Kalopaling is a fabulous being that lives in the sea. His body is like
that of a human being and he wears clothing made of eider ducks’ skins.
Therefore he is sometimes called Mitiling (with eider ducks). As these
birds have a black back and a white belly, his gown looked speckled all
over. His jacket has an enormous hood, which is an object of fear to the
Inuit. If a kayak capsizes and the boatman is drowned Kalopaling puts
him into this hood. He cannot speak, but can only cry, “Be, be! Be, be!”
His feet are very large and look like inflated sealskin floats.
The Inuit believe that in olden times there were a great number of
Kalopalit, but gradually their number diminished and there are now very
few left. They may be seen from the land swimming very rapidly under the
water and sometimes rising to the surface. While swimming they make a
great noise by splashing with arms and legs. In summer they like to bask
on rocks and in winter they sometimes sit on the ice near cracks or at
the edge of drifting floes. As they pursue the hunters the most daring
men try to kill them whenever they can get near them. Cautiously they
approach the sleeping Kalopaling, and as soon as they come near enough
they throw the walrus harpoon at him. They must shut their eyes
immediately until the Kalopaling is dead, else he will capsize the boat
and kill the hunters. The flesh of the Kalopaling is said to be
poisonous, but good enough for dog’s food.
An old tradition is handed down which refers to a Kalopaling:
An old woman lived with her grandson in a small hut. As they had no
kinsmen they were very poor. A few Inuit only took pity on them and
brought them seal’s meat and blubber for their lamps. Once upon a time
they were very hungry and the boy cried. The grandmother told him to be
quiet, but as he did not obey she became angry and called Kalopaling to
come and take him away. He entered at once and the woman put the boy
into the large hood, in which he disappeared almost immediately.
Later on the Inuit were more successful in sealing and they had an
abundance of meat. Then the grandmother was sorry that she had so rashly
given the boy to Kalopaling and wished to see him back again. She
lamented about it to the Inuit, and at length a man and his wife
promised to help her.
When the ice had consolidated and deep cracks were formed near the shore
by the rise and fall of the tide, the boy used to rise and sit alongside
the cracks, playing with a whip of seaweed. Kalopaling, however, was
afraid that somebody might carry the boy away and had fastened him to a
string of seaweed, which he held in his hands. The Inuit who had seen
the boy went toward him, but as soon as he saw them coming he sang, “Two
men are coming, one with a double jacket, the other with a foxskin
jacket” (Inung maqong tikitong, aipa mirqosailing, aipa kapiteling).
Then Kalopaling pulled on the rope and the boy disappeared. He did not
want to return to his grandmother, who had abused him.
Some time afterward the Inuit saw him again sitting near a crack. They
took the utmost caution that he should not hear them when approaching,
tying pieces of deerskin under the soles of their boots. But when they
could almost lay hold of the boy he sang, “Two men are coming, one with
a double jacket, the other with a foxskin jacket.” Again Kalopaling
pulled on the seaweed rope and the boy disappeared.
The man and his wife, however, did not give up trying. They resolved to
wait near the crack, and on one occasion when the boy had just come out
of the water they jumped forward from a piece of ice behind which they
had been hidden and before he could give the alarm they had cut the rope
and away they went with him to their huts.
The boy lived with them and became a great hunter.