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

Overview

The whale carries a girl to a rock dwelling after her brothers jokingly say she should marry one. To rescue her they build and test a boat against a bird’s speed, replacing it until it can outrun that measure. The whale keeps a line attached to its wife. She ties it to a stone during an excursion outside and runs home while he hauls the stone indoors.

He rolls down to the sea and pursues the fleeing family, nearly overtaking their boat. At her brothers’ urging the woman successively discards parts of her clothing. Each interruption draws the whale’s attention or churns the sea, giving the boat time. When it reaches land the whale tries to follow and is cast ashore as a bleached whale bone. The ending is a narrated transformation of the pursuer, not merely a claim that the family kills an ordinary whale.

Household tether restrains the wifePursuit delayed by discarded clothingEnds as bleached whale bone
01

Origins & earliest records

The volume’s final source list assigns this narrative to West Greenland. 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.

02

Records & interpretation

The complete The Eagle and the Whale narrative and its final source-list attribution were inspected. The episode begins on printed p. 130.

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 Eagle and the Whale, begins printed p. 130. Complete narrative and source-list entry.

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: The Eagle and the WhaleResearch 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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