The Goddess Sedna holds a very important place in the mythology and popular traditions of the Inuit. She is thought of as the divinity of the sea and sea animals, but her power only extends to the material body of the beings in her sub-marine kingdom. She is hostile to the human race. Sedna is more feared by the Inuit than any other diety, and they do their best to secure her favour by propitiatory sacrifices. The Inuit think of her as being of gigantic size and she has only one eye, the other having been torn out by her father when he threw her out of a boat, as some say, to save himself. The legend of Sedna contains elements showing that this personage, comparable with certain divinities of the Kalevala and the Edda, may be a theme common to many mythologies.
