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The Man Called Ittualua

Long ago, three men were out hunting. One of the men was called Ittualua.

Ittualua was a man who people noticed. Ittualua was a man who did not smile.

Ittualua was a man who did not laugh. Ittualua was a very serious man.

Ittualua had two hands, two thumbs and seven fingers. Ittualua was missing the middle finger on one of his hands. Nobody can remember which hand was missing a finger. It was said that Ittualua’s missing finger was buried near his birthplace in Qikiartajuaq.

Long ago, when these three men were out hunting, they had the good fortune to catch a sea mammal. It was a ringed seal. The hunters were very hungry, and they started eating right away. They ate and ate until they could eat no more.

When one of the men finished eating, he looked for a rag on which to wipe his dirty hands. Suddenly he turned to the sour-faced Ittualua and said, “You would make a good rag. Let me use you to wipe my hands.” The man who said this to Ittualua was trying to make a joke. He was trying to be funny. Ittualua did not think the man was funny. Ittualua did not want to be called a rag. Ittualua did not like those words.

He was mad. He was really angry. Ittualua started to fight the man. The fight took place near a small pond. The two men fought until Ittualua pushed the man’s head into the water and tried to drown him.

The man did not drown. But from that day forward, he never spoke an unkind word to anyone. Not even as a joke.

Tip

Follow up this story with a talk about feelings. Invite the children to speak about feeling mad. Ask the children to identify things they can do when they feel angry, such as: count to five; talk about their feelings; go for a walk.

Excerpt from: Unikkaangualaurtaa (Let's Tell a Story)