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Inuit Shamanism and ChristianityTransitions and Transformations in the Twentieth Century |
eBook Available
A study of the resilience of Inuit cosmology with a focus on shamanism and its transformation after the adoption of Christianity.
While the transition to Christianity in the Canadian Arctic occurred between the end of the eighteenth century and the 1950s, the various and complex transformations that happened during this time have not been fully understood.
Using archival material and oral testimony collected during workshops in Nunavut between 1996 and 2008, Frédéric Laugrand and Jarich Oosten provide a nuanced look at Inuit religion, offering a strong counter narrative to the idea that traditional Inuit culture declined post-contact. They show that setting up a dichotomy between a past identified with traditional culture and a present involving Christianity obscures the continuity and dynamics of Inuit society, which has long borrowed and adapted "outside" elements. They argue that both Shamanism and Christianity are continually changing in the Arctic and ideas of transformation and transition are necessary to understand both how the ideology of a hunting society shaped Inuit Christian cosmology and how Christianity changed Inuit shamanic traditions.
Inuit Shamanism and Christianity is particularly useful in distinguishing between the influence of Anglican, Catholic, and, more recently, Pentecostal and Evangelical movements and in delineating the ways in which Shamanism still influences modern life in Inuit communities.
Using archival material and oral testimony collected during workshops in Nunavut between 1996 and 2008, Frédéric Laugrand and Jarich Oosten provide a nuanced look at Inuit religion, offering a strong counter narrative to the idea that traditional Inuit culture declined post-contact. They show that setting up a dichotomy between a past identified with traditional culture and a present involving Christianity obscures the continuity and dynamics of Inuit society, which has long borrowed and adapted "outside" elements. They argue that both Shamanism and Christianity are continually changing in the Arctic and ideas of transformation and transition are necessary to understand both how the ideology of a hunting society shaped Inuit Christian cosmology and how Christianity changed Inuit shamanic traditions.
Inuit Shamanism and Christianity is particularly useful in distinguishing between the influence of Anglican, Catholic, and, more recently, Pentecostal and Evangelical movements and in delineating the ways in which Shamanism still influences modern life in Inuit communities.
Details
Part of the McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies (number 59 in series)
488 Pages, 6 x 9
45 b&w photos
ISBN 9780773535909
January 2010
Formats: Paperback, Cloth, eBook
"The authors have skillfully brought together historical and classical material alongside contemporary interviews. The brevity of their comments allow Inuit voices to be heard in ways that are not entirely controlled by the text, and in some ways burst through the author's commentary, raising as many questions as the author's themselves answer. This is one of the finest compilations of ethnographic material from the Inuit that I've ever seen." Chris Trott, Dean of Studies, Native Studies Department, St. John's College, University of Manitoba
"An ambitious, all-encompassing, and exciting volume." Nelson Graburn, University of California, Berkeley, Inuit Art Quarterly
"The publication is a highly valuable contribution to the research of Inuit shamanism as well as to religious change." International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics
"An ambitious, all-encompassing, and exciting volume." Nelson Graburn, University of California, Berkeley, Inuit Art Quarterly
"The publication is a highly valuable contribution to the research of Inuit shamanism as well as to religious change." International Review of Anthropology and Linguistics
Frédéric B. Laugrand is professor of anthropology, and director of the Centre Interuniversitaire d'Études et de Recherches Autochtones (CIÉRA), Université Laval.
Jarich G. Oosten (1945-2016) was associate professor of anthropology at Leiden University and the author of numerous books, including Inuit Shamanism and Christianity: Transitions and Transformation in the Twentieth Century with Frédéric B. Laugrand.
Jarich G. Oosten (1945-2016) was associate professor of anthropology at Leiden University and the author of numerous books, including Inuit Shamanism and Christianity: Transitions and Transformation in the Twentieth Century with Frédéric B. Laugrand.
Illustrations xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Part One | Angakkuuniq and Christianity
1 Continuity and Decline 3
2 Missionaries and Angakkuit 37
3 Inuit Winter Feasts 69
Part Two | Animals, Owners, and Non-human Beings
4 Hunters and Prey 103
5 The Owners of the Sky, the Land, and the Sea 133
6 Inuunngittut, Non-human Beings from the Land and the Sea 168
Part Three | Encounters, Healing, and Power
7 Initiation, Visions, and Dreams 201
8 Healing as a Socio-economic Process 242
9 Powerful Objects and Words 272
Part Four | Connecting to Ancestors and Land
10 Connecting to Ancestors: Qilaniq and Qilauti, Head Lifting and Drum Dancing 307
11 Reconnecting People and Healing the Land: Inuit Pentecostal and Evangelical Movements 342
12 Transitions and Transformations 372
Appendix 1: Glossary of Inuktitut Words 391
Appendix 2: Inuit Elders 400
Notes 405
References 435
Index 459
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
Part One | Angakkuuniq and Christianity
1 Continuity and Decline 3
2 Missionaries and Angakkuit 37
3 Inuit Winter Feasts 69
Part Two | Animals, Owners, and Non-human Beings
4 Hunters and Prey 103
5 The Owners of the Sky, the Land, and the Sea 133
6 Inuunngittut, Non-human Beings from the Land and the Sea 168
Part Three | Encounters, Healing, and Power
7 Initiation, Visions, and Dreams 201
8 Healing as a Socio-economic Process 242
9 Powerful Objects and Words 272
Part Four | Connecting to Ancestors and Land
10 Connecting to Ancestors: Qilaniq and Qilauti, Head Lifting and Drum Dancing 307
11 Reconnecting People and Healing the Land: Inuit Pentecostal and Evangelical Movements 342
12 Transitions and Transformations 372
Appendix 1: Glossary of Inuktitut Words 391
Appendix 2: Inuit Elders 400
Notes 405
References 435
Index 459
9780228005681
$115.00 CAD
Cloth
9780773518377
$37.95 CAD
Paperback
