Sedna - Denise Wallace Jewelry

Transformations
106
Sedna: The Ocean’s Inua and Ruler of the Sea Animals.
Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who lived with her father. She was
combing her long black hair when her father said, “Sedna, we have no
food. You must marry the next hunter who comes into our camp.”
Sedna ignored him. She was too beautiful to marry just anyone. A
hunter soon approached dressed elegantly in furs, his hood shielding
his face. Sedna’s father spoke, “If you wish to seek a wife, I have a beautiful daughter.” Under great protest Sedna was put in the hunter’s
kayak. Soon they arrived at an Island. Sedna saw nothing: no sod hut,
no tent. Then she heard an evil laugh. Her new husband pulled down
his hood. He was not a man, but a raven. She tried to run, but the bird
dragged her to a clearing on the cli≠. There he fed her raw fish on the
hard, cold rock. Miserable, Sedna cried for her father. At the back of the
howling arctic wind he heard her. He loaded up his kayak and paddled
through the frigid waters to collect her. As they paddled away Sedna
saw a black speck far o≠ into the distance. The big black raven
swooped down upon the bobbing kayak and lapped his wing upon the
ocean. A vicious storm began to brew. Sedna’s father threw Sedna over
the side of the kayak. “Here,” he screamed, “here is your wife, please do
not hurt me, take her.” As her body began to go numb in the icy arctic
waters she grabbed the side of his kayak. Her father took up the paddle
and began to pound it against Sedna’s fingers. Her frozen fingers
cracked. As they fell into the ocean they turned into seals. Sedna’s
hands followed; the stumps turning into whales. Then Sedna herself
fell to the ocean floor. In her new home Sedna, the Inuit Goddess of the
Sea, drums up violent seas and storms to vent her anger at man.
Shaman swim down to comb her tangled hair. Thus anointed, Sedna
will release her mammals to allow the Inuit to eat from the bounty of
the sea.
11
11 Adapted from numerous sources by Jane Campbell.
170. Sedna Belt Buckle. This buckle masterfully depicts the transformation of Sedna. The
central face (left) shows the female face with her long flowing hair, and (right) a seal/ otter.
Her body is transformed as a seal (left), and as a walrus (right) where the human figure is
etched within the ivory like pictographs. Animals swim around the border. Fossil ivory, sterling
silver,14-karat gold. 1994. Length, 3.25 in. (8.3 cm). Limited Edition 2/5. Collection Vivi.
Photography by Addison Doty.
73. Sedna Necklace. The chain contains all the creatures in Sedna’s undersea realm. Denise
explains, “This was completed after my first trip to Hawaii where we did a performance piece
about Sedna near the steam vents of Kilauea volcano.”Sterling silver, 14-karat gold, fossil ivory.
1995-1996. Length, 4.3 in. (10.8 cm). Private Collection.Photography by Mark Nohl.