THE SHAMAN AND THE RELATION BETWEEN NATURE AND HUMAN BEINGS
In difficult times with bad catches, the Inuit turned to the settlement’s shaman, the angakkoq. The shaman was the link between the physical world and the spiritual world, where the Mother of the Sea and the Weather Being lived.
When the shaman had to travel to the spiritual world, he used his drum. The rhythmical striking of the drum caused the shaman to go into a trance, and in this way he entered the spiritual world.
If the catch failed, the most common purpose of the journey was to seek out the Mother of the Sea in order to have her set the game animals free.
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How did the shaman travel from the physical world to the spiritual?
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The Mother of the Sea and the Weather Being lived in the spiritual world. Name other beings living in the spiritual world.
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In former times the belief in spirits and magic was a part of Inuit’s everyday life. Why does the belief in spiritual beings arise?
The Mother of the Sea was to Inuit a highly respected mythical creature. When the hunt at sea failed, it was thought that this was due to misdeeds committed by humans, and as punishment the Mother of the Sea held the game animals back in her matted hair.
The shaman had to go on a perilous spiritual journey to the bottom of the sea to apologize for the misdeeds of the humans and make the Mother of the Sea set the game animals free.
The legend of the Mother of the Sea ensured that people observed both society’s customs and the shaman’s precepts.
Write comments for the pictures, or record your story.
Inua is a term for that which animates everything, animals, plants, stones, weather, and make them humanlike.
The weather inua is an unpredictable being that reacts if taboos and rituals are broken. When a storm raged for a long time the hunters could not go hunting or fishing.
The shaman then had to travel to the spiritual world to find out which taboos or rites had been broken. When he returned he told the humans which taboos and rites they had to observe.
An example of a taboo that could be broken was that menstruating women had to live in a tent on their own, away from the settlement.
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Explain what the words taboo and ritual means. Give some examples of both.
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Why was the weather inua especially important to Inuit?
In difficult times with bad catches, the Inuit turned to the settlement’s shaman, the angakkoq. The shaman was the link between the physical world and the spiritual world, where the Mother of the Sea and the Weather Being lived.
When the shaman had to travel to the spiritual world, he used his drum. The rhythmical striking of the drum caused the shaman to go into a trance, and in this way he entered the spiritual world.
If the catch failed, the most common purpose of the journey was to seek out the Mother of the Sea in order to have her set the game animals free.
-
How did the shaman travel from the physical world to the spiritual?
-
The Mother of the Sea and the Weather Being lived in the spiritual world. Name other beings living in the spiritual world.
-
In former times the belief in spirits and magic was a part of Inuit’s everyday life. Why does the belief in spiritual beings arise?
The Mother of the Sea was to Inuit a highly respected mythical creature. When the hunt at sea failed, it was thought that this was due to misdeeds committed by humans, and as punishment the Mother of the Sea held the game animals back in her matted hair.
The shaman had to go on a perilous spiritual journey to the bottom of the sea to apologize for the misdeeds of the humans and make the Mother of the Sea set the game animals free.
The legend of the Mother of the Sea ensured that people observed both society’s customs and the shaman’s precepts.
Write comments for the pictures, or record your story.
Inua is a term for that which animates everything, animals, plants, stones, weather, and make them humanlike.
The weather inua is an unpredictable being that reacts if taboos and rituals are broken. When a storm raged for a long time the hunters could not go hunting or fishing.
The shaman then had to travel to the spiritual world to find out which taboos or rites had been broken. When he returned he told the humans which taboos and rites they had to observe.
An example of a taboo that could be broken was that menstruating women had to live in a tent on their own, away from the settlement.
-
Explain what the words taboo and ritual means. Give some examples of both.
-
Why was the weather inua especially important to Inuit?
