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Kenojuak Ashevak, Enchanted Owl (green tail), 1960. Photograph: The Museum of Inuit Art.

When you step into the Museum of Inuit Art, which is hidden at the back of the Queen's Quay Terminal on the Harbourfront, you'll probably recognize the first picture you see. This is the "Enchanted Owl." According to the museum's curator, Ingo Hessel, it is "a true icon...probably the most famous image in Inuit art if not Canadian art."
Most people know the image best in red on a postage stamp, but a lot of people don't know that the stonecut original was also printed in green ink. This is the version on display in the lobby.
"Kenojuak Ashevak made that image almost fifty years ago and she is still very active-and she is a quite experimental artist," says Hessel. "She has been doing some amazing new work and she is now in her early eighties."

The MIA is only two years old. It was set up by an ex-teacher, David Harris, and claims to be Canada's only public museum south of the Arctic totally dedicated to Inuit art. The museum begins with tiny early carvings and carries on through the influences that the first explorers, the Hudson's Bay Company and the RCMP brought to the north. It also contains much work by present-day Inuit artists. A gallery next door allows you to buy artworks, profits from the sales of which are plowed back into the museum.
Jane Schmidt, a staff member at the MIA, says that the location on Toronto's Harbourfront was chosen because of its proximity to a cultural hub. Also, the lake adds to the atmosphere. "When we do tours in the winter we pretend we're in the Arctic. There are ducks that come from there to the water."
The museum is determined to showcase the full breadth of Inuit art in all its variations. "People tend to think that the Arctic is one amorphous mass culture. It's not, really," says Schmidt. Inuit from different parts of northern Canada have different accents when they speak, different ways of telling stories, and access to different raw material. All this is reflected in the art people produce: for example, south Baffin Island uses a lot of green stone, while artists in the central Arctic use ivory and, being the most remote and isolated, are less influenced by western tradition.
And Inuit art is not just sculpture after sculpture of Inukshuks and polar bears: wall hangings and graphic prints feature equally as strongly. For instance, there is a black-and-white sealskin hanging on one wall, with beautiful details of hunting scenes picked out in inverse using a technique called insetting.
"The permanent display [at the museum] is rather sculpture-heavy," says Hessel, who hopes to create spaces devoted to graphic and textile arts soon, so Inuit art can be fully represented.

Kiawak Ashoona, Sea Goddess. Courtesy of Canadian Guild of Crafts, Montreal. Photograph: The Museum of Inuit Art.

The museum holds temporary exhibitions focused on different stories, regions, or artists. A current exhibition focuses on the Inuit sea goddess, Sedna. You may know the name from astronomy: Sedna's name was given to a moon, or a planet (nobody seems too sure) that might (or might not) be orbiting Pluto. It's a chilly −400°F there, about as cold as Coors seems to believe Torontonians to be.
There are as many versions of Sedna's story as there are oral histories, but most of them are variations of the same unfortunate tale. Sedna's father wanted her married. She refused. Her father took her out in a kayak and drowned her, cutting off her fingers so she couldn't hold on to the boat. But her severed fingers became the fauna of the sea, and she grew the tail of a whale. If she becomes upset, she causes seas to become rough and vacant of food, so a shaman is appointed to go below the waves and comb her hair so she calms down. There are not a lot of nudes in Inuit art-apart from Sedna.
The collection contains many depictions of the goddess, again, not all the typical sculptures you might expect. A Sedna on a crucifix and another being drowned in a net with oilcans are two stark works by Bill Nasogaluak, while a humorous print by another artist shows four Sednas in synchronized swimming outfits.
The Sedna exhibition will run until January next year. And from October, the museum will house a temporary gallery of another kind of Inuit artform: dolls.
Although Hessel doesn't want people to think that Inuit art is a closed-off, ethnic artform, he says there's a special freedom to the work that native artists create. "They don't have to unlearn so much of what other artists have to unlearn," he says. "That's one of the miracles of Inuit art."
"I want people who didn't know anything about Inuit art to come away feeling that they have had their eyes opened. It's a window into another artform and another culture."
The Museum of Inuit Art is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Sunday. Adults pay $6, children $5.

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Kenojuak Ashevak, Enchanted Owl (green tail), 1960. Photograph: The Museum of Inuit Art. When you step into the Museum of Inuit Art, which is hidden at the back of the Queen's Quay Terminal on the Harbourfront, you'll probably recognize the first picture you see. This is the "Enchanted Owl."

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Team Sedna's namesake is the Inuit Goddess of the Sea. Artwork reproduced with permission of Dorset Fine Arts. This limited edition work titled Sedna's Wonder was created in 2009 by Ningeokuluk Teevee. Lithograph on BFK Rives White paper - 68.5 cm x 51 cm The Legend of Sedna From Greenland to Alaska, according to Inuit [...]

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Inuit art: Sedna (Sea Goddess)

Inuit Artist: Ningeosiak Ashoona
Size: 9" across (tail to nose), 6.5" high, 2.25" wide. Weight: 2.6 lbs
Community: Cape Dorset, NU
Stone: serpentine ( fantastic black, polished to mirror shine)
Museum Quality!!! Ning Ashoona is more known for loons, but as a master carver (her sculptures were in many exhibitions, please see below), she likes to experiment and carve different subjects. This time she created this fantastic Sedna. When you look at this sculpture, you know right away that a master carver created it. It's incredible refined and detailed. Every curve is polished to perfection.
(the pictures have some white blemishes, those are from the camera flash, the carving is 100% perfect, every inch of it is refined)

Sedna sculptures don't get carved that often, because they have lots of details and take a long time to carve.
Three things I like about this Sedna:
1. Beautiful details (gorgeous tail, elegant arms, fantastic facial features and hair)

2. The colour is shiny rich black, has a wow factor.

3. Master carver - Ning Ashoona. Rare subject for this artist.

The sculpture is signed by the artist in Inuktitut, comes with igloo tag.

Ningeosiak Ashoona (1979 - )

Influenced by her father Kaka Ashoona, Ningeosiak started to carve around 1988. Her mother is Mayoreak Ashoona.

Exhibitions
2002 Polar Bears: An Exhibition of Inuit Sculpture (online), Galerie Inuit Plus, Timmins, ON
2005 Arctic Miniatures 2005, Albers Gallery of Inuit Art, San Francisco, CA
2006 July 1 - September 2006, Out of the Ordinary, Cape Dorset Sculpture, Gallery Indigena, Stratford, ON
2006 Rhythms in Motion, Galerie d'art Vincent, Ottawa, ON (illustrated catalogue)
December 2006 - January 2007, Small Sculpture by Great Artists, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
January - February, 2009 Small Treasures, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
March - April, 2009 Arctic Wildlife, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
December, 2009, Small Sculptures by Great Artists, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON, (illustrated brochure)
October, 2010, Arctic Wind III: An Expression of Survival, Coastal Peoples Gallery, Vancouver, BC,(illustrated brochure)
January - February, 2011, Small Treasures 2011, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
April, 2011, Flight Across the Tundra, Balzac Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
April 2011, Continuum, Inuit Gallery of Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
June - July, 2011, New Beginnings in the Arctic, Balzac Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
September, 2011, Fall Migration: A Selection of Birds in Sculpture, Prints and Drawings, Feheley Fine Arts, Toronto, ON
October, 2011, Stone and Paper, Cape Dorset 2011, Native Art Gallery, Oakville, ON, (illustrated catalogue)

Solo Exhibitions:
June 2007, Ningeosiak Ashoona, Transformations, Gallery Philip, Toronto, ON, (illustrated catalogue)
2005 Arctic Miniatures 2005, Albers Gallery of Inuit Art, San Francisco, CA
2002 Polar Bears: An Exhibition of Inuit Sculpture (online), Galerie Inuit Plus, Timmins, ON

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Inuit art: Sedna (Sea Goddess) Inuit Artist: Ningeosiak Ashoona Size: 9" across (tail to nose), 6.5" high, 2.25" wide. Weight: 2.6 lbs Community: Cape Dorset, NU Stone: serpentine (fantastic black, polished to mirror shine) Museum Quality!!!

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Ohotaq Mikkigak, EMERGING SEDNA, ​Cape Dorset, Inuit art, Art inuit, Eskimo art, estampe inuit, inuit print, Cape Dorset print, eskimo print

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Sedna - Critical Thinking Questions (copied from enotes site linked below)

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Sedna - Critical Thinking Questions (copied from enotes site linked below)

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- What type of women is Sedna?  What are two adjectives from the myth to support her description?

- What does a culture that has Sedna as its principal divinity reveal about itself?

- To what extent, if any, is Sedna’s father justified in killing Sedna?

- What themes that are common to hero myths can be found in the myth of Sedna?

(https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/topic/sedna)

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Sedna the Sea Goddess: Reading Comprehension

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Sedna the Sea Goddess: Reading Comprehension

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Your browser does not support the audio element, so here's a link to the mp3: https://hlsvod.uvic.ca/vod/dcs/elc/studyzone/330-stories-cam/sedna-the-sea-goddess.mp3

Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who didn't want to get married. Many hunters wanted to marry her, but she refused their offers. Her father scolded her, saying, "I am getting older, and soon you will need a good husband who can provide you with food and furs. You must marry the next hunter who asks for you." Sedna still wasn't interested.

Soon a young hunter from a distant place came to her father's camp . He was dressed in warm furs, and spoke in a soft voice. He promised to provide a good home and plenty of animals for food and clothing. Although he kept his face hidden under his hood, Sedna was very impressed with him, so she agreed to marry him.

Sedna got into her husband's kayak and travelled with him to her new home. When they arrived at his island, she saw that her home was nothing but some sticks and bits of moss and feathers clinging to a large rock. Her husband took off his hood, and she realized that he was not a man, but an evil raven. He never hunted, he only caught fish. Sedna was cold, lonely, hungry, and very unhappy. Every day she cried for her father to come and save her.

Her father heard her cries and decided to rescue her. He paddled his kayak to the island where she was living. On their way home, Sedna looked back and saw that the raven was following them. He was gaining on them quickly. As the raven came close, her father took his paddle and struck the bird, who had to fall back. Then the raven flapped his powerful wings at the ocean and caused a huge storm to blow up.

When her father saw that their lives were in danger, he became afraid for his own life. He threw Sedna over the side of the kayak. Sedna tried to save herself. She grabbed onto the kayak with her fingers, but her father took his paddle and beat at her fingers until they broke off. As they sank into the ocean, her fingers turned into seals and fish. Again, Sedna grabbed the kayak with her hands, but her father took his paddle and beat her hands until they also fell into the water. As they sank into the ocean, her hands turned into whales and walrus. Sedna also sank into the ocean.
Credits:
Sedna lives at the bottom of the ocean. She is the goddess of the sea. She is the one who provides animals for the hunters, but only when she feels generous. When she is angry, and this is often, the hunters can't find food; and the people go hungry.

Story adapted by Mary Mahoney from a traditional Inuit legend. The Inuit people live in the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland and Alaska.
Audio version performed by Cam Culham
Audio effects adapted under Creative Commons license
Audio credits: Chimes
Clipart under license from Microsoft for educational use

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Created with Hot Potatoes by Half-Baked Software, registered to Byron Crossley.

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ELC Study Zone: Sedna the Sea Goddess: Reading Comprehension

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Your browser does not support the audio element, so here's a link to the mp3: https://hlsvod.uvic.ca/vod/dcs/elc/studyzone/330-stories-cam/sedna-the-sea-goddess.mp3 Sedna was a beautiful Inuit girl who didn't want to get married. Many hunters wanted to marry her, but she refused their offers.

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Written in stone : a comparative analysis of Sedna and the Moon Spirit as depicted in contemporary Inuit…

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Written in stone : a comparative analysis of Sedna and the Moon Spirit as depicted in contemporary Inuit…

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WRITTEN IN STONE: A Comparative Analysis of Sedna and the Moon Spirit as depicted in Contemporary Inuit Sculpture and Graphics By CAROL ANN PROKOP B.F.A, Concordia University, 1984 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Fine Arts) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1990 @ Carol Ann Prokop, 1990 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) ABSTRACT Traditional mythological themes have been repeatedly depicted in contemporary Inuit art since the late 1950s. This thesis examines the portrayals of the female sea spirit or Sedna and the male moon spirit in sculpture and graphics by contemporary Inuit artists from three Arctic art "communities": Baker Lake, Cape Dorset and Povungnituk. Analysis of the mythological depictions has led me to conclude that artists have tended to employ two distinct styles of illustration to represent these deities. These two types are iconic and narrative. Introduced by the first generation of contemporary Inuit artists working in the late 1950s these types functioned as tangible expressions of the unique nature and role of each deity in Inuit culture as these were perceived by the Inuit artists, and involved a complicated process of integrating both traditional and "alien" elements. Subsequent generations of artists have retained these prototypes and continued to incorporate elements based on these two influences. The complex evolution of Sedna and Moon Spirit imagery reflects the role contemporary Inuit mythological art has come to play as both a medium of communication to non-Inuit and a historical and cultural repository for the Inuit. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii LIST OF FIGURES iv LIST OF MAPS . . . xiv INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1 - INUIT HISTORY 3 CHAPTER 2 - THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY INUIT ART . 13 CHAPTER 3 - MYTHOLOGICAL THEMES 29 CHAPTER 4 - THE FEMALE SEA SPIRIT 42 CHAPTER 5 - THE M A L E MOON SPIRIT 60 CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSIONS 87 BIBLIOGRAPHY 92 APPENDICES 99 FIGURES 102 MAPS 137 iii LIST OF FIGURES Measurements are in centimetres in the order of height, width, depth. Fig. 1 Anarqaq "...the mother of the sea animals" (Illustration and caption opposite page 145, in Rasmussen 1929.) 103 Fig. 2 Orulo "Two pictures of Ululiarnaq with the moon spirit" (Illustration and caption opposite page 129, in Rasmussen 1929.) 103 Fig. 3 Anarqaq Helping Spirit "Nartoq" (Illustration opposite page 160, in Rasmussen 1929.) 104 Fig. 4 Marjorie Esa "Bear", #15 - 1980 Baker Lake Lrriocut and stencil Brown, yellow 36.5 x 56 105 Fig. 5 Germaine Arnatauyok "Sedna, Sea Goddess", 1981 Igloolik Ink and Paper 36.2 x 36.8 Collection of the Artist 106 Fig. 6 Lachaulassie Akesuk "Sea Goddess", 1959 Cape Dorset Green Stone 7.9 x 19.9 x 3.3 Swinton Collection The Winnipeg Art Gallery Permanent Collection 107 Fig. 7 Soroseelutu Ashoona "Woman of the Sea", #10 - 1976 Cape Dorset Stonecut 61.3 x 85 West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative 107 i v Fig. 8 Kaka Ashoona "Enraged Taleelayo" or "Sedna", 1962 Cape Dorset Stone 22.1 x 19.5 x 6.3 WAG: Ian Lindsay Coll - - 108 Fig. 9 Lukta Qiatsuk "Talluliyuk (Sea Goddesss)", 1959 Cape Dorset, Stonecut, 30.2 x 40.8 Ian Lindsay 108 Fig. 10 Solomonie Tigullaraq "Sea Goddess", 1973 Clyde River, Dark green stone, 8.0 x 10.0 x 6.3 AGO 78/629 108 Fig. 11 Paulassie Pootoogook "Talluliyuk, Sea Goddess", #48 - 1960 Cape Dorset Stonecut Black and One Colour 30.4 x 48.0 109 Fig. 12 Jamasie Teevee "Taleelayo and Friends", 1973 Cape Dorset Engraving 32 x 46.5 The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Gilman Cheney Bequest Gr. 973.68 109 Fig. 13 Unidentified Artist Untitled, 1955 Cape Dorset Stone, Ivory and Fish Bone 18.5 x 4.0 x 3.5 Canadian Guild of Crafts 110 v Fig. 14 Eliassieapik Qiluqi "Sedna Riding a Seal" or "Nuliayuk", 1959 Povungnituk Black Stone 11.0x9.7x21.4 Signed with disc number E9-1384 WAG G-76-409 110 Fig. 15 Jessie Oonark "A Shaman's Helping Spirits", 1970 Drawing for 1970 Print (1971/9) Baker Lake Coloured pencil 76.2 x 55.6 Sanavik Cooperative 2659.77B I l l Fig. 16 Lukasi Uitanga "Bird-Woman", 1959 Povungnituk Dark green stone 14.7 x 14.2 x 9.2 Signed with disc number E9-1427 WAG G-76-408 I l l Fig. 17 Jessie Oonark "Dream of the Bird Woman", #21 - 1970 Baker Lake Stonecut 26.6 x 32.9 112 Fig. 18 Lukta "Sea Spirits", #60- 1961 Cape Dorset Linocut Black 30.4 x 22.8 113 Fig. 19 Davidialuk Alasuaq "Half Woman/Half Fish", n.d. Povungnituk Felt pen and coloured pencil 50.9 x 66.3 Private Collection 113 vi Fig. 20 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "The bear peeping in the window-hole", n.d. Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown 114 Fig. 21 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "My brother, good dog meat", n.d. Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown 114 Fig. 22 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "She brought him food inside her parka", 1960 (?) Povungnituk Stone H. 27.2 NA-959 115 Fig. 23 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "The loon leading the blind boy to the water", n.d. Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown 116 Fig. 24 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "The mother being towed under by a white whale", 1959 (?) Povungnituk Stone L. 32.9 Whereabouts unknown 116 Fig. 25 Isah Qopakualuk "Blind Man & Bear Legend", c. 1953 (?) Povungnituk Stone (Illust. in: Inuit Art Quarterly 3(4) (Fall, 1988):34) 117 Fig. 26 Various Comic Front Covers (Illust. in: Inuit Art Quarterly 4(1) (Winter, 1989):4) 117 vii Fig. 27 William Noah "Qiviuq's Journey", 1973 Baker Lake Coloured pencil 56.2 x 76.3 WAG G-80-249 118 Fig. 28 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Keeveeok's Journey", #1 - 1970 Baker Lake Stencil 25.0 x 57.7 118 Fig. 29 Kananginak and Pootagok "Legend of the Blind Man and the Bear", SS-5, 1959 Cape Dorset Sealskin Stencil 37.9 x 60.7 119 Fig. 30 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 77.7 The McMichaels Canadian Collection (1978.25.133) 119 Fig. 31 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 1", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.7 x 76.3 WBEC 486 120 Fig. 32 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 2", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.4 WBEC 485 120 viii Fig. 33 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 3", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.5 WBEC 484 121 Fig. 34 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 4", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.5 WBEC 483 121 Fig. 35 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 5", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 57.0 x 76.4 WBEC 482 122 Fig. 36 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 6", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.4 WBEC 481 122 Fig. 37 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 7", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.3 WBEC 652 123 Fig. 38 Eli Sallualu Qinuajua "Shaman with Helping Spirit", 1963 Povungnituk Black stone 18.3x15.6x6.2 Signed with disc number E9-846 WAG G-76-407 124 ix Fig. 39 Agnes Nanogak "Blind Boy", #29 - 1975 Holman Stonecut 22.5 x 42.0 . 124 Fig. 40 Davidialuk Alasuaq "Lumak", 1966 Povungnituk Stonecut Black and grey 54.4 x 43.0 125 Fig. 41 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 78.1 The McMichaels Canadian Collection (1978.25.132) 125 Fig. 42 Aisa Qupirualuk (Aisa Qupiruala Alasua) "Man Riding a Narwhal", c.1956 Povungnituk Black Stone, ivory, black colouring 12.1x8.9x28.9 WAGG-60-70 126 Fig. 43 Juanisi Irqumia Kuanana (Johnassie) "Lumak Legend: Woman Pulled by Whale", c. 1959 Povungnituk Black stone 5.8 x 14.1 x 27.0 Signed with disc number E9-1450 WAG G-76-403 126 Fig. 44 Cecilia Arnadjuk "Shaman Riding a Bear", 1954-55 Repulse Bay Grey stone 6.0 x 5.7 x 11.5 WAG G-76-471 127 x Fig. 45 Kiakshuk "The Legend of Lumiuk", #33-1960 Cape Dorset Stonecut Black and one colour 37.9 x 60.7 128 Fig. 46 Davidialuk Alasuaq "Legend of Lumak", #26 - 1964 Povungnituk Stonecut 32.9 x 50.6 128 Fig. 47 Pitseolak "Lumaiyo", #30 - 1972 Cape Dorset Stonecut Blue, green, light brown 61.4 x 84.8 129 Fig. 48 Pitseolak "Lumaiyu", 1976 Cape Dorset Stonecut/stencil 62 x 86 129 Fig. 49 Johnniebo "Moon Spirit", #58 - 1963 Cape Dorset Engraving Black 31.4 x 45.0 130 Fig. 50 William Noah "Spirit", 1971 Baker Lake Stonecut/stencil Black, brown, red, yellow 48.7 x 60.7 130 xi Fig. 51 Ruth Annataqtussi "The Sun and the Moon", #4 - 1985 Baker Lake Stonecut and stencil Mauve, yellow, blues, reds, green 47 x 63.5 131 Fig. 52 Jessie Oonark "Inuit Family in the Moon", #14 - 1975 Baker Lake Silkscreen Red, blue, black, purple, orange 47.5 x 37.4 132 Fig. 53 Jessie Oonark "The World of Sun and Moon", c. 1976 Baker Lake Coloured pencil, graphite and felt-tip pen 50.8 x 65.9 Signed lower centre with syllables (twice) WAG 132 Fig. 54 Luke Anguhadluq "Drum Dance", 1970 Baker Lake Coloured pencil and pencil 101.2 x 65.8 Mr. & Mrs. K.J. Butler, Winnipeg 48.78 133 Fig. 55 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 78.0 The McMichaels Canadian Collection (1978.25-145) 134 Fig. 56 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Brother Moon and Sister Sun", #12 - 1982 Baker Lake Linocut and stencil 63 x 94 135 xn Fig. 57 Janet Kigusiuq "They turned into the Sun and the Moon", #9 - 1986 Baker Lake Stonecut and stencil 63.5 x 93.5 1 J 0 xiii LIST OF MAPS Map 1 Map of Inuit Art Centres Source: Blodgett, 1983 137 Map 2 Key to Tribal Territories Source: Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 5 138 xiv INTRODUCTION Contemporary Inuit* art has been dominated by images depicting various aspects of the traditional Inuit lifestyle. Mythology was a critical component of that lifestyle and contemporary Inuit artists have produced many artworks based on traditional mythological themes. This thesis examines the portrayal of the female sea spirit and the male moon spirit in contemporary Inuit sculpture and graphics in three Arctic communities: Baker Lake, Cape Dorset and Povungnituk. The development of specific imagery for these deities occurred simultaneously with the development of contemporary Inuit mythological art and it is treated here in its relevant historical context; that is, as part of the history of contemporary Inuit mythological art. Mythological themes began to appear regularly in contemporary Inuit art in the late 1950s and have continued to be depicted since then. Inuit mythological art is one facet of the phenomenon known as contemporary Inuit art. This original artform was created by people who were experiencing unique historical and social circumstances. The terms Inuit (singular Inuk) and Eskimo are used in this text. Inuit is used to refer to the name that the native inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic have given themselves. It is used "in all contemporary references" (Lister 1984:61). Eskimo is "now used predominantly as an anthropological and archaeological term. It comes from a derogatory Algonquin word meaning 'eater of raw flesh'" (Ibid. 1984:61). The traditional oral myths describing the origins of these two principal spirits of Inuit religion could be found among most Inuit groups (Oosten 1976: 42, citing Franz Boas. The Eskimo of Baffinland and Hudson Bay. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 15, New York, 1907: 364). 'The words carving and sculpture are both used interchangeably in the literature. The Canadian Inuit had lived a "largely traditional4 lifestyle" (G. Swinton 1985:897) until World War II. This way of life was based on unwritten customs and practices, language, and myth that had been handed down from one generation to the next and were accepted without question (Carpenter 1983:no page). Combined, these elements shaped an ethnic and cultural entity that survived through time (Harp 1984:22). Since 1945 the Inuit have undergone more cultural changes than in any other previous "concentrated time span" (Stenbaek 1987:300) and all aspects of Inuit life have been affected. The ability to contend with change has been a consistent feature of the Inuit. A consideration of Inuit history reveals to what extent this trait has conditioned Inuit experience. The term tradition is used here to designate a specific way of life led by a group of people, which persisted through time and space, and is recognizable to the archaeologist because of various clues, primarily in the form of characteristic artifacts. Such traditions can sometimes be broken up into a series of basically related culture phases which may be a reflection of independent internal change coupled with processes of adjustment in response to new ecological situations, or to contact with other cultures, or both" (Martijn 1967:7). 2 CHAPTER 1 INUIT HISTORY Inuit Prehistory Inuit history is primarily based on archaeological data. These data supply much information on the material culture, but very little on the spiritual culture (Oosten 1976:6). The pre-contact history of the Canadian Inuit (A.D. 900-1700) is referred to as the Thule5 culture (Goetz, 1977: 30). Thule peoples originated in western Alaska and spread eastward along the Arctic coast as far as Greenland. It is they who are credited with the singular homogeneity of Inuit culture (Oosten 1976:7). The Thule were a semi-nomadic maritime culture, living in permanent winterhouses, constructed of whalebones, skins and sods, and in tents in the summer. A highly specialised culture, the Thule already possessed the technological assemblage that are characteristic of Inuit culture. They hunted caribou, seal, walrus and caught fish and birds; however, the ecological base of the Thule was whale-hunting, an occupation which primarily distinguishes them from every other culture that either earlier or later inhabited the Canadian Arctic (Duffy 1988:xv). According to Duffy (Ibid. 1988:xvi) Europeans first met the Thule people on the coast of Baffin Island in the late 16th century. During this same period, British, Danish and French explorers probably came into contact with the native peoples of the south shore of Hudson Strait in their search for a Northwest Passage to China and Japan (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:480, 499). Contact with these "Renaissance" explorers was fitful ^Therkel Mathiassen carried out the first organized excavations in the Arctic in his capacity as archeologist with the Fifth Thule Expedition of 1921-1924. He named the people whose prehistoric sites he uncovered west and north of Hudson Bay the Thule culture (Collins 1984:15). 3 (Duffy 1988:xvi) and the "Aboriginal Period" (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:480, citing Damas°) persisted until the middle of the nineteenth century. The visits of these early European explorers coincided with a period of drastic climatic change. Between 1600 and 1850 A.D. , the entire northern hemisphere was suddenly struck by increasingly colder weather (McGhee 1988:19; Blodgett 1988a:22). The climatic deterioration, known as the Little Ice Age (Blodgett 1988a:22) affected the distribution and populations of animals the Thule were dependent on. The Thule adapted to these changes by modifying their hunting technology and lifestyle. The Historic Period The historic period of Inuit culture has been defined as extending from the 16th century to 1945 (Swinton 1985:897). Deteriorating climates and contacts with Europeans had combined to end the Thule lifestyle. The junction between the prehistoric and the historic eras was not an abrupt shift or rupture, but a gradual transition. Forced to adapt to increasingly changing local conditions, the Inuit responded by diversifying regionally (McGhee 1984:375). Adaptation formed the major component in the process whereby the various Thule groups developed into the different Eskimo tribes of the historic phase (Ibid. 1984:375).^ ^Damas, David. "The Eskimo". Pp. 141-172 in Vol. 1 of Science, History and Hudson Bay. C.S. Beals, ed. 2 vols. Ottawa: Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, 1968. This is bourne out by the fact that in several areas of Arctic Canada a continuum has been established between Thule and historic Eskimo groups (McGhee 1984:375). 4 The historic Inuit were composed of "...a number of scattered and small-scale ethnocentric societies" (Hughes 1984:24), pursuing a life based on hunting. The distribution of the Inuit population was determined by the location of seals and caribou (Duffy 1988:19). The igloo and the tent were part of this lifestyle (Ibid. 1988:21) and these shelters continued in use in the Eastern Arctic until the Second World War (Ibid. 1988:21). From 1750 to 1900, various European groups had begun settling along Inuit territorial borders. These included missions on the Labrador coast, trading posts along the rim of James Bay or the head of Ungava Bay, and whaling stations sprinkled on the north shore of Hudson Strait (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:499). At that time contacts between whites and the Inuit were intermittent; either because the Inuit only visited the 'foreign' settlements seasonally or because the establishments were not continually occupied (Ibid. 1984:499). Although infrequent, these contacts caused some permanent native displacement (Ibid. 1984:499). The Central Eskimo culture was slightly affected by contact with European and American explorers of the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries who were conducting geographical searches and not pursuing commercial opportunities (Damas 1984:394-395). By the mid-nineteenth century, commercial whaling concerns from the east initiated a period of intensified contact (Ibid. 1984:395) as both Scottish and New England whaling outfits made greater impacts on the lives of the Baffinland Eskimo (Ibid. 1984:395). After 1860 whalers moved into the northwestern Hudson Bay area (Ibid. 1984:395) and various groups of Inuit were induced to participate in the whaling activities, as crew members, or in the trade associated with this 5 industry (Ibid. 1984:395). In the latter half of the 19th century an even closer relationship was forged when the whaling companies introduced permanent whaling stations for "overwintering in the Arctic" (Duffy 1988:xvi). With the gradual appearance of foreign visitors (European and American whalers) most Inuit adopted a mixed economy of hunting and working for the white man (Ibid. 1988:xvi). When the whaling industry went into decline in the Eastern Arctic in the early 20th century, it was replaced by the commercial trapping of arctic foxes and the hunting of seals for the Hudson's Bay Company and other traders (Ibid. 1988:xvi, 13, 131). The major player in this enterprise was the Hudson's Bay Company.^ Founded in 1670 (Neatby 1984:377), the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) began operations in subarctic Indian territory where it established profitable permanent trading posts (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:499). The native people of the west coast of Hudson Bay "were the first to have direct contact with the fur trade, out of Churchill beginning in the eighteenth century. Direct contact with traders was delayed for the remaining groups until after 1900" (Damas 1984:395). In the early 1900s until World War I curtailed activities, a favourable market for white Arctic fox pelts had developed. Trade was resumed with the end of the conflict and during the 1920s fur prices rocketed. According to Diamond Jenness (Duffy 1988:131) the departing whalers supplied the Inuit with steel traps and instructed the Inuit "to look to the small arctic fur-bearers" as a means of obtaining guns, ammunition, cloth and all the other foreign items the Inuit had become dependent upon. o ^Other interests included Revillon Freres, a French fur company in Arctic Quebec (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:501); the Arctic Gold Exploration Syndicate and the Sabellum Trading Company in the Eastern Arctic (Duffy 1988:14); as well as a number of independent traders. 6 The economic crisis of the 1930s had significant repercussions on the fur trade. The Inuit returned to a mainly subsistence-oriented economy, though some aspects of the traditional life were not revived (i.e. the use of bows and arrows or the umiak, a large sealskin boat). Traditional technology had suffered a marked impoverishment, and the imported technology was blighted by continual shortages (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:503). During the Depression the federal Department of Indian Affairs provided some relief aid which they administered through the trading posts in the form of clothing and food (Ibid. 1984:505). The situation in the north continued to deteriorate with the advent of the Second World War. The Depression, the store closings and WWII combined to bring about devastating effects on the Inuit including many incidences of starvation. Both caribou and marine game resources had been dangerously depleted (Ibid. 1984:505). The introduction of a system of exchanging furs and labour for Euro-American food and products established a new situation that linked the formerly self-sufficient Inuit culture into the "global market economy" (Duffy 1988:xvii). The introduction of high-powered firearms and the abandonment of traditional weapons meant losing the ancient hunting skills (Duffy 1988:xvii; Saladin D'Anglure 1984:502). Traditional modes of transport were replaced. Caribou clothing became scarcer as the number of animals was severely reduced because of the widespread use of repeating rifles (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:502). The large traditional camps which had passed the long winter months hunting seals through the ice were replaced by isolated family groups trapping foxes. The increased use and desire for imported goods stimulated some families to relocate nearer the trading posts. These sites evolved into centres where some distant camp 7 members congregated seasonally to exchange hides, and where some families employed by the white establishments permanently settled (Duffy 1988:22; Saladin D'Anglure 1948:500). The installation of improved medical and educational services eventually affected the disposition of the more self-sufficient Inuit as the settlements became increasingly attractive. The schools, missions and "health authorities" favored this development because of the convenience of Inuit proximity (Duffy 1988:22)10. Moravian missionaries had established a mission in Labrador as early as 1770 (Blodgett 1988a:23). In the Central Arctic missionaries had quickly followed the whalers and traders (Arima 1984:460; Duffy 1988:xv). Roman Catholic and Anglican missionary work, begun in the middle to late nineteenth century,** has continued to be especially active from the beginning of the twentieth century onwards (Blodgett 1988:85). The missionaries exerted enormous religious and social influences on the Inuit. Not only did they introduce Christian beliefs and practices, syllabic script and education, but they imposed western modes of behavior and provided guidance on a "multiplicity of matters" (Balikci 1984:428). Launching an open attack on traditional shamanism and the belief system with its accompanying rituals (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:503) missionaries attempted to undermine the power of the Inuit shamans by declaring these were "expressions of Satan" (Ibid. 1984:503). Despite attempts by ^Saladin D'Anglure (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:501) maintains that outside the settlement posts "...traditional social structures, habits of daily life, beliefs and rituals, the transmission of knowledge, and demography persisted for a long time" despite the initial effects of "techno-economic changes" and the ravages of new diseases (many of them infectious and occasionally epidemic) brought by the Euro-Canadians. **In 1859 an Anglican missionary first settled in Little Whale River (Arctic Quebec) (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:500). 8 some shamans to mix Christian elements with their shamanism (Ibid. 1984:503) gradually even these succumbed at least superficially to the new religions. In the beginning the new Christian faith was "naturally tinged with syncretism" (Mary-Rousseliere 1984:444). In Arctic Quebec syncretistic religious movements occurred during the 1910s and 1920s in several camps and between 1936 and 1950 a movement translated as "turning over" took place in almost every village. These phenomena "...were almost always accompanied by food, clothing, or sexual taboos based on the Bible and on ancient Inuit traditions" (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:504). While trapping and wage labour had eliminated the Inuit's economic independence, the institution of southern Canadian political forces vanquished the Inuit's political sovereignty (Duffy 1988:xvii). Since the late 1890s the Canadian government's main concern vis-a-vis the Arctic had been to assert its dominion (Ibid. 1988:3). It eventually became clear about the turn of the century "...that Canada intended to establish beyond any doubt, internationally, nationally, and in the minds of northern indigenous people themselves, that the whole of the land area between the Alaska boundary to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the east, and the highest Arctic islands to the north, formed part of the national territory" (Brody 1975:18). In the early 20th century, the Canadian government's northern policies continued to revolve around Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic (Duffy 1988:4). The government's main concern was to maintain law and order in the North and from 1905 to 1920 the government relied on the then Royal Northwest Mounted Police for the administration of the NWT.(Ibid. 1988:4). In 1920 the function of Commisioner of the N.W.T. was added to the mandate of the Deputy Minister of the 9 Interior ; however the police were still responsible for the bulk of the government work carried out in the north (Ibid. 1988:4). In 1922 the Eastern Arctic Patrol was instituted. These annual visits had important "social, political, and technological consequences for the region and its people" (Ibid. 1988:5). The Canadian government's role in the Arctic during the time between the two world wars has been characterized as laissez-faire (Ibid. 1988: 12-13). According to Duffy, (Ibid. 1988:12-13) important services such as health and education were neglected and the government undertook no initiatives to encourage economic development which might have prepared the Inuit to adapt their lifestyle to change while maintaining some evolutionary continuity and control. The Contemporary Period The Second World War represented a turning point for the Northern natives, not so much because of its direct effects upon them arising from the conflict itself but for the period it foreshadowed: "...the Cold War and heightened tensions between world powers, which had ramifications all across the Arctic" (Hughes 1984:24). The Arctic was drawn into this arena because of fears by the American people that its strategic location could be used as an accessible route for enemy invasion via long range bombers (Duffy 1988:32). This threat led to the establishment of a number of military installations (Hughes 1984:24) and the construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) system, a network of radar stations which could provide a four-to-The Northwest Territories Act of 1905 was amended to provide for a council of six members to assist him (Duffy 1988:4). 10 six-hour warning of impending invasion (Duffy 1988:32).u The DEW line route stretched across the Arctic from northwest Alaska eastwards, hugging the Arctic coast, to the Central Canadian Arctic. From there it "...crossed over to the islands in the Arctic archipelago", extended across the Boothia and Melville peninsulas to Baffin Island and culminated at Cape Dyer on the southeastern tip of Baffin Island (Ibid. 1988:33). This project, along with the other installations which followed it represented a substantial intrusion into many "relatively untouched Eskimo areas" (Hughes 1984:24). In the wake of the DEW line, a variety of interests flowed into both Northern Canada and Alaska. ^ These included the first active explorations for oil and other natural resources; the resumption of ethnological study*^; and the involvement by the national governments of both areas which realized "...that important needs of the native populations could not be ignored -health, education, social services, and political participation" (Hughes 1984:24)*^. The construction of air strips, the implementation of regular air service, and significant improvements i o In December 1954 a letter contract was awarded to the Western Electric Corporation by the U.S. Department of Defence (Duffy 1988:33). *4A complete study of the impact of the DEW Line on northern people has yet to be written. It had major effects on education, health, housing, and transport but failed to significantly alter unemployment (Duffy 1988:33). *^There had been "...a virtual hiatus in ethnological inquiry among the Eskimos for about 30 years" (Damas 1984:4) but during the 1950s and 1960s a series of studies were undertaken in the Western Arctic, and in Canada the Canadian government sponsored community studies which represented a new "research emphasis" (Damas 1984:4). ^According to Hughes (Hughes 1984:24) "Recognition of such needs and actions to ameliorate perceived problems had occurred much earlier in Greenland and to some extent also in Siberia than was the case in Canada and Alaska." l i to water transport meant that formerly remote areas became accessible (Duffy 1988:33). At the same time southern peoples began to stream into the Arctic in unprecedented numbers, bringing with them a panoply of "modern technology, bureaucracy and assorted economic/political/social/cultural systems" (Stenbaek 1987:300). According to Duffy (Duffy 1988:33) the accelerated changes were too much for the Inuit to absorb. By the 1960s virtually every Inuit settlement was manifesting signs of "cultural disintegration and psychological instability" (Ibid. 1988:33). A major contributor to the distress was settlement overcrowding which was marked by inadequate accommodation and a lack of meaningful employment (Ibid. 1988:33). Other negative aspects of the changes included alcoholism, suicides, and discrimination (Stenbaek 1987:300). At the same time there have been positive outcomes occasioned by change. These include the eradication of debilitating health problems such as tuberculosis; increased control over northern administration and institutions including schools, social, medical, and legal services; and the successful settlement of land claims (northern Quebec) that has strengthened the Inuit's political clout (Stenbaek 1987:300-301). An indication of the growing politicization of the Inuit was the formation of Inuit Tapirisat in 1971, "the Inuit national organization representing the six Inuit regional organizations" (Ibid. 1987:304) as well as the election of the first Inuit Member of Parliament; the appointment of an Inuit senator and the establishment of the Territorial Legislature in the N.W.T. with several native (including Inuit) MLAs (Ibid. 1987:304). 12 CHAPTER 2 - THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY INUIT ART Historical Antecedents The art and technology of the Thule was largely based on Alaskan traditions (McGhee 1988:18). Thule sculptures were rare and conformed to standardized forms. Most sculptures were simple outlines in wood or ivory of women with uncarved faces and truncated arms. These may have been either children's dolls, or amulets or charms. Another standardized form was the small bird or the bird with a woman's head, made from ivory or sea-mammal tooth. These were carved with a flat base and suggest birds floating on water; similar objects were carved during the historic period and used in a hand game. Thule people also engraved designs on many of their articles. These consisted of single or double marginal lines, sometimes connected with hatch-marks or ticks; ' Y ' designs or 'stick-men'; occasionally there were depictions of animals or strips of hunting and camp scenes. Most of this decoration is found on ivory objects; either weapons for hunting sea mammals or tools; or on women's needle cases, combs and pendants (Ibid. 1988:18). The choice of specific materials and decoration for particular objects was related to the Thule world view that "...was based on a set of contrasts between,...things associated with women, the sea, sea-mammal hunting, and perhaps winter life; and ...things associated with men, land animals, and perhaps summer life on the land" (Ibid. 1988:19). For example, most Thule harpoon heads were made from ivory or the bones of sea-mammals; all arrow-heads for hunting caribou were made from caribou antler (Ibid. 1988:19). These contrasting oppositions survived into the historic period and played an important role in the religion of the historic Inuit (Ibid. 1988:19). 13 During the historic period the Inuit made decorated items and carvings (as well as undecorated, functional tools), for their own use as had their "predecessors" (Blodgett 1988a:23). The articles included toys and games such as dolls; personal ornaments or paraphernalia, such as ivory combs or pipes; and "...ceremonial and religious items: skin masks, head ornaments, shaman belts, amulets and fetishes" (Ibid. 1988a:24). These objects are "sensitively decorated" and finished (Ibid. 1988a:23). At the same time, many Inuit began making objects solely for sale or barter to non-Inuit: the kablunait - whalers, traders, explorers, missionaries, etc. - who collected souvenirs of their sojourns in the north (Ibid. 1988a:24). Beginning in the early 1800s, whalers bought miniature scenes from daily life engraved on walrus tusks, stone amulets, etc. (Simard 1982:62, citing Brody 1975). Carvings were done on pieces of walrus tusk, sometimes made into cribbage boards or pipes, and may have been influenced by the New England whalers' scrimshaw. The subjects depicted included animals and birds, scenes describing daily life and travel (Goetz 1977:30), as well as models of igloos, sleds and kayaks, and implements (Blodgett 1988a:24). Blodgett (Ibid. 1988a:24) has suggested that "The attention to detail in these implements and models, as well as the realistic and animate carvings of the people and animals of the North, seem to suggest an illustrative intent on the part of the maker, as though he was trying to show outsiders his native culture and environment." In some cases the Inuit "artist" may simply have created the object in response to a direct request from a non-Inuit (Ibid. 1988a:26, 28). 14 Determining whether an object was made by an Inuk for his/her own purpose or for sale is not always possible; however, the items made for outsiders do possess certain qualities that distinguish them from objects made for the Inuit's own use. Generally "...those things destined for the outsiders are...characterized by such factors as an unused look, a free-standing and more open sculptural form with protruding extremities" (Ibid. 1988a:24). More suitable for display than handling, these objects were often orientated to a base and sometimes had an "untraditional" function and subject matter (Ibid. 1988a:24). Although performing a different function, many of the objects still depicted "traditional and indigenous subjects" (Ibid. 1988a:24). By the time of White contact Inuit art "...exhibited unmistakable signs of cultural disruption" (Martijn 1967:9). Writings from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries generally disparaged the "artistic accomplishments" of the Canadian Inuit, referring to the decline of carving and the lack of expertise (Martijn 1967:9; Blodgett 1988a:28). As a result of their contacts with non-Inuit, the Inuit were exposed to new attitudes concerning trade and art (Swinton 1987:119). James Houston and Contemporary Inuit Carving The contemporary phase occurred with the gradual expansion into the North after World War Two, the inception of the DEW Line and with the developing interest of Western nations in the culture of the Inuit (Swinton 1985:897). Inuit art "...as we know it today, came into existence in 1948-49" (Ibid. 1985:897) when James Houston, encouraged the Inuit to produce carvings to help alleviate their chronic economic problems (Ibid. 1985:897). The many accounts of these 15 beginnings (Martijn 1967; Swinton 1965; Graburn 1976; Goetz 1977; Blodgett 1980) relate that Houston was a young artist from Toronto on a painting and sketching trip to the east coast of Hudson's Bay when he obtained some small carvings made locally by the Inuit. When Houston returned to Montreal, he showed these carvings to members of the Canadian Handicrafts 17 Guild . The Guild subsequently hired Houston to return to the Arctic with a grant of money and a mandate to procure other carvings for possible introduction to a wider market. The next year, one thousand of the carvings subsequently collected by Houston were sold out in Montreal within three days. The federal government soon became interested in the carving activities as officials from the Department of Resources and Development (now Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) were eager to encourage economic alternatives to the Inuit's dependence on the fox-fur trade. The Hudson's Bay Company was persuaded to join the enterprise acting as the middleman between the local carvers and the "foreign" art retailer (Kehoe 1981:481), and its representatives at Povungnituk and Inoucdjouac (Port Harrison) began a purchase program. Supported by a government subvention, Houston then visited settlements in Baffin Island and along both sides of Hudson Bay to organize carving programs in conjunction with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, who were to take care of the marketing aspect in Canada and elsewhere. According to Martijn (Martijn 1967:14) all those involved in the early enterprise were committed to establishing "high standards" for Inuit carvings: "A fairly routine occupation involving the manufacture of souvenirs was taken in hand and refurbished with aesthetic concepts and standards of artistic workmanship compatible to Western tastes" (Ibid. 1967:14). According 1 7The name was changed to Canadian Guild of Crafts in 1967 (Watt 1980:14 Note 1). 16 to Carpenter (Carpenter 1983: no page) the Inuit carvers "... were trained to make these souvenirs by a Canadian artist who admired Moore to the point of imitation. Inuit souvenirs bear more than a coincidental similarity to Moore's work, a similarity that helps market them." The project was closely monitored by those responsible for its administration in an attempt to ensure that it did not become a "slick, repetitive, trinket industry" (Martijn 1967:14). Suggestions were made on what to carve in the various "posters, movies and illustrated guide-manuals" (Ibid. 1967:14) circulated among the Inuit. Houston's role in the "creation" of contemporary Inuit carving is a complicated and controversial one (Ibid. 1967:14). As revealed in his early writings, his knowledge of Inuit culture and history was superficial. His own artistic background was rooted in the Western art tradition, which he applied when interpreting Inuit carvings (Ibid. 1967:14). Given these circumstances it is not surprising that".. .Houston ended by imposing his Euro-Canadian art concepts on the acquiescent Eskimo carvers" (Ibid. 1967:14) who used this information to produce carvings that were acceptable to southern buyers (Ibid. 1967:14). Despite Houston's influence, the fact remains that the Inuit utilized and benefited from Houston's advice (Ibid. 1967:14) indicating that they were not merely passive agents in the enterprise. In this respect, they resembled the historical Inuit carvers whose handiwork represented "...a pseudo-traditional activity, already much influenced by White contact" (Ibid. 1967:14). 17 The Introduction of Printmaking Houston introduced printmaking to the Inuit of Cape Dorset in late 1957 as another potential source of employment and income1** (Houston 1967:9; Graburn 1976:43)^; and the first annual catalogued collection was assembled in 1959 (Goetz 1977:34). The first printmaking workshop opened in Povungnituk in 1961 (Saucier and Kedl 1988:120). A series of Povungnituk prints was issued in 1962; a collection of Baker Lake prints was produced in 1970 (Butler 1976:25-26).20 Work practices vary in the individual printshops. In Cape Dorset the method used to produced the majority of prints is similar to the ukiyo-e method used in Japan from the late 17th to the early 20th century. In this process, the prints are the products of a group of artisans, and the individual artist is not involved in the entire process (Matsubara 1986:1 -2). This arrangment had been appropriated for the Cape Dorset facilities by Houston who had spent five months in Japan in 1958 studying the woodcut techniques and workshop organization (Goetz 1977:40). In Cape Dorset, the artist-draughtsman would make a drawing at home and then offer it to the co-operative for sale. These were then reviewed by the printmakers and the arts advisor who would 18 "Houston had attempted to introduce other handicrafts, but "...printmaking was the only one that met with continuing success" (Graburn 1976:43). 19 Responding to the carver, Osuitok Ipeelee's (Oshaweetok) remarks on how tedious it would be for someone to continually paint the identical images that he saw on two packages of cigarettes, Houston demonstrated how to transfer images by using one of the carver's own incised ivory scenes, ink, and toilet paper (Houston, 1967:9-11; Blodgett 1983:114). 20 "Prints appeared in Holman in 1965; in several Arctic Quebec communities in 1972, and in Pangnirtung in 1973 (Goetz 1977:34). 18 jointly decide which drawings would be used for prints (Ryan 1986:4)/1 If the artist's drawing were selected to become a print the image would later be transformed into a print by Inuit printmakers (Goetz 1984:19-20). ^ In Cape Dorset males control virtually all facets of the "technical process...suggesting an exclusionary process nonexistent in other aspects of the graphics program" (Berlo 1990:19). In Baker Lake, prints are also made by print shop personnel; however, in this case the group consists of a mixed group of male and female printmakers (stonecutters and printers) (Ibid. 1990:19). Berlo (Ibid. 1990:19) has suggested that this situation may have developed because of the influence of Jack and Sheila Butler, who set up the graphics program in Baker Lake in 1969 (Butler 1976). They were both practicing artists and may have "...served as effective role models for the active participation of both sexes in all aspects of the graphics program" (Berlo 1990:19). In Povungnituk, the emphasis was on the stoneblock, not the drawing; original drawings were considered an interim step to the carving of the stone. They were mere sketches, or dispensed with entirely (Goetz 1977:140). Most artists, both male and female "...cut their own stone blocks at home and sell the printing stone to the co-op" (Berlo 1990:20). However, the majority of artists do not print their own blocks. 21 ^According to Berlo (Berlo 1990:19): "The co-op staff decides which images to print from a large inventory of drawings." 22 In Cape Dorset, the selection of drawings, the actual printing, and the titling of works are done not by the artist but by the printshop staff" (Blodgett 1985:35). Blodgett does not view this situation as negative. She believes the division of labour frees the artist from the constraints of working in the print shop, and the printer has more freedom in producing the print, i.e. doesn't have to wait to consult with artist (draughtsman). She further notes "The women artists in particular would be unwilling to tell the printers (men) what to do" (Ibid. 1985:53). 19 Printing is done in the printshop from pre-cut stones and this task is considered "women's work" (Ibid. 1990:20, citing Myers 2 3). The Cooperative Movement The carvings and later the prints were enthusiastically received by non-Inuit (whites in "southern" Canada). The demand paved the way for the eventual establishment of Inuit "art" producing centres, organized along cooperative lines, throughout the eastern and central Canadian Arctic. The initial "spark" that led to the cooperative movement had been struck in 1958 when the Area Economic Survey of Ungava was conducted. In the report that resulted from this survey, author Jon Evans suggested that measures be taken to improve the economic situation of the Inuit (Duffy 1988:169). Emphasizing Inuit ownership of new ventures, he "...singled out the co-operative as an organization that would best restore control to the native people" (Ibid. 1988:169). In 1959, after Evans report had been submitted, the department of Northern Affairs launched the "community co-operative concept" in George River and Port Burwell. The basis of these first cooperatives was arctic char (Ibid. 1988:169). At the same time, Father Andre Steinmann had independently initiated "a co-operative producers organization among the Inuit carvers at Povungnetuk" (Ibid. 1988:169). The growing demand for Inuit arts and crafts established them as a viable commodity to serve as the economic base of the cooperative movement (Ibid. 1988:169). Beginning in Arctic Quebec, the cooperatives gradually spread to the Northwest Territories. Athough completely subsidized by the federal government, it was hoped that eventually the cooperatives would become financially self-supporting. Paradoxically, ^ JMyers, Marybelle. "Introduction" In Povungnituk Print Catalogue, 1976. 20 the Hudson's Bay Company was initially a committed supporter of the movement. Because the original cooperatives were "primarily producer-oriented, notably in arts and crafts" (Ibid. 1988:171) encouraging their development meant increasing the buying power of the Inuit, an obvious benefit to the Hudson's Bay Company. Gradually the cooperatives became more consumer oriented which resulted in direct competition between them and the HBC (Ibid. 1988:171). By 1984 thirty-six operating Inuit cooperatives had been established. "Most of them produce handicraft of various sorts and over two-thirds are involved in the production of sculpture. Six of these are also printmaking centres" (Myers 1984:100). The Phases of Contemporary Inuit Art The sculptures, graphic works and other media produced by the contemporary Inuit from the early 1950s to the 1980s has sometimes been "conveniently divided into three ten-year periods which correspond generally to the changing lifestyle of Canada's Inuit population" (Goetz 1984:17-18). During the first decade, from approximately 1948-1960, most Inuit continued to live a traditional lifestyle, occuping hunting and fishing camps. Many of the carvers were hunters, fishermen, seamstresses and many of their carvings were anonymous (Ibid. 1984:17-18). The majority of these first carvings "the beginning of this phase" (Swinton 1987:13) were fairly small and were sold for only a few dollars. Originally these carvings were produced as "whittles", toys or trade items, rather than sculpture (Ibid 1987:13). The carvings (and later the graphics) from this period documented the daily life in and around the camps: hunters traditionally dressed, bending over a seal's breathing hole; fat walruses basking in the sun; graceful polar bears; women with infants in the back-pouch. The carvings were made of 21 stone, ivory or bone available locally and were characterized by close attention to detail. Compositions often consisted of one or more figures secured to a base by pegs. Inlay was applied to indicate eyes or teeth; imported materials such as soap, melted phonograph records and black shoe-polish were used for contrast and finish (Goetz 1984:18). The status of these early carvings was altered when they were first exhibited in Montreal and were perceived by their white admirers as possessing "artistic merits" and "commercial potential" (Swinton 1987:13). This led to the active encouragement of Inuit carving by whites. Swinton (Ibid. 1987:13-14) states that once the Inuit agreed to produce carvings as a means of obtaining supplementary income "...the whittles were almost immediately changed into "art", and the casual carving activities were transformed into a cottage industry." This marriage of convenience, wedding art to commerce, attracted increasing numbers of Inuit who became active in the regular production of carvings, leading to "continuous art production" (Ibid. 1987:14). This phenomenon led to some significant changes. On the one hand, the southern market was flooded with endless numbers of small, uninspiringly similar carvings, most of them lacking the "original artistic values" of the first works (Ibid. 1987:14). On the other hand, larger carvings began to appear that "bore no resemblance to the former whittles" (Ibid. 1987:14). The second decade of artistic activity, from approximately 1960 to 1970 occurred at the time more and more Inuit were abandoning traditional camp life and were moving into small permanent communities of pre-fabricated plywood houses. There were several reasons for this change. The Canadian government required Inuit children to go to school; services were 22 concentrated in the settlements; and some wage employment became available (Goetz 1984:18).^ The formation of the communities led to increased art production as wage employment proved to be scarce (Ibid. 1984:19). The carvings of this period continued to reflect the traditional lifestyle, virtually ignoring the signs of rapid acculturization. They were characterized by evolving "community styles", which were dependent on the carving material available, the influence of prominent carvers, and the demands of the local non-Inuit purchasers. Individual carvers became recognized by collectors. A major development of this period was the establishment of Inuit co-operatives "for the buying and marketing of goods" (Ibid. 1984:19). Although printmaking had been introduced in 1957, this decade (1960-1970) saw its consolidation and expansion as a number of co-operatives set up printmaking facilities offering annual collections of limited edition prints to the retail art market (Ibid. 1984:19). Like the carvings, the prints concentrated on images from the traditional Inuit life on the land. The decade from 1970 to 1980 witnessed the continued growth and modernization of Inuit communities aided by improvements in communication and transportation. This brought the Inuit into even closer contact with southern Canada, exposing them to a flood of foreign cultural values (Ibid. 1984:21). Some aspects of modern Inuit life were represented in the works of some contemporary Inuit artists, yet traditional themes continued to predominate, still encouraged by the non-Inuit buyers (Blodgett 1978:4). However, the Inuit, themselves have become more self-Referring to Arctic Quebec, Saladin D'Anglure maintained that "state intervention" rose sharply after 1960. For him, 1960 marked "the end of a way of life centered on hunting, fishing, and the fur trade, the end of snowhouses for permanent winter occupation, the end of summers spent in traditional hunting camps, and also the end of missionary predominance in schooling and health care" (Saladin D'Anglure 1984:506). 23 aware and conscious of the need for the documentation, and dissemination of their cultural heritage: "A deliberate intent to describe and to inform is evident in a number of contemporary works" (Goetz, 1984:21). Conversely, for some artists traditional themes are merely a vehicle of expression (Ibid. 1984:21). In the decade since 1980, the ranks of Inuit artists have been depleted by the deaths of some of the most well-known and prolific artists. These artists were also some of the oldest and were the most familiar with the traditional lifestyle. A generation of younger artists who have grown up in the settlements is gradually "replacing" these artists. The recession of the early 1980s resulted in a slump in the market for Inuit art and financial difficulties curtailed and even suspended artistic activities in some communities. A continuing problem has been the shortage of soapstone which is being increasingly imported from the south (Swinton 1985:897). On the positive side, this situation has given rise to artistic experimentation in other materials (Sawai 1986:3). While some of the younger artists have expanded the repertoire of imagery, injecting "new blood" into the scene, traditional subject matter still dominates. According to Terry Ryan the motivation of these artists differs from the previous generation: "I think the younger generation are depicting the 'Heroic Eskimo'. They are showing the man with the bow and arrow, the spear and the harpoon, and he's bigger than life. I think primarily it's because they want to hold onto an image. People grow bored of the man over the seal hole and the hunter shooting the seal. But a lot of the young people go on depicting the past because it's the one thing they don't want to let go of" (Ryan in Van Raalte 1986:6). 24 Ryan 's comments suggest that these Inuit artists are depicting traditional subject for themselves and not just for "outsiders". This development was consistent with the "idealized redefinition of tradition (that) occurred in this decade all over North America" (Cohodas, personal communication, 1990), and implies a renewed historical interest in their culture. The Inuit have always combined imagery with their "history": "Storytelling and illustration are inextricably linked in the Inuit oral tradition" (McGrath 1989:4). In the contemporary period this tendency assumed a new dimension with the introduction of writing. Contemporary Inuit Art and The Influence of Writing One of the most prevalent types of writing available to Inuit culture has been the comic book and it has made a significant impact on Inuit imagery. Robin McGrath (1989) has shown that comic books and cartoon strips have affected the format of artworks by Inuit artists. The addition of syllabic text, the repetition of certain motifs, and the use of "speak balloons" or "think balloons" (like the white ovals used by cartoonists to indicate dialogue) in Inuit art, particularly graphics, suggest a strong link to the comic medium. Comic books have been popular in the North since the 1930s (McGrath 1989:5). "For Canadian Inuit, the first broad exposure to comic books came in the 1950s when they travelled outside on ships such as the C D . Howe to be treated for tuberculosis" (Ibid. 1989:6). Christian missionaries recognized early the didactic potential of the comic and comic-book versions of Christian themes, including the life of Christ, the Parables and other such religious stories appeared and were circulated throughout the North (Ibid. 1989:5). The comic-book format was also used to illustrate one of the evils of acculturation, drinking. Rev. Maurice Metayer invented a comic-book character "Captain Al Cohol", a fair-haired blue-25 eyed superhero who became a blubbering idiot when he took a drink (Ibid. 1989:7). The influence of this medium will be explored later in this study, in the discussion of specific artworks. The Development of Contemporary Inuit Art Scholarship Contemporary Inuit art is a relatively recent phenomenon and its history is still being written . It has been studied and discussed in a variety of ways which is reflected in a diverse scholarship. The synopsis of the literature which follows indicates the major trends that developed in writings on contemporary Inuit art. The earliest writings on contemporary Inuit art appeared shortly after this new "artform" was launched in 1948-1949. Many of these first publications were promotional copy written by people like James Houston and others who were directly involved with the "creation" and early marketing of this alternative means of livelihood for the Inuit. These postwar writings appeared in brochures and pamphlets put out by the Canadian federal government or in magazines like The Beaver, a publication of the Hudson's Bay Company which had extensive interests in the North. Although upbeat and enthusiastic, some of these early essays were marred by unfounded assertions of a continuity between contemporary Inuit sculpture and traditional Eskimo carving which laid them open to attack from later writers (Swinton 1971:36). The "conspicuous promotion" by these early writers who attempted to endow the new artform with respectability ^George Swinton's Eskimo Sculpture (1965) and Sculpture of the Eskimo (1987), are still the only general overviews of sculpture. There are no general overviews of the prints, except for the major exhibition catalogue, The Inuit Print (1977). 26 by linking it to the past "...generated art-historical and anthropological suspicions and prejudgments against the new art" (Ibid. 1971:36). The 1960s and 1970s witnessed a virtual explosion of interest on this subject, as cornerstone exhibitions were mounted and publications proliferated. Many of these were organized and supported by major federal government agencies, including the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs; the Department of External Affairs (Houston 1988:10); the National Gallery of Canada; the then National Museum of Man. These expositions were often encyclopedic in scope, with a myriad of objects from prehistoric times to contemporary sculpture and graphics. During this period, some writers developed a more critical view of Inuit contemporary art. Anthropologists like Charles Martijn and others dismissed any relationship between contemporary Inuit art and prehistoric artifacts. Carvings, graphics and other media made by contemporary Inuit were labelled "tourist" arts, produced for the consumption of non-Inuit for economic reasons. Criticism mounted. It was argued that much of the imagery portrayed the traditional Inuit lifestyle and did not reflect the actual situation of contemporary Inuit (Graburn 1976:54). It reflected instead the demands of the non-Inuit consumers. Moderating voices were provided by authors like George Swinton who argued that the Inuit had been making "non-functional" carved items for non-Inuit since the nineteenth century (Swinton 1971:39). More importantly, Swinton was one of the first authors to champion the individual Inuit artist. In the late 1970s - 1980s, financial restrictions and waning interest in Inuit art reduced the number of "blockbuster" exhibitions. These were replaced by smaller exhibitions which 27 attempted to focus on specific issues in Inuit art and were accompanied by well-researched catalogues by writers like Jean Blodgett who brought a new professionalism to these publications (Klamer 1983:9). While some writings concentrated on the production of individual Inuit art communities (i.e. Winnipeg Art Gallery. Povungnituk. Winnipeg: Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1977), others dealt with specific aspects of traditional Inuit culture as reflected in the contemporary visual art (i.e. shamanism; animal imagery; myths and legends) (for example, Blodgett 1979a). Still others were based on private collections. More publications on individual artists also began to appear, and these were careful to include the participation of the artist where possible (i.e. Blodgett 1985). Contemporary Inuit art scholarship is a pioneering field. It is built on a body of writings that approached the study of this phenomenon from a variety of interests: promotional, art historical and anthropological. Each of these viewpoints has contributed individually to the critical examination of this art form. However, a real enrichment of this scholarship lays in inter-disciplinary study, and in the active involvement of the Inuit. 2 8 CHAPTER 3 - MYTHOLOGICAL THEMES Background The Eskimo myths that had been orally transmitted across the Arctic, from Alaska to Greenland and passed on from one generation to another (Moore 1986:7) were recorded and published in modern European languages (Ibid. 1986:7) ° by anthropologists in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Interest in the Eskimos had been a long concern of anthropologists (Damas 1984:4). "Coincident with the basically descriptive emphasis of this early period was the search for Eskimo origins that began with a strongly ethnographic orientation" (Ibid. 1984:4). Many believed that American natives were on the verge of disappearance and that it was crucial to gather as much material about their 'culture' as possible (Langness 1987:57). The traditional stories were an important source of information on the Eskimo and stories were collected from the various Eskimo groups who inhabited the Arctic. Although there was some regional variation, many of these stories were similar throughout the Arctic (Weyer 1969:4). In the Canadian Arctic ethnologists like Franz Boas, Knud Rasmussen, and Diamond Jenness, recorded and published Inuit myths and legends. Franz Boas's field explorations in Baffin Island in 1882-1883 resulted in the publication of "the first scientific monograph on the Canadian Eskimos" (Collins 1984:10). His primary goal had been to conduct geographical exploration, and during his visit he logged some 2,400 miles on 2 6 The earliest records of the Canadian Inuit were the descriptive accounts of nineteenth-century British explorers who were searching for the Northwest Passage (Collins 1984:10). 29 foot, by dog sled and by ship (Ibid. 1984:10). Boas went on to draw "a rounded account of Eskimo culture in the eastern Canadian Arctic" (Ibid. 1984:10-11). The years between 1910-1924 have been regarded as the "great ethnographic period" in the Canadian Arctic (Damas 1984:4). The culmination of this florescence of activity was the famous and "highly productive" Fifth Thule Expedition (Ibid. 1984:4) (1921-1924) led by Knud Rasmussen (Fisher 1975:29). Aside from "the basic reports on archeology, physical anthropology, physiography, geology, botany, and zoology," (Collins 1984:12) this expedition "produced definitive monographs" (Ibid. 1984:12) on the ethnology of the Caribou Eskimo, 97 Netsilik, Iglulik and Copper Eskimo (Ibid. 1984:12). At the time Rasmussen was compiling his ethnographic collection, nominal religious conversion had taken place among many Inuit (Graburn 1976:40). Although conversion to Christianity was widespread, traditional religious elements persisted among the Inuit. The writings by Boas and those produced as a result of the Fifth Thule Expedition "...still constitute the basic source of information on the religious life of the Central Eskimos" (Fisher 1975:30). The stories which are outlined in this thesis are based on the accounts collected by these nineteenth and early twentieth century ethnographers. Diamond Jenness also conducted ethnographical research among the Copper Eskimos (i.e. Jenness, Diamond. Myths and Traditions from Northern Alaska, the Mackenzie Delta, and Coronation Gulf. Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18. Vol. 12(G). Ottawa, 1924). 30 Western scholars differentiated myths, legends and tales by function: myths involved a fervent religious belief in the supernatural; legends recounted historic events but possessed supernatural or fictitious (to us) elements; tales were regarded as community entertainment (Nungak and Arima 1969:112). It is not clear if the Eskimo themselves differentiated myths from legends as they were sometimes blended into myth-legend - a kind of prose narrative regarded as being true. Most Eskimo groups did distinguish both of these from folktales which were regarded as fiction. However, the Labrador and Caribou Eskimo made no linguistic distinctions between myths, legends and stories, all tales were referred to as unikkaatuat - stories or traditions (Ibid. 1969:113). The Inuit did not traditionally visually portray mythological figures; hence there were no pre-contact models. Rasmussen did persuade some Eskimos from the Iglulik group (see Map 2) to draw creatures from the Eskimo spirit world during the 1920s. Two major Eskimo spirits were depicted: the female sea spirit "...the mother of the sea animals who sits on the bottom of the sea and broods over the fate of man" (Fig. 1) by Anarqaq; and the moon spirit "Two pictures of Ululiarnaq with the moon spirit..." (Fig. 2) by Orulo. Most of the drawings collected by Rasmussen were of helping spirits (Fig. 3). Helping spirits were lesser spirits who functioned as a source of power for the shaman, assisting him/her in dealing with the supernatural. Through the helping spirits, the shaman could communicate with the powers that ruled the earth ° Anarqaq was a male shaman. While he agreed to depict the spirits, he stipulated that they not be shown among his own people (Rasmussen 1929:43-44). Of Orulo, Rasmussen wrote: "...of all the Iglulingmiut I met, (she was) the most faithful story-teller...one of those who knew most about the old traditions" (Ibid. 1929:68). 3 1 (Blodgett 1979a:48). The helping spirit or familiar could assume many forms, "human, animal, and non-living" (Graburn 1980:194). The crude draughtsmanship of the drawings made by Rasmussen's informants was probably due to the authors' inexperience with paper and pencil, but the unrealistic and unnatural appearances may have been due to the fact that they represented transcriptions of supernatural beings. These drawings were not discussed or referred to as art, nor were they even analyzed as visual expressions or related to other graphic images. The Introduction of Mythological Themes in Contemporary Inuit Art Although the supernatural beings of the myths and legends were an integral part of the fabric of the traditional Inuit lifestyle, "non-ordinary aspects of the belief system" (Graburn 1980:203) were not portrayed in the early carvings of the contemporary art period. The Inuit began to represent images based on the traditional stories in the late 1950's, including figures such as the primary deities. 29 "In some areas this was specifically encouraged by missionaries and others,...In a few cases some Inuit were specifically paid by anthropologists and others to represent their unikkatuat (stories) in their arts, as a kind of recording of dying beliefs" (Graburn 1980:204). In 1958-59, Reverend Father Andre P. Steinmann, O . M . I . , ^ encouraged carvers in Povungnituk, Arctic Quebec, to depict some of their oral traditions in soapstone and to write 29 Artists from Povungnituk and Cape Dorset appear to have been among the first to produce depictions based on the traditional myths and legends (Graburn 1967:30). 30 "The Oblate Mission was founded in Povungnituk in 1956 (Myers 1977:7), but Father Steinmann had been a missionary in the Arctic since 1938 (Saucier 1988:15). 32 down the stories which the sculptures illustrated in syllabic text. According to Graburn (Graburn 1980:204) this project was initiated by Asen Balikci, who was a museum ethnologist at the National Musem of Canada and apparently carried out under Steinmann's stewardship. Photographs of these carvings, along with the text which described them were subsequently issued in a 1969 publication eskimo stories from Povungnituk, Quebec, illustrated in soapstone carvings. Other Arctic communities may have become aware of Steinmann's "project"; and federal Crafts Officers working in the various centres may have actively urged the Inuit to depict similar objects. In 1969 (the year eskimo stories was published) K.J. Butler and his wife Sheila Butler went to Baker Lake to introduce printmaking techniques to the Inuit. They noticed that several of the drawings solicited from the Inuit depicted repetitive images (Butler 1986:15). They determined that the images "were fragments of a legend" (Ibid 1986:16). In collaboration with the Inuit, they set about collecting these remnants. During their first two years in Baker Lake, they oversaw the consolidation of a complete body of legends: "Little by little, during the first two years of our work in Baker Lake, the legend fragments associated with each individual's drawings came together to form whole episodes of recognisable stories" (Butler 1986:18). Luke Anguhadluq, an elderly hunter and member of the community served as consultant. His initial drawing and syllabic writings served as "an illustrated text" (Ibid 1986:16). The appearance of these kinds of images represented an ideological change by the Inuit and an esthetic reappraisal by whites. It has been stated that artists were representing subjects that no longer held any spiritual meaning for them (Blodgett 1988:85). Although the traditional Inuit 33 belief system had eroded significantly under the influence of Christianity, the fact that many stories related to it had survived indicates that they were regarded as culturally important by the Inuit themselves. Non-Inuit, on the other hand, had become more interested in objects that reflected traditional Inuit values (Ibid. 1988:85). Even the Canadian Federal Government in a Royal Commission on Canadian Prospects (1957) suggested that "...northern policies refocus on programs of benefit to the preservation of the northerners' traditional life styles" (Hoag 1981:310). Writings on Contemporary Inuit Mythological Art Although there is a substantial body of literature on contemporary Inuit art, there are very few O 1 art historical studies on mythological art. The publications that do exist comprise two types: surveys of depictions of several traditional story figures (mythical, legendary and folktale); and monographs on the portrayals of one specific traditional figure. The first publication dedicated entirely to this subject was Nungak and Arima's (1969) eskimo stories from Povungnituk, Quebec, illustrated in soapstone carvings, a compendium of several oral stories that were written in syllabic text and illustrated in accompanying soapstone carvings, initiated by Asen Balikci and made under the encouragement of Father Andre Steinmann. The J There are numerous publications on Inuit literature (traditional and contemporary), with illustrations. Robin McGrath (1984) discusses many of these. The images in those works are not considered here. McGrath (McGrath 1984:76) maintains that "...myths, which are more anonymous and provide a cosmic view of life rather than an historic one, are more likely to be found in connection with drawings or prints". 34 Povungnituk carvings in eskimo stories were essentially commissioned works by a number of carvers that were organized together as a documentary record. Inuit Myths, Legends & Songs was an exhibition and catalogue that appeared in 1982 and assembled a group of drawings that were based on a variety of traditional stories. This venture brought together works by eight artists from three Inuit art centres who have "...portrayed the stories, legends and themes of Inuit mythology in their art in a consistent manner" (Driscoll 1982:5). In 1980 The Inuit Sea Goddess exhibition was mounted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. This exhibit and its accompanying catalogue focused on contemporary sculptural and graphic depictions of the female sea spirit by artists from various Inuit communities. Nelda Swinton, who wrote the catalogue, subsequently completed a Master's thesis on the same subject in 1985. Swinton's monographs consolidated an impressive body of images and background information on the female sea spirit myth. Her coordination of the plethora of visual and written material on this subject is a model of organization and an invaluable secondary reference. The University of Alberta mounted a one-woman exhibition of works by Baker Lake artist, Victoria Mamnguqsualuk based on the legend of Qiviuq-^ in 1986. Entitled Keeveeok, Awake! Mamnguqsualuk and the Rebirth of Legend at Baker Lake the focus of the exhibition 32 J There is a variety of English spellings of this traditional Inuit hero's name. Some of these are: Keeveeok, Kiveoq, Kivioq, Kigioq, Kiviuq, Giviok, Kiviung, Kiviuna, Qaaweiluq (Moore 1980: 3,37). Qiviuq is "now the generally accepted spelling" (Ibid 1986:3). 35 and catalogue was directed primarily to bringing Mamnguqsualuk's images together and relating the various stories behind them. Although these publications have expanded the repertoire of contemporary Inuit art scholarship by documenting and organizing the many examples of this genre, there is either lack of contextualization (the surveys) or interpretation (the monographs) in these works. This study will attempt to readdress these issues by selecting a sample of works and subjecting these to multiple analyses. Research Plan While conducting research for an undergraduate course on North American Indian Art, I "discovered" the large body of mythological art produced by contemporary Inuit artists since the late 1950s. My background in western art had exposed me to an art tradition that had a history rich in religious symbolism. My western bias led me to cast about for publications on contemporary Inuit mythological art to "interpret" this complex imagery. The only publications which appeared to deal with the subject of symbolism in contemporary Inuit art were by the anthropologist Nelson Graburn (see Bibliography) whose discussion of this component rested on his exposition of an Inuit concept called nalunaikutanga. There is no direct English translation of the word nalunaikutanga but it can be roughly defined as a distinctive feature. This concept, which was to subsequently become a component in my analysis, will be explained in the section outlining the methodology to be used in this thesis. 36 A crucial factor of this study has been the selection of scope. Several criteria entered into this decision. Firstly, the two primary deities, the female sea spirit and the male moon spirit were chosen because they are well known and fairly widely depicted by contemporary Inuit artists. Secondly, because they are female and male deities, comparisons could be made between female and male imagery. Thirdly, these figures have received varying attention in Inuit art scholarship. Whereas the female sea spirit has received fairly extensive art historical consideration, there has been no indepth study of the male moon spirit. The contemporary artworks to be discussed are mainly drawn from three Arctic centres: Cape Dorset, on Baffin Island (the area traditionally inhabited by the Baffin Land Eskimo); Povungnituk in Arctic Quebec (the traditional East Coast Hudson Bay Eskimo); and Baker Lake in the Keewatin District, N.W.T. (the area traditionally inhabited by the Caribou Eskimo -the "southernmost of the Central Eskimos" (Arima 1984:447) (see Map 1). Cape Dorset and Povungnituk are both eastern coastal areas. Baker Lake is an inland centre, on the west coast side of Hudson Bay. These centres were selected because artists from each community have consistently depicted these particular mythological figures and the geographical representation allows for comparisons to be made between regional variations of stories. J J Arct ic Quebec was known as Ungava until 1912, when its name was changed to "Nouveau Quebec" (Myers 1977:17 note 1). 3 7 Methodology and the Concept of Nalunaikutanga This thesis is based on a comparative analysis of mythological imagery aided by a methodological construct which is guided by two interdependent components: the Inuit concept of nalunaikutanga, a term loosely translated as distinctive feature; and the role played by nalunaikutanga in Inuit culture. The word nalunaikutanga has been translated as a "...sign, symbol, marker, guide, characteristic,...distinctive feature" (which) "...runs through the whole of Inuit culture and art" (Graburn 1977:1-2). There is no Inuit word for art (Swinton 1987:129); but, according to Swinton (Ibid. 1987:129-130) the concept is embodied by the Inuit in the word sananguaq or sananguagaq which in carving means "a likeness that is made or carved". Thus an artist's notion of success is having achieved a likeness, not an imitation (Ibid. 1987:130). In conjunction with this focus, the importance of nalunaikutanga is that it transcends mere physical attributes: "...nalunaikutanga of species are neither solely their visibly most characteristic feature nor are they necessarily their behaviourally strongest point, but generally they are a synthesis of the two - the visible features which suggest their behavioural propensities" (Graburn 1977:7).^ The following table illustrates how various nalunaikutanga of species work, suggested by comments by Graburn (Graburn 1977:7-8) and Zumwalt (Zumwalt 1982:288). -^Graburn has also included under the concept of nalunaikutanga an artist's proclivity for particular subject matter, and artistic conventions employed by specific artists such as "Leviraluk's inclusion of bootlaces on his frequent carvings of the male hunter, or Pautak's signature on the side as opposed to the bottom of a carving" (Graburn 1974:167). 38 NALUNAIKUTANGA ANIMAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES BEHAVIOURAL PROPENSITY BEAR Incisors, claws Striking Power OWL Hooked beak, claws Killing ability WOMAN Tatooing Female Parka Woman's Knife (ulu) Post menarche/Available Child carrying Successful homemaker 35 M A N Knives, kayak Tools of the hunt .36 This list represents the kinds of nalunaikutanga discernible in the natural environment, "...the same kinds of nalunaikutanga...appear in the majority of the two and three dimensional arts of the Inuit" (Graburn 1977:8). For example, Marjorie Esa's Linocut and stencil "Bear", 1980 (Baker Lake, 1980, Fig. 4) with its exaggerated paw and claws conveys the strength and power of a real bear. The artist has successfully evoked "bearness" by isolating and magnifying a particular aspect of the bear. The severely annotated image eliminates viewer editorial. This form of the bear is the message. While Graburn used nalunaikutanga to discuss contemporary Inuit art imagery he did not extend his discussion to include mythological art so that this genre has not been analyzed with this 35 J J The ulu is a crescent-shaped blade, often with a handle made of either wood, ivory, or even skin. It was traditionally used to prepare the skins and the meals, and in sewing. 3 6 The importance of these implements is suggested by the fact that artifacts such as the lamp, kettle, and dishes of the woman, and the kayak and the weapons of the man were placed on the tops of graves (Hawkes 1916:120). 39 concept in mind. Yet the concept of nalunaikutanga may be related to or even derived from traditional religious practices: "The amulet is a physical manifestation and indicator of the qualities it embodies. Thus parts of animals impart the particular quality of that animal to the wearer. For example, owl's claws give strong fists; gull heads luck when fishing for trout; the metatarsal bone of a wolf, strong legs and quick runners" (Blodgett 1979a:51, citing Rasmussen 1931: captions opposite 271-274). This paper aims to employ this concept by identifying the specific visual motifs used in depictions of the primary Inuit deities and to trace their evolution over the last thirty years to their sources in Inuit experience. The images have been analyzed to determine if particular compositional motifs are specifically used in works based on a common theme, and if these motifs exist in works produced by only one artist or appear in works by several artists. As part of the analysis two other figures have been considered for comparative purposes: the anthropomorphic "type" (half-animal/half-human female or male) which will be referred to as the "composite"; and the Inuit male hero, usually known as Qiviuq. The Mythological Personnages A major problem in dealing with Inuit myths and legends is that the information on the traditional Inuit deities is scattered throughout several publications and is often confusing and difficult to follow (Nungak and Arima 1969:135). Several versions of the origins of the deities were recorded throughout the Canadian Arctic by various ethnologists, but there is no concise publication on Inuit cosmogony. The similarity of the myths suggests that they were not independently invented, but were passed from tribe to tribe, possibly by the early Thule. Yet it is not always possible to discover just how well known each deity was everywhere. The 40 female sea spirit was known throughout the Canadian Arctic and occupied a major position in some areas of the Central Arctic. The moon spirit appears to have occupied a less powerful position in the majority of Central Arctic areas, although he was regarded as an important supernatural figure among the more westerly Inuit. 41 CHAPTER 4 - THE FEMALE SEA SPIRIT The Female Sea Spirit - Beliefs and Areal Extent The female sea spirit was a primary controlling deity of the Central Eskimo3^ and was regarded as the most powerful and hence the most potentially dangerous (Nungak and Arima 1969:113). This spirit was responsible for releasing the animals for the hunt and in return, she required that the Eskimo observe a system of rules and regulations (taboos). If these rules were broken the sea spirit became angered and would retaliate by withholding the animals. When this occurred, the Eskimo employed a shaman (angekok) to visit the sea spirit in her underwater home to ascertain why she was angry. Her response was usually that taboos had been broken by the Eskimo. The shaman would return to the people and request that confessions of infractions be made before the community. These confessions would then appease the sea spirit, who would then release the animals. The female sea spirit was called by many names (Weyer 1969:351) (see Appendix 1). In this thesis, she is referred to as Sedna, a possible corruption of Sanvna, "the one down on the sea bottom" (Ibid. 1969:351). Sedna functioned as a symbol of fertility and as the creator and controller of most sea animals. The Inuit participated in a complex sympathetic and reverential relationship with her, as they were entirely dependent upon her for the provision of animals for the hunt. All aspects of the Inuit's lives were regulated by the system of rules and regulations designed to appease Sedna. J The Central Eskimo refers to the Baffin Land, Iglulik, Caribou, Netsilik, Copper Eskimos (Damas 1984:391). Weyer (Weyer 1969:51) also considered the Polar Eskimos from Northeast Greenland as Central Eskimos. 4 2 Importunities of weather or scarcity of game were attributed to her dissatisfaction with the Inuit. "The Inuit's relationship with and belief in the sea goddess and other powerful forces was a means of rationalizing and, ultimately, accepting this harsh existence" (Swinton 1980:32). Knowledge of the Sedna myth varied among the Eskimo groups that had inhabited the areas presently occupied by the Inuit art communities discussed in this paper. The Sedna myth was not recorded among the Caribou Eskimo, themselves (Holtved 1966/67:149). They had become familiar with Sedna through contact with the Netsilik Eskimo group. Many Eskimo from the Netsilik area had migrated to Caribou territory, bringing their beliefs with them (see Map 2). Included in these was a strong belief in the female sea spirit, whom they referred to as Nuliajuk "the poor or frightful one" (see Appendix 1) which became intermingled with the beliefs of the Caribou (Swinton 1980:11, Note 3 ) . 3 8 The Baffin Island Eskimo traditionally regarded Sedna as their primary deity and they celebrated an annual event, the so-called Sedna Festival, in her honour (Ibid 1980:28). The east coast Hudson Bay Eskimo acquired many of the legends and beliefs of the Labrador, Iglulik and Baffin Land people. However, the east coast Hudson Bay myths that survived have been generally grouped under the Labrador Eskimo (Ibid. 1980:11 Note 2). The story of Sedna was known to the northern Labrador Eskimo who also referred to her by that name (see Appendix 1). According to an Eskimo informant of Hawkes at Cape Chidley (the northernmost point of J O The Caribou Eskimo traditionally recognized Pinga, a female air spirit deity, who resided in the sky as the most powerful force (Weyer 1969:352-353; Rasmussen 1930:56). 43 Labrador), Sedna was believed to control everything that swam in the sea: the fish, the seals, and particularly the polar bear (Hawkes 1916:126). Origin Myths of Sedna There are several versions of the origins of Sedna throughout the Arctic. All begin with a girl or woman who refused to marry. Eventually this female does marry, but from this point on the stories develop differently. The variations recounted here were excerpted from Swinton (Swinton 1980:7-10) and are based on the traditional stories gathered from the Baffin Land, Labrador, and Netsilik Eskimo. Variations in the Sedna Myth A girl is forced by her father to marry a dog. "Netsilik Eskimo - (Similar to the Iglulik version). A girl marries a dog and her father, ashamed, takes the dog and his angry daughter to an island, where she has children. One day, seeking revenge, she orders her offspring to kill their grandfather who had been going back and forth bringing food. After the father is killed, she sends her children away to sea in two groups: half become the Indians and the other half become the White Men. She tries to join the second group but is pushed out of their boot-boat. She grips the side of the boat but they cut off her fingers, which become fjord seals, bearded seals and walruses. She sinks to the bottom of the sea and becomes Nuliayuk." J^The East Coast and Labrador Eskimo recognized a male deity, Tornga'rsoak, as ruler of the sea animals, and it was to this male deity that the Labrador Eskimo appealed when hunting whales or seals (Hawkes 1916:125). Tornga'rsoak was not the moon spirit, but was ".. .the chief or most dreaded spirit..in Greenland and Labrador..." (Hawkes 1916:125,127). 44 "Labrador Eskimo - A woman marries a dog. Her father, humiliated, decides to take her to an island. When at sea he tosses her overboard; she clings to the edge of the boat but her father systematically cuts off her thumb and two fingers, which are transformed into a walrus, a seal and a white bear. The woman sinks to the bottom of the sea." A girl is seduced by and marries a tall handsome man who, she later learns is a transformed fulmar. 4 0 "Northern Baffin Land Eskimo - Sedna or Uinigumissuitung marries a fulmar, a small seagull-like bird, who has promised her a good and wonderful life with beautiful furs. She soon learns that the fulmar has deceived her and she leads a miserable existence resting on reeking fish skins. Her father visits his daughter and, upon hearing of her unhappiness, tries to rescue her by killing the fulmar. The fulmar's bird-friends avenge his death, creating a storm as the two attempt to escape by boat. The father, fearing for his life, throws Sedna overboard, but she manages to hold onto the boat. He cuts off her first finger joints, then her second and, finally, her stump hands, which change into whales, seals and ground seals respectively. Her fingernails become whalebone. However, the daughter survives to return home with her father, who is then killed on command by her dogs. As a result of these evil deeds the earth opens up and the girl and her father sink to the bottom of the sea." A girl married first a dog, then a petrel. "Northern Baffin Land Eskimo - Avilayoq or Uinigumissuitung marries a dog who had been transformed from a stone. They have many children - Eskimo, White, Igiqat and Inuarudligat, but the din created by this large family causes her father to move them to an island. One day Avilayoq encounters a tall handsome petrel wearing snow goggles, who lures her away with promises of an opulent life replete with fine furs and skins. However, upon arriving at the petrel's home Avilayoq discovers the ruse and leads a wretched existence until, one day, her father comes to visit. Seeing the girl's situation, he is determined to rescue her but, as they escape in a boat, they are followed by the petrel who causes a great storm in retaliation for Avilayoq's refusal to return with him. The father, in an effort to save himself, throws the girl overboard. She desperately clings to the boat but the father systematically cuts off her first, second and third finger joints from which whales, ground seals and seals are created. Her nails change to whalebone. She then sinks to the sea bottom and becomes Sedna. The father returns home, drowns the dog and then himself, thus joining Sedna." In another variation from Northern Baffin Land Sedna marries a petrel. 45 An orphan girl is abandoned. "Netsilik Eskimo - Putulik, an orphan girl, is thrown into the sea as a group of people are moving to another settlement. She hangs onto the side of the boat but the people immediately cut off her fingers which are transformed into seals. She sinks to the bottom of the ocean and becomes Nuliajuk, a great sea spirit." Although these accounts differed in several respects, they share certain core similarities: the central character in the story is a female. She refuses to marry a man or chooses to marry a dog or a bird. Her fingers were chopped off and various marine animals were created from the stumps. She lives on the sea bottom. As a result of these occurrences, the female controls all the sea animals and she must be appeased by a shaman during periods of famine before she liberates these creatures for the hunters (Ho 1981: no page; McGrath 1984:69). Contemporary Images of Sedna Sedna is one of the most frequently depicted subjects in contemporary Inuit art (Ho 1981 :no page). Her widespread popularity has been attributed to the fact that "...this myth has retained its vitality" (Ibid. 1981 :no page). Yet, the connection between the Sedna myth and most contemporary depictions of Sedna is not clear. The myth contains several descriptive passages that would translate easily into narrative images of Sedna. The climactic lopping off of the female's fingers and the transformation of the severed members into sea animals in the final phase of the myth are probably the most memorable aspects of this story. Yet, visual depictions of this are rare. Germaine Arnatauyok's ink drawing "Sedna, Sea Goddess", 1981 (Igloolik, 1981, Fig. 5) depicts the scene in which the female clings 46 to the side of the boat just prior to the severance of her fingers . The artist also includes a scene from the ritual in which the female shaman (Swinton 1985:31) untangles Sedna's hair. This work is atypical of most portrayals of the sea goddess as the female retains her human form and the identification of the subject is heavily dependent on the narrative, conveyed by the actions of the figures. Some artists chose to refer to the story by focusing on those physical features of Sedna that were affected or altered in the myth. The truncated hands and the issuance of the sea animals from the stumps were readily identifiable distinctive physical features or nalunaikutanga of this figure, as in Lachaulassie Akesuk's sculpture "Sea Goddess", 1959 (Cape Dorset, 1959, Fig. 6) and Soroseelutu Ashoona's stonecut print, "Woman of the Sea", 1976 (Cape Dorset, 1976, Fig. 7). In Ashoona's print the sea animals are fish, not sea mammals.42 Another distinctive physical characteristic that identified Sedna was her hair. Although the myth did not discuss Sedna's hair, it was a symbol of her relationship with the Inuit. Traditionally, Sedna's hair was a gauge of her well-being and a vehicle for interaction with the shaman who 4*In this work the female was abandoned by her father and brother (Ho 1981:no page). 4 2 One of the names for the female sea spirit was Taleelayo, which Swinton (Swinton 1980:13) believed was "...most likely derived from the words "tallerk" meaning arm and "talliuyuk" meaning front flippers" (see Appendix 1). 47 would journey to rearrange it when it became tangled - the tangles representing transgressions by the Inuit: "The angakok (shaman) finds Takanakapsaluk sitting defiantly with her back to the pool of animals. Her hair hangs down loose all over one side of her face, a tangled untidy mass hiding her eyes. It is the thought that the misdeeds and offenses committed by mortals gather in dirt and impurity over her body." (The shaman must then) "...stroke her hair which she has been unable to comb out herself because she has no fingers; and he must smooth it and comb it" (Weyer 1969:357). The ritual of rearranging the sea goddess' hair is rarely portrayed in Inuit contemporary art; (i.e. the 1981 ink drawing by Germaine Arnatauyok, Fig. 5, previously mentioned). However, Sedna's hair has been exploited as both a communicative and decorative device. In Kaka Ashoona's carving "Enraged Taleelayo" or "Sedna", 1962 (Cape Dorset, 1962, Fig. 8), Sedna dramatically pulls her hair to one side with one hand, while struggling with or pushing away a snake-like animal^3 with her other hand. The figure appears to be attempting to gain control over both her hair and the snake. The outstretched arms emphasize the strain of the figure as does the bent body and fierce facial expression. The oversized hands may refer to the lopping off of the fingers. A completely different impression is conveyed by Lukta Qiatsuk's stonecut "Talluliyuk (Sea Goddess)", 1959 (Cape Dorset, 1959, Fig. 9). Here the artist has portrayed Sedna's hair as long, flowing, and orderly - a perfect decorative complement to her curved body. *'Snake-people and man-eating snakes or giant worms are recorded in some Inuit tales and legends (Moore 1986:37). 48 Another manner of portraying Sedna's hair was the use of one or two hair braids , as in Lachaulassie Akesuk's "Sea Goddess", 1959 (Fig. 6) or Solomonie Tigullaraq's sculpture "Sea Goddess", 1973 (Clyde River, 1973, Fig. 10). Neat, orderly hair symbolized harmony; "...there is a symbolic connotation attached to the tidy braid, for traditional Inuit women wore their hair in braids to maintain a sense of order while tending to daily activities" (Swinton 1980:15). The act of severing Sedna's hands served to alter her relationship with Eskimo society, and to align her with the animal world. Many sculptures and graphics reflect Sedna's role as mother of the animals by depicting her with them. Most depictions portrayed Sedna with sea animals as in Paulassie Pootoogook print "Talluliyuk", 1960 (Cape Dorset, 1960, Fig. 11). Other artists expanded on this theme and depicted Sedna with land animals, as in Jamasie Teevee's engraving "Taleelayo and Friends", 1973 (Cape Dorset, 1973, Fig. 12) in which the sea spirit is centred in a totemic composition of caribou and bears(?). While Sedna's personal appearance could reflect her fate (truncated hands) or her temperment (orderly or dishevelled hair), her portrayal with animals could indicate her role as a procreator and provider and her segregation from humankind. Although Sedna was a supernatural, these 4 4 "The Baffin Land Eskimo of Cumberland sound and Davis Strait and the Iglulik Eskimo believed the sea goddess to have neat hair made up in one pigtail. Cited from Boas, The Central Eskimo, pp. 177-178 and George Francis Lyon, The Private Journal of Captain G.F. Lyon, of of H.M.S. Helca, during the recent voyage of discovery under Captain Perry" (Swinton 1980:15). 49 characteristics were drawn from the natural world. Combined these distinctive features or nalunaikutanga form a pattern that identifies this figure, as expressed in the following table: NALUNAIKUTANGA SUBJECT PHYSICAL PROPERTIES BEHAVIORAL PROPENSITY SEDNA Truncated hands Source of sea animals Tangled hair State of mind/taboo -Ritual transformer Animals Separation from humankind keeper of game It will be noted that the half-woman and half-sea animal form has not been included in the above discussion; yet this form has been used in all of the depictions of Sedna cited above (except the 1981 drawing by Germaine Arnatauyok, Fig. 5). The form is puzzling; Sedna was not described in any version of the myth as being or having become a half-woman half-sea animal, or composite (see Appendix 3 for a list of physical characteristics), nor does it include any description of Sedna's physical appearance. The myth related that she was initially unmarried, which in traditional Inuit society would indicate that she was young. Yet, some of the names attributed to her suggest that she is old. Other names ascribe certain characteristics to her, some of them unflattering (see Appendix 3). While it may be difficult for a non-Inuit to reconcile all these 'contradictory' portraits, these varying aspects of Sedna's persona are consistent with her role as a female nature spirit (Cohodas, personal communication, 1990). 50 Most of the literature on contemporary Inuit mythological art draws no particular attention to Sedna's form^. Swinton believes that the form is a synthesis. "For the modern day Inuit artist to portray and maintain a conceptual relationship between a visual and verbal depiction, she had to become a semi-human, semi-aquatic creature" (Swinton 1980:14). If this statement is correct, then Sedna's form represents a joining together of 'matter' and 'non-matter' or idea. The form is an invention, with no antecedents in the natural world. Yet both female and sea animal exist in the natural world and both are realistically depicted by Inuit artists. Thus the 'fusion' of these two animals indicates that their joining together fulfilled a purpose; that some conceptual process effected the transition from separate realistic entities, each with their own specific properties, to conjoined form; as a result of this amalgamation, the individual components have been reconstituted into a unique form. An examination of each of these components may provide some insight into the development of this figure. The first depictions of Sedna were probably made at the request of non-Inuit who were interested in figures from traditional Inuit beliefs. As Sedna had been the primary Inuit deity, non-Inuit may have specifically commissioned carvings of this figure. The myth is an extremely violent account and elements such as Sedna's mutilation may have been considered inappropriate. On the other hand, the creation of the sea animals from Sedna's hands may have been an "exotic" and possibly more appealing subject. The artist's task was to translate this occurrence and Sedna's subsequent transformation into a supernatural into a tangible form. I believe that the Inuit artists may have "paraphrased" this event by concentrating on the figure of Sedna herself; 45Exceptions are Graburn 1980 and Ho 1981. 51 distilling the salient physical and behavioural aspects of her nature through the Inuit concept of nalunaikutanga and through indentification with the mermaid, a non-Inuit prototype that was introduced to Inuit society. The first contemporary Inuit carvings were made mostly by men who regarded themselves primarily as hunters. They carved during periods when they were unable to hunt (bad weather), and did not regard the activity as a "prestigeful occupation" (Graburn 1976:46). Many of these early carvings portrayed animals and the hunt of animals. These carvers were intimately familiar with their subjects and their sculptures reveal their keen observation as well as a complete understanding and knowledge of the physical and mental attributes of the animals they portrayed. Sedna was traditionally associated with the seal. This association could take the form of sympathetic magic whereby the shaman(s) performed a traditional ceremony reminiscent of seal-spearing on the ice. The Sedna ritual was symbolically identified with the seal hunt (Zumwalt 1982:287). "A rope is coiled on the floor of a large hut in such a manner as to leave a small opening at the top, which represents the breathing hole of a seal. Two angakut stand by the side of it, one of them holding the seal spear in his left hand, as if he were watching at the seal hole in the winter, the other holding the harpoon line. Another angakoq, whose office it is to lure Sedna up with a magic song, sits at the back of the hut. At last she comes up through the hard rocks and the wizard hears her heavy breathing; now she emerges from the ground and meets the angakoq waiting at the hole. She is harpooned and sinks away in angry haste, drawing after her the harpoon, to which the two men hold with all their strength. Only by a desperate effort does she tear herself away from it and return to her dwelling in Adlivun. Nothing is left with the two men but the blood sprinkled harpoon, which they proudly show to the Inuit" (Boas 1974:604). 52 An early carving by an unidentified artist from Cape Dorset (1955, Fig. 13) depicts a composite (half-female/half-sea animal) figure with two spear-like or harpoon-like projectiles on either side which may be a reference to the ritual described above, using two harpoons instead of one. Since no prototype existed for her depiction, carvers may have appropriated the form of the seal to express the role of Sedna as mother of the sea mammals. The carving, "Nuliayuk" or "Sedna Riding A Seal", 1959 by Eliassieapik Qiluqi (Povungnituk, 1959, Fig. 14) exemplifies the close connection established between Sedna and the seal in the minds of the carvers. The intimate relationship between Sedna and the seal was mirrored in the close traditional relationship that existed between the Inuit and the animal world. The distant past of the Inuit was a world in which animals and humans co-existed in "mixed human-animal relationships" (Swinton 1987:134) and distinctions between humans and animals were not made. At that time, any human could transform into an animal and any animal could transform into a human: "...they lived promiscuously: A person could become an animal, and an animal could become a human being. There were wolves, bears, and foxes but as soon as they turned into humans they were all the same. They may have had different habits but all spoke the same tongue, lived in the same kind of house, and spoke and hunted in the same way" (Blodgett 1979a:75). In more recent times, however, transformations were confined to shamans, who usually exercized this ability in a performance or seance with the aid of a helping spirit, who would enter the shaman's body and speak through him. The sounds uttered would then be dependent on the identity of the species of the helping spirit (Ibid. 1979a:75). There were different kinds of helping spirits acquired by shamans. Some were "spirit beings" who originated in the various spiritual realms - the earth's surface, the earth's interior space, the border dividing the earth and 53 sky (Rasmussen 1932:28). Other helping spirits were the inuat or spiritual inhabitants of animals, insects, inanimate objects even humans (Blodgett 1979a:49). Of the animals the bear in human form was viewed as the most powerful helper (Ibid. 1979a:49-50). Other animals were the fox, shark, lemming, walrus, and seal, as well as birds like the raven and loon (Ibid. 1979a:50). Depictions of shamans and their helpers began to appear at about the same time as images of Sedna. These images indicated the close relationship between the two in at least two ways. Some of the visual portrayals stressed the inua or spiritual inhabitant of the animal which was depicted as a diminutive person - often a human head or series of human heads or faces gathered around the figure of the shaman (Ibid. 1979a:50). The spirit helper could also retain its animal form; however, it assumed a diminutive appearance and was portrayed usually sitting on the shoulder of the shaman (Ibid. 1979a:50) as in Jessie Oonark's drawing for the stonecut and stencil print "A Shaman's Helping Spirits", 1970 (Baker Lake, 1970, Fig. 15). Many accounts record transformation of shamans either partially or wholly into animals. "The upper half of the body of a Copper Eskimo shaman changed into a musk-ox while his lower parts remained human. Other shamans turned into polar bears, wolves, or brown bears" (Ibid. 1979a:76, citing Jenness4^ & Rasmussen 1932:35). Some reports indicated that shamans could transform into birds and even fly away (Blodgett. 1979a: 75). An example of this 4%enness, Diamond. The Life of the Copper Eskimos. Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18, Vol. XII, pt. A, 1922:199-200. 54 type of transformation may be Lukasi Uitanga's composite sculpture "Bird-Woman", 1959 (Povungnituk, 1959, Fig. 16) 4 7. The legendary mermaid and merman or half-fish (as it is often called) was another composite creature, but it permanently retained its half-human, half-sea animal appearance as in Lukta's linocut "Sea Spirits", 1961 (Cape Dorset, 1961, Fig. 18). It has been suggested that these creatures were inspired by the figureheads (mermaids) on the prows of visiting sailing ships and that they are not really part of the Inuit belief system, although stories were constructed around AO them by the Inuit (Graburn 1980:199, citing C. Gimpel°). One story recounts how a man came upon mermaid or half-fish stranded on a beach. Promising to grant him three wishes, the mermaid solicited the man's help in pushing her back into the sea. The next day, the man discovered that his three wishes were granted. On the beach lay a rifle, a gramophone and a sewing machine (Davidialuk Alasuaq in Saladin D'Anglare 1978:80). Davidialuk Alasuaq illustrated this theme in both sculptures and graphics as in his drawing "Half woman/Half Fish", n.d. (Povungnituk, n.d., Fig. 19). His depictions of this figure were often accompanied by There has been no systematic study of the composite type in contemporary Inuit art. As a result attributions have sometimes been confusing. For instance, Jessie Oonark's drawing "Dream of the Bird Woman", 1968 (Baker Lake, 1968, Fig. 17) has been identified as a depiction of a legendary being by Blodgett (Blodgett 1986:54). Yet the two small humans on the figure's arms (wings) suggest that it is really a shaman with her helping spirits. It was traditionally believed that the shaman's helping spirits resided in close proximity to the shaman, as is reflected "by the small-size birds, animals and human figures or heads in and on the body of the shaman..." (Ibid. 1986:54). This feature is undoubtedly a nalunaikutanga of shamanic imagery. 48 °C. Gimpel, personal communication, 1968. 55 explanatory text. Davidialuk portrayed Sedna as a composite form as well, so he obviously regarded them as separate figures. Graburn has posited that most sculptures and graphics of Sedna have been "misidentified" as this dominant sea spirit was never described in the myth as a half-woman, and that these depictions actually portray the legendary mermaid (Graburn 1980:209, Note 7) 4^. While there probably have been some cases of wrongful attribution, Ho asserts that "...the human/marine animal hybrid sea goddess is the most popular representation" (Ho 1981:no page). McGrath (McGrath 1984:70) believes that the half-fish is a "manifestation of the female spirit". She maintains that the half-fish was viewed as a beneficient figure who furnished the white man with his necessities just as Sedna supplied the Inuit with everything they required (Ibid. 1984:70). The half-fish form may be an adaptation "to account for the different view of life Inuit had after the white man came to the north" (Ibid. 1984:70). It may also have been a vehicle to incorporate new data into the traditional mythological framework (Ibid. 1984:70). It would also appear that some Inuit believed that the female of the traditional myth may have been transformed into some type of sea creature: "I don't know if the goddess at the bottom of the sea is Talilayu. She probably is. There's a story about a young girl who was mistreated and put on an island. A kayak came along and she tried to get into the kayak. Although she was told to get her hands off she kept clinging onto the kayak. When she wouldn't listen, the man chopped her hands off with a knife. She went under water and lots of If Graburn's assertion were correct, it would mean that there are very few depictions of Sedna. It seems unlikely that this prominent traditional deity would have been portrayed so infrequently by Inuit artists. 56 seal drifted up. People say her hands became the sea animals and her body became Talilayu...Pootoogook also saw something once - he didn't know exactly what. He saw it from a distance when I was young. Maybe it was Talilayu. He thought he'd seen a seal but when he got close he saw arms waving. That was no seal" (Pitseolak 1975:94-95). Appropriating the mermaid form to represent Sedna may also have served to indicate her altered state. With the gradual depreciation of belief in her traditional powers, the Inuit may have regarded Sedna as a less threatening, more kindly creature of nature; whose identify may have been redefined to illustrate her beneficence. On the other hand, Sedna had been traditionally perceived as a sexual creature: "The encounter between the shaman and Sedna has explicit sexual connotations. In some accounts, the shaman and Sedna tumble about before he can subdue her; in others, the shaman grabs Sedna forcibly. He combs her hair, soothes her, and brings the release of the animals. The sexual connotations of the combing of her hair are explicit in this myth" (Zumwalt 1982:283). One of the sea goddess' many names Nuliajok has been translated as ".. .the ever-copulating one, the one who (is) always in a sexual desire or state" (Ibid. 1982:284, citing Thalbitzer50). The root of Nuliajok is nulia which means wife, while nuliaktuk means sexual intercourse (Ibid. 1982:284). The mermaid was often portrayed as a young, sensual figure. The adoption of the mermaid as western-idealized female wealth-bringer may also indicate an acceptance of western views of femininity (Cohodas, personal communication, 1990). Thalbitzer, William. "Die Kultischen Gottheiten der Eskimos," Archiv fur Religionswissenschaft. Volume XXVI (1928): 364-430. 57 Summary of Sedna Figure Sedna had been a primary deity of the Central Inuit and had been viewed traditionally as a frightening primary force. The Inuit believed she was the keeper of game and thus controlled all aspects of their lifestyle, conduct, community relations, and relations between the sexes. She regulated the daily life of the Inuit through an elaborate system of taboos. Inuit women, in particular, were closely proscribed by these rules and regulations. Sedna was a female, who was the mother of the sea animals. She was traditionally associated with the seal. In traditional ritual, she was symbolically speared as was the seal, by the shaman who was usually a male and a hunter. The conversion to Christianity had gradually eroded the power of the traditional Inuit religion. By the early twentieth century, the sacredness of the myths had deteriorated among the Inuit. The Inuit could depict former sacred figures like Sedna without the traditional fear of sanction. Sedna represented a figure from the former belief system, another aspect of the traditional Inuit lifestyle, and thus a visual source for carvings and graphics. The composite form chosen to depict Sedna was determined by four major factors: the traditional identification of Sedna as mother of the sea animals; the predominance of male hunters as carvers in early contemporary Inuit art; the intimate relationship between the Inuit and the animals, embodied in the concept of transformation; and the introduction of the mermaid, a western female archetypal symbol. Although Sedna's supernatural status was diminished, she also 58 became a less terrifying personality. The adoption of the composite form served as an iconic shorthand (nalunaikutanga) for this alteration. 59 CHAPTER 5 - THE M A L E MOON SPIRIT The Male Moon Spirit - Beliefs and Areal Extent The male moon spirit, who was known under a variety of names (see Appendix 2), occupied a less prominent position in the religion of the Central Eskimo and the Labrador Eskimo. Rasmussen (Rasmussen 1929:74) recorded that among one Central Eskimo group, the Iglulik, the moon spirit was one of the great controlling powers that was not feared. He was regarded as a mighty hunter, but was unable to restore the animals that Sedna withheld from the hunt (Ibid. 1929:75). A "maintainer of fertility" (Ibid. 1929:75), and a figure who influenced the sea-tide (Ibid. 1929:74) he also acted as a "moral guardian", ensuring that the Eskimos did not breach taboo (Ibid. 1929:88). The Caribou Eskimo knew the origins of how the moon came to the sky (Rasmussen 1930:50), but regarded the moon spirit as Pinga's servant, and not "an independently working spirit as among the coast dwellers" (Ibid. 1930:50). Origins of the Moon Spirit The myth of the male moon spirit was also well known throughout the Arctic. In some areas the episodes in this story were recounted as separate legends (Moore 1986:11). Rasmussen recorded the version quoted here among the Iglulik, a Central Eskimo group. It relates the story of a young male who underwent a series of events that resulted in his transformation to the supernatural. "HOW THE MOON SPIRIT FIRST CAME There was once an old grandmother, who lived with her two grandchildren, a young man and a girl; the young man was named Aningat, the girl Seqineq: The 60 young man was healthy and free from disease at first, but then suddenly he went blind. They lived alone, poor, and almost without food; and then one day there came a bear to the place where they lived; the bear went straight up to their house and began to gnaw at the frame of the window. Then the old woman took her grandchild's bow5* and aimed for the blind boy, while he himself drew the bow and loosed the arrow. He struck the bear, and the bear ran away, growling and biting at the wound. "It sounded as if my arrow had struck a beast" said Aningat. "No, it was only the frame of the window," said his grandmother. The grandmother and Seqineq then went out of the house, and saw a bear lying dead on the ice, and now the grandmother suddenly set about building a little house for Aningat...to live by himself... she killed a dog and let him make do with that, while she and the girl ate delicious bear's meat. But the girl often brought some of the bear's meat to her brother, hiding it in her sleeve... One day Aningat said to his sister: "Do you never see a loon up on the lakes here close at hand?" "Yes, I do" answered Seqineq. "If only you would take me up to the lakes one day" said Aningat. And Seqineq did so,... Now the young man stayed by the lake, listening intently until he heard a splashing of water. It was the sound of a kayak. He waited a little and then he heard a voice say: "Come here and sit in the kayak for a moment." He went towards the sound and sat down in the kayak.. .and was rowed out to sea, and then suddenly he was taken down under the water. When he came up again, he heard the voice say: "Did you feel dizzy?" "No" said Aningat. And then once more he was taken down under water, and each time they remained longer and longer under water. The young man suddenly noticed that he could as it were distinguish things a little, he could see a little, and more and more every time he had been under water... After that they rowed in to land and got out of the kayak. The loon flew away,...Down by the house he caught sight of a bear's skin, and the skin of a dog, stretched out to dry. "Where did that bear come from?" he asked his grandmother as he entered the house. "Oh, that must be a skin left behind by the people who came in the umiaq; one passed by a little while ago" said the grandmother falsely,... According to Hawkes, (Hawkes 1916:83) harpoons were traditionally used to hunt polar bears but heavy arrows were also used; bears were also hunted with dogs as well, the dogs forming a circle and harassing the bear while the hunter dispatched it. 61 thus the blind youth regained his sight, and was now able to go out hunting once more. It was spring, just in time when the white whales^ were moving along the edge of the ice, and he often went hunting them with his sister,... One day the old grandmother thought she would go with them. She herself would hold the line; and so they went down to the ice-edge. The white whales came swimming in quite close to the firm ice, and the old grandmother cried out: "Here comes a young whale; harpoon it, harpoon it!" Aningat made as if to strike one of the small whales, but in casting, changed his aim on purpose so as to strike one of the very largest. The old grandmother had the harpoon line fastened round her waist, and when the great whale began to pull, she was drawn over the ice and could not resist, but went sliding out into water... ^ Thus the brother and sister were left alone. But when the winter came, they left that place, and went out into the world for shame at having killed their grandmother." Aningat and Seqineq wandered, and encountered first a race of creatures with long claws called kukiliqaciait, then a race of people called the Rumpless folk. While with these folk... Seqineq soon found she was with child. "...while Seqineq lay in the birth hut, it often happened that people assembled in the feasting house to dance and sing. And Aningat often went in to visit his sister and lay with her. But when he came in, he always made haste to put out the lamp, before she could see who it was, and then he would lie with her. His sister did not know who it was, and one evening when he lay with her as usual, she blackened his face with a little soot from the lamp. When he left her, she followed him to the feasting house, and hardly had he entered there when she heard those within laughing: "Look, Aningat has soot on his face!" but Seqineq was so ashamed at this that she ran back to her snow hut, snatched up her knife and hurried to the dancing house again, and there she hacked off one of her breasts, threw it down in front of her brother, and cried: "You are so fond of my body; eat that too!" J The white whale (killilu'yuk) forms an important part of the food supply in Ungava bay and on the east coast of Hudson bay" (Hawkes 1916:32). 53 J J When hunting seals from a kayak, the hunter would sometimes attach a float to the harpoon line to impede the animal's escape (Hawkes 1916:73). In the Caribou Eskimo version of the story of the blind man, the male ties the harpoon line around the mother "...intending to use her as a float" (Rasmussen 1930:109). 62 With these words, Seqineq ran out of the feasting house, holding in her hand a torch made of moss dipped in oil. Her brother likewise snatched up a torch and hurried after her. Outside the snow hut they began to run, Seqineq in front, Aningat after, round the hut. But Aningat fell over a block of snow, and his torch went out. Suddenly they both began to rise up from the earth., but moving all the time in a circle round the hut, and thus they rose up in the air, one in chase of the other, moving round the dome of the heavens until they came right up into the sky. And there they became sun and moon. Seqineq with her burning torch was the sun, while Aningat became the moon, with light devoid of warmth." Told by Ivaluardjuk (Rasmussen 1929:77-81). In its entirety, the moon spirit myth is a moral of redress, vengeance, and the wrongfulness of 54 incest. Among the Labrador Eskimo the myth was recorded as two separate stories by Hawkes (Hawkes 1916:156, 157-158): "The Story of the Sun and Moon", and "The Son Who Killed his Mother (Story of the Narwhal)". Both of these were considerably abbreviated versions of the story, compared to the Iglulik version. The myth of the moon spirit had also become separate stories among the Caribou Eskimo. According to Rasmussen's classification of Caribou Eskimo stories, he recorded "The sun and the moon" (Rasmussen 1930:79-80) under the category "Views of nature". "The blind man who regained his sight" (Rasmussen 1930:108-109) was listed under the sub-heading "Strange Stories." 5 4 Among the Igluligmiut, "There is a deepened respect relationship between brother and sister after about the age of puberty,...Brother and sister, when adults, seldom address one another and generally will not appear alone in a house together" (Damas 1963:47). 63 In the Labrador Eskimo and Baffin Island versions of the story of the blind man, the mother (grandmother) becomes the narwhal. In the Iglulik and Caribou versions, she is dragged out to sea. Contemporary Images of the Moon Spirit Because the myth of the male moon spirit had become separate stories, Inuit artists have created different sets of images to depict these individual themes. One set depicted episodes from the beginning of the myth concerning the blind male and his revenge on his grandmother. Another set of images portrayed scenes from the second half of the story concerning the incestuous relationship of the brother and sister and their transformation into astral beings. In addition to these works there are a few images of the moon spirit that do not "neatly" fit into either of the above two categories of moon spirit imagery. These works portray the moon as either a single supernatural figure or as an astral object (i.e. a sphere, containing figures). Because of this unique development, this thesis discusses and analyzes each set of moon spirit images separately. A comparison is then made among the groups of images. These are then compared to images of Sedna. Depictions of the initial segment of the myth involving the blind male's revenge will be discussed first as these represent the earliest examples of portrayals of the moon spirit myth. This is followed by an analysis of the images depicting the transformed moon spirit. The single supernatural figure and the astral object are considered under this category. These images appeared somewhat later than those of the first segment of the story. 64 The Legend of Lumaq The beginning of the myth of the moon spirit relating the revenge of the mistreated blind boy is commonly called the legend of lumaq (Moore 1986:33).55 Depictions based on episodes from this legend began to appear in Povungnituk and Cape Dorset in the late 1950s and early 1960s, at approximately the same time as many depictions of Sedna began to appear in these areas.^ Artists from Cape Dorset and Povungnituk have tended to focus on this segment of the myth. In the legend, there are three critical episodes - the attack of the bear, the restoration of the blind man's sight and the dragging of the grandmother into the water. Unlike depictions of Sedna, artists have illustrated elements from the story by depicting at least one of these episodes, or sometimes all of them. To facilitate discussion, the works are analysed chronologically and by theme or critical episode. The first two segments of the legend focus on the male and his activities and relationships with animals; the last episode focuses on the female and her episode with the whale. One of the earliest depictions of the legend of lumaq is a group of sculptures by Aisa Qupiqrualuk of Povungnituk. The artist created five separate carvings to illustrate the story 5 5"Lumaq" appears in only some versions of the story. The word may derive from the Inuit expression, "irngnialuma", meaning 'my son did it; a phrase supposedly repeated by the mother (grandmother) (Hawkes 1916:158). Graburn has suggested the word may be the imitation of the sound of the whale (Graburn, personal communication, 1986). 5 ^As Simard (Simard 1982: 63) has noted, word travelled fast in the Arctic and Inuit of one community learning of a new trend in another settlement, would quickly follow suit. 65 (Figs. 20-24), four of which have two or more figures. The compositions are fairly complex and involve movement and interaction between the figures. Only one sculpture consists of a single figure and that is of a young female (the sister - Seqineq) (Fig. 22). Sculptures illustrating the legend of lumaq are rare and this is the only set of sculptures depicting the "entire" lumaq legend known to the writer. The works appeared in Nungak and Arima's 1969 publication eskimo stories from Povungnituk, which contained photographs of sixty-eight carvings illustrating forty-six stories - "myths, legends, and historical accounts and observations" (Nungak and Arima 1969:v).5 7 "Most of the stories associated with the carvings were collected both in writing and on magnetic tarje. As each carving was finished, it was brought into the Sculptors' Society's establishment together with its story written in syllables by the carver. These texts were carefully preserved by Reverend Father Steinmann. Where used, they are marked 'syllabic text.' Many of the stories were tape recorded by Dr. Balikci" (Ibid. 1969:v). The sculptures illustrated in the book are made up of three groups of carvings: about forty went to the then National Museum of Canada; about twenty other such carvings which went to other purchasers were photographed by Dr. Balikci, as a visiting museum ethnologist in Povungnituk in 1958; several later carvings were added to the two aforementioned groups (Nungak and Arima 1969:v). The sculptures by Aisa Qupiqrualuk were photographed by Balikci, which would seem to indicate that they were made in 1958. However, in a recent advertisement for an auction of Inuit art, a sculpture closely resembling one of the sculptures by Isah Qopakualuk of Povungnituk was offered for sale (Fig. 25). According to the advertisement, the work is dated 1953. The sculptures were accompanied by syllabic text written by the carver (Ibid 1969:51), but were not dated in the publication. Apparently the sculptures were not kept together as a sculptural group. Only one sculpture (the single female figure) appears to belong to the collection of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. This sculpture is dated 1960 in the department's card catalogue and is identified as Standing Woman, Artist Unknown. J °The Sculptors' Society of Povungnituk was founded in 1959 by Father Steinmann (Blodgett 1977:31) and was the forerunner of the L'Association Cooperative de Povungnituk which was incorporated in 1960 (Myers 1977:7). 66 Providing written texts with the sculptures ensured that the stories would be preserved and explained the sculptures. It also established a significant precedent. Written texts became associated with contemporary images of Inuit mythological/legendary art. Separating episodes of the legend of lumaq into sequential depictions and including an explanatory narrative underscored the didactic nature of the works. It also focused attention on specific elements that the artist considered germane to an understanding of the story. The type of character and the plots of the stories featured in the majority of western comics may have played an important role in the depiction of this particular legend and in the development of similar themes in contemporary Inuit art. Many non-Inuit comics relate the exploits of males who possess supernatural powers and who are often described as superheros. Comic plots are usually simple stories in which the protagonist, the superhero becomes involved in a conflict (usually with a villanous antagonist). The front cover of "Arctic Comics" (Fig. 26) is an example of the appropriation of this model. However, the popularity of the comic among the Inuit may be due to the fact that the Inuit recognized a similarity between the hero of western comics and the legendary Inuit male. The male in the legend of lumaq may have been regarded as possessing characteristics of the superhero of western comics. His confrontation with the bear; his underwater submersion; and his revenge on an evil grandmother are similar to the adventures experienced by the western comic hero. Another traditional figure who engaged in supernatural feats was Qiviuq, an Inuit male hero whose exploits closely resembled those of the supermen of western comics. Qiviuq was not 67 permanently transformed into a supernatural being, though he did have supernatural powers and had historically been regarded as "a great angakoq" (shaman) (Boas 1974:622), who had "...travelled long and far, encountering many strange people and fantastic creatures and braving many perils on his journeys" (Butler 1986:18). One educational comic book related that he hurled his harpoon into the sky to knock out a Soviet satellite that threatened to fall on Baker Lake (McGrath 1984:71). William Noah's drawing "Qiviuq's Journey", 1973 (Baker Lake, 1973, Fig. 27) depicts an episode in which Qiviuq searches for his estranged bird-wife and family, using the back of a large fish as transportation. Although the figure is riding on top of the fish,-^ his pose is similar to the "flying position" of many western comic superheros. (Compare with Victoria Mamnguqsualuk's stencil of the same subject "Keeveeok's Journey", 1970, Baker Lake, Fig. 28). Most images of Qiviuq were made after those of the legend of lumaq. Therefore, the legend of lumaq may have been the first mythological/legendary theme influenced by the male model of western comics. Of the three critical episodes, works depicting the intrusion of the bear are often the most complicated. This is the case in Aisa Qupirualuk's sculptural version, "The bear peeping in the 59 This particular motif of a human riding atop an animal is usually associated with shamanism, as will be discussed later. 68 window-hole", n.d. (Fig. 20). Without the inclusion of the text, the image might be interpreted as a simple attack scene. Kananginak and Pootagok's sealskin stencil "Legend of the Blind Man and the Bear", 1959 (Cape Dorset 1959, Fig. 29) illustrates the same scene of the intruding bear. Compared to the sculpture by Aisa Qupirualuk, the print seems simpler, even though the artists have illustrated a cross section of the igloo and combined interior and exterior views. The sense of simplicity may be due to the frieze-like arrangement of the silhouettes which "read" from left to right and back. Without the explanatory title, the scene might also be interpreted as an "ordinary" attack scene. Victoria Mamnguqsualuk also illustrated this scene in an untitled drawing (Baker Lake, n.d., Fig. 30). This drawing is much more complex than either of the previously discussed earlier works. Not only does it contain more characters, it illustrated more scenes. These scenes are arranged vertically on the left side of the paper, with explanatory text on the right side. At the request of the co-op staff, Cape Dorset artist Etidlooie Etidlooie produced a number of drawings recording Inuit legends (Blodgett 1984:10), including his seven-part series of drawings entitled "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons" Part 1 through Part 7, 1976/77 ^According to the carver's text that accompanied the sculpture the blind man and his mother (not grandmother) and sister were "come upon by a bear" (Nungak and Arima 1969:49) peeking through "where the window used to be (the heavy ice pane having melted and fallen in)" (Ibid. 1969:49). The text describes the sculpture; the sculptures illustrates the text. The text and image are interdependent. 69 (Cape Dorset, 1976/77, Fig. 31-37). Cape Dorset artists are not noted for narrative works (Blodgett 1979:42); and aside from individual undertakings like that of Etidlooie Etidlooie, there does not seem to have been any concerted program to record myths and legends in sculpture or graphics. The artist's illustration of each episode of the legend in separate drawings and the inclusion of syllabic text in the lower right hand corner of each drawing is similar to the approach taken by Aisa Qupirualuk. Part 1, 1976/77 (Fig. 31) illustrates the arrival of the polar bear at the camp of the blind male and not the moment when the bear invades the igloo as in the sculpture by Qupirualuk or the print by Kananginak and Pootagok. Because of the space between the bear and the human figures, the drawing has less tension and sense of urgency than the other two works. There is no immediate immanent attack. Etidlooie's introduction of space separates this works from the other depictions of the blind male and the bear. The artist has created a convincing western style landscape which is used to suggest perspective. All seven drawings in the series made extensive use of landscape. Generally, the images illustrating the blind man and the bear became more complex and anecdotal over time. Earlier images such as the sculpture by Qupirualuk or the print by Kananginak and Pootagok simply depicted a few figures, explaining the works by including a text or title. Mamnguqsualuk and Etidlooie created larger frameworks for their depictions by either including more scenes and characters from the story in one image (Mamnguqsualuk) or creating a spatial environment (landscape) and introducing a sense of time and movement within the image (Etidlooie); and by giving text a more prominent position by including it with their depictions, thus making text a part of the image. 70 Despite the inherent drama of this episode of the legend, there are surprisingly few depictions of this particular segment of the story. This may be because of the blindness of the male. As a blind male, the youth was an outcast who was unable to perform as a male in traditional Inuit society. "The moon spirit was a young man, closed up in himself (blind) and caught in the world of women. He was isolated like a menstruating woman in a small hut, where he was starved. He could not fulfil the social task of a man, hunting, because of a natural deficiency" (Oosten 1976:57). The early carvers and printmakers were traditional Inuit males who were primarily hunters. They may not have been interested in depicting a male who was unable to fulfill the traditional role of the male in Inuit society. Later artists may have felt that the blind male was just a "tool" used by the grandmother; and that this episode of the story did not possess enough "action". The second critical episode of the legend of lumaq involves the blind man and the loon(s) who restore his sight. Earlier depictions of this segment focus on the relationship between the blind man and the loon(s), while later works include this as an element of more complex scenes. There are more images of this subject. In the sculpture by Aisa Qupiqrualuk, "The loon leading the blind boy to the water", n.d. (Fig. 23) the youth is guided by one loon which leans its head on his shoulder and directs h im^. In this sculpture, human and bird appear almost as one entity, the bird functions as the eyes of the blind male. This intimate pose is suggestive ^Qupirualuk's text states that the blind man was abandoned by his mother and left in an old snowhouse. Wishing to regain his sight, he summons the loon, who led him to water for the curative submersion (Nungak and Arima 1969:49). 71 of depictions of shamanism. Helping spirits were often portrayed perched on the shoulders of the shaman, as in Eli Sallualu Qinuajua's sculpture, "Shaman with Helping Spirit", 1963 (Povungnituk, 1963, Fig. 38). The loon could remain submerged underwater for several seconds and was attributed with magico-religious characteristics (Driscoll 1985:36). Not only was the loon regarded as a psychopomp to the underworld, it was linked to both ordinary and shamanic vision and sight (Blodgett 1979a: 121). Among the Iglulik Eskimos, the young candidate would appear before an older shaman with a present of a wooden tent pole to which a gull wing had been attached and request: "I come to you because I desire to see" (Rasmussen 1929:111). In the stonecut print "Blind Boy", 1975 by Agnes Nanogak (Holman, 1975, Fig. 39), the male is carried underwater on the back of the loon. (Compare to William Noah's drawing "Qiviuq's Journey", 1973 (Fig 27). Davidialuk Alasuaq also emphasized the close relationship between the blind male and the loon. In his stonecut print "Lumak", 1966 (Povungnituk, 1966, Fig. 40), two loons are depicted flanking either side of the blind male. The male extends one arm to touch one of the loons, while the other loon extends its wing to touch the male, creating an unbroken chain of figures. (The upper portion of the print may represent the blind youth being submerged in the water or it may refer to the fate of the grandmother.) In the untitled, undated, drawing by Victoria Mamnguqsualuk (Baker Lake, n.d., Fig. 41), the artist has illustrated several scenes from the legend, including the meeting with the loons and the restoration of the blind male's sight, as well as the discovery of the bear skin. 72 Mamnguqsualuk has included text on the right hand side of the image and in it she states that the mother was stabbed by her son (Driscoll 1982:5), a deviation which might indicate an inland adaptation of a coastal story (Ibid 1982:7). Parts 2 and 3 (Fig. 32 & 33) of Etidlooie's "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons", 1976/77 depict two scenes of the blind male and the loons. Part 2 depicts the loons flying over the camp of the blind man. In Part 3, the male is depicted in the nearby lake with the two loons. In both drawings, Etidlooie's texts describe the scenes. Etidlooie's and Mamnguqsualuk's drawings are both multifigured and include descriptive texts as part of their images, unlike the sculpture by Qupirualuk's and the print by Davidialuk Alasuaq which focus primarily on the figures of the blind man and the loon(s). Like the depictions of the blind man and the bear, earlier depictions of the blind man and the loon(s) concentrated on the relationship of these two figures. Later depictions "undermined" this aspect by introducing compositional complexities such as multiple scenes in an image, and the separation of an episode into independent images. Although there were more images of the blind man and the loon than of the blind man and the bear, these still do not constitute a large body of work. Most of the images depicting the legend of lumaq concern scenes of the grandmother, who is more often called the mother, being towed into the water by the whale. 73 The last episode of the legend relates the towing of the grandmother (mother) into the water by the whale. While the male was submerged to regain his sight and to be returned to a productive life as a hunter, the grandmother (mother) was submerged and in some cases transformed into a whale, to be forever separated from human life as was Sedna. In Aisa Qupirualuk's sculpture (Fig. 24), "The mother being towed under by a white whale", n.d., the mother is actually riding on top of the whale. Aisa Qupirualuk had earlier used a similar arrangement in his sculpture "Man Riding a Narwhal", 1956 (Povungnituk, 1956, Fig. 42). Jnanisi Irqumia Kuanana's (Johnassie) sculpture, "Lumak Legend: Woman Pulled by Whale", 1959 (Povungnituk, 1959, Fig. 43) also depicts the female atop the whale "...her clothing and hair streaming out behind, as she is pulled through the waves by the whale - represented in the sculpture by only his tail" (Blodgett 1977:32). The motif of a human riding atop an animal has been associated with shamanism, rather than legends (Blodgett 1977:34), and is a nalunaikutanga of shamanic flight as in Cecilia Arnadjuk's "Shaman Riding A Bear", 1954/55 (Repulse Bay 1954/55, Fig. 44). The shaman was believed to possess extraordinary powers, such as the ability to see, communicate and utilize spirits. These spirits could also aid the shaman in journeying to far away places, including the upper and lower regions where the deities resided: "The shaman's helping spirits might also assist him in his flight. The bird or animal psychopomp would in these instances, carry the shaman on its back" (Blodgett 1979a:90). 74 Later versions of this episode adhered more closely to the story indicating that she was pulled by the whale, not riding it. In the early stonecut print "The legend of Lumiuk", 1960 by Kiakshuk (Cape Dorset, 1960, Fig. 45) the harpoon line is clearly indicated connecting the whale to the female who is about to be pulled into the sea. In Davidialuk Alasuaq's stonecut print, "Legend of Lumak", 1964 (Povungnituk, 1964, Fig. 46) the harpooned whale pulls the female through the water. Both these early prints are very simplified images, like the sculpture by Aisa Qupirualuk. Later prints become more complex. In the stonecut print "Lumaiyo", 1972, by Pitseolak (Cape Dorset, 1972, Fig. 47), the female is almost completedly submerged and may be undergoing transformation to a narwhal . This transformation was not recorded in Rasmussen's version of the oral myth quoted here. However, in Boas' "Origin of the Narwhal" the mother of the blind youth was thus punished for her cruel treatment of her son: "The white whale dragged the mother into the sea, and whenever she rose to the surface she cried. "Louk! Louk!" and gradually she became transformed into a narwhal" (Boas 1974:626). In Pitseolak's print, the two females in the foreground (water) appear to be depictions of the same female figure as she undergoes the stages of transformation from right to left, culminating in the figure of the narwhal. The figure in the lower far right corner has braided hair, a nalunaikutanga of order and culture as previously noted. The female left of the female with the braided hair has loose flowing hair, while to the left of the latter female is the narwhal. A A type of whale, the male of which has a long, spirally twisted tusk extending forward from the upper jaw. 75 later stonecut/stencil print by Pitseolak entitled "Lumaiyu", 1976 (Cape Dorset, 1976, Fig. 48) is similar to the 1972 print. In the later print the female is clearly separated from the whale and there is no suggestion of transformation. Etidlooie divided the harpooning of the whale and the dragging of the mother into two separate drawings. Part 6, 1976/77 (Fig. 36) depicts the male, his mother and sister on the shore as he prepares to harpoon one of the passing whales. Part 7, 1976/77 (Fig. 37) illustrates the mother as she is pulled through the water. In Part 6, 1976/77 the figures are located towards the right-hand side in the image. In the Part 7 the figures are located towards the left-hand side in the image. This suggests that there may have been some time lapse between these last two images. (In Parts 2, and 3, 1976/77, Fig. 32 & 33, which depict the blind man and the loons, the figures in both drawings are located on the left-hand side of the drawings.) Parts 6 and 7 also made extensive use of landscape and include the descriptive text in the lower right hand corner. Summary of Legend of Lumaq Imagery In the legend of lumaq there were several elements suggestive of shamanism. These included the restoration of the blind man's eyesight by a loon (or loons), a shamanic animal; the dragging of the grandmother into the water and (in some versions) her transformation into the narwhal. Even the intrusion of the bear had shamanic overtones as attacks by animals could also indicate that a person was to become a shaman (Blodgett 1979a:34). Early depictions of the legend of lumaq were simpler compositions which used certain distinctive features or nalunaikutanga of shamanism to identify their subject matter, as indicated in the following table. 76 NALUNAIKUTANGA ANIMAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES BEHAVIOURAL PROPENSITY Male Blind Unable to hunt or perform male activities attacked by bear. Eyesight restored by loons through curative submersion in water Able to hunt and fulfill male role Grandmother (mother) Abusive toward son; unnatural (ie. non-maternal) banished from human contact transformed to animal At the same time, some of these same depictions were made at the direct request of non-Inuit advisors, as part of a program to record the traditional Inuit stories. The subjects depicted were apparently chosen by the Inuit artists themselves. As the works seem to have been made solely for non-Inuit, the artists included explanatory text to describe the images. This established an important precedent of linking word to image. Later works depicting the legend of lumaq became more complex, and incorporated elements from western pictorial convention. These included the use of multiple figures, settings oriented to a groundline, the concept of movement and sequence, and the integration of text as a component of composition. The beginning episode of the moon spirit myth, known as the legend of lumaq was concerned with the events in the life of this male, prior to his transformation. Most depictions of this first segment of the myth were by artists from Povungnituk and Cape Dorset. 77 The Transformed Moon Spirit The second major segment of the myth of the moon spirit recounts the incestuous relationship of the male and his sister, the public disclosure of this breach of taboo and the subsequent ostracism of the couple who are supernaturally transformed. For the sake of clarity, the transformed male in the second segment of the moon spirit myth is referred to as the moon spirit. This title is used to distinguish this figure from the male in the legend of lumaq. Many of the images depicting this segment of the moon spirit myth are by artists from Baker Lake. The analysis of the depictions is based on a roughtly chronological order of production. /TO An early depiction of the moon spirit is Johnniebo's engraving "Moon Spirit", 1963 (Cape Dorset, 1963, Fig. 49). The image consists of a centrally placed anthropomorphic being. There is no sense of a location, there is no action and no text to identify this figure. All the information about this figure is contained in his form. This form consists of an oversized and heavily tatooed mask-like face, a proportionally smaller body and appendages terminating in bird-like claws. The head is surmounted by a bird and other undetermined animals emanate from it. The state of partial transformation indicated by the claws, and the 'halo' of animals are both distinctive features or nalunaikutanga of shamanism which would indicate that this figure is a V J"Officially" Johnniebo's artistic output is generally regarded as small. According to Dorothy Eber (Eber 1973:7), however, many works attributed to Kenojuak, Johnniebo's wife, were really by Johnniebo. Blodgett (1985) does not discuss this aspect. 78 shaman. The mask-like head suggests that the image is a personification as masks allowed the wearer to assume another persona and shamans used masks to represent personifications of the spiritual world, including deities (Blodgett 1979a: 179). Johnniebo's figure may represent such a personification. In the traditional rituals of the Inuit of Baffin Island, shamans consistently employed masks for the Sedna festival (Ibid. 1979a: 181). Masks were also used "to represent or suggest the shaman's familiar" (Ibid. 1979a:76). In William Noah's stonecut and stencil "Spirit", 1971 (Baker Lake, 1971, Fig. 50) both the mask and the crouching position of the figure suggest that the figure is a personification of a caribou spirit. A much later print by Ruth Annataqtuusi "The Sun and the Moon", 1985 (Baker Lake, 1985, Fig. 51) consists of a single figure with transformed bird-like body similar to that of Johnniebo's "Moon Spirit". Instead of the projecting animals, the artist has depicted a smaller head, as a helping spirit, on the larger head. It is difficult to determine which sphere is the sun and which is the moon. By its title one might posit that the sun is the larger sphere. In the moon spirit myth the female became the sun but traditionally the "Eskimos rarely, if ever, venerate the sun as a divinity" (Weyer 1969:386); moreover the sun was neither revered as a controlling force in nature or the lives of men (Ibid. 1969:385). These images of the moon are simple iconic depictions. Their identities are suggested by a combination of distinctive features or nalunaikutanga associated with shamanism. They do not include any additional embellishments such as explanatory texts or complex settings. Given the 79 interpretation here, it is possible that other works previously thought to be images of shamans, may be personifications of spirits, such as the moon spirit. In the version of the moon spirit myth recounted earlier, the moon spirit was a transformed male. Boas (Boas 1974:598) recorded another tradition among the Central Eskimo in which the moon was believed to be a house in which the moon man lived: "...the moon was a house nicely covered with white deerskins, which the man in the moon used to dry near it" (Ibid. 1974:598). In buildings adjacent to the moon man's house were "...large herds of deer apparently roaming over vast plains., (and), .aprofusion of seals swimming in an ocean" (Ibid. 1974:599). The moon man would sometimes offer one of these animals to a visiting shaman (Ibid. 1974:599). The traditional Netsilik and Iglulik believed that "The moon spirit Aninga...lived in the upper world...in the land of the dead. In the under world the sea spirit Nuliajuk lived in another land of the dead. In both lands the souls of the dead lived in human form. They hunted game, played ball games and they were thought to be happy. The souls of the dead in the upper world only hunted land game. The moon spirit, who was a great hunter, provided them with sea game. The souls of the dead in the under world hunted mostly sea game" (Oosten 1976:18, citing Rasmussen 1929:92-109; 1931:315-319). Jessie Oonark^4 depicted at least two works that portrayed the moon as a "house" where the moon man lived. In her silkscreen print "Inuit Family in the Moon", 1975 (Baker Lake, 1975, Fig. 52) three human figures and eight fish inhabit separate compartments of a sphere. The Oonark grew up and lived most of her adult life in the area traditionally inhabited by the Utkusiksalingmiut (Bouchard 1986:7), a sub-group of the Netsilik (Balikci 1984:415). However, around 1900 "the material culture" of this sub-group "...resembled most closely that of the Caribou Eskimos" (Ibid. 1984:420). 80 human figures are all realistically portrayed. The most prominent character is the half-torso figure in the centre of the three figures. He is depicted frontally and the two figures beneath him are portrayed in profile and kneeling. Their hierarchial arrangement suggests that the frontal figure is more important and may be the moon spirit. Oonark utilized a similar compositional arrangement in her drawing "The world of Sun & Moon", 1976 (Baker Lake, 1976, Fig. 53). The sphere has been divided into two zones as in the earlier print. However, the later print contains more figures and is more comprehensive. Human figures reside in the upper zone. Birds and mammals reside in the lower zone. The moon spirit was believed to be a great hunter (Rasmussen 1929:74). The animals included with the figure of the moon spirit might refer to this aspect of the deity. The human figures are staggered in a hieratic arrangement with two pipe-smoking figures sharing the space at the top of the sphere. The verticality of the human tiers is contrasted with the curving flow of the animals. While the human figures are orientated to the base of their segment of the sphere, the animals follow the curve of the circle. The sphere itself has a face inscribed on it and is surrounded by smaller spheres which are joined. In both of the above prints, the sphere containing the figures resembles an igloo, divided into compartments or zones. Oonark used the igloo as a motif in many of her graphics: "In several of Oonark's drawings and prints, the igloo serves as symbol of home and family not only to Inuit but to animals and birds as well...the igloo exists as an archetypal reference to the womb itself" (Driscoll 1984:16). 81 The igloo is a circle - a curvilinear shape, as is the oval. Graburn (Graburn 1977:8) has characterized the ovoid, particularly the: "the bowl-like ovoid shape of the opening of the amautik" as the "prime nalunaikutanga of women in both art and life." Further, the amaut or back pouch in which the baby was carried "...can be seen as a symbolic reference to the womb" (Driscoll 1980:14). According to the concept of nalunaikutanga the sphere would not have been considered an appropriate symbol for the male moon spirit. Yet the moon spirit was also traditionally believed to control fertility in women (Weyer 1969:385). It was also commonly believed that the moon could "...cause women to become pregnant" (Ibid. 1969:384). Utilizing the sphere for a depiction relating to the moon may simply have reinforced this connection. The sphere was also used to depict ceremonial drums as in Luke Anguhadluq's drawing "Drum Dance", 1970 (Baker Lake, 1970, Fig. 54). The drum played a significant role in community events such as song contests, festive dances. It was also "a significant component of shamanic performance" (Blodgett 1979a: 140). Thus the sphere does not seem to have been restricted to female imagery alone. Depictions of the transformed moon spirit also include works concerned with the incestuous relationship of the brother and the sister and their transformation into sun and moon. All the images which portrayed this segment of the moon spirit myth are generally more complex than the works depicting the moon spirit as a single figure or as an astral object. The works are multi-figured, often portrayed more than one scene and include texts. They are all from Baker Lake. One of the major factors which may have contributed to the particular compositional format of 82 these works was the institution of a program of collecting the traditional legends (similar to that of the Povungnituk project some years earlier) organized by the Butlers who were acting as art advisors. As in Povungnituk, the literal and visual documentation of traditional Inuit stories in Baker Lake served as a repository of the traditional Inuit heritage and as a new source for artistic exploitation. Moreover, the legends were closely linked with the creation of a cooperative at Baker Lake. In 1973 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk produced about sixty drawings with texts for the newly formed Sanavik Co-op, which had taken over the Government Arts and Crafts program in 1972 (Butler 1986:19). Several of these drawings were based on various legends. Mamnguqsualuk was "...one of the first and most prolific artists...to depict myths and legends in her work (Ibid. 1986:20). It is not clear whether the untitled, undated, drawing (Baker Lake, n.d., Fig. 55) depicting the incestuous advances of the brother, the scene in the feasting house and the transformation into moon and sun was part of that 1973 portfolio. As in her untitled, undated depiction of the lumaq legend (Fig. 30), which it stylistically resembles, Mamnguqsualuk has arranged her composition vertically on the paper, with figures on the left-hand side and text on the right-hand side. Also, as in her depictions of the lumaq legend, Mamnguqsualuk has included several scenes from the story and the figures all retain a "realistic" human appearance. Alinocutand stencil print, "Brother Moon and Sister Sun", 1982 (Baker Lake, 1982, Fig. 56) by this same artist illustrates the same scenes from the myth but is devoid of text. In the later print, the sequence of the scenes zigzags its way from the lower left 83 comer up to the very top of the page which culminates in the moon and sun which are represented as both crescents and spheres. In Janet Kigusiuq's stonecut and stencil print, "They turned into the Sun and the Moon", 1986 (Baker Lake, 1986, Fig. 57) the artist has depicted the brother and sister in oval and round spheres, that are rising into the sky; the transformation witnessed by other figures. Kigusiuq's work is multi-figured and contains other elements such the inclusion of the igloo. Summary of Transformed Moon Spirit Imagery Depictions of the transformed moon spirit demonstrate considerable variety. Johnniebo and Annataqtuusi used the single figure who was identified by characteristics that may derive from descriptions of traditional Inuit shamans. These consist of a state of transformation, the inclusion of helping spirits and the use of a mask. Although such effigies of the moon are rare, they compare better with the composite figure of Sedna, indicating that images of the moon could also be represented as single iconic figures. The fact that this type of depiction of the moon spirit has not been extensively used suggests that most artists did not feel the single iconic form was appropriate for this figure or that images of this figure have been incorrectly identified. Jessie Oonark used the traditional shape of the igloo, filling it with animals and humanoid figures who lived in a harmonious 'neverland' reminiscent of the traditional house of the moon. Although Oonark's works contain many figures which are located in a "structure", her works 84 are not really narrative. They are hieratic arrangements of objects within the "frame" of the sphere. These elements suggest timeless order, not cosmic upheaval. Johnniebo's, Annataqtuusi's and Oonark's works are essentially static descriptions that rely on the use of specific characteristics that are associated with the traditional personality of the moon spirit. Focusing on the moon spirit's attributes, rather than illustrating the myth, these artists did not rely on "conventional" western "picture making" devices such as sequence, perspective or a convincing spatial setting, unlike Mamnguqsualuk and Kigusiuq, whose depictions of the moon spirit are essentially narratives illustrating episodes of the traditional myth. At the same time the works by these artists are much more complicated. The inclusion of text adds to the complexity. Unlike the figures of Johnniebo or Annataqtuuisi, their figures retain a realistic appearance. Unlike Oonark's images, these works involve action and sequence. They are not open-ended but have a beginning and an end. Mamnguqsualuk's works display a greater use of perspective and the combination of frontal and profile figures suggests a more sophisticated manipulation of space. However, the different figure sizes in Fig. 55 indicate that this artist has still not "mastered" all the conventions of western art. Summary of Moon Spirit Imagery It would appear that aside from the fact that the moon spirit is male, there is little connection between the images portraying the legend of lumaq and those portraying the transformed moon spirit. There are however, some conclusions to be drawn from a comparison. Generally speaking, the earlier works in both cases appear more simplified while the later works become 85 more complex and didactic. In both instances this development can be linked to the introduction by non-Inuit advisors of programs to record the native myths systematically. In conjunction with this "new" purpose graphics appear to have been chosen as the main medium to convey the moon spirit myth because of the ability to include written text. At the same time, the addition of text focused greater attention on the actions of the figures rather than the forms of the figures. The fact that there are very few single images of the moon suggest that unlike depictions of Sedna, the iconic format did not prove a popular medium for portrayal of the male moon. The reason for this may be due to the influence of the male comic hero. Although this figure is an archetype he is (almost) always portrayed realistically. On the other hand, his adversaries are often "inhuman" monster-like figures. On the whole, there are more images depicting the legend of lumaq than the transformed moon spirit. This may have been due to the fact that as the legend of lumaq was concerned with maritime subject matter, and as most Central Eskimo were coastal, the legend of lumaq may have been better known. Moreover, for most Central Eskimo, the moon spirit was of less importance than Sedna. 86 CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSIONS Contemporary Inuit Mythological Art as Cultural Bridge Contemporary Inuit artists have developed two distinct types of imagery to portray the female sea spirit and the male moon spirit of traditional Inuit mythology. Combining comparative analysis with the Inuit concept of nalunaikutanga, it appears that distinguishable patterns composed of specific motifs were created to reflect the unique nature and role of each deity in Inuit culture as these were perceived by Inuit artists. The development of these patterns involved a complex process of incorporating both traditional and alien elements. Most Central Eskimo groups had traditionally regarded Sedna with terror and apprehension as she was attributed with extensive powers over game and thus over their daily lives. The moon spirit was perceived as a less powerful but more kindly being who would favourably influence the hunt and positively affect fertility. Both these figures had been components of an elaborate magico-religious system that included "spirits, rules of life, shamanism, amulets, magic words" (Nungak and Arima 1969:136). The mythological stories about these figures fostered "persistence and stability in the face of any changes in the natural environment" (Ibid. 1969:136). The "recent history" of the Inuit has been marked by significant cultural and economic change. These changes originated from outside the Arctic natural environment and "outside the conceptual system" (Ibid. 1969:136) which had preserved a careful balance with it. Advanced technology and the market economy of western civilization were transplanted wholesale. Initially the old 8 7 beliefs persisted, alongside the technological and economical alterations, but eventually the world explained by the traditional mythology no longer obtained and was replaced by that of western civilization (Ibid. 1969:136). The earliest examples of contemporary Inuit mythological art were made by Inuit who had some knowledge of the traditional lifestyle, but who were also on the brink of massive cultural upheaval. Their task of reconciling two distinct lifestyles was mirrored in their approach to the depiction of traditional mythological subject matter. This involved creating images that reflected the personalities of the traditional deities as the artists remembered them; and that would be received and understood by non-Inuit. This meant inventing forms with traits that both cultures could recognize and accept. The male carvers who first depicted Sedna focused on her role as the source of the sea animals, and hence the bearer of bounty. The composite form was appropriated because it was a visual equivalent or nalunaikutanga of her function as a nature spirit and because the western mermaid figure who was also a composite was perceived to fulfil a similar role in non-Inuit society. The earliest contemporary images of the moon spirit were depictions of the first part of the origin myth, known as the legend of lumaq and were made as part of a program to record traditional Inuit stories. Inuit artists focused on the activities of the male as they described his role as a controller of nature (including women). The narrative form was a kind of picture writing or medium to "recite" the deeds of the male. 88 These "prototypes" were inherited by later artists, who continued to expand and develop these themes. While most images of Sedna continued to focus on her form as the main vehicle of expression, moon spirit imagery has undergone considerable elaboration as later works did not rely on the distinctive forms themselves but on a combination of recognizable compositional elements. Many of these components are drawn from western models and include multiple figures, multiple scenes, spatial orientation, landscape, and increased dependency on text. Of necessity these convoluted forms have been relegated almost exclusively to drawings and prints. The predominance of the two-dimensional format for this subject underscores its ties to the descriptive narrative and is directly related to the influence of the comic book medium and the association of the heroic Inuk with the male hero of the comic. Sedna and the moon spirit both developed from a combination of Inuit and non-Inuit elements, yet their forms became quite distinctive. The reason for this distinction may be because both Inuit and non-Inuit perceive distinctions between female and male imagery and because the Inuit are also reflecting back western distinctions between the genders. Traditional Inuit culture was based on a world view which recognized a fundamental dichotomy between those things associated with females and the sea; and those things associated with males and the land. These connections resulted in the assignation of specific materials (media) and particular designs (decorations) according to gender. In the contemporary period, the influx of non-Inuit exposed the Inuit to a new world view which is, for the most part, male dominant. The traditional dichotomy of the Inuit was reformulated in the association of Inuit deities with specific western prototypes. Because these types of figures were already entrenched in western culture and 89 reflected attitudes of the male dominated world these figures were readily accepted. Thus because a western audience believed that the Inuit were a male dominant group they accepted these male dominant images. Since the creation of contemporary Inuit art, mythological figures have become part of the traditional culture that has been recorded in the visual arts. The persistence of traditional subject matter in contemporary Inuit art has been repeatedly disparaged because critics maintain it portrays a way of life that does not reflect the actual lifestyle that most Inuit have led for almost forty years. This facile dismissal suggests that because subject matter is traditional it has nothing to do with the Inuit's way of life today. This thesis demonstrates that the development of contemporary Inuit mythological art is a reflection of the Inuit's adaptation to significant cultural changes. The "recreation" of traditional Inuit deities in visual form was a means of bridging the gap between the "...curious body of fascinating stories which explore the imagination of the stone age mind" (McGrath 1984:68) and the complex lifestyle imposed by late 20th century western civilization. By establishing links between traditional Inuit deities and western archetypes the Inuit may be attempting to explain the world around them, just as the old stories had once explained the traditional world. Contemporary Inuit mythological art is not a single homogenous class of art nor does it only function as a means of communication with non-Inuit society. Although this category of contemporary Inuit art may have initially been "created" in response to the demands of a 90 "foreign" market, it has become a historical repository; a vehicle for cultural affirmation; and a barometer of Inuit self-determination. Gilbert Hay: "Right now, what I feel about my artwork is that it reflects what my culture, my small society, is going through. Land claim negotiations are shaking the foundation of our society. You ask why Inuit artists are producing "memory art" rather than social commentary. It's because of fear. Look at us today. For the last 150 or 200 years our culture has been sabotaged by you guys, your values. I'm wearing your clothing. Any culture tries to hold onto what it's losing. We were and still are trying to document our own history. Many times our works are about our legends and events such as mass starvations. The only way that we are able to hold onto many of our cultural values is by reducing art to forms related to and centred around that culture" (Hay 1990:11). 9 1 BIBLIOGRAPHY ARIMA, Eugene, Y. "Caribou Eskimo." Pp. 447-462 in Arctic. Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 5. William C. Sturtevant, Gen. ed. David Damas, Vol. ed. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1984. 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Paris, 23-26 mars 1982, pp. 277-293. 98 APPENDIX 1 Names o f t h e Female Sea S p i r i t A i v i l i a j o q ( I g l u l i k - "She who g i v e s u s e f u l t h i n g s " ) A i v i l a y o q ( I g l u l i k ) A n a v i g a k ( I g l u l i k ) A v i l a y o k ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) A r n a k a p f a l u k ( C o p p e r ) A r n a k a p p h a l u k ( C o p p e r - "A b i g bad woman") A r n a r k u a g s o k ( G r e e n l a n d ) A r n a r k u a g s s a k ( G r e e n l a n d - "The v e r y o l d woman") A y w i l l i a y o o ( I g l u l i k ) K anna ( C o p p e r ) K a n n a k a p f a l u k ( C o p p e r ) Katuma (Kunna) ( I g l u l i k ) K a v n a ( C a r i b o u , Copper - "She down t h e r e " ) N a k o r u t ( C o p p e r - " G i v e r o f s t r e n g t h " ) N e r r i v i g s s u a q ( I g l u l i k - "The g r e a t meat d i s h " ) N e r r i v i k ( P o l a r - " P l a c e o f f o o d " ) N i v i k k a a ( G r e e n l a n d - "The woman t h r o w n b a c k w a r d o v e r t h e edge") N o l i a y o o ( N o o l e a y o o ) ( I g l u l i k - "The woman of p l e n t y " ) N u l i a j u k ( C a r i b o u , I g l u l i k , M a c k e n z i e , N e t s i l i k , P o l a r - "The p o o r o r f r i g h t f u l one") N u l i a y o k ( I g l u l i k - "The e v e r c o p u l a t i n g one") N u l i a y o q ( I g l u l i k ) N u l i r a h ( S i b e r i a - " O l d woman of t h e s e a " ) Sanaq ( B a f f i n l a n d ) Sana ( B a f f i n l a n d - "The one down on t h e s e a b o t t o m " ) S a i t t u m a Uva ( G r e e n l a n d - " S p i r i t o f t h e s e a d e p t h s " ) S a s vsuma I n u a ( G r e e n l a n d ) Sedna ( B a f f i n l a n d , C a r i b o u , I g l u l i k , L a b r a d o r ) S i d n e ( B a f f i n l a n d - "The one who i s b e f o r e " ) S y d n e y ( B a f f i n l a n d ) T a k a n a l u k A r n a l u k ( I g l u l i k ) T a k a n a k a p s a l u k ( I g l u l i k - "The t e r r i b l e one down t h e r e " ) T a l e e l a y o ( B a f f i n l a n d ) T a l l u l i y u k ( B a f f i n l a n d ) U i n i g u m i s s u i t u n g ( B a f f i n l a n d - "She who n e v e r w i s h e d t o m a r r y " ) U i n i g u m q s u i c o q ( M a c k e n z i e ) U i n i y u m i s s u i t o q ( I g l u l i k ) U n a v i g a ( I g l u l i k ) Source: Swinton 1980 Chart 1 99 APPENDIX 2 Names o f t h e M a l e Moon S p i r i t T a t q e q ( N e t s i l i k ) T a r q e q ( I g l u l i k - t h e g e n e r a l t e r m f o r moon) T a r q i u p i n u a ( N e t s i l i k , Copper - s p e c i f i c a l l y t h e "moon's man") A n i n g a a , A n i n g a a q , o r A n i n g a i t ( N e t s i l i k ) A n i n g a a t ( I g l u l i k ) A n i n g a a p i n u a ( I g l u l i k - t h e s p i r i t r e s i d i n g i n t h e moon) A n i n g a r s u a q ( P o l a r - " t h e g r e a t Moon") A n i n g a a ( P o l a r - as a s t e m word) Qaumavun ( E a s t B a f f i n - 'our l i g h t ' ) Source: Nungak and Arima 1969:114. 100 APPENDIX 3 P h y s i c a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e Female Sea S p i r i t ( S e d n a ) J a c k e t hood a l w a y s worn up ( I g l u l i k ) The l e f t eye i s po k e d o u t ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) The o t h e r eye c o v e r e d by mass o f b l a c k h a i r ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) One p i g t a i l ( t w i c e h e r arm's l e n g t h ) ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) H a i r worn i n a t u f t ( G r e e n l a n d , I g l u l i k , P o l a r ) No f i n g e r s ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k , N e t s i l i k , P o l a r ) U n a b l e t o wa l k ( B a f f i n l a n d , N e t s i l i k ) T a l l ( B a f f i n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) B i g woman ( C a r i b o u , C o p p e r ) O l d hag ( G r e e n l a n d ) O l d woman ( G r e e n l a n d , L a b r a d o r , S i b e r i a ) A p p e a r a n c e when e n r a g e d H a i r s t r e a m i n g above and b e h i n d h e r ( C o p p e r ) D i s h e v e l l e d h a i r ( B a f f i n l a n d , C o p p e r , G r e e n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) H a i r f i l l e d w i t h " a t t a c h m e n t s " ( B a f f i n l a n d , G r e e n l a n d ) D i r t y h a i r ( C o p p e r ) D i r t f a l l s on h a i r , f a c e and body ( G r e e n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) E y e s , n o s t r i l s and mouth become f i l l e d w i t h d i r t ( G r e e n l a n d ) Smoke g e t s i n e y e s ( I g l u l i k ) She c o v e r s h e r f a c e ( N e t s i l i k ) Her f a c e i s t u r n e d t o t h e w a l l ( G r e e n l a n d , I g l u l i k ) C a n n o t s e e ( I g l u l i k ) S u f f o c a t i n g ( I g l u l i k ) Hands become s o r e ( B a f f i n l a n d ) Source: Swinton 1980 Chart II 101 NOTES ON FIGURES Measurements are in centimetres in the order of height, width, depth. Print entries contain the name of the artist only. The annual collection catalogue number (when available) and the date of publication has been included. Some works contain disc numbers. This was a method of individual identification which is no longer in use. W A G denotes works from collection of Winnipeg Art Gallery. A G O denotes works from collection of Art Gallery of Ontario. N A denotes works from collection of Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. W B E C denotes works from collection of West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative. 102 Fig. 1 Anarqaq "...the mother of the sea animals" (Illustration and caption opposite page 145, in Rasmussen 1929.) Fig. 2 Orulo "Two pictures of Ululiarnaq with the moon spirit" (Illustration and caption opposite page 129, in Rasmussen 1929.) 103 Fig. 3 Anarqaq Helping Spirit "Nartoq" (Illustration opposite page 160, in Rasmussen 1929.) 104 Fig. 4 Marjorie Esa "Bear", #15 - 1980 Baker Lake Linocut and stencil Brown, yellow 36.5 x 56 105 Fig. 5 Germaine Arnatauyok "Sedna, Sea Goddess", 1981 Igloolik Ink and Paper 36.2 x 36.8 Collection of the Artist 106 Fig. 6 Lachaulassie Akesuk "Sea Goddess", 1959 Cape Dorset Green Stone 7.9 x 19.9 x 3.3 Swinton Collection The Winnipeg Art Gallery Permanent Collection Fig. 7 Soroseelutu Ashoona "Woman of the Sea", #10 - 1976 Cape Dorset Stonecut 61.3 x 85 West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative 107 Fig. 8 Kaka Ashoona "Enraged Taleelayo" or "Sedna", 1962 Cape Dorset, Stone, 22.1 x 19.5 x 6.3 WAG: Ian Lindsay Coll. Fig. 9 Lukta Qiatsuk "Talluliyuk (Sea Goddesss)", 1959 Cape Dorset, Stonecut, 30.2 x 40.8 Ian Lindsay Fig. 10 Solomonie Tigullaraq "Sea Goddess", 1973 Clyde River, Dark green stone, 8.0 x 10.0 x AGO 78/629 108 Fig. 11 Paulassie Pootoogook "Talluliyuk, Sea Goddess", #48 - 1960 Cape Dorset Stonecut Black and One Colour 30.4 x 48.0 Fig. 12 Jamasie Teevee "Taleelayo and Friends", 1973 Cape Dorset Engraving 32 x 46.5 The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Gilman Cheney Bequest Gr. 973.68 109 I Fig. 13 Unidentified Artist Untitled, 1955 Cape Dorset Stone, Ivory and Fish Bone 18.5 x 4.0 x 3.5 Canadian Guild of Crafts Fig. 14 Eliassieapik Qiluqi "Sedna Riding a Seal" or "Nuliayuk", 1959 Povungnituk Black Stone 11.0 x 9.7 x 21.4 Signed with disc number E9-1384 WAG G-76-409 110 Fig. 15 Jessie Oonark A Shaman's Helping Spirits", 1970 Drawing for 1970 Print (1971/9) Baker Lake Coloured pencil 76.2 x 55.6 Sanavik Cooperative 2659.77B Fig. 16 Lukasi Uitanga "Bird-Woman", 1959 Povungnituk Dark green stone 14.7 x 14.2 x 9.2 Signed with disc number E9-1427 WAG G-76-408 111 Fig. 17 Jessie Oonark "Dream of the Bird Woman", #21 - 1970 Baker Lake Stonecut 26.6 x 32.9 112 Fig. 18 Lukta "Sea Spirits", #60 - 1961 Cape Dorset Linocut Black, 30.4 x 22.8 Fig. 19 Davidialuk Alasuaq "Half Woman/Half Fish", n.d. Povungnituk Felt pen and coloured pencil 50.9 x 66.3 Private Collection 113 Fig. 20 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "The bear peeping in the window-hole" Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown n.d. Fig. 21 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "My brother, good dog meat", n.d. Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown 114 Fig. 22 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "She brought him food inside her parka", 1960 (?) Povungnituk Stone H. 27.2 NA-959 115 Fig. 23 Aisa Qupiqrualuk "The loon leading the blind boy to the water", n.d. Povungnituk Stone Size and whereabouts unknown Fig. 24 Aisa Qupiqrualuk The mother being towed under by a white whale", 1959 (?) Povungnituk Stone L. 32.9 Whereabouts unknown 116 Fig. 25 Isah Qopakualuk "Blind Man & Bear Legend", c. 1953 (?) Povungnituk Stone (Illust. in: Inuit Art Quarterly 3(4) (Fall, 1988):34) Fig. 26 Various Comic Front Covers (Illust. in: Inuit Art Quarterly 4(1) (Winter, 1989):4) 117 Fig. 27 Will iam Noah "Qiviuq's Journey", 1973 Baker Lake Coloured pencil 56.2 x 76.3 W A G G-80-249 Fig. 28 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Keeveeok's Journey", #1 - 1970 Baker Lake Stencil 25.0 x 57.7 118 3 @ Fig. 29 Kananginak and Pootagok "Legend of the Blind Man and the Bear", SS-5, 1959 Cape Dorset Sealskin Stencil 37.9 x 60.7 Fig. 30 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 77.7 The McMichaels Canadian Collection (1978.25.133) 119 Fig. 31 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 1", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.7 x 76.3 W B E C 486 Fig. 32 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 2", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.4 WBEC 485 120 Fig. 33 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 3", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.5 WBEC 484 Fig. 34 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 4", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.5 WBEC 483 121 Fig. 35 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 5", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 57.0 x 76.4 WBEC 482 Fig. 36 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 6", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.4 WBEC 481 122 Fig. 37 Etidlooie Etidlooie "Legend of the Blind Boy and the Loons, Part 7", 1976/77 Cape Dorset Coloured pencil and felt-tip pen 56.8 x 76.3 W B E C 652 123 Fig. 38 Eli Sallualu Qinuajua "Shaman with Helping Spirit", 1963 Povungnituk Black stone 18.3 x 15.6 x 6.2 Signed with disc number E9-846 WAG G-76-407 Fig. 39 Agnes Nanogak "Blind Boy", #29 - 1975 Hoi man Stonecut 22.5 x 42.0 124 Fig. 40 Davidialuk Alasuaq "Lumak", 1966 Povungnituk Stonecut Black and grey 54.4 x 43.0 Fig. 41 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 78.1 The McMichaels Canadian Collection 1978.25.132 125 Fig. 42 Aisa Qupirualuk (Aisa Qupiruala Alasua) "Man Riding a Narwhal", c.1956 Povungnituk Black Stone, ivory, black colouring 12.1 x 8.9 x 28.9 WAG G-60-70 Fig. 43 Juanisi Irqumia Kuanana (Johnassie) "Lumak Legend: Woman Pulled by Whale", c. 1959 Povungnituk Black stone 5.8 x 14.1 x 27.0 Signed with disc number E9-1450 WAG G-76-403 126 Fig. 44 Cecilia Arnadjuk "Shaman Riding a Bear", 1954-55 Repulse Bay Grey stone 6.0 x 5.7 x 11.5 WAG G-76-471 127 Fig. 45 Kiakshuk "The Legend of Lumiuk", #33-1960 Cape Dorset Stonecut Black and one colour 37.9 x 60.7 Fig. 46 Davidialuk Alasuaq Legend of Lumak", #26 - 1964 Povungnituk Stonecut 32.9 x 50.6 128 Fig. 47 Pitseolak "Lumaiyo", #30 - 1972 Cape Dorset Stonecut Blue, green, light brown 61.4 x 84.8 Fig. 48 Pitseolak "Lumaiyu", 1976 Cape Dorset Stonecut/stencil 62 x 86 129 Fig. 49 Johnniebo "Moon Spirit", #58 - 1963 Cape Dorset Engraving Black 31.4 x 45.0 Fig. 50 William Noah "Spirit", 1971 Baker Lake Stonecut/stencil Black, brown, red, yellow 48.7 x 60.7 1 3 0 Fig. 51 Ruth Annataqtussi "The Sun and the Moon", #4 - 1985 Baker Lake Stonecut and stencil Mauve, yellow, blues, reds, green 47 x 63.5 131 Fig. 52 Jessie Oonark "Inuit Family in the Moon", #14 - 1975 Baker Lake Silkscreen Red, blue, black, purple, orange 47.5 x 37.4 Fig. 53 Jessie Oonark "The World of Sun and Moon", c. 1976 Baker Lake Coloured pencil, graphite and felt-tip pen 50.8 x 65.9 Signed lower centre with syllables (twice) W A G 132 Fig. 54 Luke Anguhadluq "Drum Dance", 1970 Baker Lake Coloured pencil and pencil 101.2 x 65.8 Mr . & Mrs. K . J . Butler, Winnipeg 48.78 133 Fig. 55 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Untitled", n.d. Baker Lake Coloured pencil and graphite 57.3 x 78.0 The McMichaels Canadian Collection (1978.25-145) 134 Fig. 56 Victoria Mamnguqsualuk "Brother Moon and Sister Sun", #12 - 1982 Baker Lake Linocut and stencil 63 x 94 135 Fig. 57 Janet Kigusiuq "They turned into the Sun and the Moon", #9 - 1986 Baker Lake Stonecut and stencil 63.5 x 93.5 136 Map 1 Map of Inuit Art Centres Source: Blodgett, 1983 137 Map 2 Key to Tribal Territories Source: Handbook of North American Indians, Vol . 5 138

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Written in stone : a comparative analysis of Sedna and the Moon Spirit as depicted in contemporary Inuit sculpture and graphics

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Traditional mythological themes have been repeatedly depicted in contemporary Inuit art since the late 1950s. This thesis examines the portrayals of the female sea spirit or Sedna and the male moon spirit in sculpture and graphics by contemporary Inuit artists from three Arctic art "communities": Baker Lake, Cape Dorset and Povungnituk.

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Rescuing Sedna: Doorslamming, Fingerslicing, and the Moral of the Story

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Rescuing Sedna: Doorslamming, Fingerslicing, and the Moral of the Story

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- Life cycle;                                    - Living in balance with nature, the land and animals;                 - Spirituality, i.e. belief in a greater being;                               - Reverence and respect for nature, which is part of higher power;                                              - Relatedness of all - all humans as brothers and sisters;                                               - The female figure in nature

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- Life cycle;                                    - Living in balance with nature, the land and animals;                 - Spirituality, i.e. belief in a greater being;                               - Reverence and respect for nature, which is part of higher power;                                              - Relatedness of all - all humans as brothers and sisters;                                               - The female figure in nature

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Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North

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Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North

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In his new book In Those Days: Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North, Kenn Harper shares tales of Inuit and Christian beliefs and how they came to coexist -and sometimes clash - in the 19th and 20th centuries. During this period, Anglican and Catholic missionaries came to the North to proselytize among the Inuit, with often unexpected and sometimes tragic results.

Harper's collection (published in early October by Inhabit Media) includes stories of shamans and priests, hymns and ajaja songs, and sealskin churches, drawing on first-hand accounts to show how Christianity changed life in the North in big and small ways. The following excerpt, "The wisdom of Aua," details meetings between Greenlandic explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen and the shaman Aua, of the Foxe Basin region.

From Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North

The wisdom of Aua

It was February 1922. Knud Rasmussen was travelling by sled with his Polar Inuit companions along the shores of Foxe Basin, north of Lyon Inlet. They were about to make camp for the night when suddenly, out of the darkness, appeared a team of fifteen white dogs pulling a long sled carrying six men. Sighting the party of strangers, a small man with a long beard, his face framed in ice and snow, leapt from the sled and ran towards Rasmussen. This, wrote Rasmussen, was Aua, the shaman.

Rasmussen's mission was to study and record the myths and legends, the beliefs and the life stories of the Inuit of Canada, who had had little contact with outsiders. He spoke Greenlandic fluently, and so he was easily able to understand the dialects he encountered on his sled-quest across Canada's North. He had heard of Aua from Inuit he had already met in Foxe Basin and was overjoyed to finally meet him. From Aua, his garrulous wife Orulo, and the others who lived in Aua's camp, Rasmussen learned much about the customs of the Inuit.

Through several evenings of discussions with the men of the camp about the rules and taboos that governed life, it was apparent that everyone knew what had to be done in any given situation. But Rasmussen wanted to know more. He wanted to know why. And to this simple question, he wrote, they could give no answer. "They regarded it as unreasonable," he added, "that I should require not only an account, but also a justification, of their religious principles."

One evening, unable to answer the repeated question of "why," Aua rose suddenly and invited Rasmussen to follow him outside, where a storm raged. He pointed to the ice and calmly remarked:

"In order to hunt well and live happily, man must have calm weather. Why this constant succession of blizzards and all this needless hardship for men seeking food for themselves and those they care for? Why? Why?"

By chance, hunters were returning from an unsuccessful day of hunting for seals at the breathing holes on the ice. Their efforts had been in vain, and Aua, turning the tables again, asked his companion, "Why?" Rasmussen could give no answer.

Aua led him to Kublo's snow house, where the qulliq gave barely enough light and offered no heat to the children shivering under a skin blanket.

"Why should it be cold and comfortless in here?" the shaman asked. "Kublo has been out hunting all day, and if he had got a seal, as he deserved, his wife would now be sitting laughing beside her lamp, letting it burn full, without fear of having no blubber left for tomorrow. The place would be warm and bright and cheerful, the children would come out from under their rugs and enjoy life. Why should it not be so? Why?"

They continued to the house of Aua's sister, Natseq, where Aua again questioned his questioner:

"Why must people be ill and suffer pain? We are all afraid of illness. Here is this old sister of mine; as far as anyone can see, she has done no evil; she has lived through a long life and given birth to healthy children, and now she must suffer before her days end. Why? Why?"

Silently they returned to Aua's snow house and resumed their conversation. Aua began:
You see. You are equally unable to give any reason when we ask you why life is as it is. And so it must be. All our customs come from life and turn towards life. We explain nothing, we believe nothing. But in what I have just shown you lies our answer to all you ask. We fear the weather spirit of earth, that we must fight against to wrest our food from land and sea. We fear Sila. We fear dearth and hunger in the cold snow huts. We fear Takannakapsaaluk, the great woman down at the bottom of the sea, that rules over all the beasts of the sea. We fear the sickness that we meet with daily all around us; not death, but the suffering. We fear the evil spirits of life, those of the air, of the sea and the earth, that can help wicked shamans to harm their fellow men. We fear the souls of dead human beings and of the animals we have killed. Therefore it is that our fathers have inherited from their fathers all the old rules of life which are based on the experience and wisdom of generations. We do not know how, we cannot say why, but we keep those rules in order that we may live untroubled. And so ignorant are we in spite of all our shamans, that we fear everything unfamiliar. We fear what we see about us, and we fear all the invisible things that are likewise about us, all that we have heard of in our forefathers' stories and myths. Therefore we have our customs, which are not the same as those of the white men, the white men who live in another land and have need of other ways.
This was Aua's explanation. Clearly and calmly, he had outlined to Rasmussen why his question of "why" must remain an enigma.

In his questioning of Aua, Rasmussen asked about Inuit religious ideas, and in particular about the soul. Aua replied:
We ignorant Eskimos living up here do not believe, as you have told us many white men do, in one great solitary spirit that from a place far up in the sky maintains humanity and all the life of nature. Among us, as I have already explained to you, all is bound up with the earth we live on and our life here; and it would be even more incomprehensible, even more unreasonable, if, after a life short or long, of happy days or of suffering and misery, we were then to cease altogether from existence. What we have heard about the soul shows us that the life of men and beasts does not end with death. When at the end of life we draw our last breath, that is not the end. We awake to consciousness again, we come to life again, and all this is effected through the medium of the soul. Therefore it is that we regard the soul as the greatest and most incomprehensible of all.
Aua explained that most shamans divide the soul into two parts. These were, he said, " inuusia, of which we say that it is one with the spirit of life, and the spirit of life is something a living human being cannot do without. The other part of the soul is tarninga, perhaps the most powerful part of the soul, and the most mysterious, for while tarninga gives life and health, it is at the same time the site of disease, or the spot where any sickness enters in."

He recounted to Rasmussen the Inuit belief that in the very earliest times, there was no death among human beings. But the island on which they lived, said by some to be the island of Mitligjuaq in Hudson Strait, became so overpopulated that eventually an old woman, with power in her words, began to shout, asking that human beings be able to die, or soon there would be no room left for them on earth.

Aua continued:
Mysterious as the manner in which death came into life, even so mysterious is death itself. We know nothing about it for certain, save that those we live with suddenly pass away from us, some in a natural and understandable way because they have grown old and weary, others, however, in mysterious wise, because we who lived with them could see no reason why they in particular should die, and because we knew that they would gladly live. But that is just what makes death the great power it is. Death alone determines how long we may remain in this life on earth, which we cling to, and it alone carries us into another life which we know only from the accounts of shamans long since dead. We know that men perish through age, or illness, or accident, or because another has taken their life. All this we understand. Something is broken. What we do not understand is the change which takes place in a body when death lays hold of it. It is the same body that went about among us and was living and warm and spoke as we do ourselves, but it has suddenly been robbed of a power, for lack of which it becomes cold and stiff and putrifies. Therefore we say that a man is ill when he has lost a part of his soul, or one of his souls, for there are some who believe that man has several souls. If then that part of a man's vital force be not restored to the body, he must die. Therefore we say that a man dies when the soul leaves him.
Aua pointed out to his questioner that it was somewhat unusual to be asked to think about these things, and that usually such subjects were far from people's minds. "In our ordinary everyday life we do not think much about all these things," he explained, "and it is only now you ask that so many thoughts arise in my head of long-known things; old thoughts, but as it were becoming altogether new when one has to put them into words."

Kenn Harper is a historian, author, linguist, a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark). He lived in the Arctic for 50 years and now lives in Ottawa. He speaks and writes Inuktitut and his extensive work on Arctic history includes the books Minik: The New York Eskimo, and the series In Those Days: Collected Writings on Arctic History.

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Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North

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In his new book In Those Days: Shamans, Spirits, and Faith in the Inuit North , Kenn Harper shares tales of Inuit and Christian beliefs and how they came to coexist -and sometimes clash - in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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Mythical Figures #29: Sedna, The Goddess of the sea [Inuit Mythology

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Mythical Figures #29: Sedna, The Goddess of the sea [Inuit Mythology

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MF #29: Sedna, The Goddess of the sea [Inuit Mythology]

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The Goddess of the Sea: The Story of Sedna

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The Goddess of the Sea: The Story of Sedna

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The Goddess of the Sea: The Story of Sedna | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Inuit mythology is the repository of Inuit culture, passed down by elders through generations to enrich and enlighten. ...

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The legend of how Sedna became a sea goddess is told throughout the Arctic. The story varies from one region to the next. However, in all versions, a young woman becomes the mother of all sea creatures. As the sea goddess, Sedna has dominion over her creatures and controls the availability of seal, walrus, fish, whale, and other sea animals to Inuit hunters.

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Our elders told us stories that we now tell our children about how the animals and fish of the sea came to be.

These stories tell of a young woman who was thrown from a skin boat into the sea by her fearful father.

As she grasped the sides of the boat, her father swung his knife chopping off her fingers. When they fell into the water, the fingers became whales, seals and polar bears and her nails became whalebone.

As the daughter sank into the sea she was transformed into the mystic being known as Sedna who came to rule over all life in the sea.

If offended, she will send bad luck to the hunters and bring starvation to their families. If treated with respect, Sedna will send forth abundance to Inuit through the skillful hunter.

Our elders told us stories that we now tell our children about how the animals and fish of the sea came to be.

These stories tell of a young woman who was thrown from a skin boat into the sea by her fearful father.

As she grasped the sides of the boat, her father swung his knife chopping off her fingers. When they fell into the water, the fingers became whales, seals and polar bears and her nails became whalebone.

As the daughter sank into the sea she was transformed into the mystic being known as Sedna who came to rule over all life in the sea.

If offended, she will send bad luck to the hunters and bring starvation to their families. If treated with respect, Sedna will send forth abundance to Inuit through the skillful hunter.

Sculpture of Sedna. Aisa Aupaluktuk.

Aisa Aupaluktuk
Courtesy of La Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec

Sculpture of Sedna. Lucassie Kenuajuak.

Lucassie Kenuajuak
Courtesy of La Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec

Artwork by Andrzej Tutaj.

Artwork by Andrzej Tutaj.

Learning Objectives

The learner will:

Recount the legend of Sedna

Relate texts to images

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inuit people; inuk; inuktitut; innu; inuusivut; arctic; nunavut; inuit art; aboriginal culture; first nations; canadian inuit; inuit heritage; nunavut people; polar bear; whale; igloo; eskimo; arctic circle; arctic ocean; oral history; canada first nations; inuit language; inuit sculpture; inuit religion; inuit mythology; inuit history; inuktitut language; inuit society; artifacts; arctic tundra; inuit artist; inuit legend

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inuit people; inuk; inuktitut; innu; inuusivut; arctic; nunavut; aboriginal culture; homeland; first nations; canadian inuit; inuit heritage; nunavut people; labrador innu; caribou; trapping; fox; caribou hunting; snow house; arctic ocean; canada first nations; inuit language; polar bear hunting; nunavut territory; inuit history; inuit society; arctic tundra; inuit tool; inuit shelter; inuit kayak; inuit legend

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inuit tradition; canada; traditional foods; foods; traditional and intangible knowledge; traditional knowledge; intangible knowledge; commercial fishing

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Our elders told us stories that we now tell our children about how the animals and fish of the sea came to be. These stories tell of a young woman who was thrown from a skin boat into the sea by her fearful father.