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

Overview

A man arranges to be buried alive to discover who steals bodies. Carried away by the mountain spirit, he grips vegetation to make the journey tiring and keeps a stone beneath his coat for protection. At the house, the children see him opening his eyes, but their father dismisses the observation. The man kills the spirit and children and flees while the wife gathers wood.

The wife initially mistakes the running figure for her husband and follows. His commands raise hills and swell a stream to hinder her. He falsely tells her that he crossed by drinking the water; after she imitates him, he induces her to bend over and her body bursts. Vapour becomes the fog among the hills. Neither member of the spirit household receives a personal name, and this specific origin tale is not used to define every Greenlandic mountain being.

Steals bodies from gravesLives with a spouse and childrenPursuing wife becomes the source of fog
01

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.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected narrative and regional source-list entry read. How the Fog Came, begins printed p.84. 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

    How the Fog Came, begins printed p.84. 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: How the Fog Came, begins printed p.84.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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