Sedna and the Hunter
The Stranger in the Kayak
Sedna standing by her tent looking at a kayak in the icy sea
In the morning of time, there was a girl of the Eskimos called Sedna. She was the only child of a widowed father and the prettiest girl in all the regions of snow and ice. They lived beside the sea, in a snow igloo in winter and a tent made of reindeer hides during the brief summer.
Many young men came to woo the lovely maiden, but Sedna would have none of them. She was proud and turned each suitor away in turn. At last, one summer's day, there came paddling over the sea a young and handsome hunter from a distant land, dressed in splendid furs. In his hand, he carried an ivory spear made of the narwhal tusk.
He did not land, but sat in his skin kayak a little way from the shore, rocking on the gentle waves and calling to Sedna as she sat in her hut. Finally, she came to the shore to gaze on this stranger who knew her name. When the Hunter saw Sedna he sang a sweet, alluring song:
"Follow me-come to the land of birds, Where hunger is not known. You shall rest in my tent on the skins of bears, And all shall be your own."
What do you want to do?