The Old Woman Who Lived in the Sea
Sedna, The Inuit Goddess of Marine Life
Today, on National Seal Day, let us take a look at a beloved goddess amongst the Intuit culture who is believed to be the mother of all marine mammals, seals, whales and walruses included.
Sedna is the Inuit goddess of the sea and creatress of marine animals. She is often referred to as the “Mother of the Sea”, “Mistress of the Sea” and or the “Old Woman who lived in the Sea”.
She has many counterparts and varying versions of her myth among Inuit tribes based on region. In Greenland, she goes by Amankuagsak and in Alaska her name is Nerrivik. Among all though, she is revered and honored for creating marine life. Offerings are made to her in order to receive a successful hunt.
One version of her myth claims that in order to calm a storm while out at sea, her father throws her over the side of the boat to appease the gods. As she clung to the side of the boat with one hand, her father chopped off her fingers. In doing so, her fingers became seals, walruses and whales and she herself gained dominion over the sea and its many creatures as she plummeted to the bottom of the ocean.
Another version of this myth states that she refused to marry as she found no man suitable to her liking. Her family grew frustrated and no longer wanted to support their daughter who refused to be wed and decided to abandon her as they traveled by boat in search of new land and area to hunt. Her family throws her overboard and she swims out in attempts to reunite with them. Her father then chops off her fingers, which again leads to the creation of seals, walruses and whales.
With only one hand, the goddess struggles and grows frustrated in her inability to comb her own hair. It is believed that only shamans have the ability to appease and satisfy the goddess by combing her hair. In return for their kind gesture, she then offers an abundance of these creatures for Inuit hunters.
Despite the varying versions of her myth, they all share one significant commonality and that is that she is a goddess of the sea who created and has dominion over the sea and marine mammals.
