Sedna, the Sea Mother

The most powerful female deity figure in the circumpolar tradition is Sedna, the Sea Mother. Her story tells how the ocean came to be populated with its creatures, and why the sea is both generous and terrible.

Sedna was a young woman who refused all suitors. She finally agreed to marry a man who proved to be a spirit in disguise, and she was carried away. Her father went to bring her home. The spirit husband pursued them on the water, and the storm threatened to swamp the boat.

Desperate, the father pushed Sedna over the side. She clung to the edge of the boat. He cut her fingers, joint by joint. As each segment fell into the sea, it became a sea creature: the seals, the walruses, the whales. Sedna sank to the bottom and became the ocean's ruler.

When the hunters have treated the animals with insufficient respect, Sedna's hair becomes tangled. It is the shaman's task to dive to the ocean floor, to find Sedna, to comb out her hair and make amends. When amends have been made, the seals return.