Inupiaq people are also known as Inuit or Eskimo. They religious believes are based on the concept of animism. Animism is a believe that centralize the idea of that all objects and living things or beings have a spirit or soul (In Alaskan writing is: Inuktitut: anirniq).Since they believed that everything have a soul they also believed that everything that happens around them happens trough the involment of a spirit or soul. This believes has an effect to the people to constantly fear of what they cannot see since they never know what kind of spirit or soul would attack. Since they fear about the spirits and the souls they always were trying to not offend them. The people has dances and ritual like haunting blessing to prevent the provoquing and offending the haunted animals spirits or souls that later on they were going to eat.
In the community there was or is a very special person who contansly is in charge of dealing with the spirits and souls, but also he provided healing and advice in times of stress. This person is known as the Shaman (Angakkuq in Alaskan writing) which means that he is the central religious figure in traditional Inuit culture. He also could see and communicate with the spirits. He also has control over the spirits. He did this trough the power of talismans and amulets.
Another believed of the Inupiaq community, but also another method of controlling and protecting against spirits/souls, mostly done by women is the tatto.Inupiaq people believed that the indelible mark served as both a protective shield and a sacrifice to the supernatural. The method of tattooing was: to pass a needle under the skin, and as soon as it was withdrawn, its course was followed by a thin piece of material that had been dipped in oil and rubbed in soot.
There was a very special kind of spirits/souls are the Tuurngait. These are special spirits that they thought that by nature were unconnected to physical bodies. Some of these spirits can be helpful spirits that could be called upon in times of need. Others were evil and monstrous, responsible for bad hunts and broken tools. Some of the tuurngait can be so powerful that they could posses’ humans. A good shaman(Angakkuq) with good intentions could use them to heal sickness, and find animals to hunt and feed the community. He or she could fight or exorcise bad tuurngait using the power of talismans and amulets.
In the community they have what we can call everyday spirits and souls. Some of the most common ones are:
• Qailertetang- weather spirit, guardian of animals, and matron of fishers and hunters. Qailertetang is the companion of Sedna.
• Sedna - the mistress of sea animals.
o Sila - personification of the air.
• Nanook - (Nanuk in the modern spelling) the master of polar bears.
• Tekkeitsertok - the master of caribou.
Besides of the spirits/souls they also believed in some kind of monsters. These were hideous creature that could kill humans or take them away. Some of them are:
• Uentshukumishiteu (or Wentshukumishiteu) - a fearsome water monster who travels underwater, below the ice floes, and can emerge at any point. They feed on human flesh. This spirit fiercely protected the young of various animal species from human hunters.
• Qalupalik : human-like creatures that live in the sea, long hair with green skin and long finger nails. Qalupaliks wear an amautik so it can take babies and a child who disobey their parents or wander off alone and takes the children in her amautik under water were she adopts them as their own. Qalupaliks have a distinctive humming sound, and the elders have said you can hear the Qalupaliks humming when they are near.
