Qalupalik
When you think of a mermaid, a few different images may cross through your mind - images of kind-hearted, beautiful half-fish, half-human maidens or perhaps sirens that may be beautiful but once they have you in their clutches turn to heinous beasts ready to kill you. But, the Qualupalik is a bit different.
The legend of the Qalupalik comes from the Inuit people and their icy, arctic waters. Unlike many other mythical mermaids, there is nothing attractive about the Qualupalik. They are described as aquatic humanoids with scaly, bumpy skin. They are often depicted as having fins coming out of their heads, backs, and torsos. Their hands, though webbed, are clawed and made for the hunt. The Qualupalik are also rumored to smell like sulfur and wear eider duck clothing. Most hauntingly is what they carry - an amautik. Amautiks are commonly worn by Inuit women to secure their babies to their backs. They carry amautiks so they can snatch small Inuit children.
Inuit parents warn their children frequently about the dreadful Qualupaliks. One of the warning signs if they are near the shore and hear a humming noise. The humming is a warning that the Qualupalik is near. The humming is meant to entice curious children to come closer to the edge of the shore so the Qualupalik can steal the child away. However, the threat does not vanish if you’re away from the shore. Sometimes the Qualupalik will knock under the ice drawing a child to a weak part or hole in the ice to steal them away.
But what do the Qualupalik do with the stolen children? Some say they eat them but other legends say they take them away to a cave and put them under a sleeping spell. They feed on the young, innocent energy to remain immortal.
Like many creatures from folklore Qualupalik serves a utilitarian purpose in the harsh environment of what is now Northern Alaska and Canada. By scaring the children out of wanting to be alone or going too close to sea ice or the shore they lowered the chances that the child would venture near those dangerous places.
The above image is Pink floyd88 a. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
