|
The land and the sea provided everything the Inuit needed. With the exception of blocks of snow, used for winter shelters and certain traps, almost everything placed on the landscape was made with movable, unworked stone. Some objects were built to endure forever; others were fashioned with great skill but meant to vanish without a trace. An example of the latter is the qaggiq, the great ceremonial igloo built each year to celebrate Siiliitut, the festival of the mid-winter moon.
Inuit throughout the Arctic knew of the existence of places of power. The real, yet sometimes ghostly, geography of these places appeared in language, song, and remarkable drawings. Some were easily recognized because they were so striking. Others were distinguished by the objects found there. Still others were unrecognizable unless revealed by someone who knew of their importance; they had to be believed to be seen.
These places are numerous and varied, and include inuksuit, the stone structures of varied shape and size erected by Inuit for many purposes. The term inuksuk (the singular of inuksuit) means "to act in the capacity of a human." It is an extension of inuk, human being. In addition to their earthly functions, certain inuksuk-like figures had spiritual connotations, and were objects of veneration, often marking the threshold of the spiritual landscape of the Inummariit, which means "the people who knew how to survive on the land living in a traditional way."
| |
