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

Overview

Atungait travels by sledge with a physically powerful woman whom he has selected after watching a ball game. Among the groups they visit is a community whose members have unequal legs and spend their days playing ajangat. Before leaving, Atungait steals their valued copper plaything and destroys their sledges. Unable to pursue conventionally, the owners animate rocky ridges to chase the departing thieves.

The noise resembles rushing water. Atungait turns to see rocks rolling across the ice and asks his companion for sole leather. When a piece trails behind their sledge, the pursuing rocks stop at it and sink through the ice. The owners call after them to return their property; no return is narrated. The larger tale continues through Atungait’s flight home, killing of his wife and marriage to his strong companion. Those later actions do not change the rocks’ role as retaliation for theft. The community’s bodily difference is a story detail, not grounds to classify people with disabilities as monsters.

Animate stone pursuitCrosses sea iceRetaliates for theftSinks when stopped by trailing leather
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Origins & earliest records

The volume’s final source list assigns this narrative to Polar Inuit of Smith Sound. Knud Rasmussen collected the material; W. Worster edited and translated the 1921 English selection. No individual storyteller is named here. Worster states that he selected and edited versions, including omissions; this is not an unabridged performance transcript.

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Records & interpretation

The complete Atungait, Who Went A-Wandering narrative and final regional source list were inspected. The story begins on printed p. 90.

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

    Atungait, Who Went A-Wandering, begins printed p. 90.

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/Worster 1921: Atungait, Who Went A-WanderingResearch 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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