In the Inuit religion, Pinga ("the one who is [up on] high" [1] ) is a goddess of the hunt [2] and medicine. [3] She is heavily associated with the sky.
In Caribou Inuit communities, Pinga had some authority over caribou herds. [3] [4] She became angry if people killed more caribou than they could eat, so Caribou communities were careful not to over-hunt. [5] Pinga is also a psychopomp, receiving the souls of the newly deceased and preparing them for reincarnation. [6] Angakkuit (shamans) might see or communicate with Pinga or sometimes she'd send a spirit to speak with them. [7]
Some Caribou Inuit viewed Sila and Pinga as the same or similar while other communities differentiated between the two. [5]
Shamanism or samanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner 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 the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination, or to aid human beings in some other way.
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. Today many Inuit follow Christianity ; however, traditional Inuit spirituality continues as part of a living, oral tradition and part of contemporary Inuit society. Inuit who balance indigenous and Christian theology practice religious syncretism.
In Inuit mythology, an inua is a spirit or soul that exists in all people, animals, lakes, mountains, and plants. This is not an individual soul, but rather "the vital force representing a chain or continuum of all the individual spirits of that genus which had lived, were living, or were to live."
In Inuit religion, Silap Inua or Sila is similar to mana or ether, the primary component of everything that exists; it is also the breath of life and the method of locomotion for any movement or change. Silla was believed to control everything that goes on in one's life.
The Inuit angakkuq is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a medicine man. Other cultures, including Alaska Natives, have traditionally had similar spiritual mediators, although the Alaska Native religion has many forms and variants.
Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is an Inuktitut phrase that is often translated as "Inuit traditional knowledge", "Inuit traditional institutions" or even "Inuit traditional technology". It can also be abbreviated as "IQ". It comes from the verb root "qaujima-" meaning "to know" and can be literally translated to "that which has long been known by Inuit".
Ennadai Lake is a lake in the Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is 84 km (52 mi) long, and 4.8 to 22.5 km wide. It is drained to the north by the Kazan River. A 615 km (382 mi) section of the Kazan River from the outlet of Ennadai Lake to Baker Lake, was designated as a part of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System in 1990.
A large minority of people in North Asia, particularly in Siberia, follow the religio-cultural practices of shamanism. Some researchers regard Siberia as the heartland of shamanism.
Masks among Eskimo peoples served a variety of functions. Masks were made out of driftwood, animal skins, bones and feathers. They were often painted using bright colors. There are archeological miniature maskettes made of walrus ivory, dating from early Paleo-Eskimo and from early Dorset culture period.
Soul dualism, also called dualistic pluralism or multiple souls, is a range of beliefs that a person has two or more kinds of souls. In many cases, one of the souls is associated with body functions and the other one can leave the body. Sometimes the plethora of soul types can be even more complex. Sometimes, a shaman's "free soul" may be held to be able to undertake a spirit journey.
Traditional Alaskan Native religion involves mediation between people and spirits, souls, and other immortal beings. Such beliefs and practices were once widespread among Inuit, Yupik, Aleut, and Northwest Coastal Indian cultures, but today are less common. They were already in decline among many groups when the first major ethnological research was done. For example, at the end of the 19th century, Sagdloq, the last medicine man among what were then called in English, "Polar Eskimos", died; he was believed to be able to travel to the sky and under the sea, and was also known for using ventriloquism and sleight-of-hand.
The Netsilik (Netsilingmiut) are Inuit who live predominantly in Kugaaruk and Gjoa Haven, and somewhat in Taloyoak of the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, and, to a smaller extent in the north Qikiqtaaluk Region, in Canada. They were, in the early 20th century, among the last northern indigenous peoples to encounter missionaries from the south.
A tupilaq is a monster or carving of a monster.
Hungarian shamanism is discovered through comparative methods in ethnology, designed to analyse and search ethnographic data of Hungarian folktales, songs, language, comparative cultures, and historical sources.
Kivallirmiut, also called the Caribou Inuit, 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.
Greenlandic cuisine is traditionally based on meat from marine mammals, birds, and fish, and normally contains high levels of protein. Since colonization and the arrival of international trade, the cuisine has been increasingly influenced by Danish, British, American and Canadian cuisine. During the summer when the weather is milder, meals are often eaten outdoors.
Qailertetang is an Inuit goddess who cares for animals, fishers, and hunters and who controls the weather. She dwells with her companion Sedna at the bottom of the sea in the company of seals, whales, and other sea creatures. Qailertetang is depicted as a "large woman of very heavy limbs". Before hunts, she, along with Sedna, are served by shamans on behalf of the rest of the tribe in rituals designed to ensure success in said hunts as coastal Inuit groups' diets mostly consist of sea animals.
Harvaqtuurmiut were a Caribou Inuit society in Nunavut, Canada. Predominantly, their inland existence was along the lower Kazan River section, by Thirty Mile Lake, that they called Harvaqtuuq. In 1995, the lower Kazan River area, an important crossing area for the Kaminuriak caribou herd as well as the traditional territory and ancestral home of Harvaqtuurmiut, was designated the Fall Caribou Crossing National Historic Site.
Shamanism is a religious practice present in various cultures and religions around the world. Shamanism takes on many different forms, which vary greatly by region and culture and are shaped by the distinct histories of its practitioners.
Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by Inuit, a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of Canada, Greenland, and the United States. The basic outfit consisted of a parka, pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals, and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. The production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill which was passed down from women to girls, and which could take years to master. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following established hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.
The mistress of the animals of the hunt, Pinga, lives somewhere up in the air or in the sky