Unikkaaqtuat: An Introduction to Inuit Myths and Legends

by Neil Christopher, Germaine Arnattaujuq

This definitive collection of Inuit legends is thoughtfully introduced and carefully annotated to provide the historical and cultural context in which to understand this rich oral tradition.

Unikkaaqtuat is the Inuktitut word meaning "to tell stories."

This definitive collection of Inuit legends is thoughtfully introduced and carefully annotated to provide the historical and cultural context in which to understand this rich oral tradition. Fascinating and educational, this little-known part of Canada's heritage will captivate readers of all ages. As a work of historical and cultural preservation, this textbook will be invaluable to those studying Inuit.

Genres: Mythology, Short Stories, Indigenous, Fiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 4, 2011

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This substantial compilation of Inuit mythology and legends is neither children's fare nor is it in my humble opinion for the feint of heart, as violence, and often leading to brutal disfigurement and murder is a dominant characteristic and, in fact, almost all of the tales featured in Unikkaaqtuat do include brutality of some kind, both physical and emotional, psychological (even in those tales where death, where murder do not make an appearance). And while a sometimes gratuitous seeming violence is common enough in many fairy and folk tales (one just has to think of the Brothers Grimm and even Charles Perrault), the generally extensive, intensive and as such often meticulously described and vividly depicted/painted horridly vicious barbarism in this collection, in Unikkaaqtuat actually makes me both physically and emotionally cringe and even shake my head with occasional horror and consternation (something that the tales of the Brothers Grimm, where violence might indeed often be present, but is generally not overly described and painfully dissected, have never really made me do).

Now as an academic and in fact something of lay folklorist, I do really and truly much appreciate this compilation and more than commend the editors for their meticulous and all encompassing research, but the stories themselves, while I do find them interesting and even readable and easily approachable, they are also simply much much too creepy and too viciously and nastily violent for me, and I can and will therefore only recommend Unikkaaqtuat with some very major caveats (although Neil Christopher's annotations and Noel McDermott's introduction and chapter notes are indeed a treasure trove, informative, enlightening and the fact that the editors, that Neil Christopher, Noel McDermott and Louise Flaherty have also striven to present the oldest in-print versions of each of the presented tales is both appreciated and of much and essential academic interest). And needless to say that I did and still do find the included stories (as well as the background information presented in the introduction) of much interest, I just find the themes too harsh, too violent and too heavy for me to in any way consider these tales a reading pleasure.

And now finally (and what actually has made me consider a three stars rating and not a four star rating as I had originally envisioned), there is also and unfortunately a bit of a page numbering issue with my personal edition of Unikkaaqtuat, namely that some of the pages are annoyingly out of order, with the end of the book (pages 193-287) appearing between pages 96 and 97 (not a huge and intensely problematic issue, but still potentially confusing, and hopefully something that will be remedied in future editions and might indeed already have been changed).

And in retrospect, I guess I also kind of wish that both the featured stories and from the supplemental inclusions, at least the informative introduction, could have been presented in a dual language English and Inuktitut format (oh I know that this would have most definitely increased the scope, the page numbers of an already rather lengthy anthology, but it would have been a sign of respect for Inuit culture, language and lore, as well as providing interesting, culturally singificant language teaching materials for teachers, professors introducing or more to the point reintroducing Inuktitut to Inuit children, to Inuit students).

[Nicki Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unikkaaqtuat was a delightful collection of tales, beautifully presented and with additional notes on the regional origin of each story and other cultural explanations as needed. I had never previously read any Inuit tales, so it was interesting to see where some were similar to those from other cultures and where others were unique because of the natural environment in which the Inuit live. Recommended to anyone interested in the folklore and mythologies of diverse cultures. I am giving this book 4.5 stars.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Pier-Anne Paradis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I dont know how to feel about this book. It was nice to have different versions of the same legend but it was repetitive.
Also, the legends in the english version probably dont make as mush sense as in Innuttitut, so I think many stories lose their meaning.

[YourLadyFriendBonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun one! Covered Inuit myths from different arctic regions. Most of them were under 5 pages, so they were quick to read. Some of the stories had lessons that were similar to ones that we're taught in Western culture. Some of the stories were quite original, funny, and sometimes a little bizarre with zero lesson to be learned. Reading the myths that have been passed on for generations gives a better understanding and perspective into the lives and culture of the Inuit people. A good one, for sure!

[Maaike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inuit myths are weird as hell. I would have liked some more background information and maybe some more explanations as to what the hell happened sometimes. Otherwise okay to read, just really bizarre and confusing.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book!

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I read this: Free ebook copy received through Edelweiss

The stories themselves I enjoyed, despite them being brutal and often not having the structure a modern reader expects out of a story. It was even more interesting that way - to see the ways people of older days thought and saw the world. Older stories, even fairytales, are often like that. I also really liked the illustrations, and I loved the part about animals and spirits. But I did dock a star due to structural issues - it was often unclear why the stories repeat, or sometimes I felt as though they were repeating half a book away. Some of the stories would start in the middle and the beginning would be on the next page (I think it's a formatting issue which may not be present in the final printed book, but it made reading pretty terrible for me). I understand keeping different versions of the stories in one place, but more explanation and structure felt needed. Perhaps this is different in the final print book, as ebooks and especially review copies can often feel different.

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

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[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unikkaaqtuat is one of those really good books about mythology I would easily recommend to anyone interested in Inuit mythology that isn't too squeamish about violence. Not just for its compelling collection, sourcing of where the stories were recorded, and notes, but also for its wonderful introduction, which illuminates a lot about the texts gathered in the book.


The problems I have with this book is mostly how it's set up. For example, stories that are nearly identical follow each other and while it's fascinating to see how different tribes have different interpretations, I think some notes at the end of those stories marking the differences instead of having the entire story retold in almost the exact same manner would've made it much more digestible.

Other than that, a hugely enjoyable book that deserves to be on the shelf of any mythology nerd.

[Alan Bach · Rating 2 out of 5]

From a folklorist perspective this book is probably great to document these tales, but from a personal reading perspective reading through this book was a chore. Not only are many of the stories the same, but also the characters often have uncertain motives for theit actions, the stories often progress in a nonsensical matter and they often end abruptly seemingly mid-tale. Other stories seem to just document, oh this strange thing happened once and felt more like a journal log.

Supposedly, the stories are supposed to contain morals and/or why things came to be, but the poor structure of the stories mean the morals aren't conveyed and the explanations make no sense.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are very interesting. They certainly give an idea of arctic life and the difficulties people faced and their resourceful ways. However, many stories didn't have any "resolution". Don't expect Grimm's Fairy Tales with a moral to each story. I highly recommend this little book with its very valuable introduction. A beautiful glimpse of a fascinating culture.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

an easy read - well illustrated