Tradition: Inuit Mythology, Canadian Mythology, Greenlandic Mythology
Alternative Names: None known
Category: Forest Dweller
The Myth
The Nasalik is a strange creature from Inuit folklore, resembling a small, hunched animal with a large, rounded body and thin, awkward legs. Its body is covered in wood-like material, and a cap sits on top of its head. Tufts of black hair grow from the wooden covering, while its eyes are level with the corners of its mouth. It has long, thin tongues extending between its legs, and its hind legs are so loose and wobbly that it struggles to walk steadily.
The Nasalik’s peculiar wooden body and unsteady gait make it an unusual sight. Its appearance combines the shape of a small animal with the strange features of a living piece of wood, giving it a distinctive place among the curious supernatural creatures of Inuit tradition.
Sources
Rasmussen, Knud. Intellectual Culture of the Hudson Bay Eskimos. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1930. https://archive.org/details/intellectualcult00rasm