Journey to discover the mythical tradition, folklore beliefs and animistic-shamanic practices of the native populations of the Arctic area.
diย Sam Hall
taken from The fourth world. The heritage of the Arctic and its destruction,
Postal Code. 7, "Amulets and Angakok", Geo Srl, Milan, 1991
translation of Nicoletta Spagnol
notes edited by Marco Maculotti
image: Germaine Arnaktauyok, "Sedna - Mother Earth"
During the spring and summer, when they engaged in the practical aspects of community life, the generally superstitious and fearful Inuit seemed content and cheerful. Yet continuous good weather can be tiring, i white outย [1] and summer fog can exhaust the senses and induce a state of disorientation. Underneath their carefree appearance, Inuit often harbored a myriad of secret terrors in winter. Before missionaries and merchants brought Christianity and a more modern lifestyle, their thoughts sadly centered on hunger, disease, and a world of spirits. The Inuit told Fritjiof Nansen [2] that they believed that every object, animate and inanimate, had a soul, its own inua. Everything was alive: stones, sleds, harpoons, the creaking ice, the waves of the sea and the air they breathed. They believed that even hunger, pain, sleep, love and laughter were possessed by spirits.
Such beliefs, now ridiculed by most people, were natural to the small groups of primitive people who lived in a vast and isolated world, in constant motion due to falling rocks, the swelling of the sea and the cracking of ice. Thousands of years ago, when the ancient Inuit first saw that glaciers gave rise to icebergs, they must have been in awe, convinced that the process stemmed from the activity of living creatures.
Nansen conjectured that when a primitive inuk dreamed that he was out hunting, and woke up to find he hadn't moved, he couldn't help but believe that his body was possessed by a 'inua, a term that originally meant "living being", and from which it took its name. The Inuk must have reflected that if glaciers could produce offspring as Inuit women did, they too had to be ruled by a 'inua, and if that were the case, then certainly the same must hold true for animals and birds, the rivers which produced the fish, the mountains and promontories which gave birth to the rocks, and all that was seen or not seen, or it was only experienced. Within some communities it was thought that people and animals contained variousย inua, one for each bone in the body.
Some Inuit believed that animals, inanimate objects, and the earth itself were inhabited by the souls of the dead. In some areas of the Arctic it was believed that the Northern Lights were caused by stillborn children playing. The natives of the Kamciatka Peninsula in Siberia believed that animals and insects were reborn in the underworld. A giant polar bear sucking in water at the bottom of the sea through dilated nostrils was thought to be the cause of the eddies. After death, human spirits could travel to particular hemispheres present between the earth and the sky, or under the earth and the sea. The upper region was blessed with sunlight, abundant wildlife and represented the "time to sing" [ie the summer season, ed]. The lower half was colder and darker, much like earth when there was snow, ice and terrible storms. These spiritual worlds were the equivalent of heaven and hell, although there is no reason to think that an inuk's behavior during life was of any importance to the final choice.
The supreme deity wasย Sila, the life force that created and permeated all things and that, like theย Tao Chinese, it was inexhaustible and intangible [3]. The wrath ofย Sila, expressed through blizzards and storms, was to be avoided at all costs, although the Inuit were equally eager to appease the various other mythological figures and spirits that influenced their lives. There was Sedna, the goddess of the sea who provided animals for hunting [4]; Narssuk, the gigantic child who lived in space and probably with the help ofย Sila, it was said to control the weather; and if their taboos were ignored, the moon would disappear. The imaginations of most Inuit far north were filled with such a variety of supernatural creatures that it seems a miracle that they were able to maintain their sanity. Some spirits were helpful, alerting kayak drivers of the dangers ahead or helping hunters kill a whale or walrus, but most of them were to be feared.
Disease and death were the work of the ilisiituk, who secretly engaged in magic. Much hated, these wicked old men and women brewed potions with plants and insects, as well as human flesh and bones, such as medieval wizards and witches. They were soul thieves who seized hunters by turning them against their families and convincing them to refuse the community to lead a life in the mountains, where the victims, calledย qivitok, they became almost wild. Rumors and exaggerated fear gave these unfortunates a negative and unfounded reputation. Some were said to be nine meters tall and able to leap from mountain to mountain, hunting without weapons.
-ย ilisiitukย they were particularly adept at preparing monsters for sorcerers, orย tupilek, small animals used to inflict wounds or even death on the enemies ofย ilisiitukย [5]. This was done secretly. A variety of bones and skins were collected, wrapped in a leather bag with seal meat captured by the chosen victim, and a fragment taken from her clothing. L'ilisiitok, wearing his anorak inside out, so that the hood covered his face, sat on the banks of a river or a fjord, reciting spells and shaking amulets on his bag, so as to call theย tupil lacquer. When this had emerged and fully grown, the grotesque creature slipped into the water, disguised itself as a seal or walrus, and swam close to the enemy it had been sent against. As soon as the hunter came within range, theย tupil lacquer it hit. Usually the Inuk was done for. If he managed to escape and the monster failed him, theย tupil lacquerย he returned to kill the one who had created him.
With so many supernatural spirits and creatures around it was important to observe the multiple taboos and rules of life that had sprung from the experience and wisdom of previous generations. Aware of the sensitivity of the earth, which was a living thing, the Inuit tried to avoid placing the skins of dead animals directly on the ground, so that their spirits would not be transferred to the soil. The death of animals was planted and words that could be offensive to their souls, such as "harpoon" or "knife", were not used. Inuit who showed no respect for the animals they killed or incurred the wrath of the gods could bring storms, scarce hunting, and disease to the village. [6]. During such times, many Inuit starved to death, leaving the survivors in a state of confusion and uncertainty. It was in response to their need for guidance that the figure of theangakok, who held an influential and powerful position as a spiritual advisor, doctor and lawyer within the community.
Un angakok, usually male, was the equivalent of the American Indian medicine man, of the African medicine doctor, or of the medium for the spiritualists of the West. He claimed to be a clairvoyant, to converse with spirits and to be capable of incredible feats of mental agility. In the southern part of Baffin Island, an Inuit legend describes it as the firstย angakok had had an experience where his astral body flew out of the roof, and how he had been able to see the souls of his companions. On the Melville Peninsula was an inuk who dived into the sea to persuade the Mother of the Sea, Sedna, to provide enough prey to end a famine. Other Inuit believed that the formerย angakutย they were spirits who came down from heaven in search of unborn children in whose bodies they could live, and from whom they could put their shamanic knowledge into practice.
The main tasks of theangakok andthey communicated with the most important deities and spirits to ensure positive weather and hunting conditions, and to educate the Inuit about the complex aspects of the group's taboos, making sure they conformed to them. He was also their doctor and, as such, had to fight the evil spirits responsible for causing the diseases. Minor ailments were sucked in, blown and blown out of the body [7], or swept away with bird feathers. Burns were treated with compresses of blood and fat, or mucus. Wounds were cleaned with urine, boils were incised, broken bones were fixed, and severely frozen limbs were amputated.
In the case of internal diseases, the patient was publicly exhorted to confess the violation of taboos. Such transgressions were believed to attach themselves to the soul, oppressing it with disease and ultimately causing death. Usually confession was the only cure needed, but in extreme cases theangakokย he could assign new taboos as a precaution. When she examined a patient, his verdict was fearfully awaited. If he decided that he could not or did not want to help the sick person, for the unfortunate inuk there was no alternative but to go home and die.
Magic was often used to perform healing. A popular legend tells of how a boy recovered his sight after hisย angakokย local had used cages to carry him to a lake, where they repeatedly plunged him into the water. Arctic gavies, or puffins, were closely associated with shamanism. Their feathers adorned the shaman's costume and their skulls, decorated with artificial eyes, were used as ceremonial items. -ย angakutย Siberians used birds as familiars to guide them on long journeys into the spirit world. If an inuk was sick because his soul had been kidnapped by spirits or an evil shaman, it was the responsibility of theangakokย find it, recover it and return it to its rightful owner [8].
Such journeys could only be undertaken after considerable preparation. The ability to induce a trance was essential. Aย angakokย he fasted and deprived himself of water until he began to hallucinate, or he retired to meditate in an isolated place on the outskirts of the settlement. To concentrate mentally, he would rub a stone in a circle on the ground for hours at a time, as the assistant of a master of Japanese painting prepared the ink for him by rubbing it on a concave stone.
In winter, when the Inuit lived in their stone and sod dwellings, he used another method and organized a session similar to those that are organized today in Western communities. With the windows and entrances covered and the lamps unlit, theangakokย he sat in the center of the group, singing and chanting. The participants, silent and full of fear, listened to his voice following the rhythm of the beat of a leather drum, and which went from groans and moans to high-pitched whines and hysterical cries. Since he was often a skilled ventriloquist, the scene included hissing and whistling: he wanted to make believe that these sounds were voices from the underworld. Thus theangakokย convinced the audience that he was fighting with evil spirits [9].
If bad weather prevented hunting and the village faced starvation, drastic measures had to be taken. So atangakokย he was asked to travel into space to appease the Moon Man, or to descend into the depths of the oceans to calm Sedna, a goddess who all the Inuit legends from Siberia to Greenland have in common. Among the Inuit of western Canada this was done by building aย illuliaq on the sea ice, and through a hole made in the floor, the shaman and his audience sang for her. After her anger subsided, Sedna explained what taboos had been broken. L'angakok, who acted as mediator, exhorted those present to confess until the goddess was satisfied and, softening up, supplied them with prey again.
In the Eastern Arctic and Greenland the process was not that simple. In most of the Arctic it was difficult and dangerous to communicate with Sedna. Called in various ways,ย Nerrivik, Neqiviqย eย Arnarkuagssoq, represented the absolute greatest authority for the Inuit, and in front of her there was onlyย Sila. She was reportedly a hot-tempered woman and she had a reason for it. Inuit mythology, clearly enriched in recent times, tells of how Sedna married a seagull that she saw so badly that she had to wear glasses. When his her wife saw him without glasses for the first time, she horrified her horrible eyes and sobbed all night. At dawn, when her husband went out hunting, she fled in a leather-covered boat with her father, and sailed out to sea. When the seagull found out that his wife was gone, he was so infuriated that he chased the boat and attacked its occupants. Her father, frightened, trying to save her skin, threw her daughter out of her edge and when she clung to her railing, he severed her hands so that she sank.
Encouraged byย angakutย who had a vested interest in supporting and nurturing superstition, the Inuit believed that the secret sins of those who did not confess would sink to the bottom of the sea and become entangled in Sedna's hair, where they turned into lice. These parasites and the irritation they caused drove fish and mammals off the coast, depriving hunters of their prey. The solution to such a crisis was that theangakokย descend to the bottom of the sea and, by combing Sedna's hair, placate her mood. This was perhaps the most difficult of all her tasks and could not be accomplished without the help of the spirits called servantsย returned.ย Most of theย angakotย they possessed many of these familiars, and used them in various ways, as counselors, assistants, or avengers. They were sent to do their job in much the same way and for reasons similar to those that prompted those who practiced black magic to sendย tupilek.
The journey to the bottom of the sea was long and dangerous. The shaman and hisย Tornakย first they passed through the underworld, where they fought with the spirits of their former enemies, crossing crevices and facing severe trials against furious seals trying to bite them. A ferocious dog guarded Sedna's home, the entrance to which narrowed until it was no narrower than a knife blade [10]. At this point theangakokย he was forced to cross an abyss to reach the house where the irritable woman sat, waving two arms the size of a whale's tail fins in an attempt to get rid of the lice. If he wasn't nimble enough to dodge her, a single blow would end his mission. Sedna did not always welcome visitors, and it was often necessary for theangakokย and itsย Tornakย held it steady while they combed it. This done Sedna, after eating the lice, she calmed down and full of gratitude she returned the animals to the hunting grounds.
Despite the difficulties of the profession, the benefits of being aย angakokย they were remarkable. His ability to predict the future and restore vital balance gave him a position of authority, influence and power. He was respected and feared and was said to be immortal. In Inuit terms he was also a rich man. Even if he was not being reimbursed for community services in his own right, he could get paid more or less what he wanted when he gave spiritual or medical advice to a single inuk. Usually a broad-bladed knife or harpoon was sufficient payment in the case of a minor illness but, in more serious cases, he could ask for a number of dogs or a tent, a kayak or a sled built with whalebones.
If there was a possibility that the patient died he could insist on receiving payment in advance and since the life of the sick inuk was at stake, there was no alternative, he had to pay. Mythology does not explain what theangagokย with his growing collection of material goods, but in some cases the payment was made in the form of services. The reward for witnessing a birth could be the mother's favors once she recovered. The solution to the problems of a childless couple was never questioned. Many women considered it an honor to lie with aย angakokย and their husbands apparently welcomed it and also paid for it, especially if the union proved fruitful.
There was no shortage of candidates for the position ofย angakok, but the chosen neophyte had to undergo a trial apprenticeship that lasted up to ten years. This had to be undertaken in secret and included having to spend long periods in solitude, during which the novice learned to induce a trance and find the spirits who, once touched, would become his helpers. He was required to slip into a state of meditation so deep that he died of fear and then come back to life again. Other tests included fighting a polar bear and being eaten by a walrus, after which he had to restore his broken body and return to the whole camp [11]. After the trial period, the apprentice publicly proclaimed his achievement and started his own business as a young partner of theangakokย community officer.
Although solitude was necessary for many of his activities, attempts by theangakok to change the weather, heal the sick and fight evil spirits, or visit Sedna and the Moon Man were always made in front of an audience. He also celebrated various ceremonies, especially in Alaska, where milder weather meant that the Inuit had to worry a little less about their survival. Throughout the year, elaborate rituals and dances were held, during which participants wore characteristic costumes. With skins or bones or, when it was available, with wood, masks were made with which to hide one's identity. Seal teeth were placed in the mouths of the masks. They made eyebrows and whiskers out of the dogs' furs, and their beards out of feathers. On the outer edge were applied strings of exquisitely carved ivory amulets, to prevent the spirits from entering the eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils. The knobs, which reached up to the shoulders, were adorned with jade and pieces of white quartz, or with the beaks of birds.
These amulets were worn as protection against evil spirits and soul kidnappers, and could be made with strange tufts of hair, skin and nails, or tiny ivory or bone figurines. Normally they were worn directly on the skin, but women who wanted strong children sometimes wore them inside the bun of hair on the top of their head. The men, hoping to travel safely and to have good hunting, wore them on belts and bands placed around the arms, or placed them in small leather bags that hung around the neck. [12]. Others were placed on the roof of their homes, on the benches where they slept or inside the kayaks. The eyes and beaks, claws and feathers of the birds were particularly beneficial. Cords of crow's legs were hung around the necks of babies to prevent hunger. The paw of a crow, a bird held in high esteem because it was able to find food even in the most inaccessible places, was considered the most powerful. Wood, which had no feelings, was believed to ensure a rich, pain-free life. Courage could be obtained from the skin of the upper jaw of a polar bear. A fox's skull conferred cunning. Girls anxious to have an easy pregnancy carried the eggs of a snow bunting in their clothes. Many amulets were made by hand, and for example it was said that a couple ofย kamiksย in miniature they protected those who carried them from drowning.
With so many objects hanging from their costumes, the dancing Inuit made a sharp clatter as they twisted and whirled to the sound of the ceremonial drum. This was the only instrument present in the entire Far North. Its large circular structure, with a diameter of more than 60 centimeters, was made with seal or walrus ribs, although from the nineteenth century onwards wood was used. The drum skin was taken from the throat of a walrus or the stomach lining of a whale, caribou or dog. The drummer, who was holding the instrument by taking it from a small neck attached to the frame, stood with his legs apart, with his knees slightly bent, and swayed from side to side hitting the edge instead of the drum skin, with a short bone stick. As the rhythm took hold, he let his head swing exaggeratedly until he fell into a trance.
At this point another inuk in the audience would stand up and stand directly in front of him, singing a few simple notes. There were no words, just a "Aya-ya-a ... aya-a ...ยปButton sung in quarter tones and half tones on half an octave. Soon the onlookers were fascinated by the mood and monotony of the music, and joined them with a refrain. As the beat of the drum became more insistent, the singer's voice rose to become a piercing cry, and at this point the drummer intervened, singing his own phrase. The two men continued to sing alternately, so that the show turned into a duel rather than a duet. Sweating profusely, they continued until they were physically and emotionally exhausted and were replaced by other musical fights, which continued to sing through the night and part of the next day.
Another race included the singing with my throat [13]. This fascinating use of the glottis and vocal cords was a technique that involved the modulation of the voice and that was practiced mainly by women. Singing was a great joy for the Inuit. When hunting was plentiful, songs continually echoed throughout the village, from various voices. Their singing was so important that singing competitions and drum dances later evolved into a single judicial dispute resolution process [14].
Always fearful of ridicule, the parties in question took turns and sang satirical verses that mocked the misdeeds and failures of the opponent. The hunter's abilities or anatomical parts of him were mocked. Each mocked the other. This musical teasing, accompanied by insulting and highly charged acting, won the one who managed to elicit the loudest laughter. For the underdog, however, the experience could be so painful that the shame of defeat compelled many inuk [sic; inuit, ed] to go into exile.
Inuit songs and poems they were short and featured no rhymes or scans, yet they were simple and straightforward like Japanese Haiku poetry. The following examples demonstrate a similar interest in nature:
Mighty time
rages in my soul,
and I tremble.
Bones bleached!
Skeleton dried in the wind
in the wind it crumbles!
Inuit art is rigorous. In all their works the refinement and concentration of ideas reflect a life in which there is only time for the essentials. Yet the environment around them, the constant struggle against starvation and a fear-based existence have produced a rich culture. From the dawn of time, the ability to sculpt and carve was as necessary as eating and sleeping. Utensils, lamps, and vessels had to be hewn from bone, ivory, and stone. The desire to own amulets led to the creation of a large amount of miniature carvings that represented the wild nature that surrounded them. A careful study of the habits of animals and birds, observed in the immense arctic landscape that isolates non-white objects so much that they stand out in the sharpness of the details, has caused an increase in the power of observation and understanding of inuit and gave intensity to their sculpture, poetry and painting. The Inuit grasped not only the form, but the essence of their subjects, brilliantly displaying the arrogance of a polar bear, the fear of the seal, the wickedness of a tupil lacquer or the humor of an inuk engaged in the dance of the drum.
The intimate relationship of the Inuit with Nature continued almost undisturbed until the mid-eighteenth century, when they first came into contact with the culture of white men from the south. Some communities, especially the polar Inuit of Tule, in northwestern Greenland, remained isolated until the beginning of this century and one group, the Angmagssalik, in eastern Greenland, had virtually no contact with the rest of the world until World War II. World. Yet, in these relatively short years, foreign influence has undermined and undermined the ancient hunting culture.
In Alaska and Canada it is now foreign tourists who wear furs. The Inuit have adopted down-filled anoraks. With the exception of Greenland, where it is still an important means of transport, the dog sled has become a rarity. Today, young Inuit in mirrored glasses frisked across the ice on snowmobiles bought with the help of welfare payments. Others form graffiti and drawings with spray cans on the walls of empty wooden prefabs. Poverty and despair are dividing families, leaving the Inuit in a state of confusion and bitterness.
THEangakok he is dead, he has been replaced by doctors, nurses and the spiritual surrogates of the southern white bishops, whose way of life has engulfed the Inuit and left them in a state of addiction to the same industrial monoculture that threatens to destroy them. His relentless advance has turned them into second-rate citizens in an emerging, largely unknown and underdeveloped worldย โย a Fourth World in which other nations have shown very little interest, apart from the aspect concerning the exploitation of its people and its resources [15].
Note:
[1] I white out (rendered in Italian as "milky weather") are those moments in the middle of a storm in which, due to the snow fog and the very strong icy wind, you can no longer see anything even at a distance of a few meters.
[2] Fridtjof Nansen (Store Frรธen, October 10, 1861 - Bรฆrum, May 13, 1930) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist and politician.
[3] The concept of Sila it was also rendered, by some populations of the Canadian Subarctic, as "orenda", with a meaning similar to the "manitu" of the native Amerindians and to the "mana" of the Polynesians.
[4] Other Arctic tribes referred to the "Great Mother of Marine Animals" asย Takanakapsรขluk.
[5] I Tupilek remember the familiars of European witches, but also and above all thehomunculus alchemical and the golem of Jewish legends.
[6] The relationship of the Inuit with the world of Nature is almost identical to that of the other Native Americans; cf. M. Maculotti,ย The Sacred Circle of the Cosmos in the holistic-biocentric vision of Native Americansย eย The oral tradition of the "Big Stories" as the foundation of the Native Peoples Law of Canadaย and F. Spain,ย Spiritual Animals: Native Traditions of Subarctic Canada, on AXIS mundi.
[7] It is these shamanic healing techniques that we find, within the Mongolian race, even on the other side of the world (e.g., in Southeast Asia).
[8] For a complete discussion of all these topos within shamanic cultures, cf. M. Eliade, Shamanism and the techniques of ecstasy, Mediterranee, Rome, 2005.
[9] In ethnographic sources concerning the Amerindian peoples of North America, this ceremony is usually referred to as the "shaken tent ritual".
[10] On the topos in shamanism (and not only) of the "narrow passage", cf. M. Maculotti,ย Access to the Other World in the shamanic tradition, folklore and "abduction", on AXIS mundi.
[11] This initiatory test can be ascribed to the scope of the cd. "Ritual dismemberment", as in all shamanic traditions and particularly evident in the beliefs of the Australian aborigines.
[12] Equivalents of "medicine-bags" (medicine bags) of the native Amerindians.
[13] Tradition present, within the Mongolid lineage, also in north-central Asia, and precisely in Nepal, Mongolia and Siberia.
[14] For the peculiar resolution of disputes among Native Americans, cf. M. Maculotti,ย Cultural diversity and native justice: the "sentencing circle" and the sacred use of peyote among the native peoples of Canada, on AXIS mundi.
[15]ย For an extensive discussion on the issue of the subsistence and exploitation of forest and subsoil resources in Canada and the Arctic, cf. M. Maculotti, Recognition of the rights of the native peoples of Canada, Postal Code. 3 "Native Land: Aboriginal title and Land Rights", Pp. 110 ff., On Academia.edu.
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