Qiqirn is a large, bald
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...
spirit in
Inuit mythology
Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people from Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, and parts of Siberia. Their religion shares many similarities with some A ...
, from around the area of
Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
. It has hair only on its feet,
mouth
A mouth also referred to as the oral is the body orifice through which many animals ingest food and animal communication#Auditory, vocalize. The body cavity immediately behind the mouth opening, known as the oral cavity (or in Latin), is also t ...
and the tips of its ears and
tail
The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...
. Its presence will send men and dogs into convulsions, sometimes fatal. However, it is frightened of humans and will run away if an
angakkuq
The Inuit angakkuq (plural: ''angakkuit'', Inuktitut syllabics ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ or ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ; Inuvialuktun: '; , pl. ''angakkut''; Iñupiaq: ''aŋatkuq'') is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a med ...
sees it. A similar term, also from Inuit mythology, is keelut, a malevolent earth spirit which also appears as a hairless dog.
Daniel Merkur suggested that the fits caused by the qiqirn were allusions to shamanic initiations.
Popular culture
In
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
's short story "
Quiquern", the creature is described as a giant, phantasmal, toothless and hairless dog with six or eight pairs of legs. Quiquern is seen wandering before important events, and makes dogs go mad. Two young
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
hunters, desperate to find food for their starving tribe, believe they are being guided by Quiquern, only to discover that the many-legged "spirit" is actually a pair of sled dogs whose collars had become entangled. Nevertheless, once they see that the dogs are well-fed, the hunters realise the "spirit" has guided them to find food after all.
See also
*
Black dog (folklore)
The black dog is a supernatural, spectral, or demonic hellhound originating from English folklore, and also present in folklore throughout Europe and the Americas. It is usually unnaturally large with glowing red or yellow eyes, is often connec ...
*
Cerberus
In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...
*
Hellhound
A hellhound is a mythological hound that embodies a guardian or a servant of hell, the devil, or the underworld. Hellhounds occur in mythologies around the world, with the best-known examples being Cerberus from Greek mythology, Garmr from Nor ...
*
Ke'let
Ke'let (singular ke’le) are a type of evil spirit or ogre in Chukchi mythology, also sometimes known as Re'kkenit.
Types
Sometimes all spirits were known as ke'let, but generally the word refers to an evil spirit, while benevolent spirits ar ...
References
Mythological dogs
Inuit legendary creatures
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