 

 Anautalik, Nuliajoq's father, is the protector of land animals, nor 

 of that of a being to whom he refers by the name of Pukimna (de- 

 rived from pukiq, the white parts of a deerskin), who lives in a 

 fine country far to the west and who is the imnu'diate protectress of 

 deer, which animals roam in immense herds around her dwelling. 



Sedna is the mistress of one of the countries tn wliioli the souls go 

 after death. It has been related in the foregoing tradition of Sedna 

 and the fulmar that she descended to Adlivun; since that time she 

 has been the mistress of the country, and when invoked as such has 

 the name of Idliragijenget. She has a large house, in which no 

 deerskins are found. There she lives with her father, each occuj^y- 

 ing one side of it. The father, who is unable to move, lies on the 

 ledge and is covered with old skins. In the entrance across the 

 threshold lies Sedna's dog watching her house. Like her, the father 

 has only one eye, and he never moves from his place while in the house. 



The dead, who are seized by Sedna's father, Anguta, are carried to 

 this dwelling. The dog moves aiside only a little, just enough to 

 allow the souls to pass. They have to stay in this dismal abode 

 during a whole year, lying by the side oi Anguta, who pinches 

 them. 



The happy land is heaven and is called Qudlivitn (tlie uppermost 

 ones). It abounds witli deer, which are easily caught, and no ice or 

 snow ever visits it. 



