Editing Inuit religion

{{Short description|none}}
[[File:Sanna aux doigts coupés.jpg|thumb|[[Sedna (mythology)|Sedna]], an Inuit deity|alt=Carving of Sedna, depicted with her legs turned into the tail of a fish, and her fingers cut off.]]
{{Indigenous Peoples of Canada|Religions}}
'''Inuit religion''' is the shared spiritual beliefs and practices of the [[Inuit]], an [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous people]] from [[Alaska]], [[northern Canada]], parts of [[Siberia]], and [[Greenland]]. Their religion shares many similarities with some [[Alaska Native religion]]s. Traditional Inuit religious practices include [[animism]] and [[shamanism]], in which spiritual healers mediate with spirits.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/inu/eft/eft01.htm Texts of mythology] Sacred text.com. Retrieved 26 January 2013.</ref>
Today many Inuit follow [[Christianity]] (with 71 percent of Canadian Inuit identifying as Christian {{as of|2021|lc=yes}});<ref>"Religion by Indigenous Identity: Canada, Provinces and Territories". Statistics Canada. {{doi|10.25318/9810028801-eng}}.</ref> 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]].<ref><!-- [http://yomee.com/Religions/Other/Inuit.htm Inuit - Eskimo Religion] --> {{Cite web |url=http://yomee.com/Religions/Other/Inuit.htm |title=Inuit (Eschimo) |access-date=2008-12-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220080425/http://yomee.com/Religions/Other/Inuit.htm |archive-date=2008-12-20 }}</ref>

Inuit [[cosmology]] provides a narrative about the world and the place of people within it. [[Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley]] writes:
{{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Qitsualik|first1=Rachel Attituq|author-link=Rachel Qitsualik-Tinsley|title=Shooting the Breeze|url=http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/archives/nunavut990930/nunani.html|website=www.nunatsiaq.com|publisher=[[Nunatsiaq News]]|access-date=16 May 2024|date=10 September 1999}}</ref>}}

Traditional stories, [[ritual]]s, and [[taboo]]s of the Inuit are often precautions against dangers posed by their harsh [[Arctic]] environment. [[Knud Rasmussen]] asked his guide and friend [[Aua (angakkuq)|Aua]], an ''[[angakkuq]]'' (spiritual healer), about Inuit religious beliefs among the [[Igloolik#Culture|Iglulingmiut]] (people of [[Igloolik]]) and was told: "We don't believe. We fear." Authors Inge Kleivan and Birgitte Sonne debate possible conclusions of Aua's words, because the angakkuq was under the influence of [[Missionary|Christian missionaries]], and later converted to Christianity. Their study also analyses beliefs of several Inuit groups, concluding (among others) that fear was not diffuse.<ref>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]: 32</ref>

{{blockquote|First were ''unipkaaq''s : myths, legends, and folktales which took place "back then" in the indefinite past (''taimmani'').<ref>[[#Lowe92|Lowenstein 1992]]: p. xxxv</ref>}}
[[File:Inuit dance near Nome 1900.jpg|thumb|Iñupiat dance near [[Nome, Alaska]], 1900]]

==Inuit cultural beliefs==
=== ''Angakkuq'' ===
Among Canadian Inuit, a spiritual healer is known as an ''[[angakkuq]]'' (plural: ''angakkuit'', [[Inuktitut syllabics]] ''ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ'' or ''ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://glosbe.com/ike/en/%E1%90%8A%E1%96%93%E1%91%A6%E1%91%AF%E1%96%85 |title=Eastern Canadian Inuktitut-English Dictionary ᐊᖓᑦᑯᖅ|website=Glosbe|access-date=September 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://glosbe.com/iu/en/%E1%90%8A%E1%96%93%E1%92%83%E1%91%AF%E1%96%85 |title=Eastern Canadian Inuktitut-English Dictionary ᐊᖓᒃᑯᖅ|website=Glosbe|access-date=September 30, 2020}}</ref>) in [[Inuktitut]]<ref name=orale>{{Cite web | title = Dreams and Angakkunngurniq: Becoming an Angakkuq | publisher = Francophone Association of Nunavut | url = http://www.tradition-orale.ca/english/dreams-and-angakkunngurniq-becoming-angakkuq-81.html | access-date = September 30, 2020 | archive-date = April 17, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210417163011/http://www.tradition-orale.ca/english/dreams-and-angakkunngurniq-becoming-angakkuq-81.html }}</ref> or ''angatkuq'' in [[Inuvialuktun]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.copian.ca/library/learning/nac/nac_dictionary/nac_dictionary.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://en.copian.ca/library/learning/nac/nac_dictionary/nac_dictionary.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Inuinnaqtun to English|website=Copian|access-date=September 30, 2020}}</ref> The duties of an ''angakkuq'' include helping the community when marine animals, kept by Takanaluk-arnaluk or Sea Woman in a pit in her house, become scarce, according to [[Aua (angakkuq)|Aua]], an informant and friend of the anthropologist [[Knud Rasmussen]]. Aua described the ability of an apprentice ''angakkuq'' to see himself as a skeleton,<ref name=skeleton>[[#Mer85|Merkur 1985]]:122</ref> naming each part using the specific shaman language.<ref name="knud65">[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:170</ref><ref name=skeleton/>

=== Inuit at Amitsoq Lake ===
The Inuit at Amitsoq Lake (a rich fishing ground) on [[King William Island]] had seasonal and other prohibitions for sewing certain items. Boot soles, for example, could only be sewn far away from settlements in designated places.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:244</ref> Children at Amitsoq once had a game called ''tunangusartut'' in which they imitated the adults' behaviour towards the spirits, even reciting the same verbal formulae as ''angakkuit''. According to Rasmussen, this game was not considered offensive because a "spirit can understand the joke."<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:245</ref>

=== Netsilik Inuit ===
The homelands of the [[Netsilik Inuit]] (''Netsilingmiut'' meaning "People of the Seal") have extremely long winters and stormy springs. Starvation was a common danger.<ref name=thatmany>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:262</ref>

While other Inuit cultures feature protective guardian powers, the Netsilik have traditional beliefs that life's hardships stemmed from the extensive use of such measures. Unlike the Iglulik Inuit, the Netsilik used a large number of amulets. Even dogs could have amulets.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:268</ref> In one recorded instance, a young boy had 80 amulets, so many that he could hardly play.<ref name="thatmany"/><ref name="K&S43">Kleivan & Sonne:43</ref> One particular man had 17 names taken from his ancestors and intended to protect him.<ref name=thatmany/><ref>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:15</ref>

[[Tattoo]]ing among Netsilik women provided power and could affect which world they went to after their deaths.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:256,279</ref>

[[Nuliajuk]], the Sea Woman, was described as "the lubricous one".<ref>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:27</ref> If the people breached certain taboos, she held marine animals in the basin of her ''[[qulliq]]'' (an [[oil lamp]] that burns seal fat). When this happened, the ''angakkuq'' had to visit her to beg for game. In Netsilik [[oral tradition|oral history]], she was originally an orphan girl mistreated by her community.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:278</ref>

Moon Man, another cosmic being, is benevolent towards humans and their souls as they arrived in celestial places.<ref name=moons>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:30</ref><ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:279</ref> This belief differs from that of the [[Greenlandic Inuit]], in which the Moon's wrath could be invoked by breaking taboos.<ref name=moons/>

Sila or [[Silap Inua]], often associated with weather, is conceived of as a power contained within people.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:106</ref> Among the Netsilik, Sila was imagined as a male. The Netsilik (and [[Copper Inuit]]) believed Sila was originally a giant baby whose parents died fighting giants.<ref>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:31</ref>

=== Caribou Inuit ===
[[Caribou Inuit]] is a collective name for several groups of inland Inuit (the Krenermiut, Aonarktormiut, Harvaktormiut, Padlermiut, and Ahearmiut) living in an area bordered by the [[tree line]] and the west shore of [[Hudson Bay]]. They do not form a political unit and maintain only loose contact, but they share an inland lifestyle and some cultural unity. In the recent past, the Padlermiut took part in seal hunts in the ocean.<ref>[[#Gab70|Gabus 1970]]:145</ref>

The Caribou have a [[soul dualism|dualistic concept of the soul]]. The soul associated with respiration is called ''umaffia'' (place of life)<ref name="K&S8518">[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:18</ref> and the personal soul of a child is called ''tarneq'' (corresponding to the ''nappan'' of the Copper Inuit). The tarneq is considered so weak that it needs the guardianship of a name-soul of a dead relative. The presence of the ancestor in the body of the child was felt to contribute to a more gentle behavior, especially among boys.<ref>[[#Gab70|Gabus 1970]]:111</ref> This belief amounted to a form of [[reincarnation]].<ref name="K&S8518"/><ref>[[#Gab70|Gabus 1970]]:212</ref>

Because of their inland lifestyle, the Caribou have no belief concerning a Sea Woman. Other cosmic beings, named Sila or Pinga, control the [[Reindeer|caribou]], as opposed to marine animals. Some groups have made a distinction between the two figures, while others have considered them the same. Sacrificial offerings to them could promote luck in hunting.<ref>[[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:31, 36</ref>

Caribou angakkuit performed [[fortune-telling]] through ''qilaneq'', a technique of asking questions to a ''qila'' (spirit). The angakkuq placed his glove on the ground and raised his staff and belt over it. The qila then entered the glove and drew the staff to itself. Qilaneq was practiced among several other Alaskan Native groups and provided "yes" or "no" answers to questions.<ref>[[#Ras65|Rasmussen 1965]]:108, [[#KlSo85|Kleivan & Sonne 1985]]:26</ref><ref>[[#Gab70|Gabus 1970]]:227–228</ref>

=== Copper Inuit ===

Spiritual beliefs and practices among Inuit are diverse, just like the cultures themselves. Similar remarks apply for other beliefs: term ''[[Silap Inua|silap inua]]'' / ''sila'', ''hillap inua'' / ''hilla'' (among [[Inuit]]), ''ellam yua'' / ''ella'' (among [[Yup'ik]]) has been used with some diversity among the groups.<ref name=diversity>Kleivan & Sonne 1986: 31</ref> In many instances it refers to "outer space", "intellect", "weather", "sky", "universe":<ref name=diversity/><ref name=logos>{{cite book |last=Mousalimas |first=S. A. |chapter=Editor's Introduction |pages=23–26 |title=Arctic Ecology and Identity |series=ISTOR Books 8 |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó • International Society for Trans-Oceanic Research |location=Budapest • Los Angeles |year=1997 |isbn=978-963-05-6629-2}}</ref><ref name=connect>Nuttall 1997: 75</ref><ref name=shaman>[[#Mer85|Merkur 1985]]: 235–240</ref><ref name=caribou>[[#Gab70|Gabus 1970]]: 230–234</ref>  there may be some correspondence with the [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|presocratic]] concept of [[logos]].<ref name=logos/><ref name=ang-log>[http://www.fss.ulaval.ca/etudes-inuit-studies/v14te04.HTML Saladin d'Anglure 1990] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060517162505/http://www.fss.ulaval.ca/etudes-inuit-studies/v14te04.HTML |date=2006-05-17 }}</ref> In some other groups, this concept was more personified ({{IPA|ess|sɬam juɣwa|}} among [[Siberian Yupik]]).<ref name=man>[[#Men68|Menovščikov 1968]]: 447</ref>

Among [[Copper Inuit]], this "Wind Indweller" concept is related to spiritual practice: ''angakkuit'' were believed to obtain their power from this indweller, moreover, even their helping spirits were termed as ''silap inue''.<ref name=helping>[[#Mer85|Merkur 1985]]: 230</ref>

=== Greenland Inuit ===
[[Greenlandic Inuit]] believed that spirits inhabited every human [[joint]], even [[knuckle]]bones.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Subin |first=Anna Della |title=The enchanted worlds of Marshall Sahlins |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/marshall-sahlins-new-science-enchanted-universe/}}</ref>

==Anirniit==
The Inuit believed that all things have a form of [[Vitalism|spirit]] or [[soul]] ({{langx|iu|anirniq}} meaning "breath"; plural {{lang|iu|anirniit}}), 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 {{lang|iu|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.

The harshness and randomness of life in the [[Arctic]] ensured that Inuit lived constantly in fear of unseen forces. A run of bad luck could end an entire community and begging potentially angry and vengeful but unseen powers for the necessities of day-to-day survival is a common consequence of a precarious existence. For the Inuit, to offend an {{lang|iu|anirniq}} was to risk extinction. The principal role of the angakkuq in [[Inuit culture]] and society was to advise and remind people of the rituals and taboos they needed to obey to placate the spirits, since he was held to be able to see and contact them.

The anirniit are seen to be a part of the {{lang|iu|[[Silap Inua|sila]]}}—the sky or air around them—and are merely borrowed from it. Although each person's {{lang|iu|anirniq}} is individual, shaped by the life and body it inhabits, at the same time it is part of a larger whole. This enabled Inuit to borrow the powers or characteristics of an {{lang|iu|anirniq}} by taking its name. Furthermore, the spirits of a single class of thing—be it [[Marine mammal|sea mammals]], [[polar bear]]s, or plants—are in some sense held to be the same and can be invoked through a keeper or master who is connected with that class of thing. In some cases, it is the {{lang|iu|anirniq}} of a human or animal who becomes a figure of respect or influence over animals things through some action, recounted in a traditional tale. In other cases, it is a {{lang|iu|tuurngaq}}, as described below.

Since the arrival of Christianity among the Inuit, {{lang|iu|anirniq}} has become the accepted word for 'soul' in the Christian sense. This is the root word for other Christian terms: {{lang|iu|anirnisiaq}} means ''[[angel]]'' and ''[[God]]'' is rendered as {{lang|iu|anirnialuk}}, the great spirit.

{{blockquote|Humans were a complex of three main parts: two souls ({{lang|iu|iñuusiq}} and {{lang|iu|iḷitqusiq}}: perhaps "life force" and "personal spirit") and a name soul ({{lang|iu|atiq}}). After death, the {{lang|iu|iñuusiq}} departed for the east, but the other soul components could be reborn.<ref>[[#Lowe92|Lowenstein 1992]]: p. xxxiii</ref>}}

=={{lang|iu|Tuurngait}}==
Some spirits have never been connected to physical bodies. These are called '''{{lang|iu|tuurngait}}''' (also {{lang|iu|tornait}}, {{lang|iu|[[tornat]]}}, {{lang|iu|tornrait}}, singular '''{{lang|iu|tuurngaq}}''', {{lang|iu|torngak}}, [[tornrak]], {{lang|iu|tarngek}}) and "are often described as a shaman's helping spirits, whose nature depends on the respective {{lang|iu|angakkuq}}".<ref name="Neuhaus 2000:48">[[#Neuhaus|Neuhaus 2000]]:48</ref> Helpful spirits can be called upon in times of need and "are there to help people", as explained by Inuit elder Victor Tungilik.<ref name="Neuhaus 2000:48"/> Some {{lang|iu|tuurngait}} are evil, monstrous, and responsible for bad hunts and broken tools. They can possess humans, as recounted in the story of {{lang|iu|[[Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner|Atanarjuat]]|italic=no}}. An {{lang|iu|angakkuq}} with good intentions can use them to heal sickness and find animals to hunt and feed the community. They can fight or exorcise bad {{lang|iu|tuurngait}}, or they can be held at bay by rituals; However, an {{lang|iu|angakkuq}} with harmful intentions can also use {{lang|iu|tuurngait}} for their own personal gain, or to attack other people and their {{lang|iu|tuurngait}}.

Though once {{lang|iu|tuurngaq}} simply meant "killing spirit", it has, with [[Christianization|Christianisation]], taken on the meaning of a [[demon]] in the Christian belief system.

== Inuit shamanism ==

[[File:Ikpukhuak and his shaman wife Higalik.jpg|thumb|Ikpukhuak and his ''angatkuq'' (shaman) wife, Higalik (Ice House)]]

Shamans (''anatquq'' or ''[[angakkuq]]'' in the [[Inuit languages]] of northern parts of Alaska and Canada<ref>[[#Hall75|Hall 1975]]: 445</ref>) played an important role in the religion of Inuit acting as religious leaders, tradesmen, healers, and characters in cultural stories holding mysterious, powerful, and sometimes superhuman abilities. The idea of calling shamans "[[Medicine man|medicine men]]" is an outdated concept born from the accounts of early explorers and trappers who grouped all shamans together into this bubble. The term "medicine man" does not give the shamans justice and causes misconceptions about their dealings and actions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Northern Tales|last=Norman|first=Howard|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-394-54060-3|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/173 173-177]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/173}}</ref> Despite the fact they are almost always considered healers, this is not the complete extent of their duties and abilities and detaches them from their role as a mediator between normal humans and the world of spirits, animals, and souls for the traditional Inuit.

There is no strict definition of shaman and there is no strict role they have in society. Despite this, their ability to heal is nearly universal in their description. It has been described as "breathing or blowing away" the sickness but there is not set method any one shaman or groups of shamans perform their deeds. Even though their methods are varied, a few key elements remain in virtually all accounts and stories. In order to cure or remove an ailment from someone, the shaman must be skilled in their own right but must have the faith of those being helped.<ref name=":0" />

In stories of shamans there is a time of crisis and they are expected to resolve, alleviate, or otherwise give resolution or meaning to the crisis. These crises often involve survival against the natural elements or disputes between people that could end in death.<ref>[[#Hall75|Hall 1975]]: 450</ref> In one such story, a hunter kidnapped a man's daughter and a shaman described in terms of belonging to the man. The shaman pulled the daughter back with a magic string.<ref>[[#Hall75|Hall 1975]]: 401</ref> The shaman is also able to bestow gifts and extraordinary abilities to people and to items such as tools.<ref>[[#Hall75|Hall 1975]]: 297–298</ref>

Some stories recount shamans as unpredictable, easily angered, and pleased in unusual ways. This could be shown as illustrating that despite their abilities and tune with nature and spirits, they are fickle and not without fault.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Northern Tales|last=Norman|first=Howard|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-394-54060-3|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/189 189-191]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/189}}</ref> There are stories of people attempting to impersonate shamans for their own gain by pretending to have fantastical abilities such as being able to fly only to be discovered and punished.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Northern Tales|last=Norman|first=Howard|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-394-54060-3|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/182 182]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394540603/page/182}}</ref>

A handful of accounts imply shamans may be feared in some cases for their abilities as they specify that someone did not fear being approached and talked to by a shaman.<ref>[[#Hall75|Hall 1975]]: 148</ref> This leads to further ideas that the shaman's power was to be greatly respected and the idea that the shaman was not necessarily always a fair and good force for the people around them.

The Christianization of the Inuit by both willing conversion and being forcefully pressured into converting to Christianity has largely destroyed the tradition of the shaman. Priests, pastors, and other Christian religious authorities replaced the shamans as the connection between the human world and the other world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.laits.utexas.edu/sami/diehtu/siida/shaman/inuit.htm|title=Sámi Noaidi and Inuit Angakoq: Traditional Shamanic Roles and Practices|last=Meyer|first=Lauren}}</ref>

==Deities==
Below is an incomplete list of Inuit deities believed to hold power over some specific part of the Inuit world:
* [[Agloolik]]: evil god of the sea who can flip boats over; spirit which lives under the ice and helps wanderers in hunting and fishing
* [[Akna (Inuit mythology)|Akna]]: mother goddess of fertility
* [[Amaguq]]/[[Amarok (wolf)|Amarok]]: wolf god who takes those foolish enough to hunt alone at night
* [[Anguta]]: gatherer of the dead; he carries them into the underworld, where they must sleep for a year.
* Ignirtoq: a goddess of light and truth.<ref>{{cite book
	| last = Leach
	| first = Marjorie 
	| date = 1992
	| title = Guide to the Gods
	| publisher = [[Gale Research]]
	| page = 191
	| isbn = 978-0-87436-591-7
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
	| last = Ann
	| first = Martha
    | last2 = Myers Imel 
    | first2 = Dorothy
	| date = 1993
	| title = Goddesses in World Mythology
	| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
	| page = 369
	| isbn = 978-0-19-509199-1
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
	| last = Boaz
	| first = Franz
	| date = 1907 
	| title = The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay: from notes collected by George Comer, James S. Mutch, E.J. Peck
	| publisher = [[American Museum of Natural History]] 
    | url = https://archive.org/details/bulletin-american-museum-natural-history-15-371-570/page/498/mode/2up?q=Ignirtoq
	| page = 498
}}</ref>
* [[Nanook]]: (''Nanuq'' or ''Nanuk'' in the modern spelling) the master of [[polar bear]]s
* [[Pinga (goddess)|Pinga]]: the goddess of strength, the hunt, fertility and medicine
* [[Qailertetang]]: weather spirit, guardian of animals, and matron of [[Fisherman|fishers]] and [[hunters]]. Qailertetang is the companion of Sedna.
* [[Sedna (mythology)|Sedna]]: the mistress of sea animals and mother of the sea. Sedna (''Sanna'' in modern Inuktitut spelling) is known under many names, including [[Nerrivik]], [[Arnapkapfaaluk]], [[Arnakuagsak]], and [[Nuliajuk]].
* [[Silap Inua]] or Sila: personification of the air
* Tekkeitsertok:<!-- maybe Tuktusiaqtuq? --> the master of [[Reindeer|caribou]].
* [[Tarqiup Inua]]: lunar deity
* [[Pukkeenegak]]: Goddess of domestic life, including sewing and cooking.<ref>The Goddess Guide, Priestess Brandi Auset, ISBN 0738715514, 9780738715513</ref>

==Creatures and spirits==
* [[Ahkiyyini]]: a skeleton spirit
* [[Sun and Moon (Inuit myth)|Aningaat]]: a boy who became the moon; brother to Siqiniq, the sun; sometimes equated to the lunar deity [[Tarqiup Inua]]
* Aumanil: a spirit which dwelled on the land and guided the seasonal movement of whales<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asIWAQAAMAAJ&q=Aumanil |title=L'Ethnographie |date=1922 |publisher=L'Entretemps éditions. |language=fr}}</ref>
* [[Qallupilluit]]: monstrous human-like creatures that live in the sea and carry off disobedient children.<ref>{{cite web |title=Qallupilluit - from the Inuit tribes, a "troll-like" creature |url=http://www.inuitmyths.com/story_qua.htm |access-date=18 February 2012 |work=Franz Boas (1888) The Central Eskimo. (p.212-213)}}</ref>
* Saumen Kar: also called Tornit or Tuniit are the Inuit version of the [[Bigfoot|Sasquatch]] or [[Yeti]] myth. They may be the people of the [[Dorset culture]] who were said to be giants.
* [[Sun and Moon (Inuit myth)|Siqiniq]]: a girl who became the sun; sister to Aningaat, the moon
* [[Tizheruk]]: snake-like monsters.

== Legendary people ==
Some people starring in ''unipkaaqtuat'' ("traditional stories"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://ocul-lhd.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=01OCUL_LHD:LHD_DEFAULT&docid=alma9910934533005155 |title=Unipkaaqtuat Arvianit = Traditional Inuit stories from Arviat. Volume two |access-date=24 March 2025 |last1=Kalluak |first1=Mark |last2=Christopher |first2=Neil |editor-last1=Flaherty |editor-first1=Louise |isbn=9781926569178 |oclc=731534497 |publisher=Inhabit Media|date=2010}}</ref>) or ''unikkaaqtuat'' ("to tell stories"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://inhabitbooks.com/products/unikkaaqtuat-an-introduction-to-inuit-myths-and-legends |title=Unikkaaqtuat : An Introduction to Inuit Myths and Legends |access-date=24 March 2025 |editor-last1=Christopher |editor-first1=Neil |editor-last2=McDermott |editor-first2=Noel |editor-last3=Flaherty |editor-first3=Louise |publisher=Inhabit Media |isbn=9781772274882 |date=31 October 2023}}</ref>) include:

* [[Kiviuq]]: a wandering hero.
* [[Uumarnituq and Aakulujjuusi]]: the first Inuit, who created childbirth, womanhood, and death. 

==See also==
* [[Inuit group]], a set of satellites that orbit Saturn, many named after figures from Inuit religion

== References ==
=== Footnotes ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kleivan |first=Inge |author2=B. Sonne |title=Eskimos: Greenland and Canada |year=1985 |publisher=Institute of Religious Iconography • State University Groningen. E.J. Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |series=Iconography of religions, section VIII, "Arctic Peoples", fascicle 2 |isbn=90-04-07160-1|ref=KlSo85}}
* {{Cite book|last=Laugrand |first=Frédéric |author2=Jarich Oosten |author3=François Trudel  |title=Representing Tuurngait. Memory and History in Nunavut, Volume 1 |publisher=[[Nunavut Arctic College]] |year=2000}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lowenstein |first=Tom |others=Asatchaq (informant); Tukummiq (translator) |title=The Things That Were Said of Them: Shaman Stories and Oral Histories of the Tikiġaq People |year=1992 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=0-520-06569-7|ref=Lowe92}}
* {{Cite book|last=Neuhaus |first=Mareike |title=That's Raven Talk: Holophrastic Readings of Contemporary Indigenous Literatures |year=2000 |publisher=University of Regina Press |location=Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |isbn=978-0-88977-233-5|ref=Neuhaus}}
* {{cite book |last=Rasmussen |first=Knud |author-link=Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen |title=Thulefahrt |year=1926 |publisher=Frankurter Societăts-Druckerei |location=Frankfurt am Main |ref=Ras26}}
* {{cite book |last=Rasmussen |first=Knud |title=Thulei utazás |language=hu |publisher=Gondolat |series=Világjárók |location=Budapest |year=1965 |others=transl. Detre Zsuzsa |ref=Ras65}} Hungarian translation of [[#Ras26|Rasmussen 1926]].
* {{cite book |last=Merkur |first=Daniel |title=Becoming Half Hidden: Shamanism and Initiation among the Inuit |year=1985 |publisher=Almqvist & Wiksell |location=Stockholm |isbn=978-91-22-00752-4 |ref=Mer85 |series=Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis • Stockholm Studies in Comparative Religion}}
* {{cite book |last=Gabus |first=Jean |title=Vie et coutumes des Esquimaux Caribous |year=1944 |publisher=Libraire Payot Lausanne |language=fr |ref=Gab44}}
* {{cite book |last=Gabus |first=Jean |title=A karibu eszkimók |year=1970 |publisher=Gondolat Kiadó |location=Budapest |language=hu |ref=Gab70}} Translation of [[#Gab44|Gabus 1944]].
*{{cite book |last=Menovščikov |first=G. A. (Г. А. Меновщиков) |chapter=Popular Conceptions, Religious Beliefs and Rites of the Asiatic Eskimoes |editor=Diószegi, Vilmos |title=Popular beliefs and folklore tradition in Siberia |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |location=Budapest |year=1968 |ref=Men68}}
*{{Cite book|title=The Eskimo Story-Teller: Folktales from Noatak, Alaska|last=Hall|first=Edwin|publisher=The University of Tennessee Press|year=1975|location=Knoxville|ref=Hall75}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Asatchaq, and Tom Lowenstein. ''[http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/25507848= The Things That Were Said of Them Shaman Stories and Oral Histories of the Tikiġaq People]''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992. {{ISBN|0-520-06569-7}}
* {{cite book|author=Brian Morris|title=Religion and Anthropology: A Critical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PguGB_uEQh4C&q=Inuit|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85241-8}}
* Blake, Dale. ''Inuit Life Writings and Oral Traditions Inuit Myths''. St. John's, Nfld: Educational Resource Development Co-operative, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9688806-0-6}}
* Christopher, Neil, Louise Flaherty, and Larry MacDougall. ''Stories of the Amautalik Fantastic Beings from Inuit Myths and Legends''. Iqaluit, Nunavut: Inhabit Media, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-9782186-3-8}}
* Fienup-Riordan, Ann. ''Boundaries and Passages Rule and Ritual in Yup'ik Eskimo Oral Tradition''. The Civilization of the American Indian series, v. 212. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8061-2604-3}}
* Hall, Edwin S. ''The Eskimo Storyteller: Folktales from Noatak, Alaska''. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1975.
* Himmelheber, Hans, and Ann Fienup-Riordan. ''Where the Echo Began And Other Oral Traditions from Southwestern Alaska''. Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2000. {{ISBN|1-889963-03-8}}
* [http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/68694425= Houston, James A]. ''[http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/68694425= James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends]''. Orlando, Fla: Harcourt, 2006. {{ISBN|0-15-205924-5}}
* MacDonald, John. ''The Arctic Sky Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend''. Toronto: [[Royal Ontario Museum]]/Nunavut Research Institute, 1998. {{ISBN|0-88854-427-8}}
* Millman, Lawrence, and Timothy White. ''A Kayak Full of Ghosts Eskimo Tales''. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1987. {{ISBN|0-88496-267-9}}
* Norman, Howard A., Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon. ''[http://worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/oclc/34934135= The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North]''. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997. {{ISBN|0-15-230979-9}}
* Spalding, Alex. ''Eight Inuit Myths = Inuit Unipkaaqtuat Pingasuniarvinilit''. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1979.
* Wolfson, Evelyn. ''Inuit Mythology''. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Pub, 2001. {{ISBN|0-7660-1559-9}}
{{refend}}

===Fiction===
{{refbegin|30em}}
*''[[Tornrak]]'', the 1990 opera by [[John Metcalf (composer)|John Metcalf]] features several spirits in the Arctic scenes.
*''[[The Terror (novel)|The Terror]]'', [[Dan Simmons]], Horror novel, 2007.
*Video game ''[[Penumbra: Black Plague]]'' by [[Frictional Games]]. The Infected are the main enemies serving the hive mind Tuurngait.
{{refend}}

{{Native American religions|state=collapsed}}

{{Inuit}}
{{Inuit religion}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Inuit religion| ]]
[[Category:Inuit mythology| ]]
[[Category:Circumpolar mythology]]
[[Category:Canadian mythology]]