Drawing based on an Inuit mask depicting the sea goddess Sedna.
Drawing by Rita Lee
Sedna
Sedna was the
sea spirit according to the peoples of northern Canada and
Greenland, known as Inuit. Sedna was a young girl who stubbornly refused to
marry anyone. Her father forced her to marry a dog. Sedna's father felt
sorry for her and drowned the dog. After her husband died, Sedna was unable
to support her children and herself.
She had to send her children away and
returned to live with her parents. One day, a bird disguised as a man
sought Sedna in marriage. She accepted and went to live with him. But soon
Sedna discovered that her new husband was not a man but only a fulmar. When
Sedna's father visited her, he convinced Sedna to leave with him in his
boat.
Unfortunately, the fulmar caught them, and created with his wings an
enormous storm which threatened to overturn the boat. Terrified, Sedna's
father tried to throw the girl overboard to her husband, but she grasped
the boat's side. In fear, the father cut off Sedna's fingers until she fell
into the sea.. It is said that Sedna resides at the bottom of the sea with
the seals and other sea animals that were created from her fingers.
A large planetoid discovered in November 2003 has been named after Sedna. The planetoid orbits on the cold, outer fringe of our Solar System.
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