Accounts vary by locality. In some Greenlandic Inuit myths Anguta appears as a creator figure or supreme being; in other versions he is presented as a mortal ancestor. Across variants he is consistently identified as the father of the sea-goddess Sedna. The etymology of his name — reported as meaning "man with something to cut" — is linked in the sources to a myth in which he mutilates his daughter; that act is an etiological element in narratives that explain Sedna's transformation into a sea-goddess who rules Adlivun. The traditions do not present a single canonical sequence but treat Anguta's familial violence as a foundational motif tied to Sedna's divine status.
The sources consulted do not provide a consistent iconography or detailed corporeal description of Anguta; traditions emphasize his roles (father, ancestor, psychopomp, occasional creator) and actions rather than physical traits. Variant accounts focus on his functions within family and afterlife narratives rather than standardized visual depiction.
Anguta functions primarily as a psychopomp: he ferries souls from the land of the living to Adlivun, the underworld ruled by his daughter Sedna. Souls, on arrival, "must then sleep near him for a year" before proceeding to Qudlivun ("those above us") where they enjoy eternal bliss, according to the cited material. In some variant accounts he exercises a moral sifting — only unworthy souls remain with him in the land of the dead, and in these versions he is said to pinch the dead to torment them. His name and associated myth about mutilating Sedna are treated in the sources as a causally significant etiological motif linked to Sedna's emergence as a sea-goddess.
Adlet
A category of non-human peoples in Inuit narrative tradition (also rendered Erqigdlet/Irqigdlit) that functions both as a mythic ancestor-race and as dog‑legged antagonists; the term can denote inland native American peoples or half‑canine humanoids depending on regional usage.
Aipaloovik
Aipaloovik is an Inuit sea-associated supernatural being described in available sources as an evil or dangerous water deity linked to death and hazard for fishermen. The figure is described as the opposite of the being Anguta; beyond this brief characterization the cited sources provide no detailed myths, appearance, or ritual corpus.
Akhlut
An Inuit composite, shape‑changing animal‑spirit described in early ethnographic accounts as an orca that can become a wolf on land (and sometimes depicted in later popular media as a wolf‑orca hybrid). Associated with the seashore and ice edge along the Bering Sea, it is portrayed as powerful and dangerous in the cited sources.
Alignak
Alignak is named in modern reference works as an Inuit deity associated with the moon and with dynamic natural phenomena such as weather, water, tides, eclipses, and earthquakes. The available sources provide only terse domain associations and do not supply narrative, iconographic, or ritual detail.
Amarok
In Greenlandic Inuit tradition the Amarok (also Amaroq) is a singular, gigantic wolf-like spirit said to hunt alone and to interact powerfully with humans: stalking and devouring lone nocturnal hunters, wresting with humans to bestow strength in Rink's tales, and — in another tale — dragging a humanoid from the water and taking a mourner's soul. The term in some dialects is reserved for this legendary wolf, while other Arctic peoples may use the word for ordinary wolves.
Amautalik
Amautalik is a child‑stealing ogress from Inuit folktale collections and modern retellings. Presented in story collections, illustrated books, graphic novels, and short films, she functions as a monstrous threat who carries away children and haunts communities, and whom protagonists overcome through luck, courage, and ancestral knowledge.
Apanuugak
Apanuugak is an Inuit legendary figure presented in modern summaries as a culture-hero who is narratively ambivalent: sometimes an error-prone or long-lived warrior and elsewhere depicted as a dastardly villain or cunning trickster.
Arnapkapfaaluk
A fearsome sea-being of the Coronation Gulf Copper Inuit who controls access to seals and other marine mammals; she withholds game as punishment for taboos or indiscretions and thus governs hunters' success.
Aulanerk
Aulanerk is an Inuit sea spirit attested in several short ethnographic and reference summaries as a benevolent sea-being who lives in the ocean and is responsible for producing waves and surf; he is also described as helping hunters by working with other sea powers to lead them to seals.
Caribou Mother
An Inuit deity described as the maternal source and protector of caribou herds and, in some texts, the owner of all land animals. She is depicted as ancient and gigantic and is implicated in regulating human behaviour toward animals, especially in the context of hunting.
Eeyeekalduk
Eeyeekalduk is identified in multiple compiled references as an Inuit supernatural figure associated with medicine, healing, and good health. The available sources list the name among Inuit deities or pantheons but provide no primary ethnographic detail about myths, rituals, or iconography.
Goose Wife
A bird‑woman figure from Inuit and other Arctic oral traditions who alternates between human and avian form by removing or donning a feathered skin; she may become a human wife when her skin is taken and later return to the bird realm by reclaiming or fashioning feathers.
Community Record
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- [2]Anguta — Wikidata. Wikidata entry Q2625482 (Anguta).other
- [3]Modern Cosmology (archive). Archive.org: Modern Cosmology — referenced in research notes (contextual source).other
- [4]An Interpretive Introduction to Quantum Field Theory (archive). Archive.org: An Interpretive Introduction to Quantum Field Theory — referenced in research notes (contextual source).other