Talk:Akhlut

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Akhlut or Kak-whan'-u-ghat kig-u-lu'-nik?

Hi folks,

I've been aware of the creature referred to here as 'Akhlut' for a number of years and referred to it in conversation recently. When it came time to explain what it was I realised I knew very little about it, down to only being able to refer to it as an 'Inuit' myth which is a bit of an umbrella term in itself.

In an effort to find the exact group this myth originates from I discovered that a lot of the information and sources on the 'Akhlut' are very circular, and all seem to refer to the same vague origin of 'somewhere in Inuit folklore'. I found this a little unusual, and tried to work backwards to find the first mentions of the creature referred to here as 'Akhlut'.

In the end the first mention I could find of this term came from The Eskimo about Bering Straight, a book written by naturalist and ethnologist Edward William Nelson recording his findings after spending time observing the native population of the Bering Strait area. In this passage, it is the orca itself referred to as Akhlut- the name of the wolf/orca hybrid creature is written as "Kak-whan'-u-ghat kig-u-lu'-nik".

The excerpt from the book I found was here, and the relevant passage is below:

"Kak-whan'-u-ghat kig-u-lu'-nik. The killer whale (akh'-lut) is undoubtedly the original of this mythic creature. It is described as being similar in form to the killer whale and is credited with the power of changing at will to a wolf; after roaming about over the land it may return to the sea and again become a whale. While in the wolf form it is known by the above name, and the Eskimo say they know that this change takes place as they have seen wolf tracks leading to the edge of the sea ice and ending at the water, or beginning at the edge of the water and leading to the shore. This of course results from the breaking away of a portion of the ice on which the wolf tracks had been. These animals are said to be very fierce and to kill men. The same power of changing its form is sometimes credited to the white whale, which interchanges form with the reindeer [...] This belief is prevalent among all the Eskimo along the shore of Bering sea."

This leads me to believe that over the years there has been some mixup in describing the creature that Edward William Nelson recorded as the "Kak-whan'-u-ghat kig-u-lu'-nik" as "Akhlut". I would assume the Eskimo he is describing are the Yupik people, which gives an origin to the folklore. Perhaps it's time this page had an overhaul to better reflect the story Nelson had relayed to him during his expedition in the Bering Strait area? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chillikiss (talk • contribs) 04:30, 8 July 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Chillikiss! I thought the entry looked a little off, and that Nelson quote has helped tidy it up. --AntediluvianBlue (talk) 01:29, 26 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]