Inuit’s
originally believed in animism. This means that to them everything has a
spirit, whether it be human, non-human, living, or non-living. By use of charms,
carved masks, ceremonial houses called 'Kashims’, and ritualistic dances,
Shamans or 'Angakoks’ were the only people who could control or communicate
with the spirit world.
The
spirits were used by the Inuit to explain certain happenings, because of this
there are many rules that would need to be followed to make the spirits happy.
For instance, if they would hunt an animal for food, many rituals and respects
would need to be paid to that animal so that that animals’ spirit wouldn't come
back as a demon.
Human spirits
could also come back as demons due to madness or illness to that person. People
were believed to have three parts; the body, the spirit, and the name. So, when
a person dies only their body actually dies, their spirit and name keeps
living. This is why parents will name their children after ancestors to ensure
the spirit continues on.
"Here
are rules that needed to be followed in order to appease the spirits:
- Women were not allowed to sew caribou skins inside
igloos on sea ice during the winter.
- The Inuit people did not eat sea mammal and land
mammal meat at the same meal.
- A knife used for killing whales had to be wrapped
in sealskin, not caribou skin.
- After killing a seal, melted snow had to be dripped
into its mouth to quench the spirit's thirst.
- The Inuit saved the bladder of the hunted animals,
because the belief was that the spirit was found inside."
Bibliography:
Bremer, Melissa; Sajecki, Anna; Findlay, Heather
2007 The Inuit http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit5.html. Accessed on 11/2/15
2007 The Inuit http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_inuit5.html. Accessed on 11/2/15
Religion Reflection
ReplyDeleteI was impressed at how many different spirits they have and think about in their religion. I also thought it was amazing the amount of respect and fear they have in all earthly things- even inanimate objects- because they believe that everything contains a spirit. I understand a lot more having researched what they believe. Now I understand why something as simple as the common cold could turn into a very awful thing for these people. What was really shocking for me to see was the amount of rules that they had for dealing with the spirits in order to keep them happy. To me it was very difficult to understand the measures they take when doing simple tasks all for these spirits because many of these rules seem to just be a burden to the completion of a task, however they have made very logical explanations to all their rules. Another thing that I found interesting was that in their sacred houses where the shamans performed rituals, only the shamans were ever allowed to go into them, everyone else was strictly forbidden because they didn't have the spiritual connection like their shamans did. Overall I am very impressed with the care these people take in dealing with and explaining the spirits.