Drawing based on an Inuit mask depicting the sea goddess Sedna.
Drawing by Rita Lee

Sedna

Sedna is the sea spirit according to the people of northern Canada and Greenland, known as Inuit. Sedna was a young girl who did not want to marry. One day, a bird, disguised as a man, asked Sedna to marry him. She accepted and went to live with him.

Soon Sedna discovered the truth. When Sedna's father visited her, he convinced Sedna to leave with him in his boat. The bird caught them, and created a violent storm by flapping his wings. Terrified, Sedna's father threw the girl overboard to her husband.

Sedna fell into the sea, and it is said that she lives at the bottom of it as the queen of the seals and other sea animals.

A large planetoid discovered in November 2003 has been named after Sedna. The planetoid orbits on the cold, outer fringe of our Solar System.

Last modified March 17, 2004 by Randy Russell.

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