Inuit Religion
I've come to understand that my Christian creation stories have spawned an interest in my understanding of other cultures' stories relating to their belief system to see how these people come to understand in what way they should live and for what reasons they live the way they do. This is a story from the Iglulik. They are a people living on the west coast of Hudson Bay. This story tells of the creation of sea mammals and a couple of deities in the process:
Aua and other [Iglulik] men went on to explain that they did not believe, they feared. They feared the weather spirit of the earth, hunger, sickness, the souls of people, the souls of animals killed, Takanaluk and Sila. The primary purpose behind their taboo system, which was based on experience and wisdom, was to avoid offending the souls of food animals, even though the animals had to be killed since “human food consists entirely of souls.”
The forces that controlled the Iglulik universe were neither good nor bad, and while they often were personified, they were not worshipped in the manner of gods. The major task of the people in dealing with these supernaturals was to pacify them by observing traditional rules of behavior. The most awesome force was Takanaluk, “The Terrible One Down There,” the spirit that lived at the bottom of the sea and was the mother of sea mammals. She once was a human, a girl, who in her pride rejected all suitors. In his anger her father said, “May she have my dog!” Then one evening as the family was settling down for the night, a strange man arrived and slept with the girl as his wife. He had the canine teeth of a dog hanging from his chest as amulets and was actually the father’s dog in human form. The girl’s father took her away to a nearby island, but the dog swam there to join his wife. The girl bore some human offspring and others that were dogs. Her dog husband swam to the mainland regularly to get food for his family. Once the girl’s father tricked him into carrying stones back to the island, and he drowned. In retaliation the girl told her children to kill their grandfather when he arrived with food, but he managed to escape. Since she was without food, the girl sent her children away, using boot soles as boats. When they reached other places, some of the children became whites, and others Indians. She then returned to the mainland to live with her father, only to be lured away by a deformed man who was really a bird, a storm-petrel, in human form. The girl’s father found her and took her away while her husband was out hunting. The husband changed into a storm-petrel and pursued their boat. When he could not obtain the girl, he caused a terrible storm by beating his wings. As the height of the waves increased, the man grew fearful and threw his daughter into the sea for her husband to retrieve, but she clung to the gunwale with her hands. Her father hacked off the first joints of her fingers, and after they fell into the sea, they became common seals. She still held on, and the father cut off the middle joints, which became bearded seals. He cut again, and the last joints became walrus. She could hold on no longer and slipped into the sea, sinking to the bottom to become the spirit Takanaluk. She joined her dead dog husband, whose spirit guarded the passage to her house, and only fearless shamans dared attempt to reach her. In his remorse the girl’s father lay down at the edge of the sea, and when the high tide took him to his daughter, he became the Father of the Woman of the Deep. As a spirit he was always angry, especially at those who broke the rules. Takanaluk was accorded great respect by the Iglulik since seals and walrus, their mainstay, came from her.
This comes from Oswalt (1999) Eskimos & Explorers, p. 182
Aua and other [Iglulik] men went on to explain that they did not believe, they feared. They feared the weather spirit of the earth, hunger, sickness, the souls of people, the souls of animals killed, Takanaluk and Sila. The primary purpose behind their taboo system, which was based on experience and wisdom, was to avoid offending the souls of food animals, even though the animals had to be killed since “human food consists entirely of souls.”
The forces that controlled the Iglulik universe were neither good nor bad, and while they often were personified, they were not worshipped in the manner of gods. The major task of the people in dealing with these supernaturals was to pacify them by observing traditional rules of behavior. The most awesome force was Takanaluk, “The Terrible One Down There,” the spirit that lived at the bottom of the sea and was the mother of sea mammals. She once was a human, a girl, who in her pride rejected all suitors. In his anger her father said, “May she have my dog!” Then one evening as the family was settling down for the night, a strange man arrived and slept with the girl as his wife. He had the canine teeth of a dog hanging from his chest as amulets and was actually the father’s dog in human form. The girl’s father took her away to a nearby island, but the dog swam there to join his wife. The girl bore some human offspring and others that were dogs. Her dog husband swam to the mainland regularly to get food for his family. Once the girl’s father tricked him into carrying stones back to the island, and he drowned. In retaliation the girl told her children to kill their grandfather when he arrived with food, but he managed to escape. Since she was without food, the girl sent her children away, using boot soles as boats. When they reached other places, some of the children became whites, and others Indians. She then returned to the mainland to live with her father, only to be lured away by a deformed man who was really a bird, a storm-petrel, in human form. The girl’s father found her and took her away while her husband was out hunting. The husband changed into a storm-petrel and pursued their boat. When he could not obtain the girl, he caused a terrible storm by beating his wings. As the height of the waves increased, the man grew fearful and threw his daughter into the sea for her husband to retrieve, but she clung to the gunwale with her hands. Her father hacked off the first joints of her fingers, and after they fell into the sea, they became common seals. She still held on, and the father cut off the middle joints, which became bearded seals. He cut again, and the last joints became walrus. She could hold on no longer and slipped into the sea, sinking to the bottom to become the spirit Takanaluk. She joined her dead dog husband, whose spirit guarded the passage to her house, and only fearless shamans dared attempt to reach her. In his remorse the girl’s father lay down at the edge of the sea, and when the high tide took him to his daughter, he became the Father of the Woman of the Deep. As a spirit he was always angry, especially at those who broke the rules. Takanaluk was accorded great respect by the Iglulik since seals and walrus, their mainstay, came from her.
This comes from Oswalt (1999) Eskimos & Explorers, p. 182
Labels: beliefs, Eskimo, Iglulik, polar bear, religion
