thumb|Ikpukhuak and his angatkuq wife, Higalik (Ice House), between 1913 and 1916

thumb|The angakkuq, Niaqunguaq, between 1921 and 1924

The angakkuq is an intellectual and spiritual figure in Inuit culture who corresponds to a medicine man or shaman. Other cultures, including Alaska Natives, have traditionally had similar spiritual mediators, although the Alaska Native religion has many forms and variants.

Role in Inuit society

Both women, such as Uvavnuk, and men could become an angakkuq, although it was rarer for women to do so. The process for becoming an angakkuq varied widely. The son of a current angakkuq might be trained by his father to become one as well. Alternatively, a young man or woman who exhibited a predilection or power that made them stand out might be trained by an experienced mentor. There are also instances of angakkuit claiming to have been called to the role through dreams or visions. which consisted largely of an archaic vocabulary and oral tradition that was shared across much of the Arctic areas that Inuit occupied. During their training, the angakkuq would also gain a familiar or spirit guide who would be visible only to them. This guide, called a tuurngaq in the Inuit religion, would at times give them extraordinary powers. Inuit stories tell of agakkuit who could run as fast as caribou, or who could fly, with the assistance of their tuurngaq. In some traditions, the angakkuq would be either stabbed or shot, receiving no wound because of the intervention of their tuurngaq, thus proving their power. Breaking these laws or taboos was seen as the cause of misfortune, such as bad weather, accidents, or unsuccessful hunts. In order to pinpoint the cause of such misfortune, the angakkuq would undertake a spirit-guided journey outside of their body. They would discover the cause of the misfortune on this journey. Once they returned from the journey, the angakkuq would question people involved in the situation, and, under the belief that they already knew who was responsible, the people being questioned would often confess. This confession alone could be declared the solution to the problem, or acts of penance such as cleaning the urine pots or swapping wives might be necessary. The elders interviewed in 2002, while emphasizing that they were Christian, proposed that Christian ministry and angakkuuniq could each have their own differing benefits. They felt that although angakkuuniq came from the past, knowledge of it should be carried forward and the benefits that it could provide to modern Inuit should be carefully understood. They also suggested that angakkuuniq could be of benefit in dealing with contemporary Inuit social problems such as Indigenous suicide.

Notes

Further reading

  • E. Haase, Der Schamanismus des Eskimos (1987)
  • M. Jakobsen, Shamanism: Traditional and Contemporary Approaches to the Mastery of Spirits and Healing (1999)
  • D. Merkur, Becoming Half Hidden: Shamanism and Initiation among the Inuit (1985)
  • J. Oosten and F. Laugrand, Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit: Shamanism and Reintegrating Wrongdoers into the Community (2002)

References

  • Qaujimajatuqangit and social problems in modern Inuit society. An elders workshop on angakkuuniq- by Jarich Oosten and Frédéric Laugrand, 2002
  • Shamanism - the powers of the angakkuq- SILA, 2005