« Return to the Inuit legends list

Kumak (Lice)

It is said that removing lice from someone’s head outdoors can cause a storm.

One winter, on a very calm, pleasant day, two sisters were outdoors. Both of them had lice on their heads, and so they began to pick the lice from each other’s hair without even bothering to go indoors. They just dropped the lice onto the snow. They were still de-lousing each other when the weather suddenly turned very stormy. The snow flew so thickly that one could get easily lost. That is exactly what happened to those two sisters. And ever since, people are warned never to remove lice outdoors, because it will cause the weather to turn very stormy.

How lice were helpful to the Inuit

Long ago, Inuit were always infested with lice. Of course they removed the lice, but the louse populations were never wiped out completely. However, some people say that the lice were actually a big help to Inuit, because they removed people’s old blood. As a result, Inuit never got tired, because their old blood was regularly removed and replaced with fresh blood. So, their strength was constantly renewed. Nowadays, Inuit keep the same old blood, because we don’t have lice to suck it out, and therefore we get tired quickly.

Inside tents or igloos, when caribou skin or dog skin bedding was being shaken clean, it is said that the lice were so plentiful that many, many of them were shaken out onto the ground. But the Inuit then were not at all queasy about lice and having so many lice around; because they thought the lice had useful purposes.

Kumait were also used for medicinal purposes to treat people with cataracts. (Cataracts are a milky film covering the eyeball, which make it impossible to see clearly.) If someone had cataracts on their eyes, one louse was put in each eye. It was said that the louse’s legs would jerk, or it would crawl about, and thus remove the cataracts. The louse was held on a sort of leash made of a human hair, which was attached to the louse’s body but left its legs free to move.

A Kumallaaluk is a kind of louse, only bigger. There is an old story about a Kumallaaluk that went looking for some Irqiit [louse eggs] and Kumait [ordinary lice] on the head of a human being. It seems that the Kumallaaluk said:

Airqavaakka Qaikkik
Qairningaannik Qulaaliik
Suniaraviit Qiirnisiuriarniarama
Qiirnisiuiraluaruvit Puukappiatautuinnaniarqutit
Puukappiataugaluaruma Ijiarjuukalu
Qingaarjuukalu Qaarpangippagik
Itingagut Anialulaarama!

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