Sedna

In Inuit mythology, Sedna is the goddess who rules the underworld and the sea creatures, with myths about her explaining the origin of marine life and reflecting the harsh conditions of the Arctic. As the provider of animals used for food, Sedna is the most important deity in Inuit culture. One myth tells of Sedna as a child with an insatiable appetite who tried to eat her father’s arm while he slept. When he awoke, he took her out to sea, intending to throw her overboard, but she clung to the boat. In anger, her father cut off her fingers, one joint at a time, and as the pieces fell into the water, they transformed into whales, seals, and sea lions. After losing all her fingers, Sedna sank to the ocean's depths, where she guards the spirits of the dead. In another version, Sedna is a young woman who rejects all suitors until a seabird disguised as a handsome man promises her a life of luxury if she marries him. Against her father’s wishes, she marries the bird, only to discover he had deceived her, and she lives in misery with only raw fish to eat. When her father visits, Sedna asks him to take her home. He kills her husband and sets off with her in his boat, but the birds create a violent storm. To appease them, her father throws Sedna overboard. She clings to the boat until he cuts off her fingers, and in some versions, he pulls her back in. Angered by his cruelty, Sedna has her dogs attack him while he sleeps, and when he awakens, he curses them all. The earth then opens and swallows them, and Sedna becomes the goddess of the underworld.