Legends and Tales from Angmagsalik. 299 



We were living in those days al Uinivik, having previously had 

 our home at Norsit. I then went out to Norsit to a certain cleft in 

 the mountain which faces the sun-rise, laid a large stone over the 

 cleft, and another on top of it. I now began to rub the upper stone 

 round against the lower 'the way of the sun', and continued till I 

 was almost lame in the arms. I now heard a voice from the depths 

 of the cleft calling to me; but I understood not the words, grew 

 numb with fear, and the bowels jumped up into my throat. When 

 the voice died away, my bowels dropped down again from my throat, 

 but I had no strength left to bear me up on my way home. Hence- 

 forth I ate no more entails, hearts, nor livers of seals, nor did I 

 work in iron. 



The next day I went out again to the cleft, and ground the 

 stones against each other, as on the previous day. Once more I 

 heard the voice from the depths of the cleft; my bowels and heart 

 flew up to my throat, and I was seized with tke most horrible pains. 

 The following day all went in the same manner as before, but that 

 I now heard the voice say: "Shall I come up?" I was numb with 

 terror, but said: ,,Yea, come up!" The stones lifted and a 'sea- 

 monster armed with claws like shears', came up and looked towards 

 the sun-rise. It was much larger than those which are to be found 

 in the sea^). Presently the monster vanished, and I travelled back 

 home. This was my first spirit {tartok). The winter waned to its 

 close, and when it w^as spring again, I went back to the same spot 

 and rubbed the stones; and when I grew tired and had no strength 

 in me to rub them any longer, the stones went on of themselves 

 moving round 'the way of the sun'. There came a little man up 

 from the ground; he looked towards the sun-rise. He was half as 

 long as a man, was clad in a white frock, and had black arms. His 

 hair was curly, and in his hand he carried a wooden implement, 

 with which he caught salmon. I lost consciousness, and when I 

 came to myself again, the man had gone. He was my second spirit. 



The following year I repaired to a place where a brook was 

 flowing from a little lake. A little man with a pointed head, which 

 was quite bald, came up from the stream. He cried like a little 

 child: '^Unga! ипдаГ' He was my third spirit. 



Next year I Avent inland to Tasiusak. Here I cast a stone out 

 into the water, w^hich was thereby thrown into great commotion, 

 like a storm at sea. As the billows dashed together, their crests 

 flattened out on top, and as they opened, a huge bear was disclosed. 



^) Sanimuinak showed that those Avhich are in the sea are of the size of a large 

 liand (a crab'?). 



