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GODDESS OF THE MONTH, JANUARY 2009
To save his own life, Sedna's father threw her into the ocean. As she clung to the boat, he chopped off her fingers, which turned into whales, seals, and all the mammals of the sea. Sedna descended to Adlivum, the Eskimo underworld, where she now rules the dead. To ensure that she will continue to send food to hunters, shamans descend to visit her, comb her hair, and massage her mutilated hands. Sedna is a reminder of the nourishing gifts that are to be found deep in the dark, cold places that we most fear.
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Sedna ("the one down there") was once a beautiful Eskimo woman who lived with her father. None of the local suitors appealed to her, and she refused to marry until a fulmar (a type of bird) from across the sea promised to take her to his home of luxury. When she found she had been deceived and was ill-treated, she begged her father to take her home. As the two were crossing the water, a flock of fulmars caused a huge storm to arise.