Inuit religion is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the
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 ...
, an
indigenous people
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
from
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
,
northern Canada
Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, terr ...
,
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
, and parts of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. Their religion shares many similarities with some
Alaska Native religion
Traditional Alaskan Native religion involves mediation between people and spirits, souls, and other immortal beings. Such beliefs and practices were once widespread among Inuit (including Iñupiat), Yupik, Aleut, and Northwest Coastal Indian c ...
s. Traditional Inuit religious practices include
animism
Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...
and
shamanism
Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
, in which spiritual healers mediate with spirits.
Today many Inuit follow
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(with 71 percent of Canadian Inuit identifying as Christian ); however, traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living,
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
and part of contemporary Inuit society. Inuit who balance indigenous and Christian theology practice
religious syncretism
Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition.
This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each ...
.
Inuit
cosmology
Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
provides a narrative about the world and the place of people within it.
Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley writes:
Traditional stories,
ritual
A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
s, and
taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
s of the Inuit are often precautions against dangers posed by their harsh
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
environment.
Knud Rasmussen
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...
asked his guide and friend
Aua, 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 ...
'' (spiritual healer), about Inuit religious beliefs among the
Iglulingmiut (people of
Igloolik
Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be o ...
) and was told: "We don't believe. We fear." Authors Inge Kleivan and Birgitte Sonne debate possible conclusions of Aua's words, because the angakkuq was under the influence of
Christian missionaries
A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
, and later converted to Christianity. Their study also analyses beliefs of several Inuit groups, concluding (among others) that fear was not diffuse.
Inuit cultural beliefs
''Angakkuq''
Among Canadian Inuit, a spiritual healer is known as 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 ...
'' (plural: ''angakkuit'',
Inuktitut syllabics
Inuktitut syllabics (, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik region of Quebec. In 1976, the Language Commission of ...
''ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ'' or ''ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ'') in
Inuktitut
Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...
or ''angatkuq'' in
Inuvialuktun
Inuvialuktun (part of ''Western Canadian Inuit'' / ''Inuktitut'' / '' Inuktut'' / '' Inuktun'') comprises several Inuit language varieties spoken in the northern Northwest Territories by Canadian Inuit who call themselves ''Inuvialuit''. Some d ...
. The duties of an ''angakkuq'' include helping the community when marine animals, kept by Takanaluk-arnaluk or Sea Woman in a pit in her house, become scarce, according to
Aua, an informant and friend of the anthropologist
Knud Rasmussen
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (; 7 June 1879 – 21 December 1933) was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" (now often known as Inuit Studies or Greenlandic and Arctic Studies) ...
. Aua described the ability of an apprentice ''angakkuq'' to see himself as a skeleton,
[ Merkur 1985:122] naming each part using the specific shaman language.
[ Rasmussen 1965:170][
]
Inuit at Amitsoq Lake
The Inuit at Amitsoq Lake (a rich fishing ground) on King William Island
King William Island (, ; previously: King William Land) is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, which is part of the Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between and making it the list of islands by area, 61st-largest island in the world ...
had seasonal and other prohibitions for sewing certain items. Boot soles, for example, could only be sewn far away from settlements in designated places. Children at Amitsoq once had a game called ''tunangusartut'' in which they imitated the adults' behaviour towards the spirits, even reciting the same verbal formulae as ''angakkuit''. According to Rasmussen, this game was not considered offensive because a "spirit can understand the joke."
Netsilik Inuit
The homelands of the Netsilik Inuit (''Netsilingmiut'' meaning "People of the Seal") have extremely long winters and stormy springs. Starvation was a common danger.[ Rasmussen 1965:262]
While other Inuit cultures feature protective guardian powers, the Netsilik have traditional beliefs that life's hardships stemmed from the extensive use of such measures. Unlike the Iglulik Inuit, the Netsilik used a large number of amulets. Even dogs could have amulets. In one recorded instance, a young boy had 80 amulets, so many that he could hardly play.[Kleivan & Sonne:43] One particular man had 17 names taken from his ancestors and intended to protect him.[
]Tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
ing among Netsilik women provided power and could affect which world they went to after their deaths.
Nuliajuk, the Sea Woman, was described as "the lubricous one". If the people breached certain taboos, she held marine animals in the basin of her '' qulliq'' (an oil lamp
An oil lamp is a lamp used to produce light continuously for a period of time using an oil-based fuel source. The use of oil lamps began thousands of years ago and continues to this day, although their use is less common in modern times. The ...
that burns seal fat). When this happened, the ''angakkuq'' had to visit her to beg for game. In Netsilik oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from
people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...
, she was originally an orphan girl mistreated by her community.
Moon Man, another cosmic being, is benevolent towards humans and their souls as they arrived in celestial places.[ Kleivan & Sonne 1985:30] This belief differs from that of the Greenlandic Inuit
The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
, in which the Moon's wrath could be invoked by breaking taboos.[
Sila or Silap Inua, often associated with weather, is conceived of as a power contained within people. Among the Netsilik, Sila was imagined as a male. The Netsilik (and Copper Inuit) believed Sila was originally a giant baby whose parents died fighting giants.
]
Caribou Inuit
Caribou Inuit
Kivallirmiut, also called the Caribou Inuit (/ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᐅᑦ), barren-ground caribou hunters, are Inuit who live west of Hudson Bay in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, between 61° and 65° N and 90° and 102° W in Northern Canada.
The Denm ...
is a collective name for several groups of inland Inuit (the Krenermiut, Aonarktormiut, Harvaktormiut, Padlermiut, and Ahearmiut) living in an area bordered by the tree line
The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...
and the west shore of Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...
. They do not form a political unit and maintain only loose contact, but they share an inland lifestyle and some cultural unity. In the recent past, the Padlermiut took part in seal hunts in the ocean.
The Caribou have a dualistic concept of the soul. The soul associated with respiration is called ''umaffia'' (place of life)[ Kleivan & Sonne 1985:18] and the personal soul of a child is called ''tarneq'' (corresponding to the ''nappan'' of the Copper Inuit). The tarneq is considered so weak that it needs the guardianship of a name-soul of a dead relative. The presence of the ancestor in the body of the child was felt to contribute to a more gentle behavior, especially among boys. This belief amounted to a form of reincarnation
Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...
.
Because of their inland lifestyle, the Caribou have no belief concerning a Sea Woman. Other cosmic beings, named Sila or Pinga, control the caribou
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...
, as opposed to marine animals. Some groups have made a distinction between the two figures, while others have considered them the same. Sacrificial offerings to them could promote luck in hunting.
Caribou angakkuit performed fortune-telling
Fortune telling is the spiritual practice of predicting information about a person's life. Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115–116. The scope of fortune telling is in principle ...
through ''qilaneq'', a technique of asking questions to a ''qila'' (spirit). The angakkuq placed his glove on the ground and raised his staff and belt over it. The qila then entered the glove and drew the staff to itself. Qilaneq was practiced among several other Alaskan Native groups and provided "yes" or "no" answers to questions.
Copper Inuit
Spiritual beliefs and practices among Inuit are diverse, just like the cultures themselves. Similar remarks apply for other beliefs: term '' silap inua'' / ''sila'', ''hillap inua'' / ''hilla'' (among 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 ...
), ''ellam yua'' / ''ella'' (among Yup'ik
The Yupʼik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yupʼik, Central Yupʼik, Alaskan Yupʼik ( own name ''Yupʼik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; Russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an ...
) has been used with some diversity among the groups.[Kleivan & Sonne 1986: 31] In many instances it refers to "outer space", "intellect", "weather", "sky", "universe":[Nuttall 1997: 75][ Merkur 1985: 235–240][ Gabus 1970: 230–234] there may be some correspondence with the presocratic concept of logos
''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...
.[Saladin d'Anglure 1990]
In some other groups, this concept was more personified ( among Siberian Yupik
Siberian Yupiks, or Yuits (), are a Yupik peoples, Yupik people who reside along the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in the far Russian Far East, northeast of the Russia, Russian Federation and on St. Lawrence Island in Alaska. They speak Si ...
).[ Menovščikov 1968: 447]
Among Copper Inuit, this "Wind Indweller" concept is related to spiritual practice: ''angakkuit'' were believed to obtain their power from this indweller, moreover, even their helping spirits were termed as ''silap inue''.[ Merkur 1985: 230]
Greenland Inuit
Greenlandic Inuit
The Greenlandic Inuit or sometimes simply the Greenlandic are an ethnic group and nation Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous to Greenland, where they constitute the largest ethnic population. They share a common #History, ancestry, ...
believed that spirits inhabited every human joint
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
, even knuckle
The knuckles are the joints of the fingers. The word is cognate to similar words in other Germanic languages, such as the Dutch "knokkel" (knuckle) or German "Knöchel" (ankle), i.e., ''Knöchlein'', the diminutive of the German word for bone ( ...
bones.
Anirniit
The Inuit believed that all things have a form of spirit or soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
( meaning "breath"; plural ), just like humans. These spirits are held to persist after death—a common belief present in most human societies. However, the belief in the pervasiveness of spirits—the root of Inuit worldview—has consequences. According to a customary Inuit saying, "The great peril of our existence lies in the fact that our diet consists entirely of souls." Since all beings possess souls like those of humans, killing an animal is little different from killing a person. Once the of the dead animal or human is liberated, it is free to take revenge. The spirit of the dead can only be placated by obedience to custom, avoiding taboos, and performing the right rituals.
The harshness and randomness of life in the Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
ensured that Inuit lived constantly in fear of unseen forces. A run of bad luck could end an entire community and begging potentially angry and vengeful but unseen powers for the necessities of day-to-day survival is a common consequence of a precarious existence. For the Inuit, to offend an was to risk extinction. The principal role of the angakkuq in Inuit culture
The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America (parts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland). The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat (northern Alaska), and Yupik peoples, Yup ...
and society was to advise and remind people of the rituals and taboos they needed to obey to placate the spirits, since he was held to be able to see and contact them.
The anirniit are seen to be a part of the —the sky or air around them—and are merely borrowed from it. Although each person's is individual, shaped by the life and body it inhabits, at the same time it is part of a larger whole. This enabled Inuit to borrow the powers or characteristics of an by taking its name. Furthermore, the spirits of a single class of thing—be it sea mammals, polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
s, or plants—are in some sense held to be the same and can be invoked through a keeper or master who is connected with that class of thing. In some cases, it is the of a human or animal who becomes a figure of respect or influence over animals things through some action, recounted in a traditional tale. In other cases, it is a , as described below.
Since the arrival of Christianity among the Inuit, has become the accepted word for 'soul' in the Christian sense. This is the root word for other Christian terms: means ''angel
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
'' and ''God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
'' is rendered as , the great spirit.
Some spirits have never been connected to physical bodies. These are called (also , , , singular , , tornrak, ) and "are often described as a shaman's helping spirits, whose nature depends on the respective ".[ Neuhaus 2000:48] Helpful spirits can be called upon in times of need and "are there to help people", as explained by Inuit elder Victor Tungilik. Some are evil, monstrous, and responsible for bad hunts and broken tools. They can possess humans, as recounted in the story of . An with good intentions can use them to heal sickness and find animals to hunt and feed the community. They can fight or exorcise bad , or they can be held at bay by rituals; However, an with harmful intentions can also use for their own personal gain, or to attack other people and their .
Though once simply meant "killing spirit", it has, with
Christianisation
Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
, taken on the meaning of a demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including
f ...
in the Christian belief system.
Inuit shamanism
Shamans (''anatquq'' or ''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 ...
'' in the Inuit languages
The Inuit languages are a closely related group of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and the adjacent subarctic regions as far south as Labrador. The Inuit ...
of northern parts of Alaska and Canada) played an important role in the religion of Inuit acting as religious leaders, tradesmen, healers, and characters in cultural stories holding mysterious, powerful, and sometimes superhuman abilities. The idea of calling shamans " medicine men" is an outdated concept born from the accounts of early explorers and trappers who grouped all shamans together into this bubble. The term "medicine man" does not give the shamans justice and causes misconceptions about their dealings and actions. Despite the fact they are almost always considered healers, this is not the complete extent of their duties and abilities and detaches them from their role as a mediator between normal humans and the world of spirits, animals, and souls for the traditional Inuit.
There is no strict definition of shaman and there is no strict role they have in society. Despite this, their ability to heal is nearly universal in their description. It has been described as "breathing or blowing away" the sickness but there is not set method any one shaman or groups of shamans perform their deeds. Even though their methods are varied, a few key elements remain in virtually all accounts and stories. In order to cure or remove an ailment from someone, the shaman must be skilled in their own right but must have the faith of those being helped.
In stories of shamans there is a time of crisis and they are expected to resolve, alleviate, or otherwise give resolution or meaning to the crisis. These crises often involve survival against the natural elements or disputes between people that could end in death. In one such story, a hunter kidnapped a man's daughter and a shaman described in terms of belonging to the man. The shaman pulled the daughter back with a magic string. The shaman is also able to bestow gifts and extraordinary abilities to people and to items such as tools.
Some stories recount shamans as unpredictable, easily angered, and pleased in unusual ways. This could be shown as illustrating that despite their abilities and tune with nature and spirits, they are fickle and not without fault. There are stories of people attempting to impersonate shamans for their own gain by pretending to have fantastical abilities such as being able to fly only to be discovered and punished.
A handful of accounts imply shamans may be feared in some cases for their abilities as they specify that someone did not fear being approached and talked to by a shaman. This leads to further ideas that the shaman's power was to be greatly respected and the idea that the shaman was not necessarily always a fair and good force for the people around them.
The Christianization of the Inuit by both willing conversion and being forcefully pressured into converting to Christianity has largely destroyed the tradition of the shaman. Priests, pastors, and other Christian religious authorities replaced the shamans as the connection between the human world and the other world.
Deities
Below is an incomplete list of Inuit deities believed to hold power over some specific part of the Inuit world:
* Agloolik: evil god of the sea who can flip boats over; spirit which lives under the ice and helps wanderers in hunting and fishing
* Akna
AKNA is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''AKNA'' gene. The protein is an AT-hook transcription factor which contains an AT-hook binding motif. The protein is expressed as different isoforms. AKNA is known to upregulate expression of t ...
: mother goddess of fertility
* Amaguq/ Amarok: wolf god who takes those foolish enough to hunt alone at night
* Anguta: gatherer of the dead; he carries them into the underworld, where they must sleep for a year.
* Ignirtoq: a goddess of light and truth.
* Nanook: (''Nanuq'' or ''Nanuk'' in the modern spelling) the master of polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...
s
* Pinga: the goddess of strength, the hunt, fertility and medicine
* Qailertetang: weather spirit, guardian of animals, and matron of fishers and hunters. Qailertetang is the companion of Sedna.
* Sedna: the mistress of sea animals and mother of the sea. Sedna (''Sanna'' in modern Inuktitut spelling) is known under many names, including Nerrivik, Arnapkapfaaluk, Arnakuagsak, and Nuliajuk.
* Silap Inua or Sila: personification of the air
* Tekkeitsertok: the master of caribou
The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...
.
* Tarqiup Inua: lunar deity
* Pukkeenegak: Goddess of domestic life, including sewing and cooking.
Creatures and spirits
* Ahkiyyini: a skeleton spirit
* Aningaat: a boy who became the moon; brother to Siqiniq, the sun; sometimes equated to the lunar deity Tarqiup Inua
* Aumanil: a spirit which dwelled on the land and guided the seasonal movement of whales
* Qallupilluit: monstrous human-like creatures that live in the sea and carry off disobedient children.
* Saumen Kar: also called Tornit or Tuniit are the Inuit version of the Sasquatch
Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include:
*"A large, hairy, manlike ...
or Yeti
The Yeti ()["Yeti"](_blank)
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
myth. They may be the people of the Dorset culture
The Dorset was a Paleo-Eskimo culture, lasting from to between and , that followed the Pre-Dorset and preceded the Thule people (proto-Inuit) in the North American Arctic. The culture and people are named after Cape Dorset (now Kinngait) in ...
who were said to be giants.
* Siqiniq: a girl who became the sun; sister to Aningaat, the moon
* Tizheruk: snake-like monsters.
Legendary people
Some people starring in ''unipkaaqtuat'' ("traditional stories") or ''unikkaaqtuat'' ("to tell stories") include:
* Kiviuq: a wandering hero.
* Uumarnituq and Aakulujjuusi: the first Inuit, who created childbirth, womanhood, and death.
See also
* Inuit group, a set of satellites that orbit Saturn, many named after figures from Inuit religion
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
* Hungarian translation of Rasmussen 1926.
*
*
* Translation of Gabus 1944.
*
*
Further reading
* Asatchaq, and Tom Lowenstein.
The Things That Were Said of Them Shaman Stories and Oral Histories of the Tikiġaq People
'. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992.
*
* Blake, Dale. ''Inuit Life Writings and Oral Traditions Inuit Myths''. St. John's, Nfld: Educational Resource Development Co-operative, 2001.
* Christopher, Neil, Louise Flaherty, and Larry MacDougall. ''Stories of the Amautalik Fantastic Beings from Inuit Myths and Legends''. Iqaluit, Nunavut: Inhabit Media, 2007.
* Fienup-Riordan, Ann. ''Boundaries and Passages Rule and Ritual in Yup'ik Eskimo Oral Tradition''. The Civilization of the American Indian series, v. 212. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
* Hall, Edwin S. ''The Eskimo Storyteller: Folktales from Noatak, Alaska''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1975.
* Himmelheber, Hans, and Ann Fienup-Riordan. ''Where the Echo Began And Other Oral Traditions from Southwestern Alaska''. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2000.
Houston, James A
James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends
'. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt, 2006.
* MacDonald, John. ''The Arctic Sky Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend''. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
/Nunavut Research Institute, 1998.
* Millman, Lawrence, and Timothy White. ''A Kayak Full of Ghosts Eskimo Tales''. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1987.
* Norman, Howard A., Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon.
The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North
'. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997.
* Spalding, Alex. ''Eight Inuit Myths = Inuit Unipkaaqtuat Pingasuniarvinilit''. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1979.
* Wolfson, Evelyn. ''Inuit Mythology''. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Pub, 2001.
Fiction
*'' Tornrak'', the 1990 opera by John Metcalf features several spirits in the Arctic scenes.
*''The Terror
The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to ...
'', Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works that span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes ...
, Horror novel, 2007.
*Video game '' Penumbra: Black Plague'' by Frictional Games. The Infected are the main enemies serving the hive mind Tuurngait.
{{Authority control
Circumpolar mythology
Canadian mythology