Editing Adlet (section)

==Adlet stories==
A number of stories containing Adlet were written down by ethnographers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

==="The Tornit and the Adlit"===
Many tales were told by the "Smith Sound Eskimo," an Inuk from [[Smith Sound]] who was in [[New York City]] in the winter of 1897–1898, and published by A.L. Kroeber for the ''[[Journal of American Folklore]]''. Two Tornits (another fabulous race from Inuit lore) find themselves among savage and cannibalistic Adlet. They sneak out at night and as they are leaving they cut the thongs on the Adlet's sledges that fasten the crossbars to the runners. The dogs start barking, but as the Adlet mount their sledges the runners fall off and the Tornit get away.<ref>Kroeber 167-68.</ref> The same Smith Sound Eskimo also told a variant of the Adlet story related by Boas in "The Central Eskimo." In this version, the Tornit are the woman's offspring as well,<ref>Kroeber 168-69.</ref> but Kroeber remarks that they are "ordinarily not connected with this tale."<ref>Kroeber 169 note 3.</ref> Other stories told by the Smith Sound Eskimo, such as "The Origin of the Narwhal," also contain murderous Adlet.<ref>Kroeber 170-71.</ref>

===Aselu===
In Inuit folklore from [[Point Barrow]], [[Alaska]], there exists a tale of a dog named Aselu who plays a central role in an unusual origin story.<ref>Murdoch 594-95.</ref> Aselu is bound to a stick but manages to free himself by gnawing through it. After gaining his freedom, he enters a dwelling where he has intercourse with a woman. This union results in offspring who are both human and canine in nature, underscoring themes of interconnection between humans and animals in Inuit belief. This story, while not explicitly involving the Adlet, shares a similar theme of hybrid beings, with humans and dogs sharing bloodlines, hinting at an ancestral bond that may also extend to the Adlet's mythical origins.

=== The Origin of the Narwhal" ===
Another tale featuring the Adlet is "The Origin of the Narwhal," also told by the same Smith Sound Inuk. This story, while primarily concerned with explaining the existence of the narwhal, includes a reference to the Adlet as merciless hunters or murderers. The presence of the Adlet in stories that revolve around creation or origin myths reflects the danger and struggle inherent in Inuit life, where survival is constantly threatened by the unknown and the untamable forces of nature.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kroeber |first=A. L. |url=https://archive.org/details/bulletin-american-museum-natural-history-12-265-327 |title=The Eskimo of Smith Sound |last2=Boas |first2=Franz |last3=Peary |first3=Robert E. |date=1900 |language=English}}</ref>