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

Overview

A woman grieving her child finds bearskins in a house passage and enters a household of bears in human form. A large bear dons its skin to hunt and repeatedly supplies food. When she decides to return to her relatives, it asks her not to reveal the household because it fears for its two cubs. She tells her husband nonetheless, and sledges set out toward the bears.

The bear kills its own cubs rather than leave them to the approaching people, then attacks and kills the woman who revealed them. Dogs surround it outside her house. During the struggle the animals become bright and rise into the sky as Qilugtussat, described as dogs barking around a bear. The source closes by warning that bears hear human speech. This is the episode's narrative explanation, not a biological claim or a universal equation between every northern constellation and this story.

Bear skins enable hunting formHuman household appearanceBear and dogs become a celestial grouping
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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.

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Records & interpretation

Complete selected narrative and regional source-list entry read. The Great Bear, begins printed p.81. 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 Great Bear, begins printed p.81. 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 Great Bear, begins printed p.81.Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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