Eskimo Folklore: Myths and Traditions from Northern Alaska, the McKenzie Delta and Coronation Gulf

by Diamond Jenness

These myths and traditions were collected along the Arctic coast between December, 1913, and June, 1916. They are divided into two the first comprises the Alaskan stories, with which are included one story from the Siberian coast and four others from the Mackenzie river delta; the second comprises the tales collected among the Copper Eskimos, from the regions of Dolphin and Union strait and Coronation gulf. Even a surface examination will show that there is a great difference in the tales from the two regions. The Alaskan stories are more sophisticated, as a rule; they are longer and more detailed, and have a definite beginning and ending. The various incidents, too, are placed in their proper setting with just the descriptive touches required to give them an air of reality. The Copper Eskimo tales, on the other hand, have the appearance of disjointed fragments without any setting, and lacking both beginning and ending. They were never told straightforwardly, as in Alaska, but had to be drawn out of the natives piecemeal, word by word and sentence by sentence, with many repetitions and digressions by way of explanation. The English translations tend to gloss over their crude and disjointed character, which is far more noticeable in the original Eskimo.

108 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

1886-1969