by Gemma Wiseman

Created on: May 27, 2007

The term "Inuit" refers to those "original" people of Greenland and Canada who speak a common language. (Often, this term is confused with the term "Eskimo"; a broader term for those who live across the arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Siberia and Greenland.) Their main, traditional spiritual belief is a form of animism, where not only does all life and objects have a spirit, but further believe that animals share the same souls as humans.

In an interview with A. A. Knopf, Jonathan Waterman, traveler and writer of "Arctic Crossing" declared:
"After butchering a beluga whale (on which the hunters of Shingle Point have subsisted for more than a millennium), an elder reached into the cow's uterus, pulled out a tiny fetus, and cradled it gently in his hands. There was a great look of sadness in his eyes as he reenacted an age-old and unbroken ritual: killing to survive, and worshipping the spirit of animals."

This comment seems to suggest the Inuit have a deep spiritual, loving bond with animals.

The Inuit are connected closely with not only animals, but the natural environment in general. There is a deep respect and wariness of the power and unpredictability of natural forces. After all, they do live in an environment of extreme climate, lit occasionally by the unearthly magical lights of the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.

Inuit children are given a special perspective. To further use Jonathan Waters' observations:
"Because of the age-old belief that children embody the souls of dead relatives, they are not commonly reprimanded. Children often run wild and unsupervised in the villages, although older brothers and sisters, barely in their teens, watch over their siblings carefully."

In the Inuit world, Tuniq were earth's legendary giants, Sila is the earth's weather spirit and Anirniq is the spirit of breath and soul.

To the Inuit, there are good and bad spirits. Family members may be cursed by bad spirits. There are special rituals checking to see if a bad spirit is present, such as lifting the head or leg of an apparently cursed person. Sometimes, reverse psychology is used. A burst of joyful song may draw out bad spirits.

Magical charms and talismans (not prayers) form part of a personal defence against bad spirits or forces. Any small object can function as an amulet. A type of shaman offers a more "group" defence. The Inuit prefer the term "Angakok". The Angakok can be man, woman or child, as long as they possess the knowledge and power to control spirits called "tunraq". The Inuit believe that the Angakok have the potential to "transport" to the heavens, into "other worlds" or even to the bottom of the sea, if spiritual need demands. Interestingly, they believe the Angakok have the power to transform into animals and to sense events from afar, (in a physical sense but not a future sense).

Masks are the final important element of the Inuit belief system. Masks, painted with the spirits of dogs or anything connected with journeys, are mainly the ceremonial attire of the Angakok. The Angakok dances in honour of the spirits to assure hunting success, to enact a trip to the spirit world or simply dances in symbolic blessing of a village.

Traditional Inuit beliefs are bound up in the spiritual web of humans interacting with animals interacting with the environment. Their belief system reflects a deep love and respect for their world and a wariness of Inuit right to take it for granted.

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