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Inuit religion is the shared
spiritual beliefs and practices of the Inuit, an indigenous people from Alaska,
northern Canada, parts of Siberia, and Greenland. Their religion shares many
similarities with some Alaska Native religions. Traditional Inuit religious
practices include animism and shamanism, in which spiritual healers mediate with
spirits.
Inuit cosmology provides a narrative about the world and the place of people
within it.
The Inuit cosmos is ruled by no one. There are no divine mother and father
figures. There are no wind gods and solar creators. There are no eternal
punishments in the hereafter, as there are no punishments for children or adults
in the here and now.
Traditional stories, rituals, and taboos of the Inuit are often precautions
against dangers posed by their harsh Arctic environment. Knud Rasmussen asked
his guide and friend Aua, an angakkuq (spiritual healer), about Inuit religious
beliefs among the Iglulingmiut and was told: "We don't believe. We fear".
First were unipkaaqs : myths, legends, and folktales which took place "back
then" in the indefinite past (taimmani).
The Inuit believed that all things have a form of spirit or soul, 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
anirniq 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.
My Icon: A traditional Tupilaq. |