THE LEGEND OF THE ORPHAN WHO ACQUIRED GREAT STRENGTH

Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who lost their children immediately after every birth. Finally, one day they had a little boy who survived, and they called him Kaassassuk.

They loved their little boy very much and were happy that the same fate had not befallen him as all their previous children.

Ironically, however, both parents suddenly became ill in the midst of all this happiness and they died shortly afterwards in quick succession.

OSTRACIZED BY SOCIETY

It wasn’t long before the orphan began creating problems at the settlement. He was therefore pushed out of the community and slept amongst the dogs or in a cramped entrance to a house.

On the rare occasions in which he was invited inside, people gave him tough walrus hide to eat. Kaassassuk was often lifted up by his nostrils as punishment for attempting to dry his boots inside or keeping himself warm at the ventilation outlet in the ceiling. Over time he therefore developed very large nostrils.