A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Unlike American Indians, the Inuit people of Canada and Greenland have not in their cultural legacy many mythological stories from the time before the appearance of humans.
The Inuit people believed in the divinity of the sea and all the animals that dwelled in it. In many myths and legends of Arctic culture, Sedna is the highly honored deity and plays an important role, no matter versions of her story and diversity of her names given her by different Inuit groups.
Sedna, a great spirit-goddess of the sea, who rules over the sea waters and all the animals that live there. Image source
Her story was widely distributed in many versions across Canada and Greenland.
In Inuit mythology, Sedna is the daughter of two giants who lived a very long time ago at the beginning of the world. She is a great spirit-goddess also known as the Mother of the Sea or Mistress of the Sea, and the progenitor of all sea creatures. She rules over the sea world, controlling all sea mammals.
Her father, Anguta, created the earth, the sea, and the heavens, while Sedna populated the sea with animals, and so she became the most powerful force in Inuit life.
According to one legend, she was a beautiful maiden, that one day was carried off by a raven, which wanted her to be his bride. In another version, the raven is replaced by a handsome mysterious hunter with an outfit made of furs, and his face was mysteriously covered.