sedna

Media: Found Objects Wall Sculpture
Dimensions: 18" long
Date of Work: 07/04

Sedna is a significant figure in Inuit mythology.

Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who lived with her father. Under pressure
from her father, she agreed to marry one of her suitors, only to find out later
that he was an evil Raven spirit in disguise, who held her captive as his wife.

Unhappy and miserable, Sedna cried so loud that her father went to the Raven’s home
to steal his daughter back in his kayak. The Raven found them quickly, swooped down
near the kayak and flapping his wings above the ocean, turning the calm Arctic Ocean
into a raging torrent to kill them both. Sedna's father became very frightened and
threw Sedna over the side of the kayak into the ocean, saying "Here is your precious
wife, please do not hurt me, take her."

When Sedna tried to get back into the kayak her father, terrified by the raging
storm, began to pound against her hands and fingers. Frostbitten from the icy
waters, her hands and fingers cracked and fell off into the ocean. Her fingers sank
to the bottom of the ocean and there turned into seals and walruses. Her hands
became whales and other large mammals.

Finally, Sedna herself sank into the icy waters, but did not perish. She was instead
transformed into the mystical being known as Sedna, Mother of the icy Oceans and
ruler over all life in the Sea. Her companions are the seals and the whales that sit
with her at the bottom on the ocean. Her anger and fury still produce the violent
seas. Today, a hunter must treat her with respect in order to fish successfully, and
so he drops water into the mouth of a mammal that he catches a gesture to thank
Sedna for her kindness.