From Greenland to Alaska, according to Inuit legend, Sedna is the Goddess of the Sea, the mother of all marine mammals. Sedna holds all of the sea animals entangled in her hair, only to release them when she is appeased by offerings, songs or a visit from an angakok (shaman), who combs the tangles from her hair.
Inuit follow tirigusuusiit; there were things that people had to do and things they had to refrain from for it was forbidden. Tirigusungniq had many purposes. Only by observing all these rules could Inuit maintain an order where animals would allow themselves to be killed or reborn. Animals were thought of to reincarnate continuously, and the same prey was always expected to return to a hunter who has shown its due respect: this was known as angiraaliniq. Thus hunter and prey were connected in a cycle of exchange. The hunter depended on the animal for survival, and the animal was brought back to life again by the rules of respect that the hunter and wife observed.
