Copper Eskimo Traditions 87 a 



90. The Man who Deserted his Wives 

 (Told by Ikpakhuaq) 



A man was living beside a lake with his two wives. One day he went deer- 

 hunting and never returned. The two women were sitting inside their tent 

 when a snow-bunting perched on the ridge-pole and sang: 



piCikco-le'co-leco-le aico-le' co'leco-le 



nunavau'n du'ani nulia'qtoak co-le' 



"Pisiksole ... . inland in the interior they two are married." 



Then the women, who were both shamars, held a seance, and discovered 

 that their husband had eloped with another woman. So they changed them- 

 selves into seals and wandered about until they reached the country to which 

 he had fled. There they stayed in the water alongside the beach until the new 

 wife came down for water. She saw them there, and went back and told her 

 husband, saying, natcv'k nuiyuitak'kpuk "There are two seals which keep bo- 

 bing their heads up out of the water unafraid." Her husband replied: a- paqe'- 

 tyuim "They have found me out." 



The two seals disappeared out of sight round a hill, then changed into 

 brown bears and approached the camp. Pisiksole saw them coming and, taking 

 his bow and arrows, went out to meet them. But the two bears fell on him and 

 bit him to death. They left the new wife undisturbed, and, changing back into 

 women, returned to their own country. 



The Man who Deserted his Wives — Second Version 



(Told by Uloqsaq, who learned it from Qaqsavina, a Palliq Eskimo man from 



Hudson bay) 



A Palliq native once had two wives, both of whom were shamans. He 

 wanted to get rid of them, so one day he pretended to die. The women looked 

 at him and one said to the other, "He isn't dead; he is only trying to deceive 

 us." However, they laid him out in the proper manner on top of the ground 

 with his kayak and weapons beside him and went away. After a time the 

 man rose, took his kayak and weapons and went away. He came to a lake 

 across which many caribou were swimming, so he launched his kayak in pur- 

 suit and killed a great number of them. He cached the meat on the bank, but 

 took the skins and crossed over to the opposite side of the lake where a woman 

 was living. Seeing a man coming paddling across with his kayak laden with 

 skins, she put on her finest clothes and went down to meet him. The two were 

 married and settled down beside the lake. 



Meanwhile his two former wives found out by their magic what he had 

 done and were very angry in consequence. They changed themselves into 

 brown bears and went in pursuit. One day, while he was out hunting, they fell 

 upon him and killed him. Then they changed back into women and went to 

 his tent to see his new wife, but as she had married him in ignorance they did 

 her no harm. Finally with a younger brother they went away to the country 

 of the Utkusiksaligmiut to find new husbands, because the men of that country 

 were reputed to be very handsome. There they married and settled down. 



91. The Marooned 

 (Told by Avranna, who learned it from Atqaq, an Akiliniq Eskimo) 



Once two men paddled over to an island, leaving their wives on the main- 

 land. There one of them took the other's kayak and rifle and paddled off. 

 When he was a little way off shore he called out: Ha ha nu'lidn e nuliajyum- 

 ale'kpara a\ja'ni e iXi'kpan qaiyumale'kpara "Ha ha, I am going to marry your 

 wife. Next summer I shall probably return." 



