QIQIRN AND MAHAHA THE TICKLER

Happy January, everyone. In honor of all the lovely weather that we’ve had this month so far, I thought it would be fun to find some creatures that are specific to snowy or cold areas and share their information with you.

I found a couple of really interesting ones, however, I couldn’t find very much information on either of them. They are both creatures from Inuit mythology.

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska.

The first creature that I’d like to bring to your attention is the Qiqirn (or Quiquern). Handsome devil, isn’t he?

The Qiqirn is a large, bald dog spirit that terrifies the Inuit people. It is a frightening beast, but also skittish and foolish. It has hair on its feet, ear, mouth and the tip of its tail. The mere presence of a qiqirn around men or dogs causes them to suffer fits, a state which ends only when the qiqirn leaves. One way to scare it away is to shout its name.

The qiqirn is also extremely scared of humans, and will run away if an angakoq sees it. An angakoq is an Eskimo shaman, or medicine-man; the repository of lore, the judge in matters of tradition, and the means of communication with the spirit world.

MAHAHA THE TICKLER

Another creature from Inuit mythology that I’d like you to meet is Mahaha the Tickler. How can you not love that name?

This was the only description of it that I was able to find:

Mahaha is a maniacal demon that terrorized parts of the arctic. This creature is described as a thin sinewy being, ice blue in color and cold to the touch. Mahaha’s eyes are white and they peer through the long stringy hair that hangs in its face. This demon is always smiling and giggling. It is strong, very strong and it is always barefoot.

Mahaha is usually seen with almost no clothing on, yet it never seems to be bothered by the cold. This cold demon takes pleasure in tickling its victims to death with sharp vicious nails attached to its long bony fingers. Many elders have remarked on the expression of the dead victims Mahaha leaves behind. It seems all of the victims have a similar expression on their dead faces – a twisted frozen smile.

Although this demon is depraved and evil, most of the stories told about Mahaha end with it being fooled. Usually Mahaha is tricked into leaning over a water hole to take a drink and is pushed into the open water and swept away by the currents.

So, if Mahaha ever corners you alone, ask it to have one last drink with you by the water hole before it tickles you to death.

I hope you enjoyed making a couple of new frigid weather friends. I’m sure there are many more out there and maybe we can meet them soon.

Until next time, stay safe.

Debbie Boek
debbieboek@yolasite.com

Author: debbieboek

I am the author of Devil's Bait which was published in 2017, as well as two other novels, If Not For The Knight and Sommers' Folly which were originally published several years ago and which are now available on Kindle. I am currently working on the sequel to Devil's Bait which will, hopefully, be available shortly. View all posts by debbieboek