Giant dog (Smith Sound)

Overview

The owner and his wife ride on the dog's back when travelling. It swims with narwhals caught on its side teeth and brings large marine prey ashore. The man gives it an amulet intended for the son he never had, strengthening its resistance to death. After it eats a person the household relocates; its owner later conceals a visiting kayaker from it.

An enemy arrives with three bear-sized dogs, but the giant dog feigns fear and then kills them. It also brings home the legs of inland-dwellers whom it hunts near their houses. The ending connects their fear of ordinary dogs with these attacks. The narrator also accuses inland-dwellers of abducting lost people, but the neighbouring Etah story expressly calls them shy rather than dangerous; neither view becomes a single factual classification of a living human group.

Origins & earliest records

The volume's final source list assigns this narrative to Smith Sound, northern Greenland. Knud Rasmussen collected the material; W. Worster edited and translated the1921 English selection. No individual storyteller is named for this episode. Worster explicitly states that he selected clear versions and omitted or edited passages, so this is not an unabridged oral-performance transcript.

Records & interpretation

Complete selected narrative and regional source-list entry read. The Giant Dog, begins printed p.95; adjacent Etah account also read for contrast. The introduction's colonial classifications and comparative theories are not adopted as universal descriptions of Inuit cultures.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Eskimo Folk-Tales

   Knud Rasmussen, collector; W. Worster, editor and English translator · 1921

   The Giant Dog, begins printed p.95; adjacent Etah account also read for contrast. Complete selected episode; regional attribution checked against final source list. Historical title retained.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textRasmussen/Worster1921: The Giant Dog, begins printed p.95; adjacent Etah account also read for contrast.Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.