Inuits

Relationship with the Land The Inuit had a very spiritual relationship with the land. Their relationship to the land was so strong that if they didn’t satisfy the spirits they thought they would be punished with sickness and bad luck. The spirits could be animals or random objects, Inuit cared for the land and the animals because they thought the may be the spirits. They relied on the land to build their homes and to provide them with all their food. They built igloos in winter near the coast so that they could hunt seals. In summer they travelled along the coast and hunted other sea mammals. Tribal society The Inuits are the ancestors of the Thule people. The Thule people passed down many tribal traditions that involved making hunting weapons, boats and harvesting skills. The winter villages where the tribes would camp would be large with six to thirty houses because they had plenty of food supplied after a whale hunt. The houses were made of stone slabs and supported by a whale bone framework. The sleeping platform in the houses was at the back of the house and this design is still used today in the snow houses. Traditional and religious beliefs The Inuits believed that all things including animals have souls like humans and that every being has a spirit and must be treated with respect. The person that would be able to control these spirits was called the ‘shaman’ He was the central religious figure in traditional Inuit culture. Other spirits the Inuits believed in were the wind, weather, sun and the moon. Inuit people followed special rules to please all these spirits. If they did not follow the rules they thought they would be punished. Natural things such birds and stones were seen as being spiritual and had human qualities. When asked about their spiritual beliefs they said “we don’t believe we fear”. http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/inuit Society structure The Inuit passed down information to each generation by story telling and drawings. The did not have a alphabet to record any history. The punishments were usually handed down by the elders of the society. If the family did not agree with the punishment they could then take revenge. The Angakkuq was a tribal healer who would help the sick and would give advice to help people in their lives. Angakkuq could be a male or a female and was born with his healing gift. The Inuit people would share their things and food. They did not have true money but they had coins which they used to buy goods and services.