Native American Legends
Sedna
An Eskimo Legend
Sedna is known as the Mother of Sea Beasts. Once she was a human
girl, but now she is a goddess who lives at the bottom of the sea.
This is how it happened.
Sedna did not want to get married. She rejected all the young men
of her village. But then she fell in love with a dog, and married
him. "This will bring bad luck," said the rejected young
men, who had all wanted Sedna for themselves. So they took her out
to sea in a boat and pushed her overboard. Sedna clung to the side
of the boat, but they chopped off her fingers. As the fingers fell
into the sea, they turned into the first seals and other sea creatures.
Sedna sank to the bottom of the sea, where she became ruler of the
Underworld and mistress of all living things.
Because of the cruel fate she suffers, Sedna is quick to anger.
When anyone offends her, she shuts away all the beasts, so that
men cannot fish or hunt. Then some daring man with the special power
of a Shaman, a priest who can communicate with the spirits, must
make a perilous descent under the sea to soothe her. He must venture
past the terrible guardians of Sedna's house, which include a big
fierce black dog, until he reaches Sedna herself.
Now the sins of mankind fall down through the water, collecting
in Sedna's hair as grease and grime. But because she has no fingers,
she cannot do anything about it. So the Shaman must dress Sedna's
filthy hair into two thick braids, untangling the knots and picking
out the dirt. In gratitude, Sedna frees the beast, and mankind can
eat again.
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