In this Inuit legend, Sedna is married against her wishes and to her dismay her groom turns out to be a raven in disguise. Trapped in an island with the raven man, her cries for help are heard by her father who rushes to her rescue…
When Sedna’s father finally reached the island, he found his daughter at the shore waiting for him. Relieved and happy to see her father, she climbed onto his little boat and urged him to leave as quickly as he could.
They paddled off into the sea in the kayak, travelling as fast as it would take them. After they had gone a long distance, Sedna turned to see a little black speck following them. She knew it was the raven man who must’ve discovered that she had left. “Quickly, father! That horrid bird has seen us... Faster, faster, faster!” she shouted.
But the big black raven was swooping down upon them. The father took his oar and struck the bird with it but it missed. The raven flapped its wings on the surface of the water and all of the sea was awhirl. The otherwise calm waters suddenly began to whip up a violent storm and the little kayak began to toss and turn in the sudden turbulence.
The kayak was filled with water and Sedna’s father feared that the boat would capsize. Fearing for his life, he threw his daughter out of the boat, shouting loudly so that the bird would hear:” Here is your precious wife, raven... You can keep her! Just let me go!”
Sedna was shocked at her father’s behaviour. She tried to swim towards the kayak and managed to cling to its side begging him to get her back in. But poor Sedna! Her father was so terrified at the storm that he cared not for his daughter any more. As Sedna clung to the side of the boat, he feared she would tip him over. With the paddle he began to pound her freezing fingers on the side of the boat. Her fingers fell into the bottom of the sea turning into fishes, seals, walruses and other sea creatures.
Not giving up Sedna rose again in the choppy waters and tried to hold on to the sides of boat with her hands. But again her father chopped off her hands which broke easily with a blow as they were frozen with cold. The stumps fell into the deep ocean, turning into larger animals of the sea as they reached the sea bed — whales and sharks.
As for Sedna herself, disappointed and angry, she gave up and began to sink down, down to the bottom of the sea. But there she was transformed into a spirit and became the goddess of the sea. And remains to this day with her companions, seals and whales.
It is her anger against humankind (after all, she got a raw deal in life) that whips the storms and fury of the seas. Shamans (those who can see and talk to spirits) go down to the ocean floor to comb her long, tangled hair to calm her down. Remember her poor hands? Thus appeased, she will release her sea creatures so that the Inuit hunters can partake of the bounty of the sea. And when a hunter catches a seal, he offers his thanks to the sea goddess for her kindness, by pouring water into its mouth. For he remembers, it is Sedna the sea goddess whose generosity puts the food on his dinner table always.